May 11 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s rand weakened against the dollar by the most in two weeks after President Jacob Zuma replaced Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, who oversaw 10 years of economic expansion through 2008, and on concern economic growth will slow.

The rand slid 2.4 percent to 8.47 per dollar as of 4:16 p.m. in Johannesburg. Even so, the currency traded within 10 cents of a seven-month high of 8.2521 reached May 6.

Zuma appointed tax chief Pravin Gordhan, who tripled tax collection in a decade, to head the Finance Ministry while Manuel will lead a new “all-encompassing” planning commission.

“There may be some investors who are unsure about the new appointments,” said Roderick Ngotho, a currency strategist at UBS AG in London. UBS recommends selling the rand against the dollar, euro and Brazilian real “on fundamental reasons rather than political reasons” because “the economic outlook in South Africa is still weak,” he said.

A report tomorrow may show manufacturing, which accounts for 16 percent of South Africa’s economy, fell for a sixth consecutive month in March as the global recession curbed demand for vehicles and commodity exports.

Government bonds were little changed, with the yield on the 13.5 percent security due September 2015 at 8.08 percent. Yields move inversely to bond prices.

“Part of the success of the last 10 years has been what Gordhan has done on the tax side,” said Craig Pheiffer, a general manager in Johannesburg at Absa Asset Management Private Clients. “As a team Manuel and Gordhan have done well.”

The appointments are “encouraging” and ease concerns that a Zuma-led government will alter economic policy, Standard & Poor’s director of African sovereign ratings Konrad Reuss said yesterday. S&P in November cut the outlook on South Africa’s BBB+ credit rating to “negative” from “stable” as economic growth slowed.

To contact the reporters on this story: Janice Kew in Johannesburg at jkew1@bloomberg.net; Garth Theunissen in Johannesburg gtheunissen@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 11, 2009 10:18 EDT