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Cyril Ramaphosa to take over as South Africa’s President

By PrimeNewsGhana
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Cyril Ramaphosa the deputy President of South Africa could be sworn in as the President of South Africa.

This development comes after  Jacob Zuma’s resignation as President.

The 75-year old has been under increasing pressure from the leadership of the ruling ANC party to give way the Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa following series of corruption allegation levelled against him.

Mr Zuma had earlier on refused to step aside claiming he has done nothing wrong and therefore sees no reason to stand down.

Who is Cyril Ramaphosa

Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African politician and the acting President of South Africa since the resignation of Jacob Zuma on 14 February 2018.

Previously an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader and businessman, he served as Deputy President of South Africa under Zuma from 2014 to 2018.

He was elected as President of the African National Congress (ANC) at the ANC National Conference in Nasrec, South of Johannesburg in December 2017.

He is also the Chairman of the National Planning Commission, which is responsible for strategic planning for the future of South Africa, with the goal of rallying the nation "around a common set of objectives and priorities to drive development over the longer term".

He is respected as a skilful negotiator and strategist who acted as the ANC's Chief Negotiator during South Africa's transition to democracy.

Ramaphosa built up the biggest and most powerful trade union in South Africa—the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). He played a crucial role, with Roelf Meyer of the National Party, during the negotiations to bring about a peaceful end to apartheid and steer the country towards its first fully democratic elections in April 1994.

Ramaphosa was Nelson Mandela’s choice for future president. Today, Cyril Ramaphosa is well known as a prominent businessman and has an estimated net worth of over $450 million with 31 properties and previously held notable ownership in companies such as McDonald's South Africa, chairperson of the board for MTN and member of the board for Lonmin.

In spite of his credentials as an important proponent of South Africa's peaceful transition to democracy, he has also been widely criticised for the conduct of his business interests although he has never been indicted for illegal activity in any of these controversies.

Controversial business dealings include acting as Chairperson of the MTN Group during the MTN Irancell scandal when a disgruntled former employee, Mr Chris Kilowan, alleged that the organisation had bribed officials in Iran, however the Hoffmann Commission's finding concluded: "The committee exonerated MTN and found that Mr Kilowan who had given two statements in arbitration proceedings brought by Turkcell against the Islamic Republic of Iran and a deposition in the United States proceedings against MTN was in the words of the committee 'shown to be a fantasist and a conspiracy theorist'"; his joint venture with Glencore and allegations of benefitting illegally from coal deals with Eskom which he has staunchly denied, during which Glencore was in the public spotlight for its tendentious business activities involving Tony Blair in the Middle East; and his employment on the board of directors of Lonmin while taking an active stance when the Marikana Massacre took place on Lonmin's Marikana premises.

On 15 August 2012, he called for action against the Marikana miners' strike, which he called "dastardly criminal" conduct. He later admitted and regretted his involvement in the act and said that it could have been avoided if contingency plans had been made prior to the labour strike.

 

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