Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) After days of rumors, the official announcement came in an email just after midnight on Friday.

South African President Jacob Zuma had swung another scythe through his cabinet, repositioning or firing no less than ten ministers.

As the recently departed US Ambassador to South Africa put it on Twitter, "Holy wow. Midnight ministerial massacre in South Africa."

Zuma has reshuffled his cabinet before, but this, say many, was a complete purge.

Most significantly, Zuma axed respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas.

Zuma said the changes were made to "bring about radical socio-economic transformation and ensure the promise of a better life for the poor and the working class becomes a reality" in a video statement Friday

Gordhan built a reputation as a steady hand who expertly guided South Africa's economy and promoted its business interests. He first served as finance minister between 2009 and 2014, and returned to the job in December 2015, much to the relief of international investors.

Predictably, South Africa's currency tanked on the news, and economists believe that ratings agencies are poised to downgrade the country to junk status.

But to focus on the economy is to miss the wider significance -- many feel the very essence of South Africa is at stake.

Not for sale

Pravin Gordhan holds an alleged intelligence report during a press conference Friday.

"Our souls are not for sale. Our souls are not for sale," said the outgoing Gordhan during a press conference, surrounded by applauding Treasury officials. "We don't need anyone's brown bag. And we hope that more and more South Africans will make it more clear that our country is not for sale."

It was a thinly veiled reference to Zuma. For years, the President has been dogged by allegations of corruption.

After decades of activism and government service, Gordhan says he found out through the media that he was being fired. The famously adept political organizer called on South Africans to mobilize.

"What should the public do? Organize. Organize," he said.

Treasury staff clapped and sang revolutionary songs in an emotional sendoff for Gordon on Friday.

Dubious report?

The developments capped off a remarkable week in South African politics.

Gordhan was in the midst of his yearly investor roadshow to the United Kingdom and the US, trying to convince ratings agencies that the country is politically stable, when he was summarily hauled back home by Zuma.

According to deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa and other political allies, Zuma fired the finance minister on the basis of an "intelligence report" claiming the finance team was looking to collaborate with investors to overthrow the government.

The leaked "report" was short and seemed amateurish. Gordhan called it nonsense, and it attracted little more than criticism from some government officials.

Hundreds outside Parliament in Cape Town protest Gordhan's dismissal on Friday.

"I find it very difficult to believe that someone like Gordhan, who has served the country with everything he has and so much pride and total honor, planned to besmirch Zuma and his government overseas," Ramaphosa told local media. "The actions Zuma has [taken] against Gordhan is based solely on assumptions."

Ramaphosa's public rebuke was a rarity amongst leaders in the ruling African National Congress, and proof of the deep divisions that Zuma's presidency has sown. Zuma clearly went against the wishes of senior party members, allies, business leaders and opposition parties.

The opposition, meanwhile, has called for a vote of no-confidence in Parliament, a move they have attempted before. But they will need a significant portion of ANC politicians to turn their back on the President.

Message from the grave

People attend Ahmed Kathrada's funeral on March 29 in Johannesburg.

Zuma even faced calls to resign from beyond the grave.

In an emotional funeral earlier in the week, with rumors already circulating of a cabinet purge, liberation hero Ahmed Kathrada, who spent more than two decades in jail with Nelson Mandela, was laid to rest.

To a standing ovation, an open letter that Kathrada wrote to Zuma last year was read out as a eulogy.

"Dear Comrade President, don't you think your continued stay as President will only serve to deepen the crisis of confidence in the government of the country?" it said.

"And bluntly, if not arrogantly, in the face of such persistently widespread criticism, condemnation and demand, is it asking too much to express the hope that you will choose the correct way that is gaining momentum, to consider stepping down?"

Zuma ignored the pleas.</s>Elisabeth is a reporter for Verdict, covering global news, economics and business

South African president Jacob Zuma’s sacking of his finance minister Pravin Gordhan late last night saw a five percent drop in the value of the rand, the country’s currency.

South Africa’s deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, a frontrunner to replace Zuma as African National Congress (ANC) president, described the decision as “totally unacceptable”.

The FTSE/JSE Africa Banks Index slid as much as 7.7 percent on Friday, its biggest one-day drop since December 2015 — the last time Zuma sacked his finance minister.

The cabinet changes will leave South Africa’s credit rating vulnerable.

Zuma also dismissed eight of his other cabinet members and six deputies.

However, the major cabinet overhaul — the biggest of its kind since the early 1990s — has been viewed as an excuse for the South African leader to silence his critics.

Gordhan’s insistence on fiscal discipline and his efforts to tame inflation were at odds with Zuma’s plans.

Gordhan was appointed in December 2015 to restore stability after Zuma abruptly replaced the then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene with a little-known backbencher.

Zuma is due to step down as head of the party in December, before the 2019 general election.</s>South Africa's rand plunged five percent Friday after President Jacob Zuma sacked his finance minister and made ten new cabinet appointments in a dramatic reshuffle that has fuelled fears of a split in the ruling African National Congress.

The decision to fire Pravin Gordhan rocked investors, who had come to view him as a trusted operator and safe pair of hands who had stressed his intention to intention to rein in spending, tackle graft and reduce the budget deficit.

Now there is a fear his removal could persuade investors and voters that once-booming South Africa is heading toward fiscal and political instability.

The rand dived to 13.4618 against the dollar in Asia on Friday, from 12.7933 before the news was confirmed, before recovering marginally.

The currency has been teetering since Monday, when Zuma ordered Gordhan back from a business trip to Britain, sparking speculation about his position after months of friction between the two.

Investors are now worried that Zuma, who has been tainted by corruption scandals, had secured a free hand over government finances.

Zuma has vowed to enact "radical economic transformation" to tackle racial inequality and poverty, while Gordhan has fought to control spending and root out corruption.

The president's cabinet overhaul -- including the removal of several top members -- has raised the prospect of a split in the ANC, which led the fight against apartheid and came to power under Nelson Mandela in 1994.

"Market reaction to the cabinet reshuffle and what looks to have been a clean sweep of the treasury top team is going to be a significant negative," Razia Khan, chief Africa economist at Standard Chartered Plc, told Bloomberg News.

"Given past volatility in the rand when a cabinet reshuffle was even suggested, the expectation is that the impact may be more pronounced now."

The rand is on track for its biggest weekly drop since the days after Zuma abruptly dismissed Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister in December 2015, according to Bloomberg News.

In other forex trading, the dollar held its ground after the US Commerce Department announced an upward revision of US economic growth by 0.2 points for the last three months of 2016, boosted by stronger personal spending.

The greenback was at 112.04 yen in Tokyo, from 111.86 yen in New York Thursday afternoon.</s>South Africa’s president fired his respected finance minister early Friday in an expected move that spooked investors this week and sent the currency tumbling.

 

 President Jacob Zuma’s replacement of Pravin Gordhan comes as part of a Cabinet shuffle that changes 10 of the country’s 35 ministers. “Holy wow. Midnight ministerial massacre in South Africa,” former U.S. Ambassador Patrick Gaspard tweeted.

 

 Pressure has been growing on Zuma to step down after he recalled Gordhan, who has a strong reputation as a bulwark against corruption, from a trade trip in London earlier this week. The recall caused South Africa’s rand to lose nearly 5 percent, another blow to Africa’s most industrialized economy that has stalled amid high unemployment.



 

 Many South Africans had viewed Gordhan as a responsible steward of an economy facing possible credit rating downgrades. Gordhan has been replaced by Malusi Gigaba, a former home affairs minister, a statement from the president’s office said.

Frustration with Zuma

 

 Frustration has been growing with Zuma after numerous allegations of corruption. South Africa’s two main opposition parties took aim at the president Thursday, with one appealing to the highest court to order impeachment proceedings and the other announcing it will launch a vote of no confidence.

On Wednesday, Gordhan inspired a standing ovation at the funeral of one of South Africa’s leading anti-apartheid activists as longtime leaders of the ruling African National Congress, the country’s former liberation movement, called for Zuma to step down. 

 

 Even allies of the ruling party had warned against replacing Gordhan. Deputy general-secretary Solly Mapaila of the South African Communist Party warned Thursday that the party’s seven Cabinet members would resign if Zuma fired the finance minister.

The scandal-ridden Zuma in November survived an attempt by senior party members to oust him as president. Earlier last year, South Africa’s highest court found that Zuma had violated his oath of office by refusing to abide by an order to pay back some of the millions of dollars in public money spent on upgrading his rural home. 

 

 Zuma also continues to face criticism over his acquittal for rape 10 years ago, with four young women holding up signs in protest in front of the president in August as he spoke on live television after the ANC’s worst municipal election showing since it took power in 1994.</s>After South Africa's President, Jacob Zuma reshuffled his cabinet, leading to the sack of his finance Minister, its currency, rand has dropped more than 5% overnightZuma fired his Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, alongside eight other ministers.Mr Gordhan was seen by many as a bulwark against corruption in an administration that is facing growing criticism.The president said in a statement that his midnight cabinet reshuffle was about a "radical socio-economic transformation".Malusi Gigaba, previously the Minister of Home Affairs, has replaced Mr Gordhan</s>JOHANNESBURG (AP) - South Africa's two main opposition parties took aim at President Jacob Zuma with one appealing to the highest court to order impeachment proceedings and the other announcing it will launch a vote of no confidence in the president.

The Economic Freedom Fighters party applied to the country's highest court to order parliament to begin impeachment proceedings against Zuma for lying to the legislative body.

Also on Thursday the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said it would launch a vote of no confidence in Zuma in parliament.

At the Constitutional Court, the EFF said it filed its case as "a last resort" after parliament, which is dominated by Zuma's ruling African National Congress (ANC), had failed in its duty to hold the president accountable, party leader Julius Malema said outside the court in Johannesburg.

"We came here to a lodge a complaint with the Constitutional Court, asking the Constitutional Court to direct parliament to institute disciplinary proceedings against the president of the Republic of South Africa who was found to have breached his oath of office by this highest court," Malema said.

He said that in parliament his party "tried everything within the rules. We followed every little detail to try and get parliament to discipline President Zuma for having breached his oath of office." But he said there had been no parliamentary action against Zuma.

Pressure has been growing on Zuma to step down after he recalled South Africa's finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, 67, from a trade trip in London. Zuma's abrupt order for Gordhan to cut short a long-planned trip prompted widespread speculation that the president intended to fire the finance minister.

Zuma's recall of Gordhan spooked investors and caused South Africa's rand to lose nearly 5 percent of its value against the dollar this week.

A senior member of the South African Communist Party, which is in an alliance with the ANC, said that Zuma told its leaders that he planned to fire Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas.

"The president informed us of his intention to effect a Cabinet reshuffle, replacing both minister and deputy of finance," SACP deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila said at a press conference in Johannesburg.

Mapaila said that if Zuma fires Gordhan the South African Communist Party's seven Cabinet members would resign from Zuma's Cabinet of 35 ministers.

On Wednesday former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe, 67, received a standing ovation from senior dozens of ANC members at the funeral of an anti-apartheid hero after repeating a call for Zuma to step down.

Mothlanthe, who served as South Africa's head of state for nine months in 2008 and 2009, read a letter by Ahmed Kathrada, who died this week at 87, pleading with the scandal-prone Zuma to put the country's interests before his own.

Zuma, 74, did not attend Kathrada's funeral in Johannesburg, saying earlier he would respect the family's request for him not to attend.

"In the face of such persistently widespread criticism, condemnation and demand, is it asking too much to express the hope that you will choose the correct way that is gaining momentum, to consider stepping down?" Motlanthe quoted from the letter.</s>South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has sacked country’s Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan after days of speculation that rocked the country’s markets and currency.Mr Gordhan will be replaced by Malusi Gigaba, said a statement issued late on Thursday by the president’s office.Earlier this week, the president recalled Mr Gordhan from planned events in the UK.Sfiso Buthelezi will become Deputy Finance Minister, replacing Mcebisi Jonas.President Zuma also made a number of other changes in the cabinet.“I have directed the new ministers and deputy ministers to work tirelessly with their colleagues to bring about radical socioeconomic transformation and to ensure that the promise of a better life for the poor and the working class becomes a reality,” President Zuma’s statement said.Last October, Mr Gordhan was charged with fraud, but the charges were later dropped.He has described the allegations as politically motivated.Mr Gordhan has been seen as standing up to President Zuma in cabinet and has warned against corruption becoming rampant.The South African Communist Party, an ally of the governing African National Congress, had earlier lodged a formal objection to plans to dismiss Mr Gordhan, who is widely respected internationally.Many senior ANC figures also opposed the finance minister’s removal.Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s main opposition party, said it would call a vote of no-confidence in President Zuma in parliament.Mr Gordhan’s recall from the UK caused South Africa’s rand to lose nearly 5% of its value against major currencies earlier this week.Pressure has been growing on Zuma to step down amid numerous allegations of corruption.He denies the claims.</s>High-profile politics in South Africa has slammed the country's currency.

The rand plunged nearly 4% against the dollar after President Jacob Zuma ousted his experienced finance minister, Pravin Gordhan.

Zuma announced in a statement late Thursday that he was replacing Gordhan and a slew of other top ministers.

Investors were already fretting about Gordhan's job security after Zuma on Monday ordered him to cancel a series of meetings with foreign investors and return home. That move also hit the rand, which is now down about 8% since the start of the week.

Gordhan has built a reputation as a steady hand who expertly guided South Africa's economy and promoted its business interests. He first served as finance minister between 2009 and 2014, and returned to the job in December 2015, much to the relief of international investors.

Zuma brought him back in after sacking two other finance ministers in December 2015, a period of turmoil that hammered South Africa's markets and currency.

-- Eleni Giokos and David McKenzie contributed to this report.</s>South Africa's president has fired his respected finance minister in an expected move that has spooked investors and sent the currency tumbling.

President Jacob Zuma's replacement of Pravin Gordhan on Friday comes as part of a cabinet shuffle that changes 10 of the country's 35 ministers.

"Holy wow. Midnight ministerial massacre in South Africa," former US ambassador Patrick Gaspard tweeted.

The new ministers will be sworn in later Friday.

Pressure has been growing on Zuma to step down after he recalled Gordhan, who has a strong reputation as a bulwark against corruption, from a trade trip to London earlier this week.

The recall caused South Africa's rand to lose nearly 5%, another blow to Africa's most industrialised economy that grew just 0.5% last year.

Many South Africans had viewed Gordhan as a responsible steward of an economy facing possible credit rating downgrades.

Gordhan has been replaced by Malusi Gigaba, a former home affairs minister, a statement from the president's office said.

The Cabinet shuffle comes as the calls for Zuma to step down grow.

"Zuma has bowed to the whims of those who determined to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor & jobless," the country's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, tweeted after the announcement.

The party on Thursday said it would launch a vote of no confidence in Zuma in parliament.

Frustration has been growing with Zuma after numerous allegations of corruption.

South Africa's two main opposition parties took aim at the president on Thursday, with one appealing to the highest court to order impeachment proceedings and the other announcing it will launch a vote of no confidence.

On Wednesday, Gordhan inspired a standing ovation at the funeral of one of South Africa's leading anti-apartheid activists, as longtime leaders of the ruling African National Congress, the country's former liberation movement, called for Zuma to step down.

The outcry by funeral-goers, including the ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela Mandela, further exposed the ruling party's divide.

The new Cabinet changes are "to improve efficiency and effectiveness," the statement from Zuma's office said.

But even allies of the ruling party had warned against replacing Gordhan.

Deputy general-secretary Solly Mapaila of the South African Communist Party, which is in an alliance with the ANC, warned Thursday that the party's seven Cabinet members would resign if Zuma fired the finance minister.

Also Thursday, the Economic Freedom Fighters opposition party applied to the country's highest court to order parliament to begin impeachment proceedings against the president for lying to the legislative body.

The scandal-ridden Zuma in November survived an attempt by senior party members to oust him as president.

Earlier last year, South Africa's highest court found that Zuma had violated his oath of office by refusing to abide by an order to pay back some of the millions in public money spent on upgrading his rural home.</s>Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Peterson, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, Public Service and Administration Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi and Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom have all been axed.

NATIONAL NEWS - President Jacob Zuma says he has decided to reshuffle his Cabinet in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness.The Presidency released a statement in the early hours of Friday morning announcing the adjustments affecting 20 people.Zuma says the changes bring some younger Members of Parliament and women into the national executive to benefit from their energy and experience.On Thursday, the president called a meeting with the African National Congress (ANC)’s top six in the capital amidst speculations that he could be changing his Cabinet.
President of South Africa Jacob Zuma fires finance minister Pravin Gordhan amid a major cabinet reshuffle. The South African rand plunges.