NEW SOUTH AFRICAN LEADER VOWS FIGHT VS CORRUPTION
CAPE TOWN— Cyril Ramaphosa, one of South Africa’s wealthiest men, was named South Africa’s president Thursday and immediately vowed to fight corruption in a direct reference to accusations levelled at his predecessor Jacob Zuma.
Tainted by scandal, Zuma resigned on Wednesday following intense pressure from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) that he had dominated for nine years.
‘State capture’
“Issues to do with corruption, issues of how we can straighten out our state-owned enterprises and how we deal with ‘state capture’ are issues that are on our radar,” Ramaphosa told lawmakers in parliament.
“State capture” refers to the alleged corruption of government institutions and stateowned businesses by Zuma’s associates.
“Tomorrow we will also have an opportunity to outline some of the steps we are going to be taking,” he said.
No confidence
Ramaphosa, estimated to be worth about $450 million, will deliver his first State of the Nation address to parliament in Cape Town on Friday evening.
After multiple corruption scandals, economic slowdown and falling popularity among voters, the ANC forced Zuma to resign or face a no-confidence vote in parliament.
Fighting prosecution
Hours before his resignation, Zuma said he had received “very unfair” treatment from the ANC, which he joined in 1959 and where he spent decades fighting apartheid.
Zuma, 75, has been locked in a divisive power struggle with Ramaphosa, his deputy who won control of the ANC in December.
One case against him relates to 783 payments he allegedly received linked to an arms deal before he came to power.
Other graft allegations have centered on the three Gupta brothers, who are accused of unfairly obtaining government contracts and even handpicking Zuma’s ministerial appointments.
Tricky elections
Zuma had been scheduled to stand down next year after serving the maximum of two terms.
In local polls in 2016, the ANC recorded its worst electoral result since coming to power in 1994 under Mandela.
Ramaphosa, 65, must now work to revive the economy and crack down on corruption if he is to repair the party’s tarnished reputation before a tricky general election next year.