ANC looks to Motlanthe to lead SA

The deputy leader of the African National Congress (ANC), Kgalema Motlanthe, will be appointed as the country's president after the resignation of Thabo Mbeki, party sources said on Monday. Motlanthe, who already sits in the Cabinet, was named to take over from Mbeki until elections due in about April next year during a meeting of the ANC's parliamentary caucus, ANC members of parliament told Reuters on condition of anonymity.Humble speechMbeki handed his resignation letter to the speaker of Parliament on Sunday, and in an unusually humble speech broadcast on the South African Broadcasting Corporation, said he had decided to quit out of loyalty to the party that is rejecting him."I have been a loyal member of the African National Congress for 52 years. I remain a member of the ANC and therefore respect its decisions. It is for this reason that I've taken the decision to resign as president of the republic," he said.But Mbeki "categorically" denied the central accusation against him that was the immediate cause of his forced resignation.ANC leaders moved against the president after prosecutors said they would appeal against a high court decision that threw out corruption charges against Zuma, and accused Mbeki and his officials of abusing the courts as part of the power struggle over control of the party.The president said he and his Cabinet had not interfered in decisions as to who to prosecute. "This applies equally to the painful matter relating to the court proceedings against the president of the ANC, comrade Jacob Zuma," he said. Unprecedented turmoilThe uncertainties inherent in Mbeki's departure from office need to be managed "extremely carefully" and the effect on South Africa's consolidating democracy must be not underestimated, the Helen Suzman Foundation said."These events happen to unfold at a dramatic time in global financial markets where there is unprecedented turmoil and a shying away from emerging market economies," it said on
South Africa, as a key emerging market, could hardly afford "self-inflicted uncertainties" about economic policy or who would be responsible for developing it.A clear effort must be made to rebuild and not simply replace one office incumbent with another for political expediency, it continued."Whilst it is the ruling party's prerogative to alter its leadership, it must not do so with scant regard for the impact of its actions on increasing the uncertainty profile of the country for investors, both domestic and foreign and existing and prospective alike." -- Reuters, Sapa

Artigo retirado do: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-09-22-anc-looks-to-motlanthe-lead-sa