Ramaphosa denies being a ‘weak’ or ‘indecisive’ leader

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa held a town hall meeting with young professionals in Johannesburg on Thursday. (Amanda Khoza/News24)

President Cyril Ramaphosa has denied that he is an “indecisive” and “weak” leader – a critique often levelled at him during the 6th administration and his first full term in office. 

Ramaphosa’s tenure during the last five years has been marked by crisis and upheaval, from the Covid-19 pandemic to the July 2021 riots over the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma locally, to the Russia/Ukraine war and the escalation of the hostilities between Palestine and Israel internationally.

In his State of the Nation Address back in 2022, Ramaphosa promised a “social compact” between various interest groups in order to get the country and the economy onto the right footing, after what he earlier described as “nine wasted years”. But, more than two years later, the compact remains elusive.