South Africa may soon have yet another Finance Minister - A developing story.

SOUTH AFRICA - In Brief 08 Oct 2018 by Iraj Abedian

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Speculations are ripe that Minister Nene may soon be out of his job. This emerged following his testimony to the Zondo Commission of Inquiry - alternatively known as the State Capture Commission. On Friday, Minister Nene disclosed his meetings with the Gupta brothers, visiting their business premises and their homes too, and shed light on an aborted business venture between his son and the Gupta’s. This was somewhat contradictory to his earlier assertion that he had not had any unofficial dealings with the Gupta's. Ironically, Mr Nene's sacking back in Dec 2015 cost the country billions of rand, and led to massive financial market volatility. Even since he has been regarded as 'clean', and his reappointment to the portfolio earlier this year was seen as a means of restoring credibility to the National Treasury. Since December 2015, South Africa has had four different ministers of finance, one holding office for as short a period as 48 hours! As a result, the National Treasury has lost much of its credibility and well-established stability. Over the past 48 hours the pressure on Mr Nene has been mounting. He has asked the President to make a call, but has not submitted his resignation- at least not at the time of writing this report. Curiously, in his testimony to the Commission, he confirmed that some of his colleagues who are in the Cabinet at present are implicated in wrong doing- some may even be found deeply involved in extraction of fiscal resources. Whereas Minister Nene was accredited for having stopped the notorious nuclear deal with Russia, his engagements with the Gupta's have raised the ire of the nation. At the heart of it all lies the question of trust and...