Zuma fires Pravin Gordhan

President Jacob Zuma has finally fired Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

Malusi Gigaba has been appointed the new finance minister. His deputy will be ANC MP Sfiso Buthelezi.

The dismissal late on Thursday came after a meeting of the top six members of the ruling African National Congress at Zuma's private residence in Pretoria, the capital. It capped a dramatic week when Zuma ordered Gordhan on March 27 to cancel a series of meetings with investors in the UK and the US and return home. The president told the senior ANC members this week that intelligence reports suggested Gordhan was trying to undermine his authority.

His dismissal marked the end of a stormy relationship that began almost as soon as Zuma named Gordhan, 67, as finance minister in December 2015, four days after he triggered a sell-off in the rand by giving the post to a little-known lawmaker.

The rand has weakened sharply since Zuma started his Cabinet reshuffle to close at R13.28 in New York. By 11:15, in after hours trading the rand lost a further 0.45% to currently trade at R13.34 against the greenback on the news that Pravin Gordhan has been replaced by Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba.

There was speculation from the anti-Zuma media that he faces a rebellion within his own party if he fires Mr Gordhan, with about 12 ministers considering resigning their positions and then fighting for the president's removal, according to four people familiar with the situation.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and some deputy ministers may also resign, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn't public. The officials would keep their seats in parliament and possibly support or abstain from a vote of no confidence in the president if it's called by the opposition or by members of the African National Congress (ANC), they said.

It is yet to be seen if the unidentified ministers will indeed resign.