South Africa leader, accused of corruption, will now have a free hand over government finances after firing Pravin Gordhan

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma sacked his respected finance minister and made 10 new cabinet appointments late on Thursday in a dramatic reshuffle that could split the ruling ANC party.

The move was widely seen as an attempt to control the selection of his successor.

The ANC, which came to power under Nelson Mandela in 1994, was rocked by the clear-out of senior figures including Pravin Gordhan, the finance minister.

A key figure in the party said it was unhappy with the late-night reshuffle. “The process made me a little bit jittery and uncomfortable,” the secretary general, Gwede Mantashe, said on Friday.

“We were given a list that was complete, and in my own view as a secretary I felt like this list has been developed somewhere else and was given to us to legitimise it.”

South African president Jacob Zuma 'may step down early' in 2018 Read more

The late-night move caused a sharp drop in the value of the rand as investors reacted to concerns that Zuma, whose term in office has been tainted by corruption scandals, would now have a free hand over government finances.

Gordhan, who is replaced by former home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba, was removed after a months-long battle with Zuma over government spending and control of the public purse.

“Holy wow. Midnight ministerial massacre in South Africa,” former US ambassador Patrick Gaspard tweeted.

Patrick Gaspard (@patrickgaspard) Holy wow. Midnight ministerial massacre in South Africa.

Pressure has been growing on Zuma to step down after he recalled Gordhan, who has a strong reputation as a bulwark against corruption, from a trade trip in London this week.

Gordhan inspired a standing ovation at the funeral of one of South Africa’s leading anti-apartheid activists on Wednesday as longtime ANC leaders called for Zuma to step down. The outcry by funeral-goers including the ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela Mandela, further exposed the ruling party’s divide.

Zuma said in a statement that the changes were “to bring about radical socio-economic transformation and to ensure that the promise of a better life for the poor and the working class becomes a reality”.



Gordhan has been supported by several senior ministers and many international investors, as well as being widely admired by ordinary South Africans and veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle.

He has campaigned for controlled spending and against corruption, but Zuma’s allies have accused him of thwarting the president’s desire to enact “radical economic transformation” tackling racial inequality.

Zuma is due to step down as head of the party in December, before the 2019 general election.

He is seen as favouring his ex-wife, former African Union chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to succeed him, ahead of deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa.

South Africa’s two main opposition parties on Thursday took aim at the president, who faces corruption allegations.

Solly Mapaila, deputy general secretary, of the South African Communist party, which is in an alliance with the ANC, warned its seven cabinet members would resign if Zuma fired the finance minister.

The Economic Freedom Fighters opposition party applied to the country’s highest court to order parliament to begin impeachment proceedings against the president for lying to the legislative body.