Kgalema Motlanthe vowed on Thursday to maintain pro-growth policies in South Africa as he became the continental powerhouse’s third post-apartheid president, after the dramatic ouster of Thabo Mbeki by his own party.
Motlanthe quickly sought to reassure the nation and the world that he would be a steady hand, after Mbeki’s resignation last weekend plunged the country into its worst political crisis since the end of apartheid in 1994.
The former union organizer and anti-apartheid activist, who won 269 of the 360 votes cast in a secret ballot in parliament, vowed to maintain economic policies that have brought sustained growth in Africa’s largest economy.
“We will not allow that the work of government be interrupted,” the 59-year-old said in his first speech to parliament, shortly after taking his oath of office.
“We will not allow the stability of our democratic order to be compromised. And we will not allow the confidence that our people have in the ability of the state to respond to their needs to be undermined,” he said.
In a key move aimed at reassuring the business world, Motlanthe decided to maintain respected Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, seen by investors as crucial to the nation’s economic growth.
Business Leadership South Africa — a group of the country’s top listed companies, foreign investors and public enterprises — welcomed the election, saying it was “confident that domestic and international investors should not be concerned about the direction and stability of the country.”
But Motlanthe is expected to have a short-lived presidency, guiding the country to elections in April, when African National Congress (ANC) party leader Jacob Zuma is tipped to take power.
The ruling ANC has taken pains to offer assurances that Motlanthe’s election will not provoke any major changes in government, and his Cabinet line-up maintained other key figures in critical posts.
The new president also kept the ministers for foreign affairs, trade and industry and education in their posts.
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