Democratic Alliance chairman Joe Seremane has congratulated Kgalema Motlanthe and said election to such high office brought with it profound responsibility.

Democratic Alliance chairman Joe Seremane has congratulated Kgalema Motlanthe and said election to such high office brought with it profound responsibility.

The most important responsibility, he said, was the need to rise above party-political interests and to put the needs and aspirations of South Africans first.

"The country is crying out for resolute and strong leadership to reduce the anxiety currently felt by a great many of our people, who have been deeply unsettled by the governing party's internal power struggles," he said.

Motlanthe should therefore act speedily to calm domestic and international fears about interruptions in continuity of policy, service delivery and any possible vacuum in leadership.

There were urgent challenges facing South Africa. The new administration should therefore do away with any focus on internal power struggles and turn its attention to issues that matter most to ordinary South Africans.

These include rampant crime, widespread poverty, chronic unemployment, the effects of HIV-Aids, the gradual erosion of general infrastructure and poor or nonexistent service delivery.

"Dealing with these problems needs to become the number one priority, not the politics of revenge and hatred, " he said.