Zuma orders finance minister home from foreign trip

South African president Jacob Zuma on Monday ordered Pravin Gordhan, his finance minister, to return immediately home from an investor roadshow to London and New York, fuelling speculation he is planning a cabinet reshuffle.

The dramatic cancellation of the week-long trip reignited concerns over a long-running power struggle between Zuma and Gordhan over control of the Treasury that has divided the ruling African National Congress and brought policymaking to a standstill.

The rand, which has been the world’s strongest performing currency this year, fell 2 per cent against the dollar after the announcement.

In a statement,  Zuma’s office said the president had instructed  Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, “to cancel the international investment promotion roadshow to the United Kingdom and the United States and return to South Africa immediately”.

No reason was given for the decision by the presidency, which had previously given Mr Gordhan’s team authorisation to travel to meet investors and rating agencies.

“This is quite the shock way of doing things,” said Peter Attard Montalto, a Nomura analyst, adding that the recall “could be a test of the water [by Zuma] to undertake a reshuffle.” Gordhan left South Africa on Sunday and was meeting investors in the UK on Monday. The roadshow was intended to reassure investors who have remained nervous about threats to the Treasury’s independence since Zuma fired Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister in December 2015, briefly replacing him with a little-known backbencher.

Gordhan, who previously served as finance minister between 2009 and 2014, was reappointed to the Treasury’s top post in the wake of the debacle, a move that helped stem a sell-off in the rand and South Africa’s equity markets. But Gordhan has been at loggerheads with Zuma and his allies for the past year, particularly over the Treasury’s efforts to crackdown on cronyism and improve the management of lossmaking state-owned enterprises.