How will Jacob Zuma’s appointment as president affect the economy?

Jacob Zuma has large-scale backing from the left of the ruling coalition, so it was expected that there would be some shift in policy. However, his appointments in cabinet, on the whole, have been market friendly. But one should not forget that Pravin Ghordan, Ebrahim Patel, Tito Mboweni, Rob Davies and Trevor Manuel all have leftist backgrounds and are aware of the approach and economic philosophy of Cosatu and the SACP. Ghordan and Mboweni will, in all likelihood, continue with current policy so the focus will be on the roles of Patel, Manuel and, to a certain extent, Davies. We may see a more socialist shift towards grants and government intervention, but this is likely to be kept in check by figures such as Mboweni and Manuel. The focus of Zuma’s presidency will be on service delivery and thus the economy shouldn’t be affected greatly in terms of policy.

Jawad Haider, UCT BBus Sci student