LATEST: NUM wants Ramaphosa for ANC presidency

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has previously defended the country’s land policies, arguing that his government had not confiscated any land and the new law was aimed at ensuring equitable public access to land.

South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) wants Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to succeed President Jacob Zuma as leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), it said on Monday.

A decision has been taken “to support the candidacy of Cyril Ramaphosa for president”, NUM, one of South Africa’s biggest unions, said in a statement.

Zuma is expected to stand down as the ANC president at a party conference late next year, ahead of national elections in 2019 when his tenure as the country’s leader will come to an end.

This is good news for Ramaphosa, who lost out a little when the recent Cosatu meeting opted not to back any candidate for the top job.

The NUM is his home. He was its general secretary during the 1980s and the leader of a massive strike.

This endorsement might go some way to heal the wound of Marikana, which has been Ramaphosa’s deepest political cut.

But the NUM is no longer the force it once was as the number of miners dwindles and other unions, particularly those in the public sector, grow their influence.-Reuters