Recently, opponents of the Vice President accused him of leading a private group that allegedly intimidated other politicians when he headed the province of Mpumalanga, in the northeast of the country. Paul Mashatile, the newly elected Vice President of the ruling (African National Congress party) could succeed David Mabuza.
Before this announcement, Cyril Ramaphosa considered, in Parliament, that the country’s economic development depends on peace and stability on the continent, namely in northern Mozambique. “We depend on a peaceful, stable and prosperous Africa to promote our own development”, said the South African Head of State.
According to Efe, in his speech, which ended Thursday afternoon’s parliamentary debate on the state of the nation, Ramaphosa pointed in that direction to the two-year mandate assumed by South Africa in April last year as a member of the Council of Peace and Security of the African Union (AU). President Ramaphosa, who is chairing a meeting of the council on Friday in Addis Ababa, stressed that through its “participation in the Peace and Security Council, South Africa is working with other countries to bring peace to areas of conflict on the continent, such as the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, the Sahel region and Northern Mozambique”.
Ramaphosa, who in the State of the Nation highlighted armed violence in the country as one of the main challenges for the Executive in the governance of post-apartheid democratic South Africa, underlined that in October last year Pretoria “played a role in facilitating the negotiations of successful peace negotiations between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, facilitated by the African Union”.
“We will continue to provide all possible assistance for conflict resolution and peacekeeping on the continent”, said the South African President, adding that the “recent experience of the pandemic has demonstrated the value of a united response to common challenges “, he said.
State Funeral for Rapper “AKA”
Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday rejected a request that slain rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes be given a state burial. AKA, was one of the few celebrities who fought against xenophobic attacks in the country. It was in this context that the Prime Minister of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa requesting permission to give him a state funeral.
Informing the media, Lesufi said the permission was not for the state to assume the cost of the funeral, but to honor the rapper in an unconventional way. However, his request was turned down for reasons yet to be disclosed. AKA’s funeral, which takes place today, Saturday, a week after his murder, will be broadcast live on their social media platforms.