After 37 years in power, Angola’s president José Eduardo dos Santos has announced that he will be stepping down in 2018.
“I took the decision to leave and end my political life in 2018,” he told a meeting of the ruling party, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola.
On the face of it, this is a momentous moment in Angola’s – and Africa’s – postcolonial history. There are few leaders like Dos Santos who have stepped down voluntarily, and his move could show other so-called “presidents for life” that it is possible to voluntarily depart from the presidential palace.
But most reactions to the news have been cynical. This is not the first time Dos Santos has announced his departure from the political stage, only to backpedal at a later date.
In 2001 the president promised not to stand in the next presidential elections, only for elections to be delayed until 2008, by which time Dos Santos had conveniently forgotten his earlier pronouncement.
There are also questions about the timing of the announcement, which comes in the midst of economic turmoil brought on by the falling price of oil. The crisis is a clear indictment of the Dos Santos leadership: he bears responsibility for the fact that Angola has failed to capitalise on its enormous oil wealth.
We don’t believe it because it is not the first time he says that… He is still there, so let us wait and see
Alcides Sakala, Unita
MPLA supporters attend a rally for Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos in Kilamba Kaixi, 2012.
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MPLA supporters attend a rally for Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos in Kilamba Kaixi, 2012. Photograph: Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images
Then there’s the question of a successor: if not Dos Santos, then who?
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There is no obvious candidate to fill Dos Santos’s ageing boots, although vice president Manuel Vicente and Dos Santos’s son, Jose Filomeno, are likely contenders. But neither is likely to usher in dramatic change – at least not of their own volition.
“None of these people will find favour with an increasingly restless public, or with MPLA old-timers, who will resent a political newcomer being appointed simply because of connections with the veteran leader. So two years hence, the president might again present himself as the least bad option. But, at age 73, he must know the question cannot be put off forever,” Angola expert Justin Pearce told the BBC.
Angola’s main opposition, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita), is just as sceptical. “We don’t believe it because it is not the first time he says that… He is still there, so let us wait and see. On the other side, it’s true Mr Dos Santos is tired because he has been in power for [37] years and it’s quite a lot of time,” spokesperson Alcides Sakala told Voices of Africa.
Will he leave?
If Dos Santos does leave, his departure will have significant ramifications for Angola.
Key to Dos Santos’ regime has been his skilful manipulation of friend and foe alike. Any successor will struggle to match his political might, greatly increasing the potential for upheaval and unrest within the ruling elite.
Forty years on from independence, Angola still lacks freedom
Rafael Marques de Morais
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The identity of Dos Santos’s chosen successor is also key. Dos Santos would be wise to recall the example of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, whose blatant grooming of his son Gamal Mubarak for the presidency played a key role in sparking the social unrest which led to the Egyptian revolution in 2011.
Not that stage-managed successions have to be a backward step. Sometimes, changing the status quo forces a rethink from within the political establishment that can pave the way for reform. Take Cuba, where Raul Castro’s economic policies are markedly more open than his brother Fidel’s ever were, despite being rooted in the same orthodoxy.
At this point, however, such a positive outcome seems unlikely. Angola is still very much Dos Santos’s baby, and perhaps it would be unwise to predict on any kind of change until the 73-year-old has actually been escorted out of the presidential palace — voluntarily or otherwise. Thanks for reading.
BREAKING: Two-Storey Building Collapses In Mile 12, Lagos
A two storey building has collapsed in Mile 12 area of Lagos.
The building located at 9, Ali Close, behind Mile 12 Garage, collapsed early Saturday morning
Eyewitness said one person have been confirmed dead while many other are still trapped at the time of filing this report. more information later. Thanks for reading.
Knives are out for Jacob Zuma as South Africa's Guptagate grows
When South Africa’s ruling party no longer wanted Thabo Mbeki to be head of state after allegations he had abused his power, the former president had the “decency” to exit gracefully, senior ANC sources say. But no one expects Jacob Zuma to do the same.
“Zuma will cling on by his fingernails because of all these people who stand to lose out if he leaves,” said one party leader, adding: “This man must be held to account for what he did to the ANC.”
Pressure has been mounting on the South African president this week amid fresh claims about his close ties to a wealthy business family, the Guptas, who are said to wield extraordinary power over the affairs of state – offering around cabinet positions to make sure their business interests are protected.
Jacob Zuma denies influence of wealthy Gupta family in South African cabinet
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On Thursday Zuma had the opportunity to distance himself from Guptas ahead of this weekend’s meeting of the ANC’s most senior leadership, the National Executive Committee (NEC), when he answered questions on the scandal in parliament.
He was expected to address a claim by the deputy finance minister, Mcebisi Jonas, that the Guptas had offered him the finance minister’s post shortly before Zuma fired the incumbent, Nhlanhla Nene. But instead, the president said it had nothing to do with him. “Don’t ask me. Ask the Guptas or Jonas. I have no business with that,” he said.
Zuma insisted that no ministers had been appointed by the Guptas. “I am in charge. No minister was ever appointed by the Guptas or anyone else. I appoint the ministers.”
Yet the allegations have continued. Today the former head of Eskom, South Africa’s state electricity company, said his exit had been engineered by the Guptas. “They called me and said they will have me fired because I am not playing the game. I was forced to resign shortly after that,” Zola Tsotsi told the weekly Mail & Guardian.
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Former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor has also said that the Guptas offered her the job of public enterprises minister, replacing then minister Barbara Hogan. Hogan has outlined how she was pressurised to favour an airline company linked to the Guptas while in the post.
Cabinet minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi has confirmed he was invited to dinner by the Guptas while he was mineral resources minister. He declined, and was later moved out of the position to make way for the inexperienced Mosebenzi Zwane, who has close links to the family.
Zuma’s decision to dismiss all these claims rather than condemning his wealthy allies has put the ANC in a difficult position.
“I hate to admit it but [opposition leader] Julius [Malema] is right,” said another prominent ANC member. “Zuma does not deserve the respect due to a president.” He added that he was so angry about how Zuma had allowed the Guptas to control his presidency that he could not bear to greet him anymore.
A leader in South Africa’s ruling alliance said he had tried to speak to Zuma about the Guptas and advised him to end the relationship. “He just laughs and says ‘Don’t worry Baba. It is being handled.’ I don’t know what that means.” Asked what happens now, the alliance leader said “Well he must face what’s coming”.
The question is, what is coming?
Asked whether Zuma could be recalled at this weekend’s executive meeting, the influential ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe answered with a technicality: No ANC member has asked him to put a recall on the agenda, Mantashe said.
But his further responses offer an insight into how the ANC will deal with the matter: “The ANC has a capability and capacity to deal with issues. … We have a responsibility and a duty to ensure that the ANC cannot be dragged down,” he said.
Members of the ANC women’s league, said to support Zuma.
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Members of the ANC women’s league, whose representatives support Zuma. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Mantashe also encouraged more ANC members to come forward. “If people have experiences they must come to the ANC. We’ll listen very carefully. We’ll deal with the broader picture. We are refusing to be narrow in dealing with this matter because it is bigger than this one incident.”
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Some ANC members suggest that Mantashe’s office should be mandated to investigate Gupta contagion in the ANC and the state. Others believe that a special tribunal should be set up for ANC members to come forward with information on attempts to corrupt them.
The South African Communist party, part of the governing alliance, has called for an investigation and a judicial commission of inquiry into “growing evidence of the manipulation of political appointments by the Gupta family”..
With the political fallout intensifying, the Guptas have further enraged the party by claiming that the allegations against them are “political point scoring between rival factions within the ANC”. Mantashe said this showed the Guptas’ disrespect for the ruling party.
“It is arrogance to the superlative degree of a family that believes that the ANC is nothing to them,” he said. “The ANC must not be blackmailed into inaction by being accused of being in a factional battle. It is not in a factional battle.”
While Mantashe is expected to lead the charge against the Guptas at the NEC, he is unlikely to be as forthright over the president’s role in this surrender of his powers. It will be up to the committee to take this on. While the executive committee was previously tipped heavily in Zuma’s favour, his support rests largely with the ANC Youth League, Women’s League and the military veterans association, as well as the so-called premier league faction.
Other NEC members, including cabinet ministers, are being canvassed to speak out against Zuma and the Guptas.
“The important thing is that we do not rush to get results. There cannot be a recall outcome this weekend. It is a process but in the end he [Zuma] will go,” said one source. “Gwede’s approach is to give you a long rope to hang yourself,” he added.
Another ANC member believes that treasurer general Zweli Mkhize, a close ally of Zuma’s, will try to broker a deal for harsh action against the Guptas and no action against the president. As he had done repeatedly, Zuma is washing his hands of culpability and denies knowing what the Guptas were doing.
While his allies might buy Zuma some time, a surge of anger from ANC structures and the public, as well as the pending Constitutional Court ruling on the use of taxpayers money to fund his home in Nkandla, will keep up the pressure.
Mantashe has made the point that it was a lot more complicated for the ANC to deal with Zuma than had been the case in the dispute with Mbeki. When the executive recalled Mbeki he was no longer a serving leader in the party.
“Here we are talking about the president of the ANC who is the president of the republic. Remember that you are dealing with two people in one,” Mantashe said.
Analysis South Africa playing a high-stakes game as president and treasury square off
Richard Calland
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It will be extremely difficult for the ANC to act against its senior most leader, particularly in an election year. There are some fears that the opposition would exploit this, pointing out the ANC’s leadership weaknesses. However, there are also concerns about how much damage Zuma is doing to the ANC and the impact on the party’s electoral base.
Zuma has survived numerous scandals by getting others to take the fall for him or denying responsibility for wrongdoing. From his performance in parliament on Thursday, he clearly wants to adopt the same approach now. But he has lost political capital and credibility and is also clearly vested in the Gupta business empire.
His refusal to acknowledge that his friends have compromised him and the integrity of the state points to his dependence on the relationship with the Guptas.
The ANC is now faced with one of the biggest decisions in its 104-year history – whether to put up with the Zuma-Gupta contagion or can purge itself of the poison. Either way, the party will bleed. But it must face the fact that it canot rely of its electoral dominance forever.
Kwankwaso And I Will Reconcile Soon – Kano Governor
Kano state Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has said that the differences between him and his predecessor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was an in-house matter.
He made this assertion on Friday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Ganduje affirmed that Kwankwaso was his political brother.
He said: “The situation is under control. It is an in-house problem which is under control. We are talking about it. Yes, reconciliation is ongoing, and it will work.
“We have been together for long, we are, politically, brothers and friends. Therefore, we will make sure that we don’t allow things to continue to fall apart”.
“Kano is the most populous state in the country. Kano was the one that provided the highest number of votes for the president. Kano is the state that has 100 percent APC in whichever elected posts you can think of. We shall put heads together to make sure that there is peace and stability in the state”.Thanks for reading.
Breaking: 62 Dead As FlyDubai Plane Crashes In Russia
A Flydubai Boeing 737 jet has crashed at the Rostov-on-Don airport after traveling from Dubai, to Russia’s Southern, killing all 62 people aboard.
Authorities confirmed that all those on board died in the crash without survivor.
Officials believe bad weather which included high winds and poor visibility may have caused the fatal attempt at landing on Saturday,
The plane was reattempting to land for more than two hours, before it eventually crashed. Thanks for reading.
Babington Macaulay Kidnap Suspects Remanded In Prison
The six men, who allegedly took part in the kidnap of three girls from Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School located in Ikorodu, were on Friday remanded at Ikoyi Prisons on the order of an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs O.I. Adelaja, who gave the order, said the accused should be remanded in prison pending advice from the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The accused, Emmanuel Arigidi, 37; Gift Pius, 30; Fred Omoni, 32; Geofrey Owei, 28; Seun Akanji, 33; and Segun James, 29 are facing a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, kidnap, being armed with offensive weapons and robbery.
Mr G.O. Osuyi, a counsel from the Criminal Investigations Department, Panti, Lagos, said the accused conspired with others still at large on Feb. 25 at Maya under the bridge along Ikorodu-Imota Road, to kidnap three girls from the college.
He said the accused, armed with AK 47, also robbed the Principal of the college, Ven. Olaoluwa Adeyemi of the sum of N5.6 million. Osuyi alleged that the 1st accused, Emmanuel Arigidi, who was armed with AK 47 on March 12, 2015 at Admiralty Way, Lekki, robbed one of the new generation banks at Ikorodu area and made away with N24.5 million.
Arigidi is alleged to be one of the robbers who unleashed terror in Ikorodu area and robbed several banks in 2015. Counsel to the accused, Mr Ola Ogunbiyi, however, did not oppose their remand in prison.
The offences contravened Sections 269(1), 295 (2) and 409 and of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011 In which section 295 (2) provides a death penalty for the offenders.
The case has been adjourned to April 25.
Several Policemen Injured, 5 cows Dead In Ghastly Accident In Rivers
At least 100 policemen travelling from Akure, Ondo state to Rivers state for the rerun election scheduled for Saturday escaped death in a ghastly accident on Friday.
Eyewitness said the policemen were in a police truck with registration number “NPF 5205 C” collided with another truck carrying cows along the East-West road near Akala – Olu community in Rivers state.
Several policemen sustained various degree of injuries while at least five cows died in the accident.Thanks for reading
Eyewitness said the policemen were in a police truck with registration number “NPF 5205 C” collided with another truck carrying cows along the East-West road near Akala – Olu community in Rivers state.
Several policemen sustained various degree of injuries while at least five cows died in the accident.Thanks for reading
