For a few precious weeks, South Africans could have been forgiven for believing that the country might, after seven years of despair under President Jacob Zuma, be about to turn the corner. The rand strengthened as commodity prices started to rise, a trend that was accentuated by Britain's exit from the EU as investors' appetite for ''riskier'' emerging-market assets returned.The positive sentiment was boosted further by the successful, indisputably free and fair, local government elections, which ushered in an era of coalition politics. Perhaps even more significant was the fact that the ANC readily conceded defeat in major metros, including the country's economic hub, Johannesburg.Democracy was seen to be alive and well and analysts even speculated that business-friendly economic reforms were in the offing, though concerns remained that the ANC might turn to more populist policies to shore up its waning support.Then came the hammer blow: reports came in yesterday that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan had been asked to report to the Hawks tomorrow and that he and four former SARS officials were to be charged in connection with a ''rogue unit'' set up at the revenue service in 2007 under his watch.Gordhan's office would only confirm that he had been contacted by the police and was taking legal advice, but the damage had been done and the rand started to slide again.What lies behind the Hawks' about-face? After all, when the unit was publicly hounding Gordhan during Budget week, and again later, when officials from global ratings agencies were in the country to review our sovereign credit rating, the Hawks insisted that the minister was not a suspect.The answer surely lies in a wounded Zuma's determination to replace Gordhan as finance minister, possibly with Eskom boss Brian Molefe, a proponent of a vast nuclear power deal on which Gordhan has put the brakes.Conveniently for Zuma, who has announced that he will personally oversee the strategies of all state-owned companies, Gordhan's removal would also give free rein to the president's close ally at cash-strapped SAA, Dudu Myeni...