Traditionally an ally to Zuma's African National Congress party, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said it no longer trusted Zuma's leadership.
President Jacob Zuma consulted ANC top brass as far back as November previous year about the decision to fire former finance minister Pravin Gordhan‚ deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte revealed on Wednesday.
Zuma himself, in his first public comments since he dismissed Gordhan, said that fiscal policies would be unchanged and that people should remain calm.
The former deputy finance minister served as the right hand to Pravin Gordhan, who was also fired from his position as finance minister.
S&P said the cut to below investment grade reflected "heightened political and institutional uncertainties" following the purge of Gordhan and other critical ministers.
"We expect the changes to add renewed energy into the Cabinet and the executive as a whole", he said, referring to the Cabinet reshuffle, which he said had added "many young ministers".
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Zuma has survived calls to resign, at least for now.
Mantashe and deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa initially criticised the cabinet reshuffle‚ in particular the axing of Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas.
Moody's ratings agency too said it was placing its South Africa rating - two notches above "junk" status - on review for a downgrade, due to "the abrupt change in leadership of key government institutions".
Gordhan had campaigned for budget discipline and against corruption, but Zuma's allies have accused Gordhan of thwarting the president's desire to enact radical policies to tackle racial inequality. Zuma has also been criticized for the deference he has shown to the Gupta family, a wealthy Indian-South African family that is thought to be influential in government decisions.
The African National Congress won't vote against Zuma in a no-confidence motion in parliament that the main opposition parties have requested, Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe told a briefing Wednesday in Johannesburg after a meeting of the ANC's National Working Committee. A controversial Russian foray into nuclear power in South Africa has also been the target of media scrutiny and criticism. "A coalition of top business leaders, named the CEO Initiative, said in a statement: "[We are] gravely concerned and disappointed by the ill-timed and irrational dismissal [of Gordhan].
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