Inside Ramaphosa ’ s 70th birthday celebrations
When President Cyril Ramaphosa walked into his hotel suite in Bali on Wednesday, he was surprised to find a chocolate cake, side plates and a knife on the table, along with a waiting delegation of formally dressed staff led in song by international relations minister Naledi Pandor.
Ramaphosa, who turned 70 on Thursday, excitedly put his hands together as Happy Birthday degenerated into chants of “How old are you now?”
The pre-birthday celebrations began while Ramaphosa was participating in the G20 Leaders Summit held in Bali, Indonesia. He had just finished recording a special message intended for the Eastern Cape Investment Summit when he found people in his room.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said: “When he walked back in, he was not expecting to see us. We started singing, and he was blushing slightly.”
Ramaphosa then left the room to the summit venue for the bilateral discussions with other world leaders.
On his way back to SA from the summit, the presidential jet Inkwazi made a routine stop in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to refuel. This is where another surprise awaited the president.
“Normally when we travel on flights longer than 10 hours we stop to refuel, so on our way to Bali the president made a routine stop in Sri Lanka, and the ambassador and staff served us tea and coffee,” said Magwenya.
On the flight back, Inkwazi made the same stop in Sri Lanka to refuel, but the team was surprised when they were ushered into another part of the airport controlled by the Sri Lankan Air Force.
“There we were welcomed by a group of bagpipe players ... The president of Sri Lanka and other senior officials from the air force surprised the president with an amazing dinner, hospitality and dance show in honour of his 70th birthday.”
A square traditional Sri Lankan cake was brought onto the table with traditional Sri Lankan music playing in the background. “Wow, this is unbelievable!” said Ramaphosa with open arms.
The Sri Lankan president and other dignitaries then sang for Ramaphosa while a single green candle was lit. After refuelling, Ramaphosa and his delegation made their way back to South Africa, and when the clock struck midnight on November 17, members of the SA Air Force in the presidential jet brought out another chocolate cake and sang for the president.
“It’s been a lovely celebration thus far, considering the punishing schedule he has had. Today he is at home, and we hope he will have a wonderful rest with his family.”