ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

Here we go again. This time the Finance Minister, Nhlanhla Nene, has been given his marching orders. By all accounts, his firing was not predicated because of incompetence, but rather on expressing his deep concerns about the burgeoning deficit, rampant public spending and opposition to the nuclear deal. He was simply doing his job - an anathema to President Zuma. Then there is Nene's feud with SAA's Dudu Myeni, a close confidante of the president. Who knows what role that played in Nene's firing? Capital markets have already adversely reacted to Nene's departure, and the rot will continue. The newly appointed finance minister is largely unknown. The country does not need an inexperienced parliamentary backbencher at this fateful time, but rather divine intervention.