New South African president vows to fight crime, poverty

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
South Africa's new president tried to calm a nation roiled by a week of political drama, saying Sunday that the government would fight poverty, unemployment and crime. President Kgalema Motlanthe, 59, a mild-mannered former trade unionist, was installed Thursday after former President Thabo Mbeki was forced to quit by the ruling African National Congress. Motlanthe, widely seen as a caretaker president until next year's elections, said in nationally televised address that the last week had been "a week of uncertainty and doubt, hurt and anger." But the government "moved quickly to bring stability," he said, so there would be no new "interruptions" to its activities.