SA president defends record at corruption inquiry

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected criticism that he was complacent about corruption allegations during the rule of his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.

He was giving evidence before the country's long-running Zondo Commission, an inquiry investigating state corruption.

It was set up to look into allegations that Zuma allowed the wealthy Gupta family to plunder state resources while he was in office, which cost South Africa $81bn (£58bn) in public funds and lost opportunities.

Mr Ramaphosa was deputy leader of the country and the governing African National Congress (ANC) for some of this time.

The 68-year-old president told the commission that once he became aware of the accusations he decided to stay on within the party's ranks to try to fight corruption from the inside.

He later campaigned for the presidency on a promise to fight corruption within the government and the ANC.

It is a bold assertion from Mr Ramaphosa - and one that will generate a lot of questions at the inquiry.

Many will also be looking forward to more revelations to come during his two-days of testimony.

The ANC describes itself as a party of collective leadership, which is now also under scrutiny.

South Africans will want to see who should be held accountable for the corruption of the last decade, which has affected the provision of services to the poor and led to job losses in some industries.

Both Zuma and the Guptas deny any wrongdoing.

Source: BBC