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New Finance Minister David van Rooyen has moved to assure South Africans and the markets he aims to continue where his predecessor Nhlanhla Nene left off by creating economic policies that will be “favourable” to the country’s development agenda.
In an impromptu speech following his swearing-in ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria today, Van Rooyen addressed the media in what was a possible bid to quell anxious investors after the rand tumbled to its lowest levels in history last night following his announcement as Nene’s successor.
“Mine is a colossal assignment, coming at a time when the global economic outlook is not favourable, more especially for emerging markets. All economic indicators as you’re all aware are pointing to the South.
“I must undertake, in front of you and the nation, that I will endeavour to ensure that every policy is directed at creating favourable investment decisions, leading to the development of South Africa for all South Africans, not for the few,” said Van Rooyen, a former mayor of the Merafong municipality in the North West province.
The swearing-in ceremony, which was conducted by Constitutional Court judge Sisi Khampepe, was attended by Van Rooyen’s family, national treasury director-general Lungisa Fuzile and President Jacob Zuma, who shocked the country last night when he “removed” Nene.
In a bid to stamp his authority on the national treasury, Van Rooyen also said he would ensure that the department was more accessible to all South Africans, including rural communities, to “demystify” how the department did its work.
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“One of the areas that I think we need to improve on under the leadership of the ANC is the issue of accessibility. We want to demystify some of the myths that are currently prevailing around the functionality of this important department ... the national treasury is the axis of our development agenda,” said Van Rooyen in a brief address.
Before Zuma broke the news last night, the rand stood at R14.58 to the US dollar, R22.10 to the pound and R16.03 to the euro, but took a dramatic fall (to R15.50, R22.70 and R 16.47 respectively), soon after the announcement.
Although the currency recovered earlier in the morning to R14.97 for a dollar, it shot up again to R15.31 soon after Van Rooyen’s speech.
Van Rooyen, a former whip of Parliament’s portfolio committee on finance, said the national treasury and the position of finance minister had always been viewed as “scarecrows” by the public and promised to lay bare how it reached its policy decisions.
“It must be accessible and we are going to start to make sure that we improve on the achievements that have derived by those who came before us as we open up and ensure that national treasury becomes an accessible department to all our people including people in rural areas. In rural areas when you speak of the minister of finance, in some cases these two are used as a ‘scarecrow’, and the fact of the matter is that it is our duty to simplify issues of public finance,” he said.
Van Rooyen’s appointment has been viewed as a political deployment by political, economic and social commentators. Speculation has been rife about whether Nene’s spat over a multibillion-rand Airbus deal with SAA chairperson Dudu Myeni, a close ally of Zuma, had anything to do with the sacking.
Statements issued by the ANC and its alliance partners, the SACP and unions, intimated that the tripartite alliance was either not consulted prior to Zuma making the decision or did not have the blessing of the three organisations.
While Nene – whom Zuma said would be deployed to a “strategic” position at a later stage – told Media24 he would be returning to Parliament as a backbencher, Van Rooyen heaped praise on his predecessor for leaving a solid foundation.
Van Rooyen passed his “gratitude” to his predecessors, singling out Nene “for his tireless efforts and leaving a very solid platform for us to ensure there is proper financial management for our public finances”.
