South African President, Jacob Zuma, has replaced newly appointed Finance Minister David van Rooyen with the more experienced Pravin Gordhan in a surprise Sunday night announcement.
On Wednesday, the president sacked Nhlanhla Nene in a move that sent the rand to record lows and sparked a sell-off in bank shares, the BBC reports.
His replacement for less than a week, Mr. van Rooyen, is a little-known member of parliament.
The latest move sent the rand up almost five per cent on Sunday night.
Mr. Gordhan was widely respected when he served as South Africa's finance minister from 2009 until 2014.
However, Mohammed Nalla, head of research at Nedbank Capital, said having a finance minister serve just two days did not bode well for South Africa's reputation.
He said, "International investors are probably thinking: why didn't the president make a much more considered decision in the first place?"
The leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance party, Mmusi Maimane, said: "This is reckless by President Zuma – he is playing Russian roulette with the South African economy."
A statement from Mr. Zuma's office said he had "received many representations" to reconsider his decision to appoint Mr. van Rooyen.
"As a democratic government, we emphasise the importance of listening to the people and to respond to their views," it added.
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