Motlanthe vows to pursue growth

2008-09-29 07:51

Johannesburg - South Africa's new President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Sunday he was committed to economic growth and vowed to create jobs and cut poverty in his first speech to the nation since Thabo Mbeki was ousted.

Seeking to reassure big business and his leftist allies, Motlanthe said South Africa would "remain true to the course that we have set" by focusing on the economy, but also on building a better life for the poor.

"Working together, we will continue to grow our economy so that it can meet the needs of our people," Motlanthe said in the televised speech. "We will continue to focus our efforts on creating decent sustainable jobs."

Motlanthe was appointed interim president last week after the ruling ANC forced Thabo Mbeki to resign, triggering South Africa's biggest political upheaval since the end of apartheid.

He quickly reached out to investors worried he may steer Africa's biggest economy to the left, pledging to stick to Mbeki's pro-business economic policies and reappointing Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, a market favourite.

But Motlanthe and ANC leader Jacob Zuma, who is expected to take over as president after an election next year, face pressure from the party's Communist and trade union allies to take a more leftist approach.

Communist Party (SACP) general-secretary Blade Nzimande said on Sunday the party would use an economic summit of the allies next week to press for change. He reiterated a call for a review of central bank's policy on inflation targeting and urged the government to focus on job creation and poverty.

"We do need changes in economic policy," Nzimande told a news conference after a Communist party conference. "Those who say there won't be any policy change - sorry, we don't agree."

Opposition challenge

Motlanthe's chief task will be to unite the ANC, which has dominated South African politics since the end of apartheid but has been badly damaged by bitter rivalry between Mbeki and Zuma, ahead of elections next year.

A poll in the Sunday Times newspaper showed the ANC and opposition Democratic Alliance neck and neck among urban South Africans, who are disproportionately white and middle class.

While the survey of 1 500 people does not reflect broader public opinion, it may suggest ANC support among that section of society has been hurt by the sudden ousting of Mbeki.

Calling for unity across the political and racial spectrum after a week marked by "doubt, hurt and anger", Motlanthe expressed confidence South Africa would host "the best FIFA World Cup ever" in 2010.

He also vowed to tackle HIV/Aids and crime - thorny issues over which Mbeki was sharply criticised for doing too little.

Speculation has swirled that Mbeki supporters could split from the formerly monolithic ANC and start a rival party, but Zuma dismissed the idea in an interview in the Sunday Independent newspaper, and said a breakaway party would fail.

"Anyone who has left the ANC, for whatever reason, has failed to shine. The ANC is simply bigger than the individuals in it," Zuma was quoted as saying.

- Reuters

- Reuters