Enoch Godongwana and David Masondo return to the finance ministry. Financial markets and investors will probably sigh in relief as it means continuity in fiscal prudence and economic structural reforms.

Listen to this article 7 min Listen to this article 7 min In the economic cluster of the Cabinet, President Cyril Ramaphosa took the approach of continuity in appointing ministers, with some old names making a comeback in the seventh administration.

Arguably, financial markets and investors are likely to be happy about the reappointment of Enoch Godongwana as finance minister and David Masondo as his deputy.

Under the previous administration, the pair had begun work to stabilise public finances by cutting government spending, stabilising smothering debt that stands at R5.5-trillion and weaning state-owned enterprises such as Eskom and Transnet off more taxpayer-funded bailouts.

Godongwana and Masondo have also pressed ahead with structural economic reforms aimed at changing the fabric of the economy by implementing a few pro-growth and investment reforms. These reforms also promote the private sector's participation in key sectors of the economy such as energy and logistics.

In a recent interview with Daily Maverick, Masondo said he was optimistic about policy continuation under a government of national unity (GNU). He didn't expect there would be a gridlock in policy implementation, constant infighting, reversal of recently achieved milestones in energy and logistics sectors, and regression in service delivery.

After...