JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — South Africa's new president named his Cabinet on Sunday, moving the widely respected finance minister to a new position that will still give him a role steering the economy on a course intended to reassure international investors.
The decision to shift Trevor Manuel, who had become the emblem of South Africa's impressive economic performance over the last 13 years, was a delicate matter for President Jacob Zuma. Rumors last year that Manuel had resigned caused the nation's currency, the rand, to tumble.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 1 inches; 50 words Type of Material: Correction
South Africa: An article in Monday's Section A on the naming of South Africa's new Cabinet said that Barbara Hogan angered colleagues in the ruling African National Congress party by criticizing a decision not to deny a visa to the Dalai Lama. She criticized a decision to deny the visa.
But Zuma appointed Manuel to a potentially more powerful job, putting him in charge of strategic government planning and coordination of ministries.
"Comrade Trevor Manuel has been given a new structure, a very powerful structure that is going to work out a national plan of government," Zuma told reporters Sunday.
The market's main fear was that Zuma might appoint a leftist ally to the finance post as payback for support of his presidential bid. But Zuma named Pravin Gordhan, who as head of the tax service turned the department around, bringing in millions of rand in increased tax revenue.
Zuma said he expected the international markets to welcome the appointments. But he added: "Who can predict the markets?"
News of Manuel's shift to planning had been strategically leaked to newspapers in recent days to avoid a sudden economic shock.
"Investors will breathe a sigh of relief and say it looks like he intends to keep macro-economic policies on the same track," said Alec Russell, author of "Bring Me My Machine Gun," an analysis of the power struggles in the ruling African National Congress, or ANC, which helped bring Zuma to power.
"It says, 'I'm not a scary populist who's going to send policy sharply to the left,' " Russell said. "It says, 'I listen to business and I'm aware of their concerns.' "
"He got it right on the economic cluster of ministries," analyst William Gumede said. "It does say clearly that he wants to get the economy right. That's where his priorities are."
Gumede said Manuel would be the most powerful person in government after Zuma and Kgalema Motlanthe, his deputy president. Motlanthe held the presidency briefly after Zuma's supporters in the ANC toppled former President Thabo Mbeki in September.
Zuma said he wanted to see a major improvement in the delivery of services in the next five years. "We reiterate that we will not tolerate laziness and incompetence and that we will emphasize excellence and achievement," he said.
