Cyril Ramaphosa: One thing about South African township lads is that they are street smart as well as book savvy; the two combined, you get a president who has created a reputation for himself in business and politics.
I’m referring to one of the best to come out of South Africa’s liberation struggle.
Humble beginnings
Ramaphosa became involved in politics at a young age. His primary years were spent in the township of Soweto in the 1960s.
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He moved to the rural in Venda to complete his matric in 1971, and soon after, he went to pursue a career in law, where he became involved in politics.
When his parents moved him to Limpopo, South Africa’s largest rural province, they sought to keep him out of politics, but once the door of destiny is opened, it cannot be closed.
His first test of fortitude came soon after joining student political parties in 1974, 2 years in 1976, when apartheid police held him in solitary imprisonment for 11 months for organizing political protests.
For six months in 1976, apartheid police attempted to dampen Matamela’s inner fire for leadership. Perhaps they thought they’d succeeded, but he resurfaced in the 1980s while working as a clerk for a legal company and studying at the University of South Africa.
He resumed his political career after receiving his B. Proc degree in 1981; armed with legal skills, Ramaphosa joined the South African Council of Unions, and a year later, he founded the Union of Mine Workers. He rose through the ranks of the liberation struggles.
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Because he was a knowledgeable man, he was frequently placed in key positions of negotiations, such as the Reception Committee tasked with accepting Rivonia trialists in 1990.
When the apartheid administration lifted its ban on the ANC in 1991, Ramaphosa became the party’s first secretary general.
From politics to boardrooms
President Ramaphosa kept ascending the political ladder; his position was now apparent; he was just waiting for the proper moment.
Following South Africa’s first democratic election in April 1994, he was appointed chairperson of the constitutional assembly, where he was in charge of overseeing the creation of South Africa’s first democratic constitution, which has received international recognition.
In the 2000s, he pursued business, The young man who grew up in a South African township in Soweto, built an investment company, Shanduka Group to assist small businesses in expanding their wealth. He has garnered various accolades, including the Olf Palme medal in Stockholm in 1987.
All of his experiences prepared him for the presidency.
In 2014, he was former President Jacob Zuma’s deputy.
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When Zuma resigned on February 15, 2018, he took over as President. Now, he has a BRICS Business Council, a BRICS Youth Council, a BRICS Women in Business, a BRICS Pharmaceutical Association, and a BRICS Energy Transition.
Matamela asserts South Africa as one of the poles in the emerging multipolar poles.
