Should South African President Cyril Ramaphosa resign, economic policy won\u2019t change, the country\u2019s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said, while stressing that he expects him to stay in his post.<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa is seen as the driving force behind South Africa\u2019s bid to liberalize its power sector and throw its economy open to private investment, but Godongwana emphasized that policy is determined by the governing African National Congress and isn\u2019t tied to any individual.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny president is not going to pursue individualistic policies outside the framework of the party,\u201d Godongwana said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Friday. Economic measures that will be announced in the February budget will follow from last month\u2019s budget update, he said.<\/p>\n
South African markets were roiled this week after an advisory panel established by parliament found grounds for lawmakers to consider impeaching Ramaphosa over his alleged failure to properly report a robbery at his game farm — during which he says $580,000 hidden in a sofa was stolen — and potential violations of the constitution.<\/p>\n
The day after the findings were released, the nation\u2019s currency posted its worst one-day loss since May, while the government\u2019s borrowing costs surged the most since 2015. The price of South African five-year credit default swaps climbed by the most since March 2020, indicating investor nervousness about political instability.<\/p>\n
Still, those securities have now clawed back some ground. The rand rallied as much as 1.8% after Godongwana\u2019s interview, and government bonds jumped.<\/p>\n
In 2008, Thabo Mbeki, the president under whom South Africa saw its best post-apartheid economic growth, stepped down under pressure from the ANC after losing an intra-party electoral vote. And in 2018, Jacob Zuma was forced to quit after a series of corruption scandals eroded his party\u2019s electoral support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are used to this kind of disruption and we have always found ways of managing it,\u201d Godongwana said. \u201cIt\u2019s noisy, it is our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The finance chief said he wants Ramaphosa to win a second term as ANC leader at its electoral conference later this month and that he only sees a 10% chance that he will resign. He added that he would in principle be willing to continue to serve in his position under a new leader.<\/p>\n
ANC Asset<\/strong><\/p>\n Godongwana reiterated earlier comments by ANC Chairman Gwede Mantashe that Ramaphosa is an asset to the ANC.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is more popular than the party,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Colin Coleman, the former head of Goldman Sachs for Southern Africa, expressed concern that South Africa\u2019s focus on anti-corruption initiatives may waver, even if economic policy is maintained.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t worry that the policy of the ruling party is going to change,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cCorruption has been one of the main issues that the president has been trying to tackle and without him there is obviously a question mark over whether that anti-corruption campaign will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
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