Pravin Gordhan must now follow-through to sustain trust and confidence

14 December 2015

Today the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, was in full damage control mode trying to save the economy and avoid a “junk status” rating for South Africa.

The ministers commitment to fiscal consolidation, stabilizing the national debt, and taking action on failing state-owned enterprises has gone some way to restoring confidence and trust.

However, it’s now all about the follow-through: sustaining and building confidence and trust will depend, not on what the minister says, but on what the minister does, in the future. 

It’s not clear how, given the new ministers commitment to fiscal sustainability, he intends to avoid the head-on collision with President Jacob Zuma on dealing with key fiscal risks, such as the nuclear build programme, or “zombie SOE’s”, such as South African Airways. 

The minister will have to demonstrate he is able to make the hard decisions and do what is required to save the economy and avoid a “junk status” rating for South Africa.

Time will tell.

Issued by David Maynier, Shadow Minister of Finance, DA, 14 December 2015