South Africa's stocks and currency reeled on the news that the architect of the country's economic success was resigning, but recovered somewhat after Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said he would serve in a new government.
A brief statement from the office of South African President Thabo Mbeki - who was forced to resign over the weekend amid an internal African National Congress power struggle - listed 13 ministers and three deputies who had tendered their resignations from the 28-member Cabinet, among them Manuel.
Tuesday's statement did not clarify that six of those who resigned, including Manuel, had already told the governing African National Congress (ANC) that they were willing to serve a new government, expected to be in place by the end of the week.
That important context came within an hour, from Manuel's spokeswoman, Thoraya Pandy.
She said that Manuel and his respected deputy, Jabulani Moleketi, "want to make it clear that they are ready to serve the new administration in any capacity that the incoming president deems fit."
Moleketi is in charge of finances for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa.
"They are and will continue to do the work they are doing," ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe told a hastily called news conference.
The Communist Party, of which Mantashe is also chairman, charged that "today's dramatic announcement by the presidency was a reckless attempt to provoke a sense of crisis locally and internationally and to attach the blame for this crisis" to the ANC's top decision-making body, which had forced Mbeki out.
The Communists and the Congress of South African Trade Unions are longtime key allies of the ANC and they had helped lead the charge against Mbeki.
Mbeki was forced to quit after a judge threw out a corruption case against his main rival within the ANC, Jacob Zuma. Zuma's path to the presidency seems clear, but he must wait until elections next year.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's all-share index dropped 4.5 percent after the announcement of Manuel's departure on Tuesday. Stocks recovered somewhat but still were down 3.75 percent at the end of trading.
The rand, which dropped more than 0.20 rand to 8.20 against the dollar, was at 8.18 rand at the end of the day.
Mbeki's resignation becomes effective today, when the ANC says its legislators will vote for the party's deputy president, the moderate and conciliatory Kgalema Motlanthe, to become interim president.
Motlanthe would be the caretaker until elections that must be held in April and that are sure to be won by the ANC, propelling ANC leader Zuma to the national presidency.
‘EYE FOR AN EYE’: Two of the men were shot by a male relative of the victims, whose families turned down the opportunity to offer them amnesty, the Supreme Court said Four men were yesterday publicly executed in Afghanistan, the Supreme Court said, the highest number of executions to be carried out in one day since the Taliban’s return to power. The executions in three separate provinces brought to 10 the number of men publicly put to death since 2021, according to an Agence France-Presse tally. Public executions were common during the Taliban’s first rule from 1996 to 2001, with most of them carried out publicly in sports stadiums. Two men were shot around six or seven times by a male relative of the victims in front of spectators in Qala-i-Naw, the center
Incumbent Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa on Sunday claimed a runaway victory in the nation’s presidential election, after voters endorsed the young leader’s “iron fist” approach to rampant cartel violence. With more than 90 percent of the votes counted, the National Election Council said Noboa had an unassailable 12-point lead over his leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez. Official results showed Noboa with 56 percent of the vote, against Gonzalez’s 44 percent — a far bigger winning margin than expected after a virtual tie in the first round. Speaking to jubilant supporters in his hometown of Olon, the 37-year-old president claimed a “historic victory.” “A huge hug
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is leaning into his banking background as his country fights a trade war with the US, but his financial ties have also made him a target for conspiracy theories. Incorporating tropes familiar to followers of the far-right QAnon movement, conspiratorial social media posts about the Liberal leader have surged ahead of the country’s April 28 election. Posts range from false claims he recited a “satanic chant” at a campaign event to artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images of him in a pool with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “He’s the ideal person to be targeted here, for sure, due to
DISPUTE: Beijing seeks global support against Trump’s tariffs, but many governments remain hesitant to align, including India, ASEAN countries and Australia China is reaching out to other nations as the US layers on more tariffs, in what appears to be an attempt by Beijing to form a united front to compel Washington to retreat. Days into the effort, it is meeting only partial success from countries unwilling to ally with the main target of US President Donald Trump’s trade war. Facing the cratering of global markets, Trump on Wednesday backed off his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, saying countries were lining up to negotiate more favorable conditions. China has refused to seek talks, saying the US was insincere and that it
RSS