By Gary van Staden, Senior Political Analyst at NKC African Economics
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday, July 31, took a leaf form his predecessor’s play book and sprung a late-night surprise on the nation with the announcement that the constitution would be amended to facilitate land expropriation without compensation, rendering futile any further discussion and representations on the issue.
It was a legalistic, populist political gambit that merely reinforces the belief that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has no unclouded vision of where it wants to go but is determined to go there anyway.
The decision taken at the ANC’s two-day National Executive Committee (NEC) lekgotla was apparently informed by the views expressed at the ongoing hearings on land taking place across the country and headed by Parliament’s Constitutional Review Committee.
The fact that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) voiced the view in favour of expropriation without compensation the most loudly spooked the ANC NEC and led to what is a premature decision.
The decision to amend the constitution to facilitate something the constitution already allows for was explained as a need to allow for the “explicit” expropriation of land without compensation.
Local media reported that Mr Ramaphosa said it had become “patently clear that our people want the constitution be more explicit about expropriation of land without compensation, as demonstrated in the public hearings. 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 [will] enable the productive participation of millions more South Africans in the economy.”
It would be difficult to find a reasonable South African who would deny the urgent and necessary need for land reform, but such a reasonable person would also want to see the plan to understand the strategy and policy framework that would guide such reform in order to ensure that it would succeed in its mission of empowering the dispossessed and unlocking economic potential.
What they would have seen on Tuesday night was an ANC terrified that the EFF was going to stake a leadership claim on the issue of land redistribution and that was politically unpalatable.
So, we were treated to another dose of populist rhetoric with no clear answers or even a hint to the critical questions of what land, where, how, for whom under what policy and regulatory environments, and with what predetermined outcomes.
While it would be reasonable once again to accept that such details and agendas and policy frameworks could not be explored at Tuesday night’s late briefing, there is a real concern that these details, agendas and policy guidelines do not in fact exist and that the detailed issues of land redistribution and the myriad problems that the whole saga brings to the fore are seriously lagging electoral concerns.
There are several institutions and NGOs who have done sterling and valuable work on the ‘backstage’ issues, problems and complexities of a serious land reform programme that would address the real problems and facilitate real solutions without political grandstanding and empty rhetoric.
These institutions deal with key aspects of a land reform programme and offer various scenarios for taking the entire process forward, but these solutions do not always carry the electoral windfall political parties are seeking to tap into.
There is broad agreement among those organisations serious about land reform that constitutional amendments are not required to facilitate the process, but this detailed practical set of policy initiatives is far less sexy than political posturing on electoral platforms and the late, late press show.
The problem is that the consequences of these press shows are often dire and, given the lack of any context or any reasonable framework in which to place the dramatic announcements, inevitably lead to negative financial and economic consequences and undermine confidence.
There was a chance here for a successful land reform programme that would involve both benefit to our people and a growth of investor confidence in how well the issue was managed. That outcome is now off the table.

Op-Ed: South Africa’s rush into populist politics in a policy vacuum

Nyshka Chandran
Source: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/25/brics-could-benefit-from-global-trade-tensions.html">The world&#8217;s major emerging economies could end up benefiting from global trade tensions</a>
<ul>
<li>Escalating trade tensions, and tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration, could give BRICS countries fresh purpose to push forward their trade agendas.</li>
<li>Divergent trade policies between members, however, could be a problem.</li>
<li>The bloc — which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — has struggled to establish a unified voice on the international stage.</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://d16akly8855cs7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/26140344/105350807-1532496152485gettyimages-967163620.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Alexander Shcherbak | TASS"/>
The bloc of emerging economies known as 
BRICS 
 have long struggled to establish a unified voice on the international stage, but U.S. President Donald Trump may be providing them with an unlikely boost.
As the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa gather in Johannesburg on Wednesday for their annual meeting, the issue of trade protectionism is set to dominate talks amid 
Trump&#8217;s proposed tariffs 
 on the European Union and Beijing. If the five-member group plays its cards right, it can use the matter to push forward the nations&#8217; own trade agendas.
BRICS members have an interest in developing a world with multiple countries filling leadership roles, so they will be looking to &#8220;take advantage&#8221; of tensions to &#8220;to build up the profile of BRICS,&#8221; said Duncan Innes-Ker, regional director for Asia at The Economist Intelligence Unit.
BRICS has sought to reject the Western dominance of international institutions, but a lack of unity prevents members from coming up with an alternative solution. Now, with Trump&#8217;s duties on imported steel and aluminum set to hurt each BRICS member — Beijing, New Delhi and Moscow have already responded with retaliatory duties — the bloc has fresh purpose to rally together.
That&#8217;s a positive for Beijing, 
which is now trying to tout itself as a champion of free trade 
 and has claimed it was &#8221; 
forced 
&#8221; to fight back against Trump&#8217;s measures with reciprocal tariffs.
&#8220;Given the failure of the 
G-20 finance ministers meeting 
 held earlier this week to defuse the threat to world trade from rising protectionism, the BRICS summit is likely to become a key global forum for galvanizing global support for multilateral trade liberalization,&#8221; said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific chief economist at IHS Markit.
The Trump administration has said it is not advocating protectionism, but rather seeking to even a playing field that has been corrupted by unfair trade practices. Those penalized by Trump&#8217;s tariffs, however, have tried to paint the U.S. as no longer interested in free trade, vacating its traditional role on the global stage.
BRICS countries may try to step into that gap, negotiating wide-ranging trade agreements with many countries, Biswas continued.
The volatile global trade backdrop could also benefit emerging markets in more tangible ways.
&#8220;China might turn to India, Brazil, Russia &#8230; to source products it originally bought from the U.S., such as soy beans, wheat, and meat,&#8221; said Alex Capri, visiting senior fellow at the National University of Singapore. &#8220;This creates new opportunities for BRICS, at least temporarily.&#8221;
American firms may also seek to move some activities to emerging markets that are within existing trading blocs so as to avoid rising tariffs, he noted.
While many are hopeful for the three-day BRICS summit to advance trade liberalization, divergent policies between members could stand in the way.
&#8220;The challenge for BRICS has always been what exactly holds them together beyond a cute acronym,&#8221; warned Deborah Elms, executive director of the Asian Trade Centre, noting their different domestic structures. &#8220;China is outward looking and manufacturing focused. Brazil is increasingly outward focused, but mostly for agriculture, not manufacturing. India is really not open.&#8221;

The world’s major emerging economies could end up benefiting from global trade tensions

Justina Crabtree
Source: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/23/china-president-xi-visits-senegal-belt-and-road-reaches-west-africa.html">China&#8217;s latest trade partner in Africa could help it export to the US</a>
<ul>
<li>Chinese President Xi Jinping has just concluded a visit to the west African country of Senegal, the first stop of his four-leg tour of the African continent.</li>
<li>Senegal&#8217;s coastal location could enable China to more easily access U.S. markets.</li>
<li>Senegal is the first West African country to sign up to China&#8217;s Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-billion dollar plan to resurrect ancient trading routes centered on China.</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://d16akly8855cs7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/24160223/105346104-1532344867993gettyimages-1003078598.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Seyllou | AFP | Getty Images"/>
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the West African country of Senegal over the weekend, building trade ties which could bear fruit in terms of China’s access to U.S. markets.
Xi met with his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall, as well as Senegalese Prime Minister Mohammed Dionne, as part of a two-day visit which began on Saturday.
Following bilateral talks, Senegal signed up to be the first West African nation committed to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-billion dollar scheme to resurrect ancient trading routes centered on China.
Senegal, with a population of just 16 million, might seem like a curious stop for Xi given that Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is also in the West Africa region.
But according to 
Ibrahima Diong 
, who has served as Senegal’s minister of Chinese affairs, the country’s location is particularly attractive. 
“For any Chinese companies that would like to export to the U.S., you cannot get better than Senegal,” he told CNBC via telephone, highlighting its position on the west coast of the African continent.
China is Senegal’s second largest trading partner after its former colonial power France.
Xi’s visit to Senegal was the first stop of a broader tour of the African continent. He landed in Rwanda on Monday and will then attend a 
BRICS 
 summit in South Africa, before stopping in Mauritius. The Chinese president visited the United Arab Emirates earlier last week.
Xi&#8217;s Africa visit is his fourth to the continent since he took office in 2013, and his first overseas trip since beginning his second term as Chinese president in March of this year.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://d16akly8855cs7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/24160229/105346108-1532345160539gettyimages-1003700530.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name=" Seyllou | AFP | Getty Images"/>
While Senegal is the first West African country to partner with China as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese-built infrastructure projects are mushrooming in the region. Last week a railway network was opened in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, helping to address the country’s need for infrastructure.
But, China has been accused of lending to its Belt and Road partner countries under conditions that they will not be able to fulfill.
Diong pointed out that Senegal is a favorable place for China to do business given its stable democracy. He added that Senegal is already an established exporter of its oil and gas reserves, enabling China to carve out a different kind of relationship. “While China needs some commodities, (it doesn’t) want a relationship that’s just commodity driven,” he said.
Partnership with Senegal enables China to “make a dent in the francophone world,” added Diong. He said that “Africans are being extremely pragmatic” in their business decisions, and are no longer constrained by colonial ties.
That perspective was echoed in an editorial published in several South African newspapers over the weekend, in which Xi wrote that South Africa and China had “forged a deep friendship during our common struggle against imperialism, colonialism and racism.”
It detailed that &#8220;China’s direct investment in South Africa has grown by more than 80 times and (now) exceeded $10.2 billion in cumulative terms.&#8221;
For Diong, China&#8217;s inroads in Africa are symptomatic of a shifting geopolitical order, particularly as global media attention is largely focused on the U.S.&#8217; relationship with Russia.
“Africans love the Chinese story,” Doing said. “Beyond just money, China is seen by many Africans as a model to aspire towards,” he added.

China’s latest trade partner in Africa could help it export to the US

Nyshka Chandran
Source: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/20/china-mediation-diplomacy-in-focus-as-xi-jinping-heads-to-africa.html">For years, China shied away from global conflicts. Not anymore</a>
<ul>
<li>Chinese President Xi Jinping will be visiting Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa in the coming days.</li>
<li>As Beijing increasingly presents itself as a mediator in political conflicts, China&#8217;s influence on the continent could grow.</li>
<li>Africa is home to massive Chinese investments and the country&#8217;s first overseas military base.</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://d16akly8855cs7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/20080312/105342020-1532055235774gettyimages-9923602821.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images"/>
As the China invests billions in continent-spanning infrastructure projects, it&#8217;s building a stronger diplomatic voice to match its ever-expanding presence on the global stage.
Across the developing world, Beijing has been engaging in mediation diplomacy — a style of conflict resolution where it&#8217;s the sole or principal moderator — to protect its assets and gain recognition as a respectable superpower.
Africa, where Chinese President Xi Jinping will be touring in the coming days, has long been a training ground for Chinese peace efforts. In 2007, Beijing appointed its first-ever special representative to genocide-hit Darfur to help achieve a political settlement. And in 2015, Chinese officials brought together 
South Sudan’s 
 warring parties for negotiations. Just this week, the communist state offered to mediate in a border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti, the latter of which is home to 
China&#8217;s first overseas military base 
.
Assuming the role of mediator could increase Beijing&#8217;s influence in nations home to Chinese investments, such as Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa where Xi will soon be visiting.
&#8220;Being seen as a mediator in regional disputes can only help burnish China’s image,&#8221; said researchers at the China Africa Research Initiative, a program at Johns Hopkins University. And in Africa, where 
Xi&#8217;s administration has established greater military links 
, it&#8217;s essential for Beijing to protect the stability of countries where China has economic interests, they added.
In fact, many speculate that it was 
China&#8217;s concerns over its investments in Zimbabwe 
 that resulted in the coup that ousted former leader Robert Mugabe in November of last year — a charge that Xi&#8217;s administration has denied.
According to Xi&#8217;s vision of a &#8220;community of common destiny,&#8221; a phrase he repeatedly uses in speeches, &#8220;China’s growth and prosperity becomes a part of the experience of all these other countries,&#8221; the researchers said, adding that such a line of thinking &#8220;can also be interpreted as a type of foreign policy or growing political influence.&#8221;
It&#8217;s a new development in China&#8217;s traditional diplomatic protocol. Since 1954, the Asian giant has said it practices mutual non-aggression and non-interference in the internal affairs of others. But the nation&#8217;s political ambitions have swelled considerably under Xi&#8217;s reign, and that&#8217;s led to a change of approach. With Chinese commercial and economic ventures now spanning the globe under the 
Belt and Road Initiative 
, Xi&#8217;s government is intensifying efforts to secure Chinese workers and interests abroad.
In 2017, Beijing hosted a meeting with the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan to end terrorism-related hostilities between the two as Xi sought to incorporate Kabul into his 
$57 billion economic corridor with Islamabad 
. Last year also saw Xi raise the possibility of three-way talks with Israel and Palestine. He&#8217;s also 
proposed a peace plan for ethnic cleansing in Myanmar 
, which is home to a special economic zone being built by a China-led consortium.
But China&#8217;s attempts at brokering peace may be fundamentally limited. Its primary goal is a stable atmosphere for its global investment, so it is likely unwilling to enforce outcomes or apply pressure, strategists said.
“China will actively explore a way of resolving hotspot issues with Chinese characteristics and play a bigger and more constructive role in upholding world stability,&#8221; Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at 
last October&#8217;s 19th Party Congress 
.
A willingness to provide solutions with &#8220;Chinese characteristics&#8221; is significant, Angela Stanzel, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations&#8217; Asia division, wrote in a brief last week: &#8220;The implication behind this offer is that China is better placed to resolve regional and global problems than other countries, particularly the U.S.&#8221;
The Asian heavyweight may be seeking to demonstrate that, unlike Western countries, it doesn&#8217;t differentiate between democracies and dictators, Stanzel suggested.

For years, China shied away from global conflicts. Not anymore

Ashley Turner
Source: <a href="http://https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/30/watch-trump-holds-joint-press-conference-with-nigerian-president.html">Watch: Trump holds joint press conference with Nigerian president</a>

[The stream is slated to start at 1:30 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]

President Donald Trump is set to host a joint press conference with President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria on Monday afternoon. Buhari&#8217;s visit to the White House marks Trump&#8217;s <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/105164875?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="> 
first official visit 
</a> from an African head of state. 
Trump reportedly called African nations &#8220;s&#8212;hole countries&#8221; in January. Weeks ago, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Nigeria and other African countries – a visit that many saw as an attempt to sooth relations after Trump&#8217;s alleged comments.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-visit-president-muhammadu-buhari-nigeria/">said in a statement</a> that Trump looks forward to advancing U.S. and Nigeria&#8217;s shared priorities: promoting economic growth and reforms, fighting terrorism and other threats to peace and security, and building on Nigeria&#8217;s role as a democratic leader in the region.

Watch: Trump holds joint press conference with Nigerian president

Natasha Turak
Source: <a href="http://https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/18/libyas-most-powerful-military-leader-khalifa-haftar-might-be-dead.html">Libya’s most powerful military leader might be dead and that could impact oil markets</a>
<ul>
<li class="">Libya&#8217;s most powerful military leader reportedly suffered a stroke this week — and no one can confirm whether he is dead or alive.</li>
<li>Local media has reported General Khalifa Haftar&#8217;s death, while sources close to him insist he is recovering.</li>
<li>Haftar&#8217;s death could mean a renewal of violence that could hit the OPEC country&#8217;s oil output and create new opportunities for groups like ISIS.</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://media.cnbc.com/i/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2014/05/26/101705002-491933959.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="AFP | Getty Images"/>
Libya&#8217;s most powerful military leader reportedly suffered a stroke this week — and no one can confirm whether he is dead or alive.
Local media has reported General Khalifa Haftar&#8217;s death, while sources close to him insist he is recovering. If the former is true, it could mean a renewal of violence and a power struggle that could hit the OPEC country&#8217;s oil output and create new opportunities for extremist groups like the Islamic State militant group.
Often described as the oil-rich state&#8217;s &#8220;most powerful warlord,&#8221; Khaftar, who heads the powerful but internally fractured Libyan National Army (LNA), has been a stabilizing force in a country wracked by civil war since longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was deposed in the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. Many fear that his absence could usher in the kind of power vacuum and chaos that followed Gaddafi&#8217;s death.
Haftar effectively controls eastern Libya, including the &#8220;oil crescent&#8221; in the Gulf of Sirte that holds four major ports that comprise the lion&#8217;s share of Libya&#8217;s oil exports. The 75-year-old general, who holds American citizenship, was formerly a Gaddafi ally but returned to Libya in 2011, after years in the U.S., to join the NATO offensive that toppled the dictator.
<h4>A fractured country</h4>
Haftar has successfully managed to hold numerous competing factions and tribes together to keep the LNA unified. And he&#8217;s effectively presented himself as an answer to radical Islamist groups in the region, thereby gaining strong support from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Eastern Libya is home to its Tobruk-led government, which is in competition with the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), based in the capital of Tripoli in western Libya. Haftar&#8217;s eastern camp is supported by Egypt and the UAE. Technically, the two bodies are supposed to be united under the GNA, but they do not fully recognize one another and thus make their own laws regardless of joint consensus. Welcome to Libya. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://media.cnbc.com/i/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2014/10/15/102090359-1179019.1910x1000.jpg" alt="Libya map" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="AP"/>
Exports from the four ports under Haftar&#8217;s control are Libya&#8217;s main source of much-needed hard currency. Libya&#8217;s population of 6.3 million sits above the largest proven oil reserves in Africa, but benefit practically nothing from them — the United Nations estimates about 40 percent of the country lives below the poverty line.
Because he&#8217;s so revered in eastern Libya, any potential successor to Haftar would likely face serious challenges from within the LNA, and his death could trigger deep internal conflict, said Sarah Al Shaalan, a Middle East and North Africa researcher at risk consultancy Eurasia Group. Egypt and the UAE appear committed to preventing a splintering of the east, but a worst-case scenario would be the outbreak of further violence.
<h4>Risk to oil production</h4>
Haftar&#8217;s incapacitation will have direct implications for the hydrocarbon sector, according to Chris Elsner and Paul Tossetti of IHS Oil Markets.
The general&#8217;s efforts were vital in maintaining much of Libya&#8217;s oil production. It took Haftar&#8217;s concentration of power in the east, aided by his military forces, to open up all Libya&#8217;s central export terminals, &#8220;marking the start of the most recent rise in Libyan output back to 1 million barrels per day (bdp) from a range of 300,000 to 500,000 bpd,&#8221; the analysts said.
&#8220;That resurgence — and the associated revenues — have bought a measure of temporary stability for Libya and provided some scope for political negotiations to move forward,&#8221; they added.
So increasing chaos would only further damage Libyan national security, creating opportunities for militias and traffickers already exploiting the crisis, Al Shaalan said. &#8220;The Islamic State would also likely exploit the situation to accelerate attacks intended to disturb oil exports in north-central Libya.&#8221;
And a weakened LNA would encourage its opponents to recapture main positions like oil terminals or military sites.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://media.cnbc.com/i/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/08/07/104638259-GettyImages-605720592.1910x1000.jpg" alt="A picture shows a general view at the Zueitina oil terminal in Libya on September 14, 2016." height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Abdullah Doma | AFP | Getty Images "/>
For rival forces waiting for the news on Haftar, this may be their window, and the country could witness a rush to target oil infrastructure and disrupt operations in the event of his death. Eurasia Group estimates this would lead to a decline in average production in Libya from 1.1 million bpd in 2018 to roughly 900,000 &#8220;in the most benign scenarios.&#8221;
Markets will focus not only on potential declines, but on the risk of much broader instability in the east that would have a more meaningful impact on production.
Given tightening global oil supplies, a 200,000 bpd decrease in Libya would add further support to oil prices, and combined with the increased likelihood of a <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/104955107?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="> 
collapse in the Iran nuclear deal 
</a> in May, bolsters the case for oil market bulls.
In the meantime, Libyans await news on the fate of one of their most influential leaders — and by extension, the fate of their country.

Libya’s most powerful military leader might be dead and that could impact oil markets

<ul>
<li>New South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his first cabinet reshuffle Monday night, putting investor favorites in key economic management positions.</li>
<li>Former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene was reinstated in the position, while Pravin Gordhan, also a former finance minister, was restored as minister for public enterprises.</li>
<li>The faction of the ANC allied with former President Jacob Zuma also has representation in the new cabinet.</li>
</ul>
<div style="width: 540px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a class="enlargeThisImage" style="text-align: center;" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/27/ramaphosa-cabinet-reshuffle-sees-investor-favorites-return-to-run-south-africa-economy.html#"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2018/02/27/105031798-GettyImages-916957534.530x298.jpg?v=1519742861" alt="South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at a rally on February 11, 2018, in Cape Town." width="530" height="298" data-enlarged-image="https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2018/02/27/105031798-GettyImages-916957534.1910x1000.jpg?v=1519742861" /></a>Rodger Bosch | AFP | Getty Images</div>
<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/justina-crabtree/" rel="author">Justina Crabtree</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/@jlacrabtree">@jlacrabtree</a>
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at a rally on February 11, 2018, in Cape Town.
<div class="group-container ">
<div class="group">
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed investor favorites to key economic management roles in a cabinet reshuffle announced late Monday.
Former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene has been reinstated, while Pravin Gordhan, a two-time former finance minister who was most recently sacked by former President Jacob Zuma in March last year, has been restored to the African National Congress (ANC) cabinet as minister for public enterprises.
The reappointments of Nene and Gordhan &#8220;will be well-received by financial markets and ratings agencies, as will the significant clean-out of ministers with clouds of corruption and mismanagement and sheer incompetence hanging over them,&#8221; Gary van Staden, senior political analyst at South Africa-based NKC Economics, wrote in a note Tuesday.
<div id="inline_movable_ad"></div>
Nene served as South Africa&#8217;s finance minister from May 2014 to December 2015 until he was fired by Zuma and replaced by an unknown backbencher. He is keen to stem public spending — for example by crushing plans to build nuclear power stations in South Africa, which could cost up to $100 billion.
</div>
</div>
<div class="group-container ">
<div class="embed-container image">
<div style="width: 540px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a class="enlargeThisImage" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/27/ramaphosa-cabinet-reshuffle-sees-investor-favorites-return-to-run-south-africa-economy.html#"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2018/02/27/105031554-GettyImages-464363252.530x298.jpg?v=1519738341" alt="South African Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene delivers the 2015 budget speech at the National Assembly in Cape Town on February 25, 2015." width="530" height="298" data-enlarged-image="https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2018/02/27/105031554-GettyImages-464363252.1910x1000.jpg?v=1519738341" /></a>Rodger Bosch | AFP | Getty Images</div>
<div class="caption">South African Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene delivers the 2015 budget speech at the National Assembly in Cape Town on February 25, 2015.</div>
</div>
<div class="group">
Gordhan&#8217;s new role in the Department of Public Enterprises means that he is responsible for some 300 state-owned firms, including the struggling South African Airlines and utility firm Eskom.
Gordhan is &#8220;an iconic figure among investors due to his resistance to the state capture project and his record of sound fiscal management,&#8221; Ben Payton, head of Africa research at consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, wrote in a note Tuesday.
&#8220;Given that maladministration in state-owned companies such as Eskom threatens to generate a financial meltdown, Gordhan is now the most important official in the government, other than Ramaphosa himself.&#8221;
Nene was cautious about the budget delivered by his predecessor Malusi Gigaba last week, in which <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/21/south-africa-raises-vat-for-the-first-time-in-25-years.html">South Africa&#8217;s value added tax was hiked for the first time in 25 years</a>, up from 14 percent to 15 percent in an attempt to address the country&#8217;s deficit.
When Nene was asked by local station Talk Radio 702 if the move would deter ratings downgrades, he answered, &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t say that yet,&#8221; Reuters reported.
Gigaba is now home affairs minister.
</div>
</div>
<div class="group-container last">
<div class="embed-container image">
<div style="width: 540px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a class="enlargeThisImage" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/27/ramaphosa-cabinet-reshuffle-sees-investor-favorites-return-to-run-south-africa-economy.html#"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/03/31/104376086-Gordhan_.530x298.jpg?v=1519737017" alt="South Africa's newly appointed Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan" width="530" height="298" data-enlarged-image="https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/03/31/104376086-Gordhan_.1910x1000.jpg?v=1519737017" /></a>Waldo Swiegers | Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
<div class="caption">South Africa&#8217;s newly appointed Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan</div>
</div>
<div class="group">
&#8220;In making these changes, I have been conscious of the need to balance continuity and stability with the need for renewal, economic recovery and accelerated transformation,&#8221; <a class="inline_asset" title="http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/press-statements/president-ramaphosa-announces-changes-national-executive" href="http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/press-statements/president-ramaphosa-announces-changes-national-executive">Ramaphosa said in a statement Monday night</a>.
Nonetheless, the faction of the ANC supporting Zuma also has representation in Ramaphosa&#8217;s cabinet. David Mabuza, deputy president of the ANC and a known ally of Zuma, was appointed as South Africa&#8217;s deputy president.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Zuma&#8217;s ex-wife, who challenged Ramaphosa to the ANC leadership in December, was given the role of minister in the presidency of planning and monitoring. Dlamini-Zuma was Zuma&#8217;s choice for the ANC leadership.
Markets responded positively to Ramaphosa&#8217;s reshuffle, with the Johannesburg Top 40 Index trading 0.73 percent higher on the news during mid-morning trade.
&#8220;The reshuffle is the first stage of a big clean-out,&#8221; van Staden wrote, describing the changes as &#8220;the largest single purge of an ineffective and significantly corrupt cabinet in post-democratic history.&#8221;
</div>
</div>

Ramaphosa cabinet reshuffle sees investor favorites return to run South Africa’s economy

Chris Saunders, University of Cape Town
While each country in Southern Africa has its own politics, recent developments involving presidents provide interesting contrasts across the region. Which presidents gain and lose power in 2018 – and how they do so – will have significance for the region as a whole, not least in helping determine its continued stability.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-292303 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Emmerson-Mnangagwa_Zim_Swearing-In_GettyImages-RZ.png" alt="" width="850" height="566" />
As 2018 begins, Joseph Kabila is clinging to the presidency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), claiming that there is insufficient funding to hold an election, amid growing protests against him in Kinshasa and elsewhere. It remains to be seen if he will fulfil the undertaking he has made that elections will be held in December this year.
Other countries in the region start 2018 on a much more promising footing. In Botswana, President Ian Khama, approaching the end of his two presidential terms, is expected to step down in an orderly succession in April and will be suceeded by the vice-president.
In both Zimbabwe and Angola autocratic presidents who had been in power for almost four decades lost power in 2017 in very different ways.
<h2>Military intervention in Zimbabwe</h2>
In the case of Zimbabwe the country’s army intervened in November 2017 to force Robert Mugabe to give up power. This came after he had, under the influence of his wife Grace, sacked Emmerson Mnangagwa as vice-president. The Southern African Development Community did not need to intervene, and even the mediation mission it planned wasn’t required.
Instead, the Zimbabwe military acted, with the ruling party, Zanu-PF, to replace Mugabe with Mnangagwa. It did so peacefully, denying during the entire process that a coup was underway. The 93-year-old Mugabe, in office since 1980, initially refused to step down, but was finally removed both as president of the country and of the ruling party.
The country will go to the polls in mid-2018, and Mnangagwa, who was confirmed in December 2017 as Zanu-PF’s presidential candidate, has said that the election will be credible, free and fair, but he has yet to confirm that he will allow international and other observers.
With the military more obviously involved in government than anywhere else in the region, Zimbabwe’s opposition parties divided, and with Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance seriously ill, there is little likelihood that Zanu-PF or Mnangagwa will lose power.
<h2>Angola</h2>
In Angola José Eduardo dos Santos, suffering from ill-health, agreed in early 2017 to step down as president of the country. He nominated a man he thought would be a trusted successor, hoping to continue to wield influence as president of the ruling MPLA.
After elections for the National Assembly in August, João Lourenço duly succeeded Dos Santos as president. To widespread surprise, he began sacking the heads of some of the country’s key institutions. These included Dos Santos’s daughter, Isabel dos Santos, who was CEO of the state oil company Sonangol.
<figure class="align-center "><figcaption>
<div id="attachment_290966" style="width: 860px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-290966" class="wp-image-290966 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Angola_Joao-Lourenço_Dos-Santos_GettyImages.png" alt="" width="850" height="566" />Former Angolan President, José Eduardo dos Santos and new President João Lourenço. Image: Getty Images</div>
</figcaption></figure>
And in early 2018 her brother José Filomeno dos Santos, was removed as head of Angola’s sovereign wealth fund. Their father’s influence was rapidly slipping away.
In Angola, as in Zimbabwe, a change of leader to one with a more reformist approach probably means that the ruling party has consolidated itself in power.
<h2>South Africa</h2>
In South Africa in December 2017 the leadership of the governing African National Congress (ANC) passed from Jacob Zuma to Cyril Ramaphosa, who thus became heir apparent to the presidency of the country. While there is no two-term limit for ANC presidents, Zuma had brought the ANC into discredit and Ramaphosa, despite having worked closely with Zuma as deputy president, was seen as the one who would curtail the corruption and “state capture”.
For now, Zuma remains president of the country until general elections due to be held by June 2019. The country waits to see whether, how and when Ramaphosa can arrange to take over as president of the country as well as of the ruling party.
<h2>A presidential challenge defeated</h2>
In Namibia, Hage Geingob had to meet a challenge to his continuing as leader of Swapo, the governing party, in November last year. He was, however, confirmed in his position and will therefore be Swapo’s presidential candidate for the election scheduled to take place in November 2019.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-41104 alignright" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/jacob_zuma__wikipedia-300x185.jpg" alt="South Africa and France sign nuclear agreement" width="300" height="185" />
Geingob supporters now fill all the key posts in his government, enabling him to make policy as he wishes. This is very different from South Africa, where the new ANC leadership remains divided and where Ramaphosa, when he becomes president of the country, will find it difficult to adopt new policies.
<h2>Malawi and Zambia</h2>
Malawi must hold elections in 2019 and the contest for the presidency then has already begun. It is not known whether Joyce Banda, the former president and leader of one of the country’s leading political parties, will return from self-imposed exile abroad to stand again. In 2017 she was formally charged with having been involved in the massive “Cashgate’ corruption scandal” that was uncovered while she was president.
<div id="attachment_41298" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41298" class="wp-image-41298 size-medium" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/edgar_lungu_flickr-300x189.jpg" alt="Zambia elections body halts campaigning in capital over violence" width="300" height="189" />Zambian President, Edgar Lungu.</div>
In 2017 Lungu became more authoritarian. Hakainde Hichilema, the leader of the main opposition United Party for National Development, was arrested on what were clearly trumped-up charges. These were only dropped in August after interventions by the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and inside Zambia by the local Catholic Archbishop.In Zambia, by contrast, where the next election is not due until 2021, the question is how Edgar Lungu, who took over the presidency after narrowly winning the presidential election in August 2016, will try to consolidate his power.
Lungu wants to serve a third term as president, and the country’s Constitutional Court has been asked to rule on the matter.
<h2>Regional perspective</h2>
Too often developments in one country are seen in isolation from similar ones elsewhere. Given that South Africa is the most important country in the region, how the Ramaphosa-Zuma poser is resolved will be significant for the region. Elsewhere, how presidents gain and lose, and try to consolidate their power, will help shape the continued stability of the region.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89980/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />Will political tensions be managed internally, as in Zimbabwe in late 2017? Or will they require some kind of intervention by the Southern Africa Development Community, in the DRC and perhaps elsewhere, to prevent them from escalating? Throughout the region, contests for presidential power are likely to keep political passions on the boil.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Stability in southern Africa hinges on how leaders gain and lose power

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5713348234001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
NSE CEO Oscar Onyema says the political activities, currency movements will have some effect on the markets this year but he expects that they will be short lived as performance of the business activities will ultimately determine market performance.

NSE’s Oscar Onyema reviews 2017 market performance, gives outlook for 2018

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 640px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5597386350001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
At the recent Essence Festival in Durban, CNBC Africa caught up with Stella Khumalo 
CEO, UShaka Marine World and discussed how the local tourism industry in Durban has felt the brunt of low economic growth in the country.

Durban Essence Festival boosts local economy

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 640px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe loading="lazy" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5596333981001" width="300" height="150" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
</div>
Radical Economic Transformation was a key theme during this year&#8217;s Essence Festival Durban. KZN MEC Sihle Zikalala shared his views on what the province is doing in this space, as-well as the current status of the ANC leadership in the province.

Sihle Zikalala talks on ANC leadership issues in province

David Everatt | University of the Witwatersrand
There is a famous polling story, commonly attributed to US President Lyndon B. Johnson. Attacking his rival in Texas, where the vote was close, Johnson used the sucker-punch tactic. As re-told by famous American journalist Hunter S Thompson,
<blockquote>The race was close and Johnson was getting worried. Finally he told his campaign manager to start a massive rumour campaign about his opponent’s life-long habit of enjoying carnal knowledge of his own barnyard sows. “Christ, we can’t get a way calling him a pig-fucker,” the campaign manager protested. “Nobody’s going to believe a thing like that.
I know, Johnson replied. But let’s make the sonofabitch deny it.</blockquote>
South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa just fell for the same trick, albeit a more mundane: &#8220;he sleeps around (with humans)”. Whether it was apartheid era “stratkom” style dirty trick at work or the usual dirty game of electioneering, Ramaphosa was forced onto the back foot.
Instead of ignoring or laughing at the claims, he went to court to prevent a Sunday paper from publishing. Then he engaged the issue and revealed a long-past affair of little interest to anyone. How did his advisers think this necessary in the sleazy moral climate created by Jacob Zuma’s ANC?
The challenge for voters is that there are multiple election-related battles happening simultaneously within the ANC. There is a fight for the post-Zuma leadership, fairly obviously.
But there is also Zuma’s own fight for safety from prosecution for alleged fraud, money laundering, corruption and racketeering once he steps down. His chosen candidate – Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – isn’t attractive to voters, according to polls. The one attribute she can play on is the mantra “we need a woman as president”. That explains why Ramaphosa was attacked as a wife-beater, and when that didn’t stick, as a sequential blesser (sugar daddy).
<h2>What the polls say</h2>
Leadership polls in the public domain – of all voters, not just ANC voters – suggest that this election is Ramaphosa’s to lose. Among potential voters from all parties, he has overtaken the main opposition Democratic Alliance’s Mmusi Maimane, to lead Dlamini-Zuma by a considerable margin. Dlamini-Zuma seems to be on an ineluctably downward spiral, matched only by her ex-husband. Her campaign urgently needs an injection. Becoming an MP and presumably thereafter a minister is part of the attempt to do just that, as will the rumoured appointment as Higher Education Minister and bestower of more or less free education for all, if it occurs.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-283849 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/file-20170913-23138-iyb1cq.png" alt="" width="754" height="478" />
&nbsp;
But the problem is Ramaphosa. If Dlamini-Zuma needs a bounce, he needs his bubble burst. The ANC’s mid-year policy conference, which begun with Zuma proxies’ braggadocio, gave Ramaphosa a major bounce in the polls to the point where he is on a continued upward trend. The party’s December elective conference is suddenly very close. A repeat performance would secure Ramaphosa’s position; and leave current president Zuma looking very fragile indeed. Cue the smears.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-7604 size-medium" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/nkosazana_dlamini_zuma-300x190.jpg" alt="AU chief arrives in Zimbabwe ahead of elections" width="300" height="190" />
If Dlamini-Zuma remains burdened by “that” name – and focus groups make it clear that the name is a curse, not a blessing – then attacking Ramaphosa for philandering and beating his wife is meant to take the gloss off his campaign and, crucially, influence women voters. Who wants a(nother) president who cheats on his wife? Who wants a president who apparently beat a former wife (despite her strenuous denials)? These are all intended to dent Ramaphosa’s appeal to women voters. Above all, their aim is to reinforce the “we need a woman president” mantra – which is the central and only message of the Dlamini-Zuma campaign.
<h2>The 2019 national elections</h2>
All this is being fought out in the ANC, even if simultaneously in the full glare of a willing media. But the ANC nowadays is merely a player in the game – a big one, but most certainly not too big to fail.
There is still, in 2019, the real national election where South African citizens go to vote. This may be Zuma’s major miscalculation. All evidence suggests that the national leadership have not learned the lesson of the 2016 municipal elections, which is core to all polling: do not take your voters for granted.
The ANC has failed to find its mythical reset G-spot, and its post-election post-mortem seems to have found nothing needed correcting barring the removal of some peskily ethical ministers. The #Guptaleaks – the thousands of leaked emails exposing the extent of the powerful Gupta family’s capture of the state – and the cabinet re-shuffling plus simple cravenness of the entire ANC project, have worsened since 2016.
The ANC is still the “mothership” – the famous liberation party, settled deep in the heart and subconscious of many South Africans. But the same lovers of history are judging the present, and will vote accordingly. They did so in 2016. The warning seems to have passed unheeded.
The cloak and dagger cleverness being unleashed by all sides in the ANC struggle assumes one thing – that the party will win in 2019. Polls suggest that at the moment, the ANC remains the majority party. But that is voter sentiment right now – it does not measure voter intention in 2019. Moreover, winning and being a majority party are very different – just ask the ANC in Johannesburg post-2016, for example. A recent Ipsos poll found the following:
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-283850 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/file-20170911-1323-m2eiv0.jpg" alt="" width="754" height="335" />
<h2>Nice guys don’t win</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-40893 size-medium" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/mmusi_maimane_-_wikimedia-300x200.jpg" alt="South Africa's main opposition says will not form coalitions" width="300" height="200" />
Maimane’s coy slip of his own poll – that the ANC was polling below 50% – may represent a 2016-2018 downward trend. If that happens attacks on Ramaphosa will come from the main opposition DA as well. This doesn’t mean the DA will win. Maimane neatly said nothing of how his party was faring – but the messy business of bartering their way to provincial power via unshaky coalitions may be the future for an ANC that has truly toppled itself from the moral high ground.
&nbsp;
Ramaphosa is clearly trying to chart a more moral and honest path than his predecessor. Where Zuma faced a rape trial and repeated evidence of infidelity, Ramaphosa initially fell for the sucker-punch (hence the failed interdict against The Sunday Independent) and then took the route of quiet dignity.
If Ramaphosa can lose that initial twitchiness, maintain the dignity, but toughen up for far worse muck that will be thrown at him, the country’s most famous buffalo farmer may yet prevail.
&nbsp;
This article was first published in The Conversation.

Op-Ed: Bestiality and BS: Lessons from South Africa’s sleazy political climate

Institutions and the rule of law are the essential elements that protect individual South Africans from the excesses and abuses of state power. The recent fiasco where the Public Protector recommended changes to the Constitution is an example of institutions gone awry.
Constitutionalism as a branch of jurisprudence did not develop to foster effective government, but explicitly to restrain government interference in the personal and economic lives of ordinary people. The Public Protector’s recommendation does the opposite: it proposed to alter its establishing statute – the Constitution – to change the very nature of our central bank for seemingly political reasons. The markets reacted predictably and, today, South Africans are a little poorer than they were yesterday.
The business of our institutions should not be to make life harder for anyone – except government, that is.
<h3>Institutions are meant to be immune from political interference</h3>
Institutions are divorced from the politics of the day because they are meant to be consistent and as immune as possible from political interference. In a country with rich constitutionalism and strong institutions like the United States of America, the character of the country does not change when political leadership does. Donald Trump’s influence on America’s status as a bastion of freedom and democracy will be negligible. He might fiddle with the composition and policy of Cabinet, but the Supreme Court and the sturdy devolution of power to states ensure that the reach of the President does not extend too far.
In other countries, such as ours, the political leadership of the day has far greater influence and institutions are secondary considerations. We already refer to the terms of our post-Apartheid presidents as “eras” – the Mandela-era, the Mbeki-era, and the Zuma-era – each with their own style that had a profound impact on South Africa’s world image. Before 1994, no matter who was president, we simply had “the Apartheid-era”, because the institution of Apartheid was so strong (in a bad way!).
<h3>South Africa&#8217;s economy brought to its knees</h3>
Our political leadership does not have to reach far to impact the lives of ordinary South Africans negatively. That a political appointment practically brought South Africa’s economy to its knees is indicative enough that this situation is not right.
South Africa’s institutions may appear strong on paper, yet it is evident that the executive branch of government can act with a free hand. For instance, the Department of Mineral Resources’ recently-published Mining Charter wiped more than R50 billion off the mining industry’s share value. Our institutions seem powerless to stop government from enacting such destructive policy even when the Charter’s history is questionable when it comes to public participation and impact assessments.
<h3>What is the solution?</h3>
Institutions must be concerned, first and foremost, with the government. There is no doubt that private firms and individuals, too, can be corrupt, but the consequence of private sector corruption, by its nature, is limited. Government corruption and overreach, however, can potentially destroy economic growth and the livelihoods of millions. Private corruption is dealt with by market forces, and, failing that, the courts and the criminal justice system. Government corruption is dealt with politically.
Our institutions need to make sure government does only that which it is designed to do, and does it well. Most of all, our institutions must never enable the growth of government for political reasons – something our superior courts have been guilty of on occasion in recent years.
When institutions lose their character as a restraining force and become an enabling force, they cease to be the custodians of constitutional democracy and the rule of law. Instead, they become part of a very corruptible political process. When this happens, tyranny is inevitable.
Martin van Staden is Legal Researcher at the Free Market Foundation and Academic Programs Director of Students For Liberty in Southern Africa. Find out more at <a href="http://dmanalytics2.com/click?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.martinvanstaden.com%2F&amp;i=1&amp;d=htkauALeQYSCx850UiJv_w&amp;e=Jill.DeVilliers%40abn360.com&amp;a=SqFOozLaTpqmevQjn3SPLw" data-dm-link-id="1">www.martinvanstaden.com</a>

Op-Ed: Institutions must remain mindful of their core mandate

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 640px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5484443004001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
Rwandan President Paul Kagame last week submitted his nomination papers before the National Electoral Commission as required by candidates running for the August Poll.

Rwanda’s Kagame submits nomination for presidential elections

Andrei Khalip
LISBON (Reuters) &#8211; A Portuguese judge has ruled that corruption and money laundering charges brought by prosecutors against Angolan Vice President Manuel Vicente were valid and all suspects in the case, which has angered Angolan authorities, should stand trial.
The former Portuguese colony, where corruption is endemic and most people live in poverty despite its vast oil wealth, has branded the charges as &#8220;a serious attack&#8221; that threatens relations between the two countries.
State-run media called the investigation &#8220;revenge by the former colonial master&#8221; and &#8220;neo-colonialism&#8221;.
An official at the Lisbon Criminal Court told Reuters Wednesday&#8217;s decision by Judge Ana Cristina Carvalho was valid for all the formal suspects in the case, including Vicente. The dates for court hearings will be set at a later phase, he said.
Vicente, who was once seen as a possible successor to President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is accused of bribing a magistrate when he was chief executive of state oil company Sonangol.
Dos Santos plans to retire after 38 years in power after an Aug. 23 election. No one knows how wealthy he is but his daughter Isabel, who runs Sonangol and has business interests in Portugal, is worth $3.2 billion, according to Forbes.
According to Portugal&#8217;s state news agency Lusa, Vicente&#8217;s Portuguese lawyer, Rui Patricio, contends that Vicente has not been notified of the accusations against him, so the judge&#8217;s decision has no effect on him as he does not fit the status of &#8220;arguido&#8221;, or a formal suspect.
Patricio did not respond to calls and emails from Reuters, and court officials would not comment on his statement.
&#8220;Arguido&#8221; is a status in the Portuguese legal system that means a suspect can be questioned in an investigation if he is presented with evidence held against him, while being granted a wider array of rights than, for instance, a witness.
Prosecutors said in April Vicente had refused to come to Portugal to be questioned and Angolan authorities were not cooperating. But Vicente&#8217;s lawyer denied his refusal to attend.
Former Portuguese prosecutor, Orlando Figueira, who was arrested in early 2016, will go on trial on charges of receiving a bribe of 760,000 euros ($850,000) to suspend an inquiry into Vicente&#8217;s dealings in Portugal before he became vice president.
Two of Vicente&#8217;s legal and financial representatives, Paulo Blanco and Armindo Pires, both Portuguese, were also charged with corruption and money laundering for allegedly paying the bribe jointly with Vicente.
According to local media, the investigation that was suspended in January 2012 focused on the origin of funds with which Vicente had bought a luxury apartment in Lisbon.
Angola ranked 164th of 170 countries in Transparency International&#8217;s Corruption Perceptions index last year.
(Reporting by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Portuguese judge rules Angola’s vice president must stand trial for corruption

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s anti-corruption watchdog will oppose President Jacob Zuma&#8217;s court bid to set aside an influence-peddling report, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said on Monday.
The Public Protector, a constitutionally-mandated watchdog, released the report in November last year, after an extensive probe over allegations of influence-peddling against Zuma, whose administration has been marred by scandals.
The carefully worded report by Thuli Madonsela, Mkhwebane predecessor, stopped short of asserting that crimes had been committed and called for a judge to investigate the allegations. Zuma has denied any wrongdoing, and is challenging the Public Protector&#8217;s report in court.
(Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)

South Africa watchdog to oppose Zuma bid to set aside influence peddling report

CAPE TOWN
South Africa mine&#8217;s minister on Sunday defended new regulations seeking to accelerate black ownership in the key industry as a &#8220;win-win&#8221; situation for all, despite objections from an industry body threatening court action to block the changes.
Minister Mosebenzi Zwane released the government&#8217;s revised Mining Charter on Thursday, raising the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 percent from 26 percent, and giving resource companies 12 months to meet the target among a raft of other regulations that hit mining stocks.
The Chamber of Mines, which represents mining firms, said it would challenge the new rules in court, arguing that there had been insufficient consultation in drawing up the charter &#8211; which is designed to widen ownership of Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy.
&#8220;We have given due consideration to the submissions made and we will not be held ransom to those views that seek to derail transformation in the minerals sector,&#8221; Zwane said an an opinion piece in the Sunday Times newspaper.
Saying that it was impossible to please everybody, Zwane said a court review by aggrieved parties was expected.
&#8220;Should this happen, we are hopeful that the judiciary, recognising the separation of powers doctrine, does not usurp the role of the executive in exercising its power,&#8221; he said.
(Reporting by Wendell Roelf, editing by Louise Heavens)
&nbsp;

politics

Op-Ed: South Africa’s rush into populist politics in a policy vacuum

The world’s major emerging economies could end up benefiting from global trade tensions

China’s latest trade partner in Africa could help it export to the US

For years, China shied away from global conflicts. Not anymore

Watch: Trump holds joint press conference with Nigerian president

Libya’s most powerful military leader might be dead and that could impact oil markets

Ramaphosa cabinet reshuffle sees investor favorites return to run South Africa’s economy

Stability in southern Africa hinges on how leaders gain and lose power

NSE’s Oscar Onyema reviews 2017 market performance, gives outlook for 2018

Durban Essence Festival boosts local economy

Sihle Zikalala talks on ANC leadership issues in province

Op-Ed: Bestiality and BS: Lessons from South Africa’s sleazy political climate

Op-Ed: Institutions must remain mindful of their core mandate

Rwanda’s Kagame submits nomination for presidential elections

Portuguese judge rules Angola’s vice president must stand trial for corruption

South Africa watchdog to oppose Zuma bid to set aside influence peddling report

South Africa’s mines minister defends new mining charter

News Tips

Advertise With Us

politics

Op-Ed: South Africa’s rush into populist politics in a policy vacuum

The world’s major emerging economies could end up benefiting from global trade tensions

China’s latest trade partner in Africa could help it export to the US

For years, China shied away from global conflicts. Not anymore

Watch: Trump holds joint press conference with Nigerian president

Libya’s most powerful military leader might be dead and that could impact oil markets

Ramaphosa cabinet reshuffle sees investor favorites return to run South Africa’s economy

Stability in southern Africa hinges on how leaders gain and lose power

NSE’s Oscar Onyema reviews 2017 market performance, gives outlook for 2018

Durban Essence Festival boosts local economy

Sihle Zikalala talks on ANC leadership issues in province

Op-Ed: Bestiality and BS: Lessons from South Africa’s sleazy political climate

Op-Ed: Institutions must remain mindful of their core mandate

Rwanda’s Kagame submits nomination for presidential elections

Portuguese judge rules Angola’s vice president must stand trial for corruption

South Africa watchdog to oppose Zuma bid to set aside influence peddling report

South Africa’s mines minister defends new mining charter

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters