Ramaphosa daughter

President Cyril Ramaphosa with other NEC members cutting the cake. Photo Bulelwa Ginindza "The ANC is not an organisation of umkokotelo." President Cyril Ramaphosa said this as he was addressing ANC members and supporters during a cake cutting ceremony held at Mbombela Stadium on Monday, 8 January to mark the 112th years anniversary since the party was founded. Party members singing during the 112th anniversary cake cutting ceremony. Photo by Bulelwa GinindzaHe said those who think the ANC can be airbrushed out of existence are dreaming because it is not going to work. Ramaphosa said for 112 years, the ANC has embedded itself in the hearts and minds of people. President Cyril Ramaphosa celebrating with other NEC members. Photo Bulelwa Ginindza"Through trial and tribulations, up and downs, we were able to prevail as the ANC and finally overcome the 342 years of colonialism and apartheid. It was only a breakthrough that we achieved in 1994. This is not a victory but a breakthrough. That's how we categorise it. Party members singing during the 112th anniversary cake cutting ceremony. Photo by Bulelwa Ginindza"We have reached a point where we now can now march to greater achievements as we move on to improve the lives of our people. The ANC prepared itself for all of this after 1993 by crafting good policies that were meant to undo the damage that was done by colonialism and apartheid government," he said. He said the ANC has the experience to do well as well as good leadership and structures. President Cyril Ramaphosa at the cutting the cake ceremony. Photo Bulelwa Ginindza"It is not an organisation of umkokotelo, an organisation that was recently formed. It is the real organisation. It's the ANC that leads and lives. As we enter the campaign the message that we will be putting out there is that we see all these parties that are coming or have come up, we're ready to take them on, asibasabi. We will put them in their place because we fear fokol," he said. The celebrations are expected to continue on Tuesday, 9 January with NEC members visiting traditional leaders accross the province.

Daily protests were held by people demanding better basic services such as housing, schools, water and electricity.After he had been in power for just a few years, many of his erstwhile allies, such as firebrand youth leader Julius Malema, dropped him, accusing the man known as "JZ" of not doing enough to help the poor.Image source, AFPImage caption, Opposition parties have challenged him on the streets and in the courtsOf course, there have been victories for Mr Zuma.As president he won over many critics and activists when he announced a major overhaul to the country's Aids policy in December 2010 - this has seen a drastic increase of the roll-out of life-saving anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs. South Africa has an estimated five million people living with HIV, more than any other country.RidiculedHis former ally Mr Malema, and his Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, were behind many of the attempts to topple the president.And after his ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma - widely seen as the continuity candidate - failed in her bid to succeed him as leader of the ANC, losing to Cyril Ramaphosa in December 2017, they appeared to smell blood.A ninth motion of no-confidence was filed days before Mr Zuma was due to give the annual State of the Nation address in February 2018.Meanwhile, Mr Ramaphosa - favourite to follow in Mr Zuma's footsteps - and the party's top brass had been meeting, apparently preparing to unseat Mr Zuma and shake the party free of corruption allegations ahead of the 2019 election. In the end, what many South Africans had wanted for years finally happened - Zexit.More on this storyRelated internet linksThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

King, and whether he has good advisers," the academic said.He pointed out that the monarch had also been behaving erratically in his public life, sacking several senior officials in his retinue.On top of this, he has installed himself as the chairman of the board of a financially lucrative land trust, of which he is the sole trustee.The trust was controversially established shortly before South Africa became a democracy in 1994, giving it control of about 2.8 million hectares (seven million acres) of land in KwaZulu-Natal.King Misuzulu has also suspended all members of the board, bar one, accusing them of being uncooperative.He did this against the advice of the government, which pointed out that as chairman he would be required to account to parliament about the trust's operations - something that would not be in keeping with his status as a constitutional monarch.The dispute remains unresolved, giving the government a major political headache as it tries to avoid going head-to-head with the king. AFPKing Misuzulu has been facing a challenge to his crown from his elder half-brotherProf Xulu said he would not be surprised if at some point a powerful rival faction within the royal family launched a fresh bid to dethrone him by asking the courts to rule that he is not "fit and proper" to be king.The monarch's half-brother, Prince Simakade Zulu, who is the late king's eldest son, has long coveted the crown, but his backers were outmanoeuvred by Misuzulu's allies in succession discussions.President Ramaphosa later gave Misuzulu a "certificate of recognition", paving the way for him to be funded by the government.But Prince Simakade's supporters did not give up - going to the High Court to declare his state coronation "unlawful" - and won.The court ruled that President Ramaphosa had failed to comply with the law, which

Views: 5IOL NEWSPresident Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed “deep” sadness over the death of 12 learners from Rocklands Primary School and Laerskool Blyvooruitsig in Carletonville.“The loss of such young lives at the start of a new school term touches all of us as a nation,” said Ramaphosa.“We wish the affected families and school communities the best as they mourn the passing of children who have been deprived of fulfilling their potential and spending their lives with families and friends.”The learners died in a road incident in the Merafong City municipal area on Gauteng’s West Rand on Wednesday.Ramaphosa sent condolences to the families, friends, fellow learners and educators of the deceased children.The president also wished a speedy and full recovery to the seven learners who suffered injuries in the incident which involved a scholar transport vehicle and a Ford Ranger bakkie.“This tragedy, which regretfully is not the first of its kind to confront us, demands that that we exercise our obligation to protect our children with the utmost care,” he said.Twelve learners and their scholar transport driver died in a tragic accident involving a Ford Ranger bakkie, causing the the learners mini bus to overturn and burst into flames. Picture: Timothy Bernard / Independent NewspapersIOL reported on Wednesday that Gauteng MEC of Education, Sport, Arts, Culture, and Recreation, Matome Chiloane urged parents to check the condition of the scholar transport used by their children, following the crash.Gauteng MEC of Education, Sport, Arts, Culture, and Recreation, Matome Chiloane. File Picture: Timothy Bernard/Independent MediaThe learners, 11 from Rocklands Primary School and one from Laerskool Blyvooruitsig in Carletonville were involved in the collision. Seven other learners are receiving urgent medical treatment.Speaking to the media at the crash site, Chiloane encouraged parents across the province to inspect the condition of vehicles used to transport their children to school.“This transport is the agreement between parents and the transport provider, and what I always urge parents to do is that, we must look at the conditions the vehicle is transporting your children, the number of children that have taken this private particular transport,” Chiloane told the media.Twelve learners

Image source, AFPJacob Zuma is the most colourful and controversial president South Africa has had since white-minority rule ended in 1994. He has been a politician of nine lives, surviving a series of scandals which would surely have ended anyone else's career.But Mr Zuma, the man born into poverty who went into exile to fight apartheid before rising to become "the people's president", could only hold on for so long.He was facing his ninth vote of no-confidence in parliament before he left office, forced out by his own party - the African National Congress (ANC).And those charges of corruption - always vehemently denied - finally caught up with him. In April 2018, he was charged for alleged fraud and racketeering linked to a 1999 arms deal.For many years, it was unwise to write Mr Zuma off: his Zulu name, Gedleyihlekisa, means the one who smiles while grinding his enemies.Image source, ReutersImage caption, Cyril Ramaphosa (left) replaced Mr Zuma as ANC leaderHe did not leave power without a fight but carried on long after the writing was on the wall, reportedly negotiating his departure. After all, long before he became President Zuma, and "Nkandla" and "state capture" had entered the everyday lexicon of South Africans, his lawyers were already busy.Image source, AFPImage caption, Mr Zuma is reputed to be a good dancerMr Zuma's bid for the presidency was written off before he had even really started.In the run-up to the 2009 election, he was simultaneously battling allegations of rape and corruption.He was acquitted of raping an HIV-positive family friend in 2006 - although the fact he told the court he had showered in order to avoid catching HIV would continue to haunt him throughout his presidency. Read more:The arms deal corruption case proved harder to shake off, however, even after it