Cyril Ramaphosa - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

South Africa extends troop deployment in Mozambique and Congo

SOUTH Africa's military will extend the deployment of its troops in conflict-hit Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement. The extension, for an unspecified amount of time, will keep 1,198 personnel of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in eastern Congo, where they are part of a U.N. peacekeeping force helping Congo fight rebel groups. The statement also said that 1,495 SANDF members would continue their operations in Mozambique, where they have been supporting the government's fight against violent extremism in northern areas since 2021. South Africa's military deployments abroad have come…

Mar

2024

By TIM COCKS and NELLIE PEYTON

South Africa’s main opposition party not ruling out deal with ANC

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's second most popular party the Democratic Alliance (DA) would not rule out a deal with the ruling African National Congress should the ANC fail to get the majority it needs to retain power in May elections, its leader said. Pollsters expect the ANC to lose its legislative majority on May 29 for the first time since Nelson Mandela took power at the end of apartheid 30 years ago, with voters unhappy with poor service delivery, joblessness, crime and power cuts. If that happens, President Cyril Ramaphosa or a successor for the top job would be unable to stay on without…

Mar

2024

By CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

South Africa will work harder, sparing neither strength nor courage, to fulfil the basic human rights of her people

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE adoption of our Constitution with its Bill of Rights by the Constitutional Assembly on the 8th of May 1996 was a great moment in our struggle to achieve a free and equal society. As I said at the time, it marked the day our country and our people came of age. I referred to our constitution as the birth certificate of our nation. On that occasion, we proclaimed to the world that we are a society committed to democracy, to the rule of law and to the protection of human rights. The Constitution came to be as a result…

Mar

2024

By KOPANO GUMBI and BHARGAV ACHARYA

South African president extends central bank governor’s term, appoints new deputy

BUSINESS

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended the term of central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago for another five years from November and appointed Mampho Modise as a new deputy governor of the bank, the presidency said on Friday. "The re-appointment of Governor Kganyago will ensure continuity and institutional stability at the reserve bank," the presidency said in a statement. Kganyago's term was extended to 2029, which will make him one of the longest-serving governors in democratic South Africa. He was first appointed in 2014. Modise, who is currently a deputy director-general in the National Treasury, will start her role on…

Feb

2024

By ANAIT MIRIDZHANIAN

South Africa to hold national and provincial elections on May 29

NEWS

SOUTH Africa will hold national and provincial elections on May 29, President Cyril Ramaphosa's office said. The elections are expected to be the most competitive since the end of the apartheid system. Political analysts widely predict that the governing African National Congress (ANC) party will lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since 1994, with record power cuts, poor service delivery and high levels of unemployment among voter complaints. South Africans will elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each of the country's nine provinces before the National Assembly elects the president. Ramaphosa, 71,…

Feb

2024

By KEITH GOTTSCHALK

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa aims for upbeat tone in annual address, but fails to impress a jaundiced electorate

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THIS year’s State of the Nation Address – delivered annually in February by South Africa’s president – was bound to be stuffed with electioneering messages and slogans. The country goes to the polls any time between May and August and there was no doubt that Cyril Ramaphosa would use the occasion to burnish the governing African National Congress’s reputation. KEITH GOTTSCHALK, Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape That’s indeed what he did. The upcoming elections are the most significant since the country became a democracy in 1994. Numerous opinion polls suggest the ANC will fall below 50% of the…

Jan

2024

By BHARGAV ACHARYA and NELLIE PEYTON

South African president hails ruling against Israel as step toward justice

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa hailed the World Court ruling imposing emergency measures against Israel over the war in Gaza as a step towards justice and said he expected Israel to abide by it. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide, punish acts of incitement and take steps to improve the humanitarian situation as it wages war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. It stopped short of demanding a ceasefire and has not yet ruled on the core of the case brought by South Africa - whether genocide has occurred…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Ramaphosa targets ‘decisive’ ANC win in South African elections

NEWS

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that his African National Congress (ANC) party would be seeking a "decisive victory" in this year's national elections, slated to be the most highly contested in the country's democratic history. Ramaphosa is looking to win a second term as president as Africa's most industrialised country prepares to hold its closest poll for three decades. Analysts say the ruling ANC is at risk of losing its parliamentary majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela's victory in 1994 ushered in a new era of democracy following decades of apartheid rule. "When they look at us and say…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa hopes Gaza truce bolsters efforts to end conflict

NEWS

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed an agreement for a four-day truce in Gaza and said he hoped the deal between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas would bolster efforts to achieve an outright end to their conflict. Ramaphosa has been one of the most prominent voices on the African continent on the brutal war between Israel and Hamas that has raged for about seven weeks. South Africa's strong support for Palestinians dates back to former President Nelson Mandela's days, with the country likening their plight to its own before the end of apartheid in 1994. Israel rejects the comparison. "It…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

South African president deploys army to tackle illegal mining

NEWS

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the deployment of 3,300 army personnel to help combat illegal mining activities, Ramaphosa's office said in a statement. The deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), which is expected to cost about 492 million rand ($26 million), is aimed at maintaining law and order under "Operation Prosper", Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa's spokesperson, said in the statement. The SANDF was previously deployed in 2019 to the Western Cape province to fight gang violence under the same operation. "Members of the SANDF will, in cooperation with the South African Police Service, conduct an intensified…