Cyril Ramaphosa - The African Mirror

Oct

2023

Presidential honour for exceptional 2023 Special Olympics South Africa national team

IN a historic moment of recognition, the 2023 Special Olympics South Africa (SOSA) National Team, which won 49 medals at the recent World Games, has received presidential honour. President Cyril Ramaphosa hosted a special ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria to honour the athletes. The event, a significant milestone in South Africa's history, is especially poignant given the late President Nelson Mandela's support for Special Olympics South Africa. The event at the Union Buildings marked the first time the Government of South Africa officially acknowledged and celebrated the extraordinary achievements of individuals with intellectual disabilities in the realm of…

Jul

2023

By CARIEN DU PLESSIS

‘Farmgate’: Watchdog clears South Africa’s President Ramaphosa of conflict of interest

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's anti-corruption watchdog has cleared President Cyril Ramaphosa of a potential conflict of interest in relation to more than half a million dollars in cash stolen from his game farm. A report released by acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka found no evidence for the allegation that Ramaphosa violated his oath of office or exposed himself to a risk of conflict between his constitutional duties and his private interests. The incident raised questions about how Ramaphosa, who came to power on the promise to fight graft, acquired the money and whether he declared it. It nearly cost him his job…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa has changed its electoral law, but a much more serious overhaul is needed

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently signed into law a change to the country’s electoral act to allow individuals to contest national and provincial elections independently of political parties. The change follows a June 2020 constitutional court judgment that the Electoral Act was unconstitutional because it didn’t allow independent candidates. Author MASHUPYE HERBERT MASERUMULE, Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology But in my view, the change corrects one wrong by creating another, especially concerning the principle of proportionality. For instance, it does not matter how many votes independent candidates get. Once they have reached the electoral threshold to…

May

2023

By KOPANO GUMBI and ALEXANDER WINNING

South African president transfers some power procurement functions to new minister

NEWS

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa transferred some key power procurement functions to his electricity minister, taking them away from the energy minister who has been criticised for acting too slowly over the worst blackouts the country has experienced. Ramaphosa appointed Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to the newly created post of electricity minister in March to try to find a solution to the crippling outages. But the new minister's powers were not clearly delineated. Analysts say that even now that Ramokgopa has been given some of Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe's responsibilities, he will still be beholden to Mantashe to implement them. According…

May

2023

By WENDELL ROELF

Russia, Ukraine to receive African mission on potential peace plan, Pretoria says

NEWS

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy had agreed to meet a group of African leaders to discuss a potential peace plan for the conflict. Details of the plan have not been publicly divulged, although Ukraine's stated position for any peace deal is that all Russian troops must withdraw from its territory. "My discussions with the two leaders demonstrated that they are both ready to receive the African leaders and to have a discussion on how this conflict can be brought to an end," Ramaphosa told a joint press briefing with the…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Namibia and South Africa’s ruling parties share a heroic history – but their 2024 electoral prospects look weak

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NAMIBIAN president Hage Geingob used his recent state visit to South Africa to also address a meeting of the national executive committee of the governing party, the African National Congress (ANC). This underscored the ANC’s historic ties to Namibia’s governing party, South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo). According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who also heads the ANC, the party had a “wonderful engagement” with Geingob, who posted on Facebook: As former liberation movements, we learn from one another, a manifestation of the deep bonds of solidarity formed during our struggle against oppression. Authors HENNING MELBER, Extraordinary Professor, Department of Political…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa, due to host Putin, rows back from pledge to quit war crimes court

NEWS

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa rowed back from a pledge to quit the International Criminal Court, months before he is due to host Russia's Vladimir Putin who is wanted by the ICC for suspected war crimes. Ramaphosa had said on Tuesday that the ruling African National Congress would aim to repeal South Africa's membership of the Hague-based court, which hears cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. But on Wednesday, Ramaphosa's office said he had made a mistake. "South Africa remains a signatory to the ICC in line with a resolution of the 55th National Conference of the ANC –…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s power outages could reach critical levels this winter – likely scenarios

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

OVER the past 15 years South Africa has been experiencing a gradually worsening number of electricity cuts. This state of affairs has prompted frustration among citizens, negative international economic sentiment and financial hardship for many businesses. Public pressure has grown more intense, leading to the extraordinary presidential decision by President Cyril Ramaphosa to proclaim a state of disaster as well as to appoint a Minister of Electricity. Author HARTMUT WINKLER, Professor of Physics, University of Johannesburg The year 2022 was marked by the worst power outages in the country’s history. Electricity generation deficits reached up to 6 GW on occasion,…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Paul Mashatile, South Africa’s new deputy president, has a critical task: to bring back a sense of stability

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN a recent cabinet reshuffle President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Paul Mashatile, the deputy president of South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), as the country’s deputy president. The tradition in the ANC since democracy in 1994 has been for its elected deputy president to ascend first to the deputy presidency of the country, and eventually to become head of state. So Mashatile, an experienced politician, may also be destined for top office. Author SANDY AFRICA, Associate Professor, Political Sciences, and Deputy Dean Teaching and Learning (Humanities), University of Pretoria Ramaphosa’s cabinet reshuffle took place in a climate of…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa govt to take on half of struggling Eskom’s debt

NEWS

OLIVIA KUMWENDA-MTAMBO, WENDELL ROELF and KOPANO GUMBI SOUTH Africa's government plans to take on more than half of struggling state power company Eskom's debt over the next three years to help strengthen its balance sheet and operations and enable it to restructure, National Treasury said on Wednesday. Treasury said the government would take on 254 billion rands ($14 billion) of Eskom's 423 billion rand debt that was at risk of default, to enable the utility to pay down the debt and interest obligations. The move will free up money for spending on maintenance and the transmission and distribution parts of…