TONY LEON: Zuma's three options as he confronts Gordhan
'Both Zuma senior and junior are well-known critics of the rating agencies that determine the credit status of the country'
Tomorrow Cape Town traffic will be more choked and chaotic than usual as the state flexes its muscles and shows its pomp and finery for President Jacob Zuma‘s State of the Nation spectacle. The street theatre outside might be more interesting, in fact, than the events inside. But if (not a big ask) you can tear your eyes away from Zuma's speech and his menu of offerings for 2017, take a look when the TV camera pans to the face of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. Our redoubtable minister does not wear his anguished heart on his sleeve. And presumably, since the president is not insane, Gordhan will survive in office for at least another 13 days before he steps up to the same podium to deliver the budget to parliament. But thereafter, as we say in racing, all bets are off. There are three essential views on Gordhan's future:First, that he will be replaced to make way for a more tractable successor — someone who will not guard the fiscal purse or stave off a credit downgrade, and will ...
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