Fernando Zavala, the Prime minister of Peru did an interview with Reuters on August 3rd 2016 at the government palace in Lima.
Reuters got information on Thursday from to two government officials that Peru Prime Minister Fernando Zavala will take over as the minister of finance and still keep his role as the head of centrist President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s cabinet.
Fernando Zavala was previously an executive at brewer SABMiller and worked in the ministry of Finance as the Minister in 2005 and 2006 during Kuczynski’s term as Prime Minister. According to the sources, who wished to remain anonymous since the announcement has not been officially made said Zavala will be inaugurated on Friday.
One of the sources stated that Fernando Zavala will be the Finance Minister on a temporary basis.
The reshuffling in the cabinet positions is due to the huge vote of no confidence with the current Minister of Finance Alfredo Thorne, which was made by the congress which is controlled by the opposition. The overwhelming vote was cast on Wednesday following the release of an audio recording where Alfredo was heard putting pressure on the comptroller to give a go ahead to a project that was controversial.
During the interview on Thursday, Kuczynski did not refute that Zavala could take over the Finance ministry from Thorne after a local press, E1 Comercio reported that this was one of the possibilities being considered.
According to a statement to reporters, Kuczynski said that there have been several prime ministers in the past who also simultaneously served as ministers in other dockets and therefore this appointment will not be the first one of its kind.
At 46 years, Fernando Zavala will have the responsibility of reviving the various investments that had collapsed in the world’s second largest producer of copper. His other responsibility will be to reduce the pressures of the relationship with the opposition side.
The 78 years old President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has been in the office for almost one year now. The former Wall Street banker has grand plans to boost growth of the economy by developing infrastructure and reduce tax rates. However, his plans have been derailed by a graft scandal in which a Brazilian builder Odebrecht was involved with the worst flooding case that has not been experienced in at least two decades.
