Grave concern over impact of unexpected removal of Nhlanhla Nene

The unexpected removal of Nhlanhla Nene from the position of Finance Minister is of grave concern to the business sector of South Africa, especially as it comes only days after the downgrade of SA’s credit rating to just one level above speculative grade or junk.

As business in South Africa, we are particularly concerned that the shock announcement comes at a time when our country and our economy are in desperate need of continuity and consistency of policy.

We will therefore be requesting an urgent meeting with the Presidency and the new Finance Minister, David van Rooyen, to seek firm assurances that fiscal discipline will remain the priority and that efforts to make South Africa more investor friendly will continue to be pursued vigorously.