The governing African National Congress will on Monday seek to bring the transfer of power from President Jacob Zuma to a close because the party knows this is what South Africans demand, South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday.
He said the party's national executive committee (NEC) would at an extraordinary meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon seek to "finalise this matter" and do so in a manner that put first and foremost the interest of the country.
"The NEC will be doing precisely that," Ramaphosa told a rally in Cape Town to mark the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, the nation's first democratically elected president.
"I say this because we know you want this matter to be finalised... we know you want closure on this matter," he said of week-long negotiations aimed at seeing him succeed the scandal-ridden Zuma."
Meanwhile, in an obvious show of unity, Ramaphosa acknowledged all the alliance partners whose relations with the ANC had become frosty under the leadership of his predecessor President Jacob Zuma.
Since his election in December, Ramaphosa has actively sought to mend fences. The ANC leadership sparked rising demands for the removal of Zuma as president of South Africa. The beleaguered president, who has stubbornly refused to stand down, was conspicuous by his absence from the event.
"This year gives us an opportunity to reaffirm our vision of a non-racial society to build a South Africa that belongs to all our people, black and white," said Ramaphosa who delivered his speech in multiple languages, including Afrikaans. He said this year was an opportunity to reflect on the past and right the wrongs.
