New ANC head’s task: Redirect S. Africa
Infighting, corruption tarnish Mandela’s party
JOHANNESBURG — Cyril Ramaphosa, elected leader of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress in a tight race on Monday, faces the daunting task of uniting a starkly divided party and reviving the tarnished reputation of Nelson Mandela’s liberation movement.
The 65-year-old Ramaphosa, the country’s deputy president, beat former African Union commission chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-zuma by fewer than 200 votes. As the head of the ANC, Ramaphosa will be the party’s candidate for president in 2019.
Ramaphosa has had an extraordinary career inside and outside of South Africa’s political arena. He has moved from being one of the chief negotiators who helped bring an end to white minority rule to becoming one of the wealthiest businessmen in South Africa.
In the run-up to this contest, he styled himself as a reformer who will steer South Africa away from the corruption scandals that have hurt the economy and spooked investors.
“Clearly, Ramaphosa has been the darling of the business community,” said Daniel Silke, an independent political analyst. Ramaphosa will be seen as attempting to “revive prudent policymaking in South Africa” and “stabilize the creaky ship of the South African economy.”
South Africa’s economy dipped into recession this year, rebounding to 2.5 percent growth in the second quarter. Unemployment is close to 30 percent, and the country is rated one of the most unequal societies in the world, where the top 10 percent of earners received 66 percent of the national income, according to the 2018 World Inequality Report.
Ramaphosa also inherits a party that has been riven by corruption scandals during President Jacob Zuma’s tenure, cutting into the organization’s clout among voters and creating stark rifts within Mandela’s liberation movement.
The ANC, which marked its 105th anniversary this year, fought to end apartheid and has dominated the political landscape since then. But it has been paralyzed by internal fighting and is losing support among voters. In recent local elections, the ANC lost control of Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city, and Pretoria, the capital.