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Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s freshly-appointed president, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Friday hailed “a new dawn” as he pledged to tackle corruption that his predecessor Jacob Zuma is accused of fostering.
In his first major speech after Zuma’s bruising nine-year term ended, Ramaphosa outlined a grand vision to revive the stagnant economy, address dire unemployment and control spiralling government debt.
“We should put all the negativity that has dogged our country behind us because a new dawn is upon us and a wonderful dawn has arrived,” Ramaphosa told parliament in the annual State of the Nation address.
“Tough decisions have to be made to close our fiscal gap, stabilise our debt and restore our state-owned enterprises to health,” he said, adding “our most grave and most pressing challenge is youth unemployment.”
In his first full day in office, Ramaphosa was received with loud applause and cheers from many ANC lawmakers who were fiercely loyal to Zuma throughout his turbulent and often divisive presidency.
President Cyril Ramaphosa observing the 21-gun salute and South African Air Force fly-past ahead of the #SONA2018 pic.twitter.com/Yw8rodpJ44
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) February 16, 2018
Zuma was forced to resign on Wednesday after the African National Congress party finally turned against him, with pro-business reformist Ramaphosa sworn in as president only on Thursday.
After multiple corruption scandals, economic slowdown and falling popularity with voters, the ANC had threatened to oust Zuma via a no-confidence vote in parliament.
Zuma resigned reluctantly, complaining he had received “very unfair” treatment from the party.
– Many challenges –
Ramaphosa, 65, is a former trade unionist who led talks to end apartheid in the early 1990s and then became a multi-millionaire businessman before returning to politics.
Ahead of the speech, he told journalists he was “a little bit excited, expectant, a little apprehensive”.
Among the immediate challenges he faces are a gaping 50-billion-rand ($4.3-billion, 3.44-billion-euro) deficit, the threat of further credit ratings downgrades, and 26.7-percent unemployment.
“We will be initiating measures to set the country on a new path of growth, employment and transformation,” he said, giving few policy details.
“We have to build further on the collaboration with business and labour to restore confidence and prevent an investment downgrade.”
Eurasia Group analyst Darias Jonker predicted that Ramaphosa would remove many Zuma loyalists from cabinet, but only after the budget speech on 21 February.
“(He) will also go after high-level corruption, particularly the Gupta family and their associates, which include members of the Zuma family. This campaign will greatly contribute towards restoring investor confidence,” Jonker said.
The Guptas are a business family from Indian who formed allegedly improper ties to Zuma. They are accused of receiving hugely favourable government deals and even influencing cabinet appointments.
Police on Thursday said an arrest warrant had been issued for one of the brothers, Ajay Gupta.
President Cyril Ramaphosa arriving at Parliament ahead of the 2018 State of the Nation Address. #SONA2018 pic.twitter.com/e4X2XIYWJI
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) February 16, 2018
– Markets boost –
The COSATU trade union federation, an ANC ally, called on Ramaphosa to cut the executive and crack down on government excess.
“Bling lifestyles of the political elite at the expense of the tax payer must be stopped,” it said.
The South African Communist Party (SACP), another ANC partner, said Ramaphosa must prioritise “dismantling of parasitic networks surrounding our state and decisively bringing an end to corporate capture of the state.”
The transition to Ramaphosa saw benchmark South African stocks score their biggest gains since June 2016 while the local rand currency reached its strongest level against the US dollar in three years.
In previous years, the radical opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party disrupted Zuma’s State of the Nation speech with its lawmakers walking out — or protesting and then being physically ejected from the chamber.
On Friday, though, the EFF remained in the chamber to listen to Ramaphosa’s speech.
Zuma appointed him deputy president in 2014.
State of the Nation Address by President of the Republic of South Africa by The Independent Magazine on Scribd
