NEWS & ANALYSIS

It's like 'SA is being healed' by God - Cyril Ramaphosa

We are not a government sitting down doing nothing, President tells church service

Olievenhoutbosch - President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa has entered a healing mode, where challenges such as corruption and unemployment will be addressed.

Speaking during a church service at the Hope Restoration Covenant Church in Olievenhoutbosch, Tshwane, Ramaphosa said the ANC's watershed December elective congress was a prayer to God in order to save the country.

"It was like praying, praying to our God, saying please come down and heal South Africa, come and heal our land. South Africa is being healed cause there's a new dawn, new spirit flowing through South Africa," said Ramaphosa.

In a weekend where some were taken by the spirit of 'Ramaphoria', as ordinary South Africans came out in their numbers to meet the president and line up for selfies, Ramaphosa visited parts of Gauteng and urged citizens to go and register and check their details ahead of the 2019 national elections.

During the church visit, Ramaphosa quoted several bible verses, telling congregants about the importance of humbling oneself and the renewal which he believed South Africa was undergoing.

"We are now in healing mode. God is addressing our problems, he is addressing our challenges," said Ramaphosa.

Things would start changing for the better and the party looked forward to people registering and checking their details, he added.

Ramaphosa, who was flanked by the ANC leadership in both the province and Tshwane, said the upcoming general elections were a part of the process needed to renew the country and would result in the country consolidating its victories and strengthening its democracy.

"During this process [we] will see a lot of things change, things will start changing for the better and we look forward to people registering and checking their details," said the president.

Ramaphosa also addressed an angry group of residents outside the church.

Just days before his visit, protesters torched a clinic and other municipal buildings and have been calling for the removal of their local councillor.

"We are going to address everything. If it's about houses we will build houses. If it's service delivery, we will resolve that," said Ramaphosa.

He said the ANC would even resolve the issue of land.

"We are not a government sitting down doing nothing," said the president.

He promised that his government would not hide anything from citizens, claiming where they couldn't meet their needs that they would tell South Africans.

Ramaphosa also assured them that Gauteng Premier David Makhura would return next week with members of his provincial cabinet to start addressing challenges experienced by those living in Olievenhoutbosch.

News24