Yesterday, South Africa welcomed its fifth President since the advent of democracy in 1994.
The first such President was Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize winner and internationally renowned statesman who bridged the racial divide to unite a new nation at a time when civil war seemed like an inevitability. The "Mandela magic" was quite a surreal effect, and everyone knew he would be a tough act to follow.
That task fell to Thabo Mbeki, under whose watch the South African economy grew and service delivery improved. At the same time, however, power was increasingly centered around the Presidency, as Mbeki became more and more controlling. His unorthodox views on the link between HIV and AIDS prevented millions from receiving the anti-retroviral drugs they needed, and he earned the scorn of the international community for refusing to condemn Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Mbeki fired his deputy Jacob Zuma after he was embroiled in a corruption scandal surrounding an arms deal.
Zuma went on to win the ANC leadership, and saw to it that the party removed Mbeki from office. Kgalema Mothlanthe was installed as "Caretaker President" until the next election.
And so, in 2009, Zuma assumed office. His tenure as President has seen the rand slip to record lows, state-owned enterprises be stripped of their talent and capital and the criminal justice establishment removed of its teeth. Together with the wealthy Gupta family, Zuma has enriched himself at the cost of ordinary South Africans. The rich have become richer, the poor have become poorer. Crucial positions like the Public Protector and National Director of Public Prosecutions have been filled with Zuma-friendly candidates, and he replaced one of the world's most respected Finance Ministers in an attempt to raid the National Treasury. The Zuma house of cards came tumbling down in spectacular style this week, leading to the election and swearing-in of President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday.
So what kind of man are we dealing with? Is he in the mould of Mandela, Mbeki or Zuma?
Ramaphosa first came to prominence in the 1970s as a leader of the Student Christian Movement, very much aligned with the "black consciousness" philosophy and served periods of detention and solitary confinement for his politics. After qualifying in law, he went on to work for the Council of Unions of South Africa and was selected by them to establish the first major union for black mineworkers. He not only became the first Secretary General of the National Union of Mineworkers, but won official recognition for the union with Anglo American and the Chamber of Mines. He became famous as a skilled negotiator who did much to improve the lives of poor black mineworkers. His work with the NUM led him into contact with the ANC, where he quickly rose to prominence.
He formed part of the National Reception Committee which prepared for the release of Nelson Mandela (watch footage of Mandela's first speech after his release - the man holding the microphone is none other than Cyril Ramaphosa) and soon after became the ANC's Secretary General. He headed up the ANC's negotiations to form an interim constitution to bring about the first fully democratic elections.
It is well documented that Ramaphosa was Mandela's favoured successor, but that the ANC wanted Mbeki instead. Ramaphosa took on the job as Chair of the Constitutional Assembly, and led the drafting of what is widely regarded as the world's most progressive human rights based constitutions. When this task was done, feeling snubbed by Mbeki, he left frontline politics and entered the world of business, tasked by Mandela of establishing ways of black economic empowerment.
Beginning with zero capital, Ramaphosa wound up on the boards of several companies, most notably Johnnic, which had been sold off from Anglo American. He later went on to found his own investment vehicle Shandkua and has become one of the wealthiest businessmen in South Africa, at one time owning the entire McDonald's franchise.
In 2012, he saw the opportunity to return to frontline politics and was elected Deputy President of the ANC and subsequently the country. He played the long game during his Deputy Presidency, keeping his eyes on the prize as President, a position he won at the ANC elective conference in December based on his platform of rooting out the corruption of the Zuma years. Just two months after his election, he has managed to remove Zuma from the Presidency of the country in a way that exposes his true character, he has replaced the board at state-owned power utility Eskom and he has given assurances of independence to law enforcement authorities allowing them to arrest, among others, many from the Gupta empire. South Africa's clean up is underway.
It is notable that in his short speech accepting his election as President of the Republic yesterday, he reached out to all opposition leaders by name, inviting them to meet with him and eat with him to find a solution to the country's problems. He made telling references to the values of Nelson Mandela. He pledged to support nation building and reconciliation and to fight corruption and criminality. As MPs from both sides of the house queued up to hug and congratulate him, it felt like the magic of 1994 was back.
Cyril Ramaphosa is a shrewd politician, tough negotiator and formidable businessman. But above all, he is a constitutionalist and will fight to the end to ensure that South Africa's non-racist, non-sexist democracy succeeds. Four Presidents late, Mandela's wish has been granted.
