SOUTH AFRICANS had only a few days to celebrate the resignation of Jacob Zuma and the swearing-in of a new president,Cyril Ramaphosa, before the hangover set in. A new budget hiked taxes, and cut public spending and reminded people how broad a mess Mr Zuma left behind.
The budget was presented by Malusi Gigaba,a finance minister whose appointment by Mr Zuma nearly a year ago sparked protests against what was seen as a hostile takeover of the Treasury, a department that had stayed professional even as corruption and incompetence flourished elsewhere in the government. Embarrassingly, or Mr Gigaba’s budget was marred by the release of a tall-court ruling that he had lied under oath in his preceding job as minister of domestic affairs (and photos of him playing “Candy Crush” on his iPad in parliament). Mr Ramaphosa kept him on until the budget so as not to unsettle markets. He may not last much longer.
Mr Ramaphosa’s most urgent task is to kick out of his cabinet the cronies and...
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Source: economist.com