By Vuyani Ndaba



JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2020/04/15/poor-wealth-forecasts-for-south-africa-due-to-covid-19-sa-wealth-report/">economy will contract sharply this year</a> as activity is hit by the coronavirus outbreak, despite expectations the <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/04/20/why-sarb-should-step-in-to-save-sa-companies-that-are-too-big-to-fail/">central bank</a> will cut interest rates again in May, a Reuters poll found on Monday.



The country is <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/04/20/covid-19-martin-kingston-on-how-to-flatten-sas-recession-curve/">already in recession</a>, with the economy expected to have contracted 1.9% last quarter and to shrink an unprecedented 23% this quarter, the poll showed.



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/04/14/sarb-cuts-rates-by-100-basis-points-to-record-low/">Another rate cut from the central bank</a> &#8211; which cut 100 basis points from borrowing costs on March 19 and then again on April 14 &#8211; is expected to help the finance ministry, which has already ramped up borrowing.



Economists now expect the economy to shrink 4.9% this year before recovering with 2.0% growth next year. Last month’s survey had suggested 0.3% and 1.2% expansions, respectively.



The forecasts showed huge levels of uncertainty due to a <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/coronavirus/2020/04/09/sa-extends-lockdown-by-two-weeks-until-end-april/">country-wide lockdown</a>. Even the most optimistic <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/04/20/african-billionaire-christo-wiese-on-covid-19-crisis-and-its-impact-on-sas-economy/">economist forecast</a> a contraction of 1.0%, while the most pessimistic predicted a 14.6% contraction.



Base effects may play a role next year, with the most optimistic economist forecasting growth of 5.1%, but some respondents said the lockdown would make it costly and difficult to bring the economy back to normality.



With consumers staying home and global oil prices falling sharply, inflation forecasts were also cut. Prices are now expected to rise 3.8% this year and 4.5% in 2021, compared with 4.2% and 4.6% in a March poll.



That would give the South Africa Reserve Bank room to ease policy.



Nine of 15 economists polled in the past week expected interest rates to be cut by 50 basis points to 3.75% in May, while three said the Bank would cut by 25 basis points. Two expected no move, and one pencilled in a 100 basis-point cut.



“Given the scale of the SARB’s forecast revisions and that of its surprise rate cut, there is little doubt now that its hawkish reservations to cut rates have been lifted,” said Francesca Beausang, economist at Continuum Economics.



On April 14 the central bank slashed its repo rate by 100 basis points to 4.25% in an unscheduled meeting, similar to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s emergency cuts last month, to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus.



“It seems as though it is keen to cut more than any emerging markets bank to make up for its previous reservations,” Beausang added.



Meanwhile, the balance sheet of the South African Reserve Bank looks more healthy and counter-cyclical in dealing with exogenous shocks than that of the National Treasury.



Economists answering an extra question said South Africa asking for an <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2020/04/14/imf-approves-immediate-debt-relief-for-25-countries-amid-covid-19-crisis/">International Monetary Fund</a> rapid financing facility without conditions or the SARB increasing its purchase of bonds on the secondary market would be most effective in mitigating the country’s funding crisis during the lockdown.



Other measures favoured included the SARB issuing coronavirus or disaster bonds targeted exclusively for the lockdown period or issuing more shorter-maturity bonds.



Capital Economics said the chances of South Africa turning to the IMF were rising.



“Finance Minister Tito Mboweni ruled out the possibility of any multilateral support that comes with conditions. But the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) or its new Short-Term Liquidity Line might fit the bill,” it said in a note.



The RFI provides rapid and low-access financial assistance to member countries facing an urgent balance of payments requirement, without the need to have a fully fledged programme in place.



Mboweni ruled out an IMF adjustment programme last week and said the country didn’t need budget support, despite acknowledging that there would be a deep recession this year because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.



Asking multilateral institutions, especially the IMF, for cash is deeply unpopular with a faction in the governing African National Congress and trade unions that the party uses to rally support before elections. The ANC and two allies warned Mboweni earlier this month against seeking IMF assistance.



(Additional polling by Khushboo Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Cable and Hugh Lawson)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN2221Z2-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN2221Z2-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.



For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a>

South African economy to shrink 4.9% in 2020, SARB to cut rates in May – Poll

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The ANC NEC gathered at Luthuli house earlier to discuss plans to deal with South Africa&#8217;s ailing economy based on a meeting they had over the weekend. The restructuring of state-owned enterprises, attacks on foreign nationals and gender-based violence was top priority. CNBC Africa’s Yolanda Mabanga filed this report.

ANC’s NEC outlines turnaround plans for SA’s ailing economy

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‘Feisty And Fearless Pioneers’ – that was the Forbes Africa August cover with Nonkululeko Gobodo and that now late Dr. Thandi Ndlovu. Tributes continue to stream in following the car accident that led to the passing of a former medical doctor, member of Umkhonto we Sizwe (ANC&#8217;s military wing), former President of the Black Business Council, &#038; Founder of Motheo Construction, Thandi Ndlovu. To reflect on the life and work of Dr. Thandi Ndlovu, Managing Partner of Brighton Wealth SubSaharan, Kunyalala Maphisa joins CNBC Africa for more.

‘An inspiration that stood the test of time’: A reflection on Dr. Thandi Ndlovu’s life

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Today the business community is mourning medical doctor and former soldier who became one of South Africa’s best known entrepreneurs. She was also on Forbes Africa&#8217;s August cover. Dr Thandi Ndlovu died in a car accident at the weekend that claimed four lives. Many called her Doctor T. She was a hard working person with a warm heart and grew up in the turmoil of the struggle. In 1976 her brother Hastings Ndlovu was killed in the Soweto uprising. That year she left South Africa to join Umkhonto we Sizwe the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC). She was also a member of the executive of the ANC Women’s Section in Lusaka, Zambia. To pay tribute, Rali Mampeule, CEO of South African Housing and Infrastructure Fund joins CNBC Africa for more.

Tributes flow in following the passing of Dr. Thandi Ndlovu

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Gwede Mantashe was also in the Vaal wearing his mining minister hat and had withering word for the mining companies of South Africa and their court challenge to the Mining Charter – the document that governs black ownership in the industry. CNBC Africa’s Lubabalo Mashiquana caught up with the minister.

Mantashe blasts SA’s mining companies for bully boy tactics

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Words flew when the chairman of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress hit the campaign trail last night in Evaton in the Vaal east of Johannesburg. The Vaal was hit by violent protests and a taxi strike a week ago today. Gwede Mantashe was there to talk to the people on the ground about one of the bones of contention – service delivery.

We are not buying votes with services: Mantashe

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It should have cost nearly a million dollars but it came for free. Africa’s oldest liberation movement hopes it will help win the hearts and minds of South Africans in the country’s May elections. We’re talking about a record produced for the ruling African National Congress that it hopes will put a glide in the stride of voters come May the 8th. Lubabalo Mashiqana was there last night with celebrities, politicians and sweet, sweet music.

SA Elections 2019: ANC launches its album, to win voters

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This is the 25th year that the African National Congress governed South Africa. It&#8217;s also a hundred and seven years since Africa&#8217;s oldest liberation movement was born. But 2019 is also an election year and no better time for the party to look at itself and figure out exactly where it&#8217;s going. For more CNBC Africa&#8217;s Karabo Letlhatlha spoke to Somadoda Fikeni, Political Analyst at UNISA.

ANC celebrates 107th birthday

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One of the leading lights of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has called on the press to leave the country’s finance minister alone. Speaking at the Luthuli House Party headquarters in downtown Johannesburg NEC member Fikile Mbalula made the statement as he was questioned whether the acceptance of finance minister Nhlanlha Nene’s resignation this week was decisive.

Fikile Mbalula on Nhlanlha Nene’s resignation, Zondo Commission

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; The ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Sunday labelled reports that top ANC officials, including former President Jacob Zuma and the party’s secretary-general, were plotting in secret to unseat Cyril Ramaphosa as party leader as “shameless gossip”.
The Sunday Times newspaper said earlier on Sunday that Zuma held a clandestine meeting with staunch backers including ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, former North-West premier Supra Mahumapelo, ANC Women’s league secretary-general Meokgo Matuba and ANC Youth league KwaZulu-Natal secretary Thanduxolo Sabelo on Thursday.
“The meeting is believed to have discussed a fightback strategy that involves court action to challenge the outcome of last year’s ANC national conference, which elected Ramaphosa party president,” Sunday Times said, citing witnesses and senior ANC leaders.
The paper said the first action from the group was a letter sent to Magashule on Wednesday from regional executive committees in the North West, challenging the ANC’s highest decision-making body for its decision to disband the Mahumapelo-led provincial executive committee.
In a statement, ANC spokesman Pule Mabe refuted the report, saying the ANC rejects attempts to link Magashule to the alleged plot to oust Ramaphosa.
“It is clear that this malicious gossip is calculated to cast aspersions on the integrity and commitment of our Secretary General to the unity and renewal project of the African National Congress,” Mabe said.
Ramaphosa narrowly defeated Zuma’s ex-wife and preferred successor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, in a leadership vote at the party’s national conference in December. The ANC then ordered Zuma to step down as president in February.
Since taking office, Ramaphosa has been prioritising rooting out corruption as he strives to put the sluggish economy back on a sustained growth trajectory. Such measures led to the forced resignation of Mahumapelo as North West leader.
As bold as some of Ramaphosa’s decisions have been, he still maintains a cautious leadership style as he and some ANC officials know the power that Zuma loyalists retain within the ANC, Africa’s oldest liberation movement.
The ANC Women’s League also rejected the report, saying in a statement it will “defend the unity and integrity of the ANC.”
Reporting by Nqobile Dludla, editing by David Evans

Are top ANC officials plotting to unseat South Africa’s Ramaphosa as party leader?

STATEMENT OF ANC PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA ON CONCLUSION OF ANC NEC LEKGOTLA
31 JULY 2018
Fellow South Africans
Comrades and Friends,
The African National Congress has just concluded a two-day NEC Lekgotla in Tshwane.
The Lekgotla focused on a number of issues, including the current status of our economy, job creation and land reform.
It further engaged on issues of governance, social development and broader transformation which will be elaborated on by the Secretary General tomorrow.
We thought that it was important for the President of the ANC to clearly and unambiguously articulate the position of the organisation on two matters that are critical to the economic development of our country and the well-being of its people.
The first is the implementation of of the ANC’s resolution on land reform.
The second is about the current   economic environment.
On land reform, the ANC applauds our people, from all walks of life – including the rural poor, farm labourers, the unemployed, the landless, urban residents, farmers and traditional leaders – for expressing their views on this critical matter.
Our people have been expressing their views on the land question openly and without any fear or favour.
They have been putting forward solutions on how the land question can be resolved.
This is the constitutional democracy that we fought for.
The ANC reaffirms its position that the Constitution is a mandate for radical transformation both of society and the economy.
A proper reading of the Constitution on the property clause enables the state to effect expropriation of land with just and equitable compensation and also expropriation without compensation in the public interest.
It has become patently clear that our people want the Constitution be more explicit about expropriation of land without compensation, as demonstrated in the public hearings.
There is also a growing body of opinion, by a number of South Africans, that the constitution as it stands does not impede expropriation of land without compensation.
The lekgotla reaffirmed its position that a comprehensive land reform programme that enables equitable access to land will unlock economic growth, by  bringing more land in South Africa to full use, and enable the productive participation of millions more South Africans in the economy.
Accordingly, the ANC will, through the parliamentary process, finalise a proposed amendment to the Constitution that outlines more clearly the conditions under which expropriation of land without compensation can be effected.
The intention of this proposed amendment is to promote redress, advance economic development, increase agricultural production and food security.
It will also transform the unjust spatial realities in urban areas.
To accelerate agrarian reform, the ANC has further directed government to urgently initiate farmer support programmes in depressed areas before the first rains this year.
This should include supporting farmers with tools, tractors, fertilisers, seeds, extension services, finance and access to key infrastructure.
Our economy is facing serious challenges. The recently released figures on unemployment are worrying.
Given this economic environment, the Lekgotla directed government to move with urgency to develop and implement a stimulus package to ignite growth that will lead to the creation of jobs, especially for young people and women.
These efforts should focus on rural communities and townships.
This stimulus package will be based on existing budgetary resources and the pursuit of new investments while remaining committed to fiscal prudence.
It will comprise, amongst others, of the following: 
&#8211;   Increased investment in public infrastructure. 
&#8211;   Increased support for entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for youth and women, as well as small and medium businesses 
&#8211;   Trade support measures for sectors such as sugar and products affected by big import surges 
&#8211;   Ensure that procurement focuses on localization 
&#8211;   Training for unemployed young South Africans with the skills necessary to compete in a rapidly-changing economy.
As deployees of the ANC in government, we have committed that the work to develop this stimulus should start now to ignite growth, tackle unemployment and mitigate the effects of the rising cost of living.
We call on all South Africans to work with us in developing a social compact for economic inclusion, economic growth and jobs for all.
I thank you.

SA’s President Cyril Ramaphosa’s statement on expropriation of land without compensation, economic stimulus

By Jared Jeffery, Political Analyst at NKC African Economics 
On Monday evening, July 16, President John Magufuli told the country that his Revolutionary Party (CCM) would be “in power forever, for eternity”, according to news agency AFP.
He was giving a speech to mark the beginning of construction of the Mwalimu Nyerere Leadership School – a centre funded by the Communist Party of China (CPC), CCM and the liberation (and ruling) parties of South Africa (the African National Congress – ANC), Namibia (South West African People&#8217;s Organisation – Swapo), Angola (People&#8217;s Movement for the Liberation of Angola – MPLA), and Mozambique (Mozambique Liberation Front – Frelimo).
His comments are reminiscent of those of former South African President Jacob Zuma when he said the ANC would rule “until Jesus comes”. However, if trends over the last two elections continue (as recent polling by Twaweza suggests it might), forever may not be all that long a wait.
Asked which party’s presidential candidate they would vote for if elections were held today, 55% told Twaweza in April they would cast their ballot for the CCM. If accurate, this would indicate a further slide in the ruling party’s share from 80% in 2005 to 63% in 2010 and further to 59% in the last elections in 2015.
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The pollsters showed that the ruling party’s decline was not an isolated phenomenon. Approval ratings for the village, ward and parliamentary representatives have all been in steady decline over the past seven years.
Magafuli, too, has not escaped the fall in support; his approval rating went from a highest-ever-recorded 96% in 2016 to a lowest-on-record 55% this April.
The survey results, however, will unlikely cheer the opposition. The biggest opposition party, the Democracy and Progress Party (Chadema), did not perform well in the voter intention question, with only 15% saying they would vote for its presidential candidate (in the last election they received 40% of the votes).
However, 29% said they did not know who they would vote for or refused to answer. Chadema’s poor showing could be due to the fact that it does not currently have a clear candidate voters could back (Edward Lowassa would be unlikely to lead the campaign again). With a suitable individual in the role, it is likely that the party would get the lion’s share of the currently undecided vote.
A further interesting finding was that CCM support in rural areas, where it previously dominated, has waned considerably and views held by country and city folk have converged.
This represents a possible opportunity for the opposition to expand its reach beyond the urban pool of voters.
Besides voting intentions, the Twaweza survey revealed the effects of Mr Magufuli and the CCM’s turn to authoritarianism.
Around 64% of respondents said opposition parties were less free to hold rallies and state their views (political rallies remain banned and the Chadema leadership is facing charges of sedition) and 62% said the ability of media to report on government mistakes or to criticise the government had declined.
The clampdown has seemingly increased awareness of the need for strong opposition.
Over the past two years, the proportion of Tanzanians saying that opposition parties keep government on the right track between elections and help development increased from 51% to 64%.
Since releasing its survey, titled ‘Speaking Truth to Power?’, Twaweza has been threatened with legal action by the government.
The title of the survey shows the organisation knew it would be in for a fight – the question mark, however, is a bit ambiguous.
Like all such surveys, the results are sensitive to the period in which respondents were asked. In April, Chadema’s leadership was rounded up and arrested, so it is unsurprising that sympathy for the opposition was high.
Afrobarometer, another polling organisation, asked Tanzanians whether they approved of Magufuli’s performance between April and June last year (just when he was taking on foreign gold miners) and found that 85% of respondents were pleased.
What counts at the end of the day is election results, and the last three have shown a clear decline in CCM dominance.
For the CCM to rule forever, it seems it would have to do away with elections.
Events on Zanzibar in 2015 and the authoritarian turn under Mr Magufuli suggest we should not dismiss that possibility altogether.

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli claims the ruling party will be “in power forever”, this is what the stats say…

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Supra Mahumapelo, premier of South Africa’s North West province, is due to announce his resignation at a press conference scheduled for today. This is following the civil unrest throughout the province calling for better service delivery.

Mahumapelo to step down as premier of SA’s North West province

By Gary van Staden, Senior Political Analyst, NKC African Economics 
The only issue that became crystal clear after the first day of a discussion forum on land redistribution and expropriation in Johannesburg on Tuesday, March 27, was that the African National Congress (ANC) has once again opened a Pandora’s box by plunging into the issue of land seizure without compensation. The ANC does not seem to have considered the consequences.
The gathering – National Forum for Dialogue on Land, Heritage and Human Rights – brought together land owners, farmers, political activists and the government for a forum on the thorny issue of land and ownership. The forum was designed to seek common ground on the way forward in an environment characterised by mistrust.
Contributors included Constitutional Review Committee member Mathole Motshekga, advocate Thembeka Ngcukaitobi, large scale farmers, members of the African Farmers Association of South Africa and the new minister of mineral resources Gwede Mantashe.
This is a critical and unavoidable debate and we need to find lasting and just solutions or we face another crisis that will dwarf the Zuma debacle. But there appears to be little prospect that this second bite at the cherry is going to produce anything more substantial than it did: a generalised, unconvincing communique that anticipates further talks.
Mantashe attempted to outline government’s thinking on the issue but left the impression that it remained muddled and confused. Mantashe has clearly been tasked with managing the land debate rather than leaving it to the incoherent minister of land reform and rural development, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who claimed to be preparing a test case to expropriate land without compensation without bothering to wait for Parliament to complete its constitutional review process.
&#8220;We cannot wait for Parliament,” she said. &#8220;If we need to expropriate your land, we are going to do that, because it is in the Constitution… there are elements that say, if you live in Brussels and you are using the land that should feed my children for speculation, we will do that.&#8221;
Local media reported Nkoana-Mashabane then added that her department had already identified the test case land to be expropriated but would not disclose where it was because that would tip off the current owners to prepare a legal challenge to the illegal land grab.
Instead of adopting the spirit of dialogue and finding common solutions, this is the attitude of the minister in charge of land reform: to hell with Parliament, they are too slow, and we need to sneak up on people so that their right to legal recourse is derailed.
No wonder Mantashe was called in – but, while far more coherent, he often appeared equally confused. Mantashe said a debate was needed on the concept of expropriation and whether it was a legitimate term given that the land was taken in the first place.
Restoration was not expropriation, he said, adding that greedy farmers who own large portions of land will be dealt with first as government moves to expropriate land.
“South Africans are hungry for land and some white farmers are greedy and buy more land as it becomes available… When a person is greedy and takes every piece of land for himself, that person should be the first for expropriation because he doesn’t need land.”
But Mantashe also stated quite clearly that land redistribution will be done in a responsible manner: &#8220;We must ensure that we do not undermine future investment in the economy, or damage agricultural production and food security.&#8221;
He attempted to address some of the wider policy fears around the issue by saying that it was not a policy to drive white people into the sea. “That is not the policy. It will never be the policy of the ANC, unless the ANC becomes something else.”
The attitudes and outrageous opinions of ministers such as Nkoana-Mashabane encourage lawlessness and ultimately confrontation as she talks of sidestepping a slow legal parliamentary process and looking for ways to undermine the legal rights of people about to be dispossessed by the State.
How is that any different from the communities around Hermanus in the Western Cape, and others in Gauteng, who this week illegally occupied land because Parliament was too slow and current owners have too many legal rights?
But Mantashe wants the law to take its course against these illegal invasions that he strongly condemned.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) will continue to use the ANC’s policy incoherence to encourage fresh land grabs that have two consequences – they will inevitably become violent and racially polarising, and they will seriously hinder any constructive and ultimately necessary debate over the issue of land reform and ownership.
It will also have negative economic and investment consequences despite what Mantashe believes.
There is clearly massive mistrust dividing all parties to this crucial issue and it is up to the ANC to deal decisively and swiftly with restoring a measure of trust and honesty in a process we cannot avoid.

Op-Ed: South Africa’s land policy confusion is disingenuous and dangerous

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There was no hint of the drama to come when the African National Congress recalled South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma. This is what unfolded in the 12 days since.

This is what unfolded in the 12 days since

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa reshuffled his cabinet on Monday after coming to power two weeks ago when scandal-plagued Jacob Zuma resigned under pressure from the ruling African National Congress.
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Below are details of some key ministers:
NHLANHLA NENE &#8211; FINANCE MINISTER
Nhlanhla Nene served as finance minister from May 2014 until December 2015, when Zuma fired him and replaced him with unknown parliamentary backbencher Des van Rooyen.
A collapse in the rand currency forced Zuma to sack van Rooyen and reappoint a previous finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, just four days later.
Nene, a veteran civil servant who was keen to rein in government spending, had been reluctant to rubber-stamp an ambitious plan to build a number of nuclear power stations, a project that might cost as much as $100 billion and one which Ramaphosa has frankly said South African cannot afford.
Nene has since taken up roles in the private sector including as a board member at fund manager Allan Gray, resident advisor at investment firm Thebe Investment Corporation and as acting head of a business school in Johannesburg.
DAVID MABUZA &#8211; DEPUTY PRESIDENT
ANC deputy president David Mabuza is the new Deputy President of South Africa and premier of Mpumalanga province. He has not served as a cabinet minister before.
Mabuza was an ally of Zuma and was accused of involvement in corruption in awarding tenders. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Mabuza’s influence in Mpumalanga will be significant for Ramaphosa and the ANC in next year’s parliamentary election.
PRAVIN GORDHAN &#8211; PUBLIC ENTERPRISES MINISTER
A popular figure with investors, Gordhan served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017.
Gordhan has been a critic of the corruption that dogged Zuma’s term and there will be high expectations for him to clean up state-owned firms. His combative style can be divisive.
NKOSAZANA DLAMINI-ZUMA &#8211; MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY
The former minister and chairwoman of the African Union Commission narrowly lost to Ramaphosa in an ANC leadership election in December and she would have hoped to be naming her own cabinet at this stage.
Dlamini-Zuma was married to former president Zuma for over a decade and has four children with him.
LINDIWE SISULU &#8211; FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER
Sisulu initially ran against Ramaphosa in the ANC leadership race last year but later withdrew, choosing to pursue the deputy position, which she lost to David Mabuza.
Most recently serving as human settlements minister, Sisulu is the daughter of anti-apartheid activist Walter Sisulu, a close friend of Nelson Mandela.
While in exile during apartheid, Sisulu joined the military wing of the ANC, working in intelligence.
GWEDE MANTASHE &#8211; MINERALS RESOURCES MINISTER
Trade unionist Mantashe, 62, is currently the national chairperson of the ANC and former secretary-general of the party &#8212; a position he held for 10 years.
The shrewd party strategist was the first trade unionist appointed to the board of directors of a company listed on Johannesburg’s stock exchange.
JEFF RADEBE &#8211; ENERGY MINISTER
Radebe is one of the longest-serving ministers in post-apartheid South Africa, having held several senior cabinet positions in including as minister of public enterprises, justice and transport.
He served in underground structures of the ANC during white minority rule and was imprisoned on Robben Island, where the apartheid government kept political prisoners.
MALUSI GIGABA &#8211; HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER
Gigaba returns to the home affairs ministry after having served as finance minister since being appointed by Zuma in March. He delivered the budget last week.
Gigaba has previously served as Minister of Public Enterprises.
A South African court found last year that Gigaba had violated the constitution by lying about a dispute with a company during his time at home affairs. Gigaba has said he will challenge the ruling. [L8N1QB5BV]
ZWELI MKHIZE &#8211; COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS MINISTER
The ANC’s former treasurer general was an outsider in the party’s leadership race won by Ramaphosa in December.
A medical doctor by training, Mkhize also served as a party boss in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province, from where Zuma and Dlamini-Zuma hail. Ramaphosa will be relying on Mkhize to reconcile opposing factions in the ANC, analysts say.
NALEDI PANDOR &#8211; HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING MINISTER
A former teacher and veteran minister, Pandor comes from a long line of political activists in Kwa-Zulu Natal, a key province for the ANC and one where Ramaphosa needs allies.
Largely praised for her personal integrity, Pandor has criticised ANC politicians for their lavish lifestyles.
DEREK HANEKOM &#8211; TOURISM MINISTER
A white Afrikaner, Hanekom has served as a minister under every president since the end of white-minority rule, including as minister of land under Nelson Mandela.
Hanekom was one of the most vocal critics of Zuma and was sacked as tourism minister last year after publicly calling for his removal.
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Compiled by Tiisetso Motsoeneng and Joe Brock; Editing by James Macharia and Catherine Evans
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Key figures in S.African President Ramaphosa’s first cabinet

David Everatt | University of the Witwatersrand
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa – forgive me, President Ramaphosa – is self-evidently a private and reserved human being. Since his decision to contest the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC), he has been the subject of an endless series of “think-pieces”, more or less informed including by this author, as well as a year or more of attack videos and smears from those he ultimately defeated at the 2017 ANC elective conference. His private life has been examined, and people have tried to double-guess every move he has made, or should have made, or is about to make.
<div id="attachment_299189" style="width: 860px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-299189" class="wp-image-299189 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Cyril-Ramaphosa_Sworn-in_GettyImages.png" alt="" width="850" height="511" />Cyril Ramaphosa sworn-in being sworn-in as President of South Africa on 15 February, 2018.</div>
The man must be squirming. Worse than the attention, however, is his recent elevation to Messiah status in the media and the popular imagination. He maketh Zuma to bugger off. He maketh the currency to rise and pessimism to fall; he will cleanse where others defiled; and he may lead South Africans towards the promised land – or, for the non-believers, will it be down the garden path?
Messiahs are an expression of the need for the yoke of oppression to be lifted, by a god-anointed action man (there are precious few female Messiahs in history) who does what mere mortals cannot. Nelson Mandela was South Africa’s first Messiah, but was seemingly born for the role, relished it, and given the massive damage to economy and society in late apartheid, almost everything he did was inevitably positive. The economy grew, rainbows were believed in, the national football team Bafana Bafana were football champions. Anything was possible.
In Ramaphosa’s case, the context is horribly similar. The economy has been smashed by the labyrinthine tendrils of corruption and <a href="http://ewn.co.za/Topic/State-Capture">state capture</a> that have insinuated themselves into every aspect of public life, compounding those already present in the private sector.
For every state owned enterprise there is a private sector player like <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-kpmg-be-on-guard-south-africans-are-on-your-case-84478">KPMG</a>, and for every bribe that is accepted, someone else offered it. Zuma tended his corrupt garden well, and South Africa feels like it is the early 1990s again: <a href="https://m.news24.com/Columnists/GuestColumn/understanding-and-addressing-political-violence-in-kzn-20170725">political killings</a> are rife in KwaZulu-Natal, the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/24/why-south-africas-economic-outlook-is-looking-bleak.html">economy</a> is in tatters, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/world/africa/raw-tensions-over-race-fester-in-south-africa.html">racial tensions</a> are high, the poor are <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=10334">getting poorer</a>, the rich richer, and the country’s sports people seem unable to win a game of tiddly-winks.
<h2>What kind of president?</h2>
What kind of president will Ramaphosa be? Will he, like Zuma’s predecessor Thabo Mbeki, gravitate towards foreign affairs, the African continent, and playing a global role in various summits and multilateral bodies? Or will he be more Zuma-like, and regard the secret and security forces as his natural base?
The last 10 days should have answered part of this question. Because of Ramaphosa’s chess moves the country has seen the true colours of everyone in the ANC’s top six leadership and beyond. He and all South Africans now know where many of his enemies are. Those desperate to be reborn Ramaphosa-ites have become visible, and he knows (as South Africans do) who can be trusted and who not. He has forced people to play their roles out in public, for all to see and learn, and better to understand the challenges he faces.
More importantly, the state utility Eskom has been completely reconfigured with a new board, and fear has begun to percolate through to all those eating South Africa’s public funds.
But the most significant moves were left to the very end. Zuma’s last day as president – not in any way coincidentally – began with the news that the home of the powerful Gupta family had been raided and arrests had been made.
The second masterstroke was to allow Zuma to show his true colours in a rambling interview on state television to the nation. Everyone was given a taste of what Ramaphosa has had to deal with.
Once Zuma knew that his time was up – his Gupta buddies being arrested, his son Duduzane being looked for and some of his lieutenants deserting him – he declined into self-pity.
<h2>Zuma myths</h2>
For years the world has been fed several myths about Zuma. That he was steeped in strategy and that he was a master tactician. There was also the fable that he had dirt on everyone and would never be outmanoeuvred, that even a wounded lion is dangerous, that he may be down but never out, and so on.
Instead, the terrible sadness of a crumpled bully was in evidence on SABC TV. He spent 30 minutes spinning silly yarns about the lack of accusations or evidence against him, insisting he was innocent, trying to blame anyone but himself. It laid bare the truth – Zuma is merely PW (Botha) rebooted. Apartheid president Botha, nicknamed the Groot Krokodil (big crocodile), was a hardliner who refused to leave office and alienated everyone even in his own National Party.
Zuma’s incoherent television appearance was an old jackal meeting an old krokodil. Each filled with a sense of victimhood, denying any wrongdoing, both responsible for destroying the economy, the social fabric, and any number of lives. Ramaphosa left Zuma to show all South Africans his overweening vanity, his inability to distinguish right from wrong, and his arrogance. Shakespeare could not have plotted it better. Ramaphosa emerged as the true strategist.
<h2>A mere mortal</h2>
Ramaphosa is no Messiah, and when the post-Zuma champagne corks stop popping, South Africans need to assess him as a mere mortal. One who is inheriting a country laid almost as bare as the country Mandela inherited in 1994.
Ramaphosa has a massive job ahead of him, in trying to reignite national pride, self-belief, and mutual trust. He also has to salvage the ANC’s reputation and win the next election in 2019, no mean feat in itself. It would also be nice to win a match or two.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91923/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />The man, rather than the Messiah, has shown he can move multiple chess pieces at once – and win. The last 10 days have seen him completely eclipse his enemies within, having defeated those without when he was elected ANC president in December. This will be a quiet president, in place of Zuma’s inane giggling and braggadocio that has gone. But as the saying goes, always watch the quiet ones…
This article was originally published on The Conversation.

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South African economy to shrink 4.9% in 2020, SARB to cut rates in May – Poll

ANC’s NEC outlines turnaround plans for SA’s ailing economy

‘An inspiration that stood the test of time’: A reflection on Dr. Thandi Ndlovu’s life

Tributes flow in following the passing of Dr. Thandi Ndlovu

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Fikile Mbalula on Nhlanlha Nene’s resignation, Zondo Commission

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SA’s President Cyril Ramaphosa’s statement on expropriation of land without compensation, economic stimulus

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli claims the ruling party will be “in power forever”, this is what the stats say…

Mahumapelo to step down as premier of SA’s North West province

Op-Ed: South Africa’s land policy confusion is disingenuous and dangerous

This is what unfolded in the 12 days since

Key figures in S.African President Ramaphosa’s first cabinet

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