Commenting on Zuma’s claims that the protests mounted against him were “racist” in nature, Newton said there was little reason to believe so as there were protesters of all colors calling on the leader to step down. Newton added, in his view, that this was “a true reflection of a rainbow nation.”
Looking ahead, Newton said Zuma was likely to appoint a like-minded successor as head of the ANC at its end-of-year conference, with his former wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma likely to be chosen as successor.
Amid the chaos in the South African government, with multiple finance ministers being replaced over the past three years, the country’s economy has struggled.
“The country has clearly been struggling economically for some considerable time. If you look at GDP growth it’s been very poor indeed and, certainly, that is even poorer if one puts it alongside the demographics of the country,” Newton said.
Echoing the comments of Michael Power, a strategist at Investec Asset Management who had spoken earlier with CNBC’s “Street Signs,” Newton recommended a wait-and-see approach for current and potential investors in South Africa.
“Things may pick up once Zuma is gone or once we know who his replacement is going to be because markets are very good at dealing with poor situations if they are stable situations,” Newton said.
He did, however, offer a silver lining for potential visitors to South Africa.
“With the Rand plummeting, South Africa becomes even more attractive to tourists,” Newton said, encouraging more people to consider visiting the country. “It’s pretty cheap going down there right now and it still has a wonderful, wonderful, tourist offering.”
