A chance to rescue South Africa

[Balance of Power]( From [Bloomberg Politics]( [FOLLOW US [Facebook Share]]( [Twitter Share]( [SUBSCRIBE [Subscribe]](  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, armed with a fresh electoral mandate, has a [window of opportunity]( to start dismantling the shadow state of corruption that’s been eating away at Africa’s most developed nation. His new cabinet will reveal whether he has enough muscle in his African National Congress to clear out ministers tainted by the graft that marred the nine-year rule of his predecessor, Jacob Zuma. If he can’t, South Africa risks continuing decline: weak economic growth, [rampant inequality](, worsening unemployment, state companies hemorrhaging cash, and a malfunctioning education system. Ramaphosa carries a winner’s resume: he co-founded what was the country’s biggest labor union, led the ANC team that negotiated the end of apartheid, and later became one of South Africa’s wealthiest black businessmen. His main setback was his failure to assume leadership of the ANC even though he was Nelson Mandela’s chosen heir. Twenty years on, he still faces powerful enemies in the party — some Zuma allies — who’ll fight him doggedly. After his inauguration on May 25, we’ll know if Ramaphosa can set a new course and return South Africa to its more optimistic days when it was known as the “rainbow nation.” — [Karl MaierÂ]( A waste picker in Johannesburg. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg Global Headlines [Just in](: Swedish prosecutors said they will reopen a probe into rape allegations against Julian Assange, a move that may complicate U.S. attempts to extradite the WikiLeaks founder. [Varying perspectives]( | President Donald Trump said Washington was “right where we want to be” on trade talks with Beijing, as Chinese state media [blamed]( the U.S. for a lack of progress and U.S. equity futures [extended]( the market’s biggest weekly decline of the year. 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