Rand weakens past R15/$ as market waits for announcement on Nhlanhla Nene
The rand weakened beyond R15 against the dollar for the first time in three weeks as speculation that President Cyril Ramaphosa will replace Nhlanhla Nene as his finance minister intensified.
Ramaphosa has held discussions with Nene since his testimony at the state capture inquiry and will make an announcement “shortly”, his spokesperson, Khusela Diko, said early on Tuesday afternoon
Bloomberg reported earlier that former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas had declined an offer to replace Nene, citing three anonymous sources.
Ramaphosa is facing pressure to fire Nene, after it emerged he had misrepresented his prior interactions with the controversial Gupta family.
At an event in Cape Town earlier on Tuesday, however, Ramaphosa deflected questions on the issue, saying he was “hard of hearing”.
At 1pm the rand was 0.83% weaker against the dollar at R14.9767, having earlier reached a low of R15.0886.
Source: businesslive.co.za
