Trade union federation Cosatu says newly appointed Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba is not the right person for the job as he doesn’t have an economic background.

President Jacob Zuma axed Gigaba’s predecessor Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas late on Thursday‚ a move that has been criticised by some of the party’s top leadership.

Gordhan and Jonas’s removal formed part of a Cabinet reshuffle that caused shockwaves around the country.

“Gigaba is no economist. We need to bring more progressive economic thinkers in that institution so that they temper the hard-line neo-liberal position of the past. Gigaba is not going to formulate policy as a political head. He is going to provide political leadership to people who are in charge of analysing the global economic situation‚” said Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla.

“Look at the people who have been there at Treasury and look at how that institution transformed those people. They came in there as deployed members of the ANC‚ understanding what the ANC and the alliance partners were saying‚ but when they got to the institution‚ they were transformed into components of neo-liberalism themselves‚” he told TMG Digital on Monday.

Pamla said the federation’s leaders were not informed about the reshuffling of Zuma’s Cabinet‚ but learnt about it through the media as they were out of the country.

“No‚ they were not consulted‚ as far as I know. That is also something to reflect on‚ to say‚ ‘What does it mean?’ and allow them to deal with the issue without being really petty‚ but they have to sober as to what message does it send. Comrades have a platform to reflect without sulking‚” said Pamla.

Cosatu is expected hold a special central executive committee (CEC) meeting on Monday to discuss‚ among many issues‚ the implications of Zuma’s Cabinet reshuffle.

As a tripartite alliance member‚ Pamla said it would be unfair to pre-empt the outcomes of the meeting as members have different views on the matter.