NAN
Progress made in combating corruption is likely to be among the topics South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will address in his State of the Nation speech on Thursday.
The speech would come ahead of national elections.
Ramaphosa’s first state of the nation address was held in 2018, shortly after he replaced his scandal-ridden predecessor Jacob Zuma, who was booted out by his own party.
In that speech Ramaphosa a millionaire businessman and former trade unionist – pledged a “new dawn’’ for South Africa and a “fearless’’ crackdown on corruption.
This year his address comes months ahead of national elections, which will be a test for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, whose popularity was hit hard by the scandals of the Zuma years.
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“We are hope merchants we are trying to give our people hope by making the future work better and that is exactly what we are going to do through the State of the Nation Address,’’ Ramaphosa said on Twitter.
“There is a lot of work to be done and we are up to the task,’’ added the president who was a favourite of the late anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela.
Several inquiries into alleged corruption and influence-peddling under Zuma and his friends the Gupta family are under way in South Africa, with citizens shocked as revelations enter the public domain daily.
While some arrests have just recently been made, none has yet been jailed for what has become known in South Africa as “state capture.’’
Ramaphosa “will talk about achievements. He has positioning as an anti-corruption crusader, thus creating an artificial distance between himself and the ANC,’’ independent political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi told dpa on Thursday.