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Page 8 The Skanner February 21, 2018 News South African Limbo Ends With New President, Cyril Ramaphosa Ramaphosa was a lead negotiator in the transition from apartheid to democracy in the 1990s CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Cyr- il Ramaphosa became South Africa’s president with a message of clean gov- ernment and inclusiveness on Thurs- day, stirring the hopes of many South Africans that he can reverse a corro- sive period of decline and division un- der his predecessor, Jacob Zuma. Ramaphosa, a lead negotiator in the transition from apartheid to democra- cy in the early 1990s, was elected by ju- bilant ruling party legislators anxious to shed political limbo and get the lead- ership of the country back on track. In an indication of the challenges facing Ramaphosa, the two main opposition parties did not participate in the Na- tional Assembly vote, arguing it was a sham process because the ruling Afri- can National Congress party was taint- ed by its association with corruption scandals during the Zuma era. Even so, the 65-year-old Ramapho- sa delivered a measured, conciliatory speech to lawmakers in a chamber that had been the scene of heckling and sometimes scuffles during appearanc- es by Zuma, who resigned late Wednes- day after protracted discussions with ANC leaders who told him to step down or face a parliamentary motion of no confidence. “I will try very hard not to disappoint the people of South Africa,” Ramaphosa said soon after he was nominated as an MIKE HUTCHINGS / POOL VIA AP By Nqobile Ntshangase and Christopher Torchia Associated Press said: “I’m trying to adapt to the environ- ment. I’m not used to it. In a court of law, no singing is al- lowed.” While Ramaphosa has consolidated his control of the ANC in recent weeks, he still faces the deli- cate task of remov- ing compromised figures from the old Cyril Ramaphosa is sworn in as South African President by Chief Justice administration as Mogoeng Mogoeng, left, in Cape Town, South Africa Thursday Feb. 15, 2018. part of his anti-cor- Ramaphosa on Thursday was elected unopposed as South Africa’s new president by ruling party legislators after the Wednesday resignation of ruption drive while trying to avoid alien- Jacob Zuma. ating ruling party factions that could unopposed presidential candidate and try to undercut him. He must also re- elected by his party. He said the issue of store the reputation of the ANC, which corruption and mismanagement is on fought apartheid and has been in pow- “our radar screen” and that one of his er since Nelson Mandela was elected first aims is to meet rival party leaders South Africa’s first black president in so that “we can try and find a way of the first all-race elections in 1994. working together.” The party’s popularity fell as anger Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng pre- over corruption allegations grew and it sided over the parliamentary election suffered its worst showing at the polls as well as a separate swearing-in cer- in municipal elections in 2016. Investor emony for Ramaphosa, who had been jitters over the political situation con- Zuma’s deputy and in December was tributed to sluggish economic growth, narrowly elected leader of the ruling compounding generational problems party over Zuma’s ex-wife, Nkosazana of poverty and economic inequity that Dlamini-Zuma. will put early pressure on Ramaphosa’s Noting the celebrations by the ruling administration. party legislators after days of national Still, the South African rand anxiety over whether or when Zuma strengthened Thursday to its highest would resign, the robed chief justice level against the dollar in several years amid a sense that the new president represents stability and transparency lacking under his predecessor. The foundation of Mandela, who died in 2013, said the state must now act against “networks of criminality” that have hurt the country’s democracy. As the country marks the centenary of Mandela’s 1918 birth, “there is a need to reckon with the failures of the dem- ocratic era,” the foundation said. “We believe that we are at a critical moment in our history, one which offers us the unique opportunity to reflect, to re- build, and to transform.” The country’s main opposition par- ty, the Democratic Alliance, will work with Ramaphosa if he acts in the inter- ests of the South African people, said party leader Mmusi Maimane. “We will hold you accountable and I will see you in 2019 on the ballot box,” Maimane said. While Ramaphosa wel- comed Maimane’s offer of cooperation, he described the election warning as “grandstanding.” Members of a smaller opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fight- ers, walked out of the chamber before Ramaphosa’s election, saying it was il- legitimate because South Africa’s top court had ruled that lawmakers failed to hold Zuma to account in a scandal over state-funded upgrades to his pri- vate home. The ruling party is “incapable of fighting corruption and maladminis- tration from within its own ranks,” said opposition leader Julius Malema.
