PICTURE: ESA ALEXANDER President Zuma, the time to speak up is now.Economists on Sunday warned that if Jacob Zuma did not send out a strong signal showing his support for Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, the rand would weaken further, the country's sovereign debt rating would collapse to junk status and ordinary South Africans would struggle to buy food.On Friday, the rand slumped to 16.233 to the dollar, the biggest fall in four years.The decline was triggered by fears that the fallout between Gordhan and SA Revenue Service commissioner Tom Moyane could worsen, resulting in either the sacking or resignation of Gordhan or the undermining of critical aspects of the Budget he presented last week.Moyane, a Zuma loyalist, had ignored the minister's instructions to halt the restructuring of SARS. He also reportedly initiated an investigation by the Hawks into Gordhan's conduct when he headed the revenue service in 2009.Another source of tension between Zuma and Gordhan is the minister's ...
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