Ramaphosa sworn in as new leader

SOUTH AFRICA: Cyril Ramaphosa was elected by parliament as South Africa’s president yesterday, marking a turning point for the country after the slowmotion collapse of the once-legendary ruling African National Congress party under Jacob Zuma.

Zuma resigned on Thursday under mounting pressure from the party, leaving both the leadership of the ANC and the continent’s second-biggest economy in the hands of Ramaphosa.

After the parliamentary vote, Ramaphosa addressed the nation, declaring: ‘‘Our intent is to continue to improve the lives of our people.’’ He was later sworn in as South Africa’s fifth post-apartheid president. The South African stock market jumped 4 per cent on the news.

Like Zuma, 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.

The country he inherits is far from the one envisioned by Nelson Mandela, who promised shared prosperity and racial harmony when he became South Africa’s first post-apartheid president.

During Zuma’s nine years in office, some of the country’s most important public institutions were politicised and weakened, Zuma was caught up in a string of corruption scandals, the economy dipped into recession, and unemployment hit a 14-year high.

his speech, Ramaphosa downplayed the chaos that has buffeted the country and his party.

‘‘The lives of our people have been improving on an ongoing basis,’’ he said.

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. Zuma says he is innocent. – Washington Post