African press review 25 November 2016

More pressure comes to bear on Jacob Zuma to quit as South African president. Uganda's Yoweri Museveni could be on his way to Russia following an invitation from Vladimir Putin. And why has next month's US-Africa investment conference been cancelled?

Cyril Ramaphosa gets Cosatu backing to lead the ANC. That's the top story in South African financial paper BusinessDay.

Cosatu, the Confederation of South African Trade Unions, yesterday threw its weight behind Deputy President Ramaphosa to succeed President Jacob Zuma as leader of the ruling ANC, but it will not publicly call on Zuma to step down. Not yet, anyway.

In a four-hour discussion at its central executive committee meeting this week, Cosatu resolved to support Ramaphosa in a decision opposed only by two of its 19 affiliates.

Cosatu’s decision means Ramaphosa is now a contender for the ANC presidency   with a constituency of about 1.5 million workers who make up the federation. He is likely to come up against AU commission chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, backed by a powerful bloc of ANC provincial chairmen and the party’s leagues.

SA’s largest labour federation played an influential role in Zuma’s ascent to the helm of the ANC, but its posture toward him has shifted significantly. Two Cosatu affiliates, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union and the Communication Workers Union, have publicly called on Zuma to step down before his term ends in December 2017, and allow Ramaphosa to take the reins.

BusinessDay's editorial is harshly critical of Zuma, saying the president is in undignified fight-back mode and echoes Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe. As Zuma's position grows more desperate, suggests BusinessDay, we can expect the populist rhetoric against whites and foreigners to get louder.

Uganda's Museveni invited to visit Vlad in the Kremlin

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni could be on his way to Russia following an invitation from the main man in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin. This is the main story in this morning's Kampala-based Daily Monitor.

The invitation was passed on by the new Russian ambassador to Uganda. He described Museveni as a “renowned leader on the African continent.”

An official statement acknowledged the Russian initiative but did not say if President Museveni had accepted the invitation nor when it might take place.

Major US investment conference for Africa cancelled

"Ominous start to Trump era as US-Africa investment conference cancelled". That's one of the main headlines on the front page of regional paper the East African.

The report says the association representing most US businesses operating in Africa has cancelled a conference on investing in Africa's infrastructure due to lack of interest in the planned three-day event.

Next month's conference sponsored by the Corporate Council on Africa was to have taken place in the southern US city of New Orleans at a time of widespread uneasiness regarding president-elect Donald Trump's intentions toward Africa.

Egypt once again considered safe by US State Department

The Cairo-based Independent reports that Egypt has topped a list of Middle East countries that are considered safe for tourism and holidays by the US authorities.

Currently, the regions of lowest safety due to terrorism by the Islamic State armed group are located in Iraq, Syria and Turkey. The US government urges citizens to be cautious while travelling anywhere in Europe due to fears of suicide attacks by Islamic State terrorists.

The report comes as Egypt seeks to attract tourists from Russia and Western Europe in December, one year after the Russian airplane crash that took place in central Sinai in October 2015.

The Egyptian government expects an improvement in the tourism sector starting in the new year. This will provide much-needed foreign currency in the wake of the decision by the Central Bank of Egypt to float the Egyptian pound against the US dollar earlier this month.

Kenyan opposition leader accused of cashing in on graft

In Kenya opposition leader Raila Odinga is accused of benefitting from graft.

The Daily Nation reports that National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale claims Odinga profited from graft perpetuated by governors from his coalition.

Duale told a press conference at Parliament Buildings that the Mombasa County government, which is headed by Hassan Ali Joho of the Raila-led Orange Democratic Movement, had bought at least 20 air tickets on Odinga's behalf.

He also claimed Odinga had enjoyed other forms of hospitality from the governor's use of public funds.

Odinga has described the claims as “foolishness”.