When South African President Jacob Zuma fired well-respected Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene and replaced him Thursday with a relative unknown MP David van Rooyen, the rand dropped to 16-to-$1 in an economy already troubled by a credit ratings downgrade.

Zuma corrected himself. By Sunday, van Rooyen was out and former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was back in the job he held from 2009 to 2014, ABCNews reported.

On Monday, Gordhan reassured the country that the economy will be steadied.

“I represent the new scenario,” he said. The markets responded well to a familiar face. Zuma said he listened to the people, ABC reported.

Van Rooyen, who was finance minister for four days, now occupies the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs position vacated by Gordhan, BusinessDayLive  reported.

Turmoil in Africa’s second largest economy underscores political maneuvering over a planned nuclear deal and alleged financial mismanagement at the struggling South African Airways.

Earlier in December, ratings agency Fitch downgraded South Africa to “BBB-“. Standard & Poor’s maintained South Africa’s “BBB-” foreign currency credit rating, but revised the outlook to negative, ABC reported. The country narrowly missed entering a recession with less than 1 percent growth, said Statistics South Africa.

Zuma’s timing, leadership and judgement in firing Nene drew criticism from opposition parties, the finance sector and citizens on social media.

Many speculated that he fired Nene for refusing to approve the purchase of new Airbus jets in a controversial deal through a third party. The airline’s chairwoman, Dudu Myeni, is a close ally of Zuma.

There was also talk that Nene was fired because he refused to approve a Russian nuclear deal worth tens of billions of dollars, South African media reported.

On Monday, BusinessDay newspaper reported that the Cabinet approved a deal for the proposed nuclear power program on the day Nene was fired. The South African government has denied the report.

One analyst says the uncertainty of the last days is a political plus for South Africa.

Pravin Gordhan said he’s ready for the challenge, BusinessDayLive reported. Uniting all South Africans behind a common goal  is his priority, and he’ll work hard to “stabilize the situation” as soon as possible, he said.

In a Monday press conference, he reassure the country and nervous investors, promising “sound fiscal management,” Mail&Guardian reported.

Zuma’s unexpected announcement sent the rand surging nearly 5 percent Sunday evening, with added gains Monday, strengthening another 4 percent to trade at 15.1561 rand to the dollar, BusinessDayLive reported.

Bonds also responded positively, with the benchmark 186-rand bid at 9.3 percent from a close of 10.4 percent on Friday.

Backlash over Nene’s removal and van Rooyen’s appointment was swift and brutal, with markets panicking, BusinessDayLive reported. The rand plummeted to record lows.

Zuma met with the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the South African Communist Party, bank CEOs and ANC officials Friday and through the weekend.

Some National Executive Committee members had called for an emergency meeting. The committee has the authority to recall a president, as it did with Thabo Mbeki in 2008.

“I have received many representations to reconsider my decision. As a democratic government, we emphasize the importance of listening to the people and to respond to their views,” Zuma said in a statement.

Gordhan’s reappointment as finance minister is a demonstration of a responsive and accountable government, the ANC said Monday.

The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) parties felt differently.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane said Zuma the criticism Zuma got “both inside and outside the ANC shows that he is a president who has lost internal control of his party and who no longer enjoys public support.

“We trust Gordhan will continue to hold the line of former Nene in respect of SAA (South African Airways) and the nuclear build procurement deal,” Maimane said.

Gordhan said he would consider either cutting spending or changing tax policy, Mail&Guardian reported, but not at the expense of the poor. He said the government would take steps to tackle corruption and curb public-service spending.

“As a government we will not cut poor-pro programs,” he said. “We will seek to increase investment by the 2017 budget.”

Gordhan said the state of state-owned entities was one of the risks to the financial stability of the country.

The DA leader did not call for Zuma’s removal but asked voters to vote for change at the polls next year in municipal elections.

“Nobody knows what is going to happen after another five days,” said Dennis Bloem, spokesman for Congress of The People.