“I decided to resign from the post of President of the Republic with immediate effect, even if I disagree with the leadership of my organization,” says President Jacob Zuma. It was Wednesday, February 14, 2018 during a televised address. The vice president, Cyril Ramaphosa, succeeds him at the head of the rainbow nation.
It was under the pressure of his party, the ANC, that Jacob Zuma resolved to throw in the towel. Indeed, he had been given forty-eight hours to give up power, on pain of being forcibly removed on Thursday, February 15, during a motion of no confidence in Parliament. Jacob Zuma, attacked from all sides for corruption, had become very embarrassing for his party.
Cyril Ramaphosa, 65, a former trade unionist turned businessman, was elected president of South Africa, replacing Jacob Zuma. The new South African president promised to revive the country’s economy and eradicate the corruption that plagues his party and the top of the state. He must pronounce Friday evening, at 17H00 GMT, before the deputies his first speech on the state of the nation.
