Home

Ramaphosa’s speech was a good omen: Analyst

Political analyst Professor Tinyiko Maluleke
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Political analyst Professor Tinyiko Maluleke says President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech was wide-ranging and called it a good omen.

Guided by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, Ramaphosa took the oath of office at the Loftus Stadium, Pretoria. In the presence of thousands of South Africans, local dignitaries and various African heads of state, he made a plea to abide by the Constitution.

Speaking to SABC Digital News, Maluleke says, “I’m amazed at the number of issues that the President was able to pump into the speech, pan-Africanism to climate change, to African trade, to issues that are local in terms of the challenges that the local economy is facing and of course the things that keep South Africans awake. I think it was a good omen.”

“Inauguration speeches are not manifestos, except that we could argue that it’s a personal manifesto, the signature theme was quite central to his speech and that of ‘Thuma mina’.”

“He zoomed on it and even gave it some biblical backing. So in that sense, he spoke in a manner that represents who we have come to know him to be, but we can’t expect a speech to lay out policy or to outline programmes and initiatives in any detailed way,” he adds.

Author

MOST READ