Economic and political problems are piling up for Cyril Ramaphosa, dampening the euphoria that accompanied his ascension to the South African presidency.
A labor union boss turned business tycoon, Ramaphosa took office in February after the ruling African National Congress forced Jacob Zuma to resign following a scandal-tainted tenure that lasted almost nine years. While Ramaphosa initially won plaudits from investors and the public for instigating a crackdown on graft, sentiment has soured as record-high fuel prices, inflation-busting pay increases for government workers and demands for bailouts by broke state companies stymie his efforts to turn around the flagging economy.
The rand, which surged more than 10 percent against the dollar between the time that Ramaphosa secured control of the ANC in December and his election as president, has surrendered almost all its gains, while foreigners have ditched a net 35.3 billion rand's ($2.7 billion) worth of the nation's bonds this year. The threat of a global trade war and a shift in sentiment against emerging markets has added to the gloom, and business confidence slumped for five straight months after reaching a two-year high in January.
“‘Ramaphoria' was not there in the first place -- it was just a media and business construct,” said Xolani Dube, an analyst at the Xubera Institute for Research and Development in the eastern city of Durban. “We are still grappling with serious economic issues in South Africa that Ramaphosa cannot solve on his own.”
The difficulty of the president's task has been compounded by internal battles in the ANC, which remains deeply divided after a bruising leadership fight that he won by the narrowest of margins.
That's forced him to tip-toe around party barons who opposed his candidacy and his bid to restore the image of the party that Nelson Mandela led to power in 1994. It's also limited his ability to bring about policy changes needed to meet his goal of attracting $100 billion in new investment over the next five years.
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