“No Connections, No Job”: Student Tells Cyril Ramaphosa She Won’t Find a Job Without Connections
- An electrical engineering student spoke candidly to President Cyril Ramaphosa during a door-to-door campaign visit to her home in Mpumalanga on 3 August 2026.
- The student told Cyril that getting a job in South Africa depends more on who you know than what you know.
- Cyril responded by asking the young first-time voter to sit down with him inside her home to discuss her situation.
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Source: TikTok
An electrical engineering student stopped President Cyril Ramaphosa in his tracks during a door-to-door campaign visit to her home in Mpumalanga on 3 August 2026. She told him something many South Africans have felt but rarely get to say to the country's leader face-to-face.
The student, a first-time voter, explained that she had completed several modules of her qualification but still had more to finish. When Cyril asked her about her plans after graduating, she was direct. She told him that finding a job would be difficult because opportunities in South Africa depend on personal or political connections, not on qualifications or hard work.
A moment that hit home for many South Africans
Cyril listened closely and, rather than brushing past her concern, asked her to sit down with him inside her home to talk through her situation in more detail. The video, shared on TikTok by @athigeleba, the Head of Digital Communications in the Presidency of the Republic of South Africa, quickly resonated with viewers who said the student had voiced what many young graduates experience every day.
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Watch the student speak to President Ramaphosa in the TikTok video below:
Mzansi reacts to the student's honesty
South Africans in the comments section had plenty to say:
User @DamooiTandoe said:
"Asinama connections Ramaphosa [We have no connections, Ramaphosa]😭 tell him."
User @SheIs Mildred shared:
"Ramaphosa is that one uncle after the funeral promising things and acting as if they care, kanthe nothing 😏."
User @Madala Tshilidzi noted:
"Girl fumbled an opportunity."
User @Albert Kester wrote:
"She went straight to the point; it's all about connections."
User @Jay ⁶𓅓 said:
"One thing about Mr President, he is such a humble man🤞🏽. Can we vote for him without voting for the ANC?"
User @TPL added:
"Jobs need connections these days. No connections, no job."
3 Briefly News articles about Cyril Ramaphosa
- South Africans were left amused and charmed by a viral video showing a student casually greeting President Cyril Ramaphosa as "Cupcake" and giving him a hug, to which the president warmly responded.
- A 16-year-old boy from Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape approached President Ramaphosa, reminded him of a previous encounter, and then asked him for a TV game.
- A teenager casually greeted Cyril Ramaphosa and humorously said he was coming for the president position, amusing many social media users.
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Source: Briefly News
