RAMAPHOSA BUOYANT
… says second term as ANC head will build on foundation I laid
JOHANNESBURG - Seemingly emboldened by the sizable lead in branch nominations he received this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa has finally broken his silence, saying he deserves a second term because he has laid a solid foundation that needs to be built upon during a second term.
“I think what we have been doing over the past three years is to build a foundation to rebuild our country.
“When we came into office, a lot of things were damaged, a lot of things were not working as well as they should, and a number of our institutions had been captured as was evidenced in the Zondo Commission report,” said Ramaphosa.
He made the case that during his first term, he has overseen the implementation of several reforms at socioeconomic and judicial level to undo the damage done during the height of the state capture years.
Ramaphosa was speaking to the media at the end of his two-day state visit to the UK on Thursday.
He was, however, quick to add some of the progress in this endeavour had been hampered by the “huge challenges such as Covid-19, the unrests, and the floods (in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape).”
The incumbent ANC leader received a boost in his quest to retain his position after 2,
037 branches nominated him, giving more than double the 916 nominations received by
Zweli Mkhize, who is set to slug it out with Ramaphosa.
The seemingly buoyant Ramaphosa also promised while it had taken a long time for those implicated to be prosecuted, their days were numbered.
“People have been vocal that people who have been complicit in wrongdoing during state capture, nothing has been done to them, and I have been saying wait and see, the processes are underway and now as it is beginning to happen.” On Wednesday, a group of leaders seeking nomination into the top six, who are opposed to Ramaphosa getting a second term, described his administration as being out of touch and not deserving of another term.
Despite the concerted effort to dethrone him, Ramaphosa was adamant he was still the right man for the job. –