Protests in S.Africa as economic woes mount

Thousands of protesters marched through South African cities on Friday demanding President Jacob Zuma’s resignation, as a second ratings agency downgraded the country’s debt to junk status.

Zuma’s sacking of respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan last week has fanned public anger, divisions within the ruling ANC party and a sharp decline in investor confidence in the country.

“Recent political events, including a major cabinet reshuffle, will weaken standards of governance and public finances,” the Fitch ratings agency predicted as it announced the downgrade.

The Standard & Poor’s agency had also downgraded South African sovereign debt to junk status after Zuma made the dramatic move to change 10 ministerial positions. Zuma, who came to power in 2009, has been battered by a series of corruption scandals during his time in office, while the country has suffered record unemployment, slowing growth and stubborn racial inequality.

His removal of Gordhan unleashed a fresh bout of criticism, as many ordinary South Africans and international investors saw the former minister as a bulwark against corruption.

Large crowds gathered at rallies in the capital Pretoria, the economic hub Johannesburg and coastal cities of Durban and Cape Town.

Several thousand people attended the Johannesburg protest organized by the opposition Democratic Alliance party.