Soweto shows up for Ramaphosa as he asks for a fresh mandate
15 March 2019
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa's campaign stop in Soweto, where he was born and raised, painted parts of the historic township green, black and gold. Residents screamed "now is the time" as he asked them to give his party a strong mandate to continue leading the country when citizens vote in the national elections in two months' time.
Ramaphosa, who started his programme for the day in Orlando, was uncharacteristically late and residents waited in the blazing sun for a chance to participate in his "Thuma Mina" walk. Thousands more gathered for a mini-rally at Thokoza Park and hundreds more at the Riverlea Empowerment Centre for a sectorial discussion.
The president, who looked wearier with every stop, admitted to those who attend the mini-rally in Thokoza Park that the ANC had made plenty of mistakes in its 25 years at the helm, however, "you find that we have made many more successes than the mistakes that we have made".
"We have changed the future of our country, we have changed the lives of our people," continued the ANC president.