Mbeki to name his new deputy

2005-06-21 22:48

Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki is to announce on Wednesday the appointment of a new deputy to replace Jacob Zuma who was fired last week amid allegations of corruption, said his spokesperson.

Presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said on Tuesday: "He will announce the necessary changes to the executive tomorrow after the cabinet meeting in Cape Town."

Mbeki dismissed Zuma, widely seen as the frontrunner to succeed him for the presidency, last week after a court convicted and sentenced his financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, to 15 years in jail for paying bribes to the No 2.

Mbeki said the conviction of businessman Shaik for paying about R1.3m to the deputy president and for arranging a R500 000 annual bribe payment from a French arms firm "raised questions of conduct".

Possible successor

Speculation on who will be Mbeki's choice for deputy president has focused on a half-dozen names including Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and Minerals and Energy Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

The appointment of the deputy president is expected to catapult a new figure in the limelight as a possible successor to Mbeki, who is to step down in 2009 when his second and final term in office ends.

Zuma, 63, who has been deputy president since 1999, is to appear in court next week to answer charges of corruption stemming from the Shaik conviction.

Mbeki's decision to sack Zuma has caused rumblings within the African National Congress, although the official line is that the party is solidly behind the president.

- AFP