* Unknown figure at helm of Africa’s most advanced economy

* Some residents recall his tenure as mayor fondly

* Lack of financial experience concern for markets

* Rand, banking stocks dive

By Ed Stoddard

KHUTSONG, South Africa, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Residents of South Africa’s Khutsong township remember David van Rooyen as a kindly mayor always willing to help out. But for investors, the man just appointed finance minister is a virtual unknown with few if any qualifications to run Africa’s most advanced economy.

Plucked from obscurity by President Jacob Zuma, Van Rooyen appears never to have governed anything bigger than a municipality, although he does have a master’s degree in finance (economic policy) awarded by the University of London through its distance learning programmes.

Investors have taken fright at Wednesday’s abrupt dismissal of Nhlanhla Nene, a veteran public servant who had won their respect for his fiscal prudence and attention to detail.

In his place now is Van Rooyen, until now a backbench member of parliament for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) who was once a soldier in the party’s disbanded military wing, UmKhonto we Sizwe.

The rand currency, already under heavy pressure as global prices for South Africa’s commodity exports tumble, fell five percent after Nene’s sacking. On Friday it lost three percent to another record low against the dollar.

The Johannesburg bourse’s banking index dived eight percent on Friday on top of losses of more than 13 percent the previous day, prompting the Banking Association of South Africa to issue a statement describing the change in finance ministers “very concerning”.

The contrast to Nene’s appointment 18 months ago could hardly be starker: he had been carefully groomed for the top job, serving as deputy finance minister from 2008 to 2014.

Since assuming power in 1994, the ANC has mostly followed a careful fiscal path, with the Treasury keeping a lid on spending.

“South Africa’s fiscal credibility and transparency have been built up brick-by-brick over the last 20 years. It is a 100 percent new South Africa achievement. Nene’s removal undermines that dramatically,” said Nedbank political analyst JP Landman.

Speculation in the local media has focused on Nene’s opposition to an expansion of the ailing state-owned South African Airways, chaired by a close Zuma ally, and plans to build new nuclear plants as the reasons behind his removal.

The Business Day newspaper said in an editorial on Friday that Van Rooyen’s “credentials are far weaker than Mr. Nene’s ever were” and that Zuma “has installed a finance minister likely to be compliant, and not for his track record”.

Zuma’s office has not responded to the charges while Van Rooyen could not be reached for comment.

EARTHY MAYOR

Van Rooyen’s appointment set off a scramble among investors and journalists alike to find out more about the low-profile lawmaker. But even exact his age is unclear and his supposed Twitterfeed is a spoof set up by pranksters.

However, he is fondly recalled in Khutsong, part of the sprawling municipality of Merafong west of Johannesburg where he was once mayor. “When I saw him on TV this morning, I was so happy,” said Mantembe Gladys as she barbecued chicken pieces and feet to sell on the side.

“He took me into town once to buy groceries when I had no money. He would give anyone a lift in his car if they needed it. Or he would give people money to buy food,” she said.

By the dismal standards of some South African townships, Khutsong is in relatively good shape. The main roads are tarred, there is power and water, and the streets are relatively clean, but residents says things have slipped since Van Rooyen’s time.

“He did wonders for us, roads and houses. The current administration here is no good though. We have water leaks,” said Oupa Taleng, an unemployed 47-year-old.

But Van Rooyen’s tenure was also marked by controversy. Local media reports say he was threatened with violence in 2009 by irate residents opposed to a plan to have the municipality placed under the jurisdiction of a neighbouring province.

COLOSSAL ASSIGNMENT

After fixing roads, Van Rooyen must now rise to the challenge of managing state finances at the helm of a barely growing economy with glaring income disparities and a jobless rate of around 25 percent.

South Africa’s credit rating is on the verge of junk status at a time when the price of its exports of gold, coal and platinum are tumbling.

Van Rooyen acknowledged he had “a colossal assignment” after he was sworn in on Thursday. “I take this job at a very challenging time. I will endeavour to ensure every policy is directed at creating favourable investment conditions that will lead to the development of South Africa for all South Africans,” he said in a brief statement.

Analysts remain unimpressed. “The brief comments and subsequent statement from the new finance minister were a disappointment and focused on domestic political issues rather than any even subtle hint to try and calm the markets,” said Peter Attard Montalto, emerging markets analyst at Nomura.

Media have launched the kind of attacks on Zuma that in the past have frequently prompted a stout defence from the ANC. This time the party merely pointed out in a statement that the president had the right to make such appointments and that it “notes and respects” his decision. (Additional reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng, Nqobile Dludla and Joe Brock in Johannesburg; Editing by James Macharia and David Stamp)