New dawn as Ramaphosa becomes South Africa’s new President

…Buhari congratulates Ramaphosa

Following Jacob Zuma’s resignation as South Africa’s president, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, 65, leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) , has been elected as South Africa’s fifth post-apartheid President.
Ramaphosa was elected by the South African Parliament on Thursday, after series of motion for and against his candidature.

Zuma had resigned on Wednesday night under intense pressure from his party, ANC, leaving both the leadership of the ANC and the continent’s second-biggest economy in the hands of Ramaphosa.

In his address after his election by the Parliament, Ramaphosa said “Our intent is to continue to improve the lives of our people.”

He is expected to be sworn in later in the day.

Ramaphosa rose to prominence as a young man fighting the white minority apartheid regime in the 1970s and 1980s. He went on to become a union leader and one of the nation’s wealthiest black business executives.

As a build up to his emergence, South Africans ANC had demanded that Zuma should step down after nine years in power, following series of scandals and allegations of corruption, with the economy dipping into recession.

But Ramaphosa faces the complicated task of rehabilitating the government and strengthening public institutions.

However, as Ramaphosa is getting set to be sworn in, there are speculations of a manhunt for one of Zuma’s sons, who has been embroiled in a fraud case involving a large dairy farm.

As he mounts the saddle of leadership, Ramaphosa will have to reckon with the vast economic divide that has left millions of black South Africans languishing in informal settlements while the country’s upper crust has grown fabulously wealthy. Ramaphosa is among those who have accrued large fortunes in the last two decades, and he’ll have to find a way to connect with those who have not benefited as he has.

In the short term, Ramaphosa and other members of the ANC’s leadership will have to decide whether to pursue charges against Zuma for some of his unresolved corruption scandals. South Africa’s opposition parties have said they will press that issue.

Ramaphosa was chosen as leader of the ANC in December. His election as president was a foregone conclusion given the party’s majority in parliament. He will remain in office until next year’s national elections, when he is expected to run as the ANC’s candidate — and likely win. He has said he intends to regain the trust of South Africans whose faith in politics was shaken during Zuma’s term.

Meanwhile, the Nelson Mandela Foundation has congratulated Ramaphosa on his emergence as the President of South Africa.

In their verified tweeter handle #NelsonMandelaFoundation, the foundation wrote, ” The #NelsonMandela Foundation congratulates President Cyril Ramaphosa on his election to the highest office in the land. We look forward to a presidency committed to making the South Africa of Madiba’s dreams. #BeTheLegacy”

In a related development, President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Ramaphosa on his election as the President of the Republic of South Africa.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, and made available in Abuja on Thursday, the President also felicitated with the ANC and the government and people of South Africa, on the peaceful transfer of power that resulted in Ramaphosa’s election.

The statement reads in part, “The Nigerian leader salutes the leadership and statesmanship of former President Jacob Zuma, and wishes him the best in his future endeavours.

“President Buhari looks forward to working with the new President of South Africa to enhance cooperation of the Governments of Africa’s two leading economies.”

Meanwhile, President Buhari has visited Katsina State on a four-day private visit.

The President was received upon arrival at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International on Thursday at about 4:20 pm by

Governor Aminu Bello Masari, the Speaker of the Katsina State House of Assembly, Abubakar Yahaya Kusada, and other government officials.

The Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmuminu Kabir Usman, members of the executive and legislative councils, as well as members of the religious and business communities were also at the airport to receive the President.

After the airport protocols, the President proceeded to his hometown in Daura.

The President’s visit to his hometown comes six days after he lost two senior members of his family.