ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa stopped short of openly declaring his candidacy to succeed President Jacob Zuma in a speech on Sunday, but his address left no doubt that his campaign is now firmly under way. "It’s becoming clear that he wants the position of party president," said Ralph Mathekga, an analyst at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, a Johannesburg-based research group. "He’s become more decisive and could inflict damage on the campaign of Zuma’s preferred candidate." Ramaphosa has taken the gloves off in the contest to become the nation’s (and party’s) next leader, delivering a scathing speech criticising "the rot" and widespread patronage plaguing the ANC. He made several thinly veiled attacks on Zuma, who has indicated that he’s backing his ex-wife and mother of four of his children, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, for the top post. Dlamini-Zuma, who’s spent the past few weeks traversing the country drumming up support while guarded by the presidential pro...
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