A new breed of leaders

Our new presidential couple, Cyril Ramaphosa and wife Tshepo Motsepe, are keen on nature and wildlife conservation. They breed rare game on their farm north of the capitol.

He came from humble beginnings in Soweto. Despite their successes in various spheres over the years — Motsepe is a medical doctor — they did not lose the common touch and are known to have been helping the less privileged in many ways.

They are a normal modern family. She is his second wife and their children have found their own diverse niches here and abroad. They represent a new breed of leaders, not only on the continent, but globally.

Ramaphosa has arrived after a long walk through the years of struggle against apartheid. He played a key role during the negotiations that led to our new democracy and through the years of the internal struggle in the ANC, when the once globally admired movement lost direction under the leadership of Jacob Zuma. He has the perfect credentials to take us forward, but knows better than anyone else that his challenge — to rid SA of corruption that flourished under Zuma — ranks among the toughest he has faced.

SA and the world are giving him the benefit of the doubt, as reflected by the strengthening of the rand and upward surge in business confidence.

In the same spirit that united South Africans across all divides to get rid of a corrupt president, we must now remain united to accompany our new president and his team in a critical but constructive manner as he takes us forward. A rainbow has again appeared in the African sky.

Dawie Jacobs Sterrewag