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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa won the game in a power struggle in the nation’s deeply divided ruling party after surviving an attempt to force him out of office, opening the way for him to reform his cabinet.
The expulsion attempt was made during a three-day meeting of top leaders of the African National Congress that ended on Sunday, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ramaphosa offered to appear before the ANC’s integrity committee to address accusations by his detractors that he paid bribes to win the party’s leadership, the people said. The proposal that he be forced to resign did not gain traction, they said.
The outcome of the online meeting showed that Ramaphosa’s enemies were not as united or powerful as they might have thought and leaves him “in a stronger position as leader of the party and the country,” Joanmariae Fubbs, veteran ANC member and former legislator said by phone from Johannesburg.
“This now means that Ramaphosa has room, and must act decisively, to deal with corrupt and errant members of his cabinet.”
The rand fell 0.5% to R16.67 per dollar at 10:51 am in Johannesburg, leading emerging market declines against the dollar. Yields on the 10-year bonds fell two basis points to 9.3%.
The South African government has been slow to carry out the reforms needed to revive an economy that was mired in recession before the coronavirus outbreak and that the Treasury and central bank expect to contract more than 7% this year.
Ramaphosa’s efforts to stop corruption have been undermined by a faction of the ANC that loosely rallied around Ace Magashule, the party’s general secretary and a close ally of former president Jacob Zuma.
‘Short fall’
Ramaphosa is considering making changes to his government as he looks for ways to revive South Africa’s stagnant economy and help boost investor confidence in his administration, people familiar with the deliberations said on Saturday. No decisions have been made, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
The president has not discussed the possible changes with the other five senior ANC officials, as is customary, one person said.
“In several areas, the state is not meeting expectations,” Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter on Monday. He called for politicians to stay away from administrative matters, for public officials to be allowed to do their jobs without undue political interference and for appointments to be made on merit.
Presidential spokesman Tyrone Seale on Saturday forwarded a request for comment to ANC spokesman Pule Mabe, who asked that questions be sent via text messages, to which he did not respond. The ANC is scheduled to hold a press conference on the outcome of its meeting later on Monday.
Amid speculation about cabinet changes, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Sunday denied rumors that he has resigned.
There is a malicious rumor that I have resigned! It’s false. I am firmly here as Minister of Finance. We have work to do. So much to do: fix our economy! There is no time for pettiness. 👍🏿💪🏿
– Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) August 30, 2020
Ramaphosa is being pressured to act decisively against bribery, as the ANC’s reputation has taken a further blow from revelations that party officials and their families benefited from dubious contracts to supply the government with equipment and services. to fight the coronavirus.
Read: The real problem with government workers in South Africa: Ramaphosa
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