State Capture Inquiry: President Cyril Ramaphosa Speaks About Zuma and Corruption at Zondo Commission

• President Cyril Ramaphosa appeared before the Zondo Commission to account for his time as former President Jacob Zuma's number two
• Ramaphosa expressed that he was unable to be confrontational with Zuma about state capture because he could have been fired
• He stated that the best course to eradicate corruption within Government was to remain in his position and fight from the inside

JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed at the State Capture Commission of Inquiry that he would have lost his job had he been head-on confrontational about state capture allegations with former President Jacob Zuma.

Ramaphosa noted that while he may have publicly spoken out against some of Zuma's decisions in the past such as firing Minister Pravin Gordhan, he was limited in how confrontational he could be because he believes that Zuma would have fired him, according to SowetanLIVE.

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“A more confrontational approach would most likely have led to my removal from office," said Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa also stated that he made a conscious decision to stay as Zuma's number two and resist corruption rather than resign from his position so that he would be able to dismantle corruption from the inside, according to Reuters.

“This meant ‘staying in the arena’, with the challenges, limitations and frustrations inherent in doing so," said Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa added that staying on as deputy president and working with other non-corrupt ministers was the best course of action he could undertake given his predicament at the time.

He highlighted that since his appointment as president, his administration has done the work to weed out corruption by rebuilding Government institutions that were affected by corruption.

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Cyril Ramaphosa explains why he didn't resign during Jacob Zuma's presidency

Briefly News previously reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa has spoken to the State Capture Commission about why he decided not to resign as deputy president while former president Jacob Zuma served his presidency. Ramaphosa emphasised that although resigning would be the popular decision, it would have inhibited his ability to end State Capture.

Ramaphosa expressed that he gained knowledge of the situation of State Capture in the same way and during the same time as the general public promoting the works of journalists, civil society organisations and institutions.

Ramaphosa has been a target of criticism expressing that he was Zuma’s right hand while the Gupta family faced accusations of looting the state. He confirmed that he decided to stay in the position where he could implement change where possible.

Source: Briefly News