JOHANNESBURG _ Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in as South Africa's president on Saturday, marking the official start of his five-year term and setting the stage for the appointment of his new Cabinet.
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng administered Ramaphosa's oath of office before a cheering crowd of about 40,000 at the Loftus Versveld rugby stadium in the capital, Pretoria. The 66-year-old Ramaphosa has pledged to wage war on the graft that characterized his predecessor Jacob Zuma's rule, reignite an economy that's expanded by an average of just 1.1% in the past five years and name a new slimmed-down executive to curb costs.
A lawyer, former labor union leader and one of the richest black South Africans, Ramaphosa first took office 15 months ago when the ruling African National Congress forced Zuma to step aside. The ANC's outright victory in May 8 elections assured him of reappointment and lawmakers unanimously elected him to the post earlier this week.
Former presidents Kgalema Motlanthe, Thabo Mbeki and F.W. de Klerk attended Ramaphosa's inauguration, along with the incumbent leaders of Zimbabwe, Togo, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Sudan, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
With the new Cabinet expected to be announced on Sunday or Monday, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is being tipped to retain his post. It's unclear however, who Ramaphosa will name as his deputy, with incumbent David Mabuza having delayed his appointment to the legislature.
Mabuza, who's been linked to a succession of scandals but denies wrongdoing, has said he first needs to defend himself against allegations made by the ANC's integrity committee that he brought the party into disrepute. Ramaphosa's second-in-command must come from among the ranks of the 400-member National Assembly.
