Gwede Mantashe, the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, has been named South Africa’s acting president.
Since President Cyril Ramaphosa and Deputy President Paul Mashatile are both on official working visits, this temporary appointment will be in place from May 18 to May 22.
Ramaphosa is in the US for a meeting with President Donald Trump, while Mashatile is in France.
According to Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, this appointment was constitutional.
Resetting strategic relationships
Ramaphosa would meet Trump at the White House on Wednesday, said Magwenya. Bilateral, regional, and international issues of interest will be covered in detail during this meeting.
“The president’s visit to the US provides a platform to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries,” said Magwenya.
According to Keith Khoza, Mashatile’s acting spokesperson, Mashatile arrived in Paris on Monday to start his formal visit to the country.
“The visit is aimed at reinforcing South Africa’s historic and warm bilateral relations with France by expanding on existing cooperation projects, as well as identifying new areas of cooperation with a specific focus on trade and investment,” said Khoza.
He clarified that as part of his programme, Mashatile will attend the SA-France Investment Conference, which will cover important topics like education and skills development, science and innovation, and infrastructure development.
Links in tourism between the two countries will also be explored.
Meeting with French president
Mashatile is anticipated to visit important organisations like Dassault Systèmes and the Suez Global Waste Management Company while in France, where he will also meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and business executives.
“France is the 14th largest investor in South Africa, with about 400 French companies investing in sectors such as financial services, renewable energy, rail, chemicals, oil and gas, to mention but a few,” said Khoza.
According to Khoza, French businesses committed over R70-billion at the Presidential Investment Conference, with the majority of their projects either finished or in progress.
Mashatile is accompanied by a number of senior ministers and deputy ministers who oversee portfolios such as energy, tourism, transportation, small business development, and health.
