Nene: South Africa Is Very, Very Angry
10 DEC 2015 14:25
SIPHO KINGS
South African Mail & Guardian
The news broke late at night, slipping past newspaper deadlines and awakening broadcast media who had settled into the slower rhythm of night. But instead of shrugging their shoulders at yet more political interference in the country’s technocratic systems, South Africans raged. Something snapped in the nation’s patience of Wednesday night.
The hashtags #NhlanhlaNene and #NeneFired quickly turned to the overriding message coming from the public on social media—#ZumaMustFall. Nene may have started his public life by falling off his chair during a television interview, but people wanted his departure from the stage to bring about the fall of the president who booted him out.
One particular quote from Nelson Mandela seemed to resonate particularly well with angry South Africans, and was shared across all sorts of social platforms. “If the ANC does to you what the apartheid government did to you, then you must do to the ANC what you did to the apartheid government.”
The EFF led the political response, calling out what it thought were the real reasons for Nene’s dismissal – his objection to the trillion-rand nuclear build and his turning down of SAA board chairperson Dudu Myeni’s proposal to introduce a middleman to the fraught negotiations with Airbus over new planes. It called the latest reshuffle – the sixth since 2009 – “a sign of a serious pathological crisis in the leadership and direction of the country”. The party tapped into the existing national outrage over the quarter of a billion Nkandla build, saying Nene’s successor “will be prepared to even approve further upgrades to Zuma’s Nkandla home by putting a private zoo that has exotic animals like domesticated tigers”.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane said: “President Zuma has made one thing very clear tonight: If you stand in my way as finance minister and seek to introduce fiscal prudence, you will find yourself redeployed and cast aside.”
A response from the other side of the benches was conspicuously missing. The presidency’s 8PM release gave no details for the axing and has been quiet since then. Shortly after its release, the ANC released a statement saying: “The African National Congress notes and respects the decision of President Jacob Zuma to appoint a new Minister of Finance … The president has exercised his Constitutional prerogative.”
Trade union Cosatu – once the lynchpin of the tripartite alliance – said it was “shocked and disconcerted” by Nene’s removal. The union said that the minister’s tenure was short, and problematic since the economic sector does not cope well with abrupt and unqualified changes.
Media were quick to look at the financial implications of axing a finance minister that has drawn respect from traders and other major players. The Daily Maverick’s editorial called the dismissal “an act of wilful sabotage”. The Times headline ran: “Zuma takes economy to brink with axing of finance minister.” None of the news was good.
But the strongest reaction was one at incredulity at the appointment of Nene’s successor – the unknown David van Rooyen.
This quickly turned to a nostalgic call from people for the return of ousted president Thabo Mbeki.
With the currency tumbling, ratings agencies have lined up to relook at their rating of South Africa. This is just one move away from effective junk status – where the country would be unable to afford the rate of taking on debt. Last week Fitch Ratings cut the country’s debt to BBB-, the lowest level where a country can still expect investment.
Standard and Poor’s recently warned that “When we changed the outlook to negative [for the South African economy], we highlighted how important prudent fiscal policy is to us.” For now, the agency has said it will adopt a “wait and see” approach – giving the new finance minister a chance to show how he will manage fiscal policy.
Sipho Kings is the Mail & Guardian's environment reporter
SIPHO KINGS
South African Mail & Guardian
The news broke late at night, slipping past newspaper deadlines and awakening broadcast media who had settled into the slower rhythm of night. But instead of shrugging their shoulders at yet more political interference in the country’s technocratic systems, South Africans raged. Something snapped in the nation’s patience of Wednesday night.
The hashtags #NhlanhlaNene and #NeneFired quickly turned to the overriding message coming from the public on social media—#ZumaMustFall. Nene may have started his public life by falling off his chair during a television interview, but people wanted his departure from the stage to bring about the fall of the president who booted him out.
One particular quote from Nelson Mandela seemed to resonate particularly well with angry South Africans, and was shared across all sorts of social platforms. “If the ANC does to you what the apartheid government did to you, then you must do to the ANC what you did to the apartheid government.”
The EFF led the political response, calling out what it thought were the real reasons for Nene’s dismissal – his objection to the trillion-rand nuclear build and his turning down of SAA board chairperson Dudu Myeni’s proposal to introduce a middleman to the fraught negotiations with Airbus over new planes. It called the latest reshuffle – the sixth since 2009 – “a sign of a serious pathological crisis in the leadership and direction of the country”. The party tapped into the existing national outrage over the quarter of a billion Nkandla build, saying Nene’s successor “will be prepared to even approve further upgrades to Zuma’s Nkandla home by putting a private zoo that has exotic animals like domesticated tigers”.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane said: “President Zuma has made one thing very clear tonight: If you stand in my way as finance minister and seek to introduce fiscal prudence, you will find yourself redeployed and cast aside.”
A response from the other side of the benches was conspicuously missing. The presidency’s 8PM release gave no details for the axing and has been quiet since then. Shortly after its release, the ANC released a statement saying: “The African National Congress notes and respects the decision of President Jacob Zuma to appoint a new Minister of Finance … The president has exercised his Constitutional prerogative.”
Trade union Cosatu – once the lynchpin of the tripartite alliance – said it was “shocked and disconcerted” by Nene’s removal. The union said that the minister’s tenure was short, and problematic since the economic sector does not cope well with abrupt and unqualified changes.
Media were quick to look at the financial implications of axing a finance minister that has drawn respect from traders and other major players. The Daily Maverick’s editorial called the dismissal “an act of wilful sabotage”. The Times headline ran: “Zuma takes economy to brink with axing of finance minister.” None of the news was good.
But the strongest reaction was one at incredulity at the appointment of Nene’s successor – the unknown David van Rooyen.
This quickly turned to a nostalgic call from people for the return of ousted president Thabo Mbeki.
With the currency tumbling, ratings agencies have lined up to relook at their rating of South Africa. This is just one move away from effective junk status – where the country would be unable to afford the rate of taking on debt. Last week Fitch Ratings cut the country’s debt to BBB-, the lowest level where a country can still expect investment.
Standard and Poor’s recently warned that “When we changed the outlook to negative [for the South African economy], we highlighted how important prudent fiscal policy is to us.” For now, the agency has said it will adopt a “wait and see” approach – giving the new finance minister a chance to show how he will manage fiscal policy.
Sipho Kings is the Mail & Guardian's environment reporter
No comments:
Post a Comment