JOHANNESBURG, March 7 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand
weakened early on Tuesday after President Cyril Ramaphosa
appointed a new electricity minister to try to solve the
country's worst power cuts on record, and added other allies to
the cabinet ahead of elections next year.
At 0705 GMT, the rand traded at 18.2800 against the
dollar, 0.11% weaker than its previous close.
ETM Analytics had forecast markets would not respond
positively to the reshuffle, saying in a note "it offers no
fresh strategy to deal with any of the crises South Africa is
currently facing".
Cabinet changes had been widely expected since Ramaphosa was
re-elected leader of the governing African National Congress
(ANC) at a party leadership contest in December, paving the way
for him to run for a second term in 2024.
In a televised address to the nation, Ramaphosa said he had
chosen Kgosientsho Ramokgopa for the newly created role of
electricity minister and appointed the ANC's No. 2 official,
Paul Mashatile, as deputy president.
Later in the session, the focus will be on South Africa's
fourth-quarter gross domestic product figures, which are due at
0930 GMT.
Analysts polled by Reuters expect a quarter-on-quarter
contraction of 0.4% and a year-on-year expansion of 2.2%, a
decrease from the previous quarter's figures.
The government's benchmark 2030 bond was slightly
weaker in early deals, with the yield up 1.5 basis points to
10.130%.
(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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