South Africa’s Rand depreciates after poll showing Zuma’s political return

A Bloomberg report on a poll showing a drop in ANC popularity ahead of the upcoming elections was enough to plunge South Africa’s currency, the Rand.

The poll revealed that corruption-plagued ANC will face its first-ever electoral test since apartheid due to a surge in support for former president Jacob Zuma and his uMkhonto Wesizwe party.

The news shows market sensitivity to political instability in South Africa, once Africa’s largest economy.

Policies pursued under Zuma’s tenure were devastating for the South African economy and the currency.

“One thing markets and investors intensely dislike is uncertainty, and the news around Zuma and his party this week has wrapped South Africa’s political outlook in a cloud of unpredictability,” the Daily Maverick reported.

Investors fear a return of Zuma to power would be fraught with violence and radical economic policies.