Angola’s new leader set to take over as ruling party chief

JOHANNESBURG – Angola’s ruling party says new President Joao Lourenco is set to take over as party leader from former longtime President Jose Eduardo dos Santos in September.

The Portuguese news agency Lusa cites a statement from the ruling MPLA party on Friday saying it has agreed to Lourenco’s candidature for the post.

Dos Santos led the oil-rich southern African nation for nearly 38 years before deciding not to run again in last year’s elections.

Lourenco, a former defence minister, quickly appointed a crop of new ministers to differentiate himself from dos Santos and replaced key security personnel while vowing to tackle corruption. He even fired dos Santos’ daughter — said to be Africa’s richest woman — as chair of the powerful state-owned oil company.