Considered stepping down, Mandela's sacrifices inspired me to continue: Cyril Ramaphosa

Johannesburg: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa conceded during his State of the Nation address that he had considered stepping down but was inspired by the efforts of the late former president Nelson Mandela to continue.

In his address on Thursday evening, he listed many challenges facing the nation, including the electricity supply crisis, unemployment, crime and violence.

Ramaphosa said there was a voice within him that made him wonder why he stayed in the position amid all the crises that his government and political wrangling his ruling African National Congress (ANC) faced.

"This voice always says: 'Follow in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela, because he made great sacrifices. He didn't have to do what he did for this country but he made great sacrifices," he said.

Mandela spent 27 years as a political prisoner of the apartheid government before becoming South Africa's first democratically-elected President.

"That voice always says: Contribute the little that you can to make this country great and that is precisely what I am doing. Despite all the challenges that we face, I would call on all of us to make the contribution that we can to serve the people of South Africa as much as we possibly can," Ramaphosa said while ending his address.

After a day of the media frenzy in December last year amid expectations that Ramaphosa was planning to resign, he decided to launch a legal challenge to a report by an Independent Panel that claimed it had found sufficient evidence that he may have violated a section of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act.

The report further said that Ramaphosa may have committed serious misconduct by "exposing himself to a situation involving a conflict between his official responsibilities and his private business." 

The incident at Ramaphosa's private game farm called Phala Phala hit the headlines earlier this year after millions of dollars which were allegedly hidden in furniture at the farm were reportedly stolen by burglars.

Ramaphosa is said to have failed to report the incident to the relevant authorities and spent months without explaining where the money came from until he told the inquiry that it was from the sale of the game.

At issue was also the fact that under South African law, large amounts of foreign currency may not be kept by individuals without requisite declarations or permissions.

The report of the panel, which was headed by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, was handed to the Speaker of the National Assembly, clearing the way for a possible impeachment action against Ramaphosa.

But Ramaphosa s escaped being impeached after a controversial vote in parliament when four senior members refused to toe the party line.

A week later, Ramaphosa was re-elected as President of the ANC at the party's 55th National Conference amid sweeping changes in the Top Seven executives of the party.

Analysts generally welcomed the move, saying that Ramaphosa should now seize the opportunity to make changes in his cabinet to address the public outcry about corruption within ANC ranks and the inefficiency of some ministers to turn around the ever-increasing breakdown of infrastructure such as hospitals, roads and public transport.