Bush congratulates new South African president

WACO, Texas: President George W. Bush called South Africa’s new president Kgalema Motlanthe to congratulate him on his election, the White House said Friday.

Motlanthe was sworn in as president on September 25, following the unceremonious ousting of Thabo Mbeki, who had led the country since 1999.

Buth made the call from Air Force One enroute to an event in Missouri after signing into law the 700 billion dollar financial system bailout package in Washington, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.

Motlanthe said Friday that South Africa’s budget surplus has sheltered the country from the full impact of the US financial crisis that is taking a global toll. In July, Washington launched a scathing attack on then-president Mbeki after Pretoria’s UN envoy voted against targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe.

Saturday, AFP