Within the last week, South Africa has had three finance ministers. The current minister, Pravin Gordhan, took his position on Sunday night and tried to ease some of the confusion in the country. Gordhan addressed journalists explaining the government will begin in emphasize sound fiscal management and smart spending by state-owned enterprises like South African Airways. These promises seem meaningless to some people when previous finance ministers have promised the same thing. The South African president, Jacob Zuma, fired the previous minister last week who tried to cut down spending. This caught many people off guard and has led many to demand the recall of the president. This is one of the many acts that have led to the anger against the ANC, the party in control currently. Some political analysists have marked this period as the Fall of the ANC. We could see big changes in South Africa if President Zuma continues on this path and ignores the voices of the people.
6 comments:
It definitely isn't a good sign that there has been this much upheaval. If I were living in South Africa, I would be extremely nervous and unsure. I would also have very little confidence in my government. I agree with the citizens in calling for the recall of Zuma. He fired a minister that was wanting to cut spending. That definitely seems suspicious to me. There's something very wrong going on in South Africa.
we did not learn about south Africa but I think this will be a very interesting topic to talk about. I think the event of firing previous minister can cause confusion among the citizens which will not lead to a good outcome.
Political unsurity very often translates into the economy. In times of Political turmoil there is a propensity for consumers to spend less and save which may shift aggregate demand to the left which may have varying effects on the supply side of the economy. Its not good for the economy when consumers are unwilling to spend because of political conditions.
Not necessarily. President Zuma seems as if he is trying to make a change by firing the prime minster who had cut spending in South Africa. If consumer spending does not pick up under the new prime minister, there may be underlaying economic issues.
I think that the South Africa government need to get their whole system and organization together. The fact that the president had to fire three financial ministers in a week kind of shows that they did not discuss and came to an agreement with any of the decision, rather abusing their power and doing as they're pleased. With this going on, the country with be unregulated and the economy might take a fall.
While I would agree that it appears that he's trying to do what is best for the country, I would say that President Zuma has been firing people that he doesn't agree with. If they aren't proposing plans that he believes are the best approach, he disposes of them. The ANC is the political party that won popular vote at the end of apartheid, promising social and economic changes for their citizens. I believe Zuma has been mismanaging the economy in order to keep the votes for the party coming in, but instead he has just mismanaged the economy.
Another article I have read about President Zuma explains that he has set up a form of cronyism within the state. The ANC favors black economic empowerment, a policy that tries to right the wrongs of apartheid by nurturing a new black middle class. The state gives preference to any business or firm which supports black South Africans. Senior ANC members give out contracts to family members and close friends and own parts of enterprises created by others, which has allowed them to become very rich. Unemployment is extremely high, crime is extremely widespread, and there is a risk that many people will emigrate. Perhaps a devastating economic crisis will change the political tables in South Africa.
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21684158-nation-brink-deserves-better-jacob-zuma-try-again-beloved-country?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/ed/tryagainthebelovedcountry
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