Category Archives: Cyril Ramaphosa

Jacob Zuma’s arrest is a victory for South Africa’s post-apartheid constitution | Mark Gevisser

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Corruption still sadly plays a part in public life here, but we’re making steps in the right direction

On Wednesday night, at 45 minutes to midnight, Jacob Zuma blinked. In what was the most consequential moment for the rule of law in post-apartheid South Africa, the former president handed himself into police.

Zuma was, in fact, three days late. The apex constitutional court ruled last week that he must surrender himself by Sunday on a charge of contempt of court, after repeatedly refusing to appear before a statutory commission looking at allegations of corruption made against him. If he did not voluntarily turn himself in, the police minister was set to arrest him by midnight on Wednesday. For the past week, Zuma and his supporters – gathered outside his rural redoubt near Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal – threatened resistance and even war against the state if the authorities tried to enter the compound, while his lawyers engaged in futile litigation to try to get him off the hook (a judge dismissed Zuma’s application this morning).

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Jacob Zuma could be free in months after handing himself in

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South Africa’s justice minister says former president could be paroled after four months of 15-month sentence

South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma, whose decision to hand himself in to police to serve a 15-month jail term has been greeted as a victory for the troubled country’s efforts to enforce the rule of law, could be free in four months, the justice minister has said.

The minister, Ronald Lamola, told journalists outside the prison where Zuma was being held on Thursday that the former leader would be eligible for parole either because his sentence was less than two years or for medical reasons.

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‘Mistakes need to be dealt with’: anger in South Africa as third wave hits

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Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has been criticised for its slow reaction and faltering vaccination programme

Governments across Africa are scrambling to reinforce health systems and accelerate vaccine drives as a third wave of Covid-19 infections threatens to overwhelm hospitals and kill tens of thousands of people.

South Africa, the worst-hit country in the continent, has reported a doubling of new daily cases over the past two weeks, with no sign of the rise slowing.

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Macron seeks African reset with new view of France’s troubled history on continent

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Honest examination of French colonial record in Africa and responsibilty in Rwanda key to new strategy, though critics say little has changed

With the golden winter sun slanting across the palm trees and yellow sandstone, the scene was perfect. Emmanuel Macron and his host, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, walked down the red carpet of the Union buildings in Pretoria as the Marseillaise resonated through the clean, crisp air.

The historic setting was apt. Since taking power in 2017, the French president has sought a broad reset of national strategy, relations and intervention in Africa. He has chosen a very contemporary way to do this: by re-examining the past.

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Coronavirus global report: ‘response fatigue’ fears as Mexico hits 9,000 daily cases

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Many countries that believed they were past the worst are grappling with new outbreaks, says WHO

Mexico has recorded more than 9,000 daily coronavirus cases for the first time, as the country overtook the UK with the world’s third-highest number of deaths from the pandemic after the US and Brazil.

The surging numbers were reported as the World Health Organization warned of “response fatigue” and a resurgence of cases in several countries that have lifted lockdowns.

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African countries unite to create ‘one stop shop’ to lower cost of Covid-19 tests and PPE

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Online marketplace for medical supplies will allow continent to buy in bulk and lower costs, says South Africa’s president

African countries have pulled together to set up a one-stop shop to give the continent a fairer chance in the international scramble for Covid-19 test kits, protective equipment and any vaccines that emerge.

The Africa Medical Supplies Platform will work like eBay or Amazon, unlocking access to supplies across the continent, and could save billions of pounds.

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South Africa puts soldiers on standby as lockdown tensions mount

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President announces $26bn relief package and will set out plans to lift restrictions

Tens of thousands of soldiers have been put on standby in South Africa amid rising tensions as one of the strictest lockdowns in the world nears its fifth week.

Cyril Ramaphosa, the president and commander-in-chief, has mobilised the 73,000 men and women of South Africa’s armed forces, though it is unclear how many of them may eventually be deployed.

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Deep inequalities of social distancing in South Africa – in pictures

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In densely populated townships and cities, the army and police have been patrolling the streets to enforce strict measures to curb the spread of coronavirus

All photographs by Jérôme Delay for AP

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South African tycoon accused of bribery killed in car crash

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Gavin Watson was at the centre of claims of systematic graft involving leading ANC figures

Opposition politicians in South Africa are calling for a “thorough and transparent” investigation into a car crash that killed a controversial South African businessman accused of bribing dozens of top government officials.

Gavin Watson, 71, died when his Toyota Corolla hit a concrete bridge support in Johannesburg in the early hours of Monday morning as he was travelling alone to the city’s international airport.

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Jacob Zuma relishes his day in court as Cyril Ramaphosa faces ‘very dark hour’

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As South Africa’s former president appears before a corruption inquiry, there are fears he could stir up trouble for his successor

Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s former president, will make an unprecedented appearance before a judicial inquiry for a five-day grilling this week over corruption allegations relating to his years in power.

Zuma has been accused of presiding over an immense system of corruption and patronage that drained billions from the exchequer and damaged the reputation of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) beyond repair.

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Cyril Ramaphosa is cautious, but he must waste no time reforming South Africa

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Voters are looking for the newly inaugurated president to take on networks of graft now they have given him a new mandate

In his long career as an activist, businessman and politician, Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, has overcome many challenges. But few have been as daunting as those he will face when he sits down in his office in Pretoria on Sunday morning.

The first is to consolidate his own position. Despite his electoral win this month, and Saturday’s spectacular inauguration, the 66-year-old is politically weaker than he looks. The African National Congress is deeply divided. Many opposed Ramaphosa’s successful bid for power at an ANC conference in December 2017. Some believe he is too “pro-business” to take radical measures to redistribute wealth in one of the most unequal countries in the world and too close to South Africa’s business community.

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Cyril Ramaphosa sworn in as South Africa’s president – video

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Cyril Ramaphosa told South Africans on Saturday that 'a new era' had dawned as he was sworn in for a five-year term as president. More than 30,000 people gathered to witness the ceremony, which included a flypast and military parade. Ramaphosa's inauguration followed victory for his ruling African National Congress party in this month's election

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Cyril Ramaphosa hails ‘new era’ as he begins South African presidency

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New leader says country’s challenges can be solved as he is sworn in for five-year term

Cyril Ramaphosa told South Africans on Saturday that “a new era” had dawned as he was sworn in for a five-year term as president, but said the troubled country was at a defining moment in its history.

“It is time for us to make the future we yearn for … it is through our actions now that we will determine our destiny,” Ramaphosa said, after taking the oath of office in front of 30,000 people in the administrative capital, Pretoria.

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South Africa election: early results point to reduced ANC majority

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Party expected to retain power with 56% of vote, its lowest share in democratic era

Early results in South Africa’s general election suggest the ruling African National Congress party (ANC) is heading for a historic low but with enough votes to retain power.

With about half the votes counted, the ANC was on 56%, enough for a majority but a sign President Cyril Ramaphosa has failed to slow the accelerating decline in the party’s popularity 25 years after the country’s first free elections ushered in a new democratic era.

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ANC corruption is a major cause of South Africa’s failure – and the polls will show it | William Gumede

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The post-apartheid consensus has collapsed. The ANC must renew itself, or become a spent force

When South Africans go to the polls today, it could be the last time the governing ANC wins an overall majority, unless the party renews itself and starts delivering on its promises to increasingly disgruntled supporters. The ANC is likely to win the national elections but its majority will take a hit and it may struggle to win, or have to share power in some of the provinces. After 25 years in power, the party’s popularity is lower than the personal popularity enjoyed by President Cyril Ramaphosa. If Ramaphosa was not also the head of the ANC, it is very likely that it would be heading for defeat this week. Large numbers of ANC supporters have entirely given up hope, both on the party of liberation being able to deliver a better life for them and on South Africa’s post-apartheid democratic institutions.

Even if the ANC wins today’s election, it will be unable to deliver a better life for those who voted for it

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‘They don’t get it’: South Africa’s scarred ANC faces voter anger

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Divided party faces ‘deep moral crisis’ despite anticipated victory in election in May

Major Mgxaji, a retired union official in the poor township of Khayelitsha near Cape Town, was repeatedly jailed and tortured by apartheid authorities for his political activism with the ANC in the 1970s and 80s.

“It is not the same party as back then,” the 67-year-old said in an interview in Khayelitsha, where rolling power cuts in recent months have been widely blamed on corruption at the national electricity provider. “The ANC people have developed the struggle of the belly instead of the struggle to better the lives of our people. That is very dangerous.”

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The Guardian view on Zimbabwe’s crackdown: Mugabe went, but the regime lives on | Editorial

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The ruthless crushing of protests shows how little has changed since Emmerson Mnangagwa took over

People do not always want to be proved right. Many Zimbabweans watching the brutal crackdown on protests this weekend were the same people who had celebrated Robert Mugabe’s ousting in 2017. But they had tempered their optimism by warning that only very limited and superficial improvements were likely. They predicted that the successful coup would further embolden the military, and that putting in charge the feared security chief Emmerson Mnangagwa was a recipe for further repression. Irregularities at last year’s election, and the violence used to suppress ensuing protests, made their case for them. Now reports of torture, indiscriminate beatings, live fire and arbitrary arrests have rammed it home. At least 12 people have been shot dead and hundreds have been arrested.

Even some sceptics had hoped the new president would at least alleviate economic woes. Instead, conditions have worsened. In December, inflation hit a 10-year high, officially reaching 42% (though one estimate put it at around 235%). The government then more than doubled fuel prices, triggering calls for a strike. Unions organising the protest urged participants to “stay away” from demonstrating for fear of state violence. But thousands took to the streets, looting and rioting broke out, and the state struck back viciously. Mr Mnangagwa was forced to return home just as he was supposed to be telling global leaders at Davos that Zimbabwe was open for business. The bloody repression, and internet shutdown, are unlikely to entice foreign investors.

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