South Africa ( Africa News ) South Africa’s rand reportedly weakened early on Tuesday after President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed a new electricity minister tasked to solve the country’s worst power cuts on record.
At 0705 GMT, the rand traded at 18.2800 against the dollar, 0.11% weaker than its previous close, Reuters reported.
ETM Analytics had forecast markets would not respond positively to the reshuffle, saying in a note “it offers no fresh strategy to deal with any of the crises South Africa is currently facing”.
In a televised address to the nation, Ramaphosa said he had chosen Kgosientsho Ramokgopa for the newly created role of electricity minister and appointed the ANC’s No. 2 official, Paul Mashatile, as deputy president.
Later in the session, the focus will be on South Africa’s fourth-quarter gross domestic product figures, which are due at 0930 GMT.
Analysts polled by Reuters expect a quarter-on-quarter contraction of 0.4% and a year-on-year expansion of 2.2%, a decrease from the previous quarter’s figures.
