Ramaphosa, deputy travel abroad — defence minister named acting president

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Angie Motshekga, the minister of defence, as the acting president.

Ramaphosa appointed Motshekga to temporarily act in his stead while he and Paul Mashatile, his deputy, are away on official trips.

In a statement on Wednesday, the South African presidency noted that the appointment was made in accordance with section 90(1) of the country’s 1996 Constitution.

The law provides for the delegation of presidential authority when both the president and the deputy president are unable to fulfil the duties of the office.

Ramaphosa embarked on an official visit to Ireland today.

Ireland is an invited guest country to the G20—an economic bloc which South Africa currently presides over—alongside Nigeria, Egypt, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The South African president is expected to also attend the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Mashatile visited Dakar on Tuesday to participate in the ‘2025 Invest in Senegal forum’.

On Wednesday, the deputy president arrived in South Sudan in his capacity as presidential special envoy to consolidate political efforts aimed at deepening the implementation of the peace process in the country.

The situation, however, has not been quite the same in Nigeria.

Last October, President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima were out of office simultaneously.

Tinubu was on a two-week vacation in the United Kingdom (UK), while Shettima travelled to Sweden for an official visit.

It was the second time both leaders were concurrently absent from the country.

The duo’s absence sparked criticism from citizens.

But the presidency dismissed concerns about a leadership vacuum, citing the law which, it said, does not require either the president or the vice-president to be physically present in Nigeria to perform their constitutional duties.