The Power of Words: President Cyril Ramaphosa's reason to keep doing his job


By Tshegofatso Makola

On this week’s feature of the ‘Power of Words’, we reflect and analyse the words of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Ramaphosa, who delivered the State of the Nation Address had quite a bit to say regarding what keeps him going as the leader of the nation.

The State of the Nation Address brought about many challenges and disruptions at a time when South Africans were riddled with load shedding, poor service delivery, gender-based violence, and a lot of hopelessness. 

What was supposed to mark the official reopening of the National Assembly for the year, saw the complete opposite, plummeting the hope of those watching, even further

Despite this, President Cyril Ramaphosa sought to turn that around within his presentation at the SONA, in which he shared some words of wisdom regarding why he keeps doing his job.

“There’s that voice inside of me that always says, “Follow in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela”’- Cyril Ramaphosa

Speaking on the role that the late apartheid-struggle icon and former President played, Ramaphosa emphasised how much inspiration he has been able to draw from Mandela’s legacy and way of life.

Ramaphosa went on further to express that Mandela made great sacrifices and he urged those listening to “contribute the little that you can to make sure that the country is great.”

According to the President, that is something that he is already doing in his capacity as President of the country.

Radical anti-Mandelas could argue that Ramaphosa is indeed emulating the legacy of Mandela in how he has sold the black majority out to maintain relations with the white capitalists that “own” our country like the Ruperts and Oppenheimers. 

Others could argue that Mandela’s legacy is one of kindness and charity, and Ramaphosa is indeed on track to achieving this. Through his various Foundations and charitable contributions, one can see the extent he is willing to go to follow in the footsteps of Mandela.

No matter what his intentions are behind the words he said, Ramaphosa’s message was very clear: no matter the circumstances or having very little, you can still contribute to making the country great.

Article Tags

Cyril Ramaphosa

Nelson Mandela

The Power of Words

Cancel

    Most Read