Cyril Ramaphosa has centered his speech to the ANC’s106th birthday celebrations on the need to fight corruption in South Africa.
Many of the thousands of supporters who came to head him at the Buffalo City stadium in East London booed President Jacob Zuma when he arrived with his guest Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Ramaphosa says corruption in state-owned enterprises undermines government efforts to address poverty and unemployment.
It weakens key institutions and discourages investment.
It also contributes to division in the ANC and its alliance partners.
He says he’ll systematically fight corruption in both the public and private sectors.
He vows to expose it and bring perpetrators to book.
Rooting out state capture, which features prominently in President Jacob Zuma’s government, is a top priority.
Ramaphosa welcomes the commission of inquiry into state capture called by Zuma last week.
He say he’ll rekindle the late Nelson Mandela’s vision of a non racial democratic society in South Africa.
To achieve this, party unity is vital, he says.
The ANC has to alter its culture accepting that the divisions caused by bitterly contested elections for the new leadership are now a thing of the past.
He did not speak about calls to remove Zuma as president, which is seen as vital for restoring investor confidence in South Africa