Pretoria - Trade
unionist-turned-businessman Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in as
South Africa's president on Saturday, vowing to create jobs and
tackle deep-rooted corruption that has strangled economic
growth.
Ramaphosa, who becomes the country's fourth democratically
elected president since the end of apartheid, took the
presidential oath before a crowd of about 32 000 people at Loftus Versveld stadium in Pretoria.
"Today our nation enters a new era of hope and renewal,"
said Ramaphosa, 66, wearing a dark suit and flanked by foreign
leaders including Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
"Let us forge a compact for growth and economic
opportunities, for productive land and wider opportunities ... A
compact of an efficient, capable and ethical state. A state that
is free from corruption," said Ramaphosa, a former
anti-apartheid activist and trade union leader who has
wide-ranging business interests.
The ANC clinched a 57.5%
majority in a general election earlier in May, down from 62% in
2014 as voters turned against the ruling party due to
revelations about government corruption and record
unemployment.
Ramaphosa narrowly won the ANC leadership race in late 2017
and replaced scandal-plagued predecessor Jacob Zuma as state
president in February 2018, a year before the latter's term was
due to expire.
Since then he has struggled to mend factions in the party
opposed to his reform plans, especially at cash-strapped state
power supplier Eskom. His promises to punish party members
accused of corruption have also stuttered.
The challenges facing Ramaphosa were highlighted on Friday
by the resignation of Eskom's chief executive, who quit only a
year since he was appointed to stabilise the utility and keep
the lights on after nationwide blackouts.
Also on Friday, S&P Global Ratings kept South Africa's
credit rating unchanged one notch below investment grade.
The economy is set for a first quarter contraction after
mining and manufacturing weakened, prompting the central bank to
cut its 2019 growth forecast to 1%, well below the rate of at
least 3% needed to bring down debt, budget deficits and
joblessness.
"The challenges our country faces are huge and are real but
they are not insurmountable. They can be solved and I stand here
to say they are going to be solved," Ramaphosa said in his
speech on Saturday.
Many in the crowd at Loftus were
optimistic.
"I love my president Cyril Ramaphosa. I know that as long as
we have him here he is going to give us jobs and change many
things," said Patience Shabangu, 45, a volunteer at a local
clinic.
Political analysts say a key test of Ramaphosa's ability to
deliver reforms will be his announcement of new cabinet, which
is expected to take place next week.
"The speech was an honest and brutal reflection of South
Africa's recent problems. But it was also optimistic," said
Daniel Silke, director of the Political Futures Consultancy.
"He will be judged on a very high bar and the next step is
the cabinet. If it contains any semblance of the dead wood from
the past he will be severely critiqued," Silke added.