S. Africa: More cash to blacks

SOUTH AFRICA’S new finance minister signaled on Saturday he would oversee a redistribution of wealth to the country’s black majority, as a row over the sacking of his predecessor laid bare bitter divisions within the ruling ANC party.

Saying the country was poised at a “polarized and contentious” moment, Malusi Gigaba promised to transform the economy while keeping the public accounts balanced.

“The ownership of wealth and assets remains concentrated in the hands of a small part of the population. This must change,” he said at a televised news conference.

His predecessor Pravin Gordhan, respected by international investors and dismissed on Friday after months of internecine sparring with President Jacob Zuma, meanwhile urged action against what he called a growing “streak of authoritarianism” in domestic politics.

Gordhan spoke at a memorial service for veteran anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada where the crowd, which included many ANC supporters, chanted for Zuma’s removal.

African National Congress administrations that have governed without interruption since Nelson Mandela became president in 1994 have promised to spread prosperity. Progress has been made including building 4.5 million housing units for the poor and establishing a broad-based social welfare system.

But South Africa remains one of the world’s most unequal societies, riven by glaring income disparities, an official jobless rate of 26.5 percent, and widespread poverty. The economy is barely growing and inflation threatens to reignite.