New South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has spoken of a “new dawn” in his first State of the Nation address.
Mr Ramaphosa, who was sworn in on Thursday, promised to “turn the tide of corruption”.
He also spoke of accelerating land redistribution and outlined plans to boost the economy and create jobs.
His predecessor, Jacob Zuma, stepped down on Wednesday after pressure from the governing ANC party. He faces numerous corruption allegations.
Mr Ramaphosa, a 65-year-old former businessman, dedicated much of his address to parliament to job creation. He said that the country faced “tough decisions” because of its stagnating economy and large national debt.
He highlighted youth unemployment and said he planned to create a million paid internships in the coming years.
“This is the year in which we will turn the tide of corruption in our public institutions,” he said.
“We are determined to build a society defined by decency and integrity, that does not tolerate the plunder of public resources, nor the theft by corporate criminals of the hard-earned savings of ordinary people.”
He drew applause when he thanked South Africans for their patience during the last turbulent week.
Opposition Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said the president could have pledged “bolder action”, and complained, “I heard more of the same stuff”.
But Julius Malema, head of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters party, said he would give the new leader “the benefit of the doubt”.
Earlier in the week, the ANC (African National Congress) had told Mr Zuma to step down or face a vote of no-confidence in parliament on Thursday.
Mr Zuma, who had been in power since 2009, finally gave way in a resignation speech late on Wednesday.
The allegations of corruption he faces include claims that he allowed the wealthy Gupta family, to whom he has personal ties, to wield influence over government policy.
Both Mr Zuma and the Guptas have denied wrongdoing.
Who is Cyril Ramaphosa, SA’s new president?
Ramaphosa was an integral part of the anti-apartheid movement. He was an activist lawyer who grew up in Soweto, an impoverished township in Johannesburg, and his anti-apartheid activities saw him detained twice in the 1970s. He formed the influential National Union of Mineworkers in the 1980s and led some of the country’s biggest strikes, which shook the foundations of the apartheid-era economy. His work as lead negotiator with the outgoing white government of F.W. de Klerk helped end apartheid in 1994. He also helped craft the rainbow nation’s post-apartheid constitution, considered to be one of the most liberal in the world.
But his hopes of being anointed as a potential successor to Nelson Mandela was dashed when he lost out to Thabo Mbeki in the race to become South Africa’s deputy president under Mandela. A few years later, Ramaphosa withdrew from the center-stage of politics and started a lucrative career in the private sector. His Shanduka Group acquired stakes in mining firms, a mobile operator and McDonald’s South African franchise.
His biographer Anthony Butler once wrote that Ramaphosa, who married Tshepo Motsepe, the sister of South Africa’s richest black businessman, Patrice Motsepe, enjoyed the finer things in life. “Ramaphosa has always believed that education, the arts, vintage wine and fast cars should not be reserved for the rich or middle-class whites. As a union leader he always flew first class. He also insisted that his regional negotiators, some of whom had never been inside a hotel before, should stay in the same luxury hotels as their management counterparts,” Butler wrote in the Mail & Guardian.
Zuma’s cabinet
In 2014, he became one of the country’s richest men when he divested from Shanduka, which at the time was worth more than $580 million. His step away from business pursuits was made in a bid to avoid conflicts of interest after Zuma appointed him as South Africa’s deputy president that year.
The role saw Ramaphosa act as a problem solver. He led the Southern African Development Community (SADC) delegation involved in fixing the political crisis in Lesotho, following the failed coup in 2014, and was also in charge of turning around a number of South Africa’s struggling state-owned companies. But he was criticized for staying silent under Zuma.
The Marikana killings
Ramaphosa’s shift from a trade unionist fighting against white-owned mines to becoming the owner of a business empire raised some eyebrows. Critics alleged that his position in the top leadership body of the ANC helped give him insider information.
Others point to the most deadly police action since white minority rule ended: In 2012, the police killed 34 workers at the Marikana platinum mine. Ramaphosa was then the director of the multinational company that owned the mine, Lonmin. He was blamed for taking the management’s side over the workers when emails emerged showing him referring to the striking miners as engaging in “dastardly criminal acts.” Ramaphosa later apologized on national radio to save his credibility in the ANC and the trade union movement.
Election to the ANC presidency
Ramaphosa’s bid for the ANC presidency was run on an anti-corruption ticket, which enamored him to middle class, urban black voters and business leaders. Pravin Gordhan, a former finance minister, told Reuters in 2017 that if Ramaphosa was elected ANC leader, “the whole narrative about South Africa’s economy would change for the better within three months.” In Dec., he beat his main opponent Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who was Jacob Zuma’s ex-wife and preferred candidate, by 179 votes. The South African rand surged against the U.S. dollar on the announcement of his victory.
History now waits for Ramaphosa to do good on his promise. With unemployment at 30%, he has the almighty task of winning support among the country’s black majority— many of whom have grown alienated by the many scandals of Zuma.
