Cyril Ramaphosa Quotes

We need to work together as social partners to focus on our economy by removing all the obstacles to investment and move South Africa to a higher level of growth.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We've got to be moving together, working together, leading the country together, and ensuring that we achieve the objectives that our alliance has set out for itself.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Violence against women and children resembles an epidemic. It has spread through society, sparing no social group or class.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We should draw deep into Madiba's wisdom. We should draw deep into Madiba's style of doing things in an orderly manner, in a purposeful manner, in a way where we focus.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

When I was appointed deputy president, I accepted it, and it is the president's prerogative to appoint or remove anyone to the Executive.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We are determined to build a society defined by decency and integrity that does not tolerate the plunder of public resources nor the theft by corporate criminals of the hard-earned savings of ordinary people.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We want to renew our vows with our people. We want to reconnect with our people. We want to get our people excited again.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We must listen to the concerns of our people without dismissing them. When people see something wrong, there is something wrong. When our people see corruption, it means there is corruption. When our people see that their resources are being stolen by certain people, it means this is happening, and we should listen.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We must investigate without fear or favour the so-called 'accounting irregularities' that cause turmoil in the markets and wipe billions off the investments of ordinary South Africans.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We cannot effect meaningful change if we become complacent, if we become comfortable with our own positions in the status quo.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We will accelerate our land redistribution program not only to redress a grave historical injustice but also to bring more producers into the agricultural sector and to make more land available for cultivation.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We now know, without any shred of uncertainty, that billions of rands of public resources have been diverted into the pockets of a few.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Free education for all - whilst it is a desirable notion, in South Africa it will simply not be affordable.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We must again carry the burden of our people and shoulder our commitment to leading them to the promised land.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

I have not committed any crimes. I have not stolen any money. I have not looted state resources.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Our Vision 2030 remains the blueprint for inclusive growth, social cohesion, and prosperity for all. Under this plan, we will continue to develop skills that can help our country realise its developmental goals and address labour market issues.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Apartheid was baked hard in the mining industry because that's where it originated.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

When courts rule in our country, we have them as the final arbiter on matters in which we might not agree on. And that is an important pillar of our democracy.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

The expropriation of land without compensation should be among the mechanisms available to government to give effect to land reform and redistribution.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

The expropriation of land without compensation is envisaged as one of the measures that we will use to accelerate redistribution of land to black South Africans.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Some say the Constitution has robbed us of a proper land redistribution process. Others would want to look at other clauses. Well, it's South Africa. Everything is transparent and open for debate.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We can make this country the garden of Eden.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We have all the good policies, all right visions, but the problem is implementation. When we come out of national conference, we want those leaders we have chosen to be those who can implement policies.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Tough decisions have to be made to close our fiscal gap, stabilise our debt, and restore our state-owned enterprises to health.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Issues to do with corruption, issues of how we can straighten out our state-owned enterprises, and how we deal with 'state capture' are issues that are on our radar screen.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We want to open spaces for young people to thrive in this economy, and that is why we said... when government buys commodities and services, we must have some set aside for young people.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

My campaign to become leader of the ANC was pivoted on two things: Renewing the ANC and taking back to the values the were espoused and subscribed to by Nelson Mandela, Oliver Thambo, and many other leaders.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We need to mobilise our structures and our supporters to oppose state capture and corruption in whatever form it takes.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Somewhere in the depths of my soul is the connection my father had with his cattle, the hills of Khalavha, and his people.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

During the worst days of apartheid, we turned to the church for hope and courage as we fought a righteous struggle for a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, just, and prosperous South Africa.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We are a big economy, and we must, therefore, show that we can manage it, but not only manage it, but that can transform it so that this economy works for all of our people so that everyone feels that they have a stake in this economy.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We remain a highly unequal society in which poverty and prosperity are still defined by race as well as gender.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

As the ANC, we have got to condemn violence as a method of addressing our differences and disputes amongst us.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We must not have an economy that discourages and chases away investors from investing in South Africa.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Corruption in state-owned enterprises and other public institutions has undermined our government's programs to address poverty and unemployment.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We need to rid our State Owned Enterprises of corruption because the money being siphoned out should be funding them.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We are determined that expropriation without compensation should be implemented in a way that increases agricultural production, improves food security, and ensure that land is returned to those from who it was taken under colonialism and apartheid.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We need to make sure that the ANC branches are strong, that they can lead the communities we live in.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Because of their marginalised position in the economy, the mass of the workers carry the burdens of society.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Marikana should not have happened. We are all to blame, and there are many stakeholders that should take the blame. But taking the blame should mean that we should make sure it never, ever, happens again.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We have to build further on the collaboration with business and labor to restore confidence and prevent an investment downgrade.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We say South Africa is an open country, and when people come here, we must deal with them with dignity and respect within the parameters of our Constitution.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We must acknowledge that there are factions in our movements... We should not be telling lies to each other; we should tell the truth to each other with the view that there will be unity.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We must be determined to get rid of factions within the ANC. We must get rid of divisions within the ANC.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

If we are not honest, we are not going to be able to forge unity.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We must stop the division among us. We must stop factionalism. We must embrace unity; we must embrace working together, because if we are divided, we will not be able to win in 2019.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

South Africa has not turned its back on human rights at all.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

All our policies must be measured by the extent to which they contribute to job creation. Policies that do not create jobs - or that threaten jobs - must be reviewed and revised.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

New schools, hospitals, clinics, factories, bridges, dams, and airports tell the story of a South Africa that has indeed moved forward.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

There are times when leadership needs to take a bold move forward. And there are times when the leadership needs to act on the basis of what the grass roots say. You need to have your political thermometer constantly in the political waters to know when to give leadership in what way.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

No man is born believing that he has dominion over women. Instead, this view is handed down from generation to generation and amplified through social custom, culture, and popular media.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Everyone has to be receptive to the decisions of the ANC because that is the political center. You have got to accept the decisions, and you also have to accept the direction that you are given by the ANC.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Leaders are meant to lead from the front, but at the same time, they are also meant to listen to what their followers are saying.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Young people must feel that they can be real actors in our economy and be creative and be imaginative and be innovative.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We need to remind ourselves of the kind of society of which we have dreamed for so long, for which we have fought, and for which so many lost their lives.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We aim to restore our focus on building an economy in which all South Africans can flourish, an economy which benefits the people as a whole rather than a privileged few.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

As members of the executive, we are accountable to Parliament.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

It is not the function of the leader of government business to discipline members of the executive.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We want young people to come forward with bright ideas; we want the women and men in our country to have jobs.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We are determined to rebuild the confidence of our people in public institutions and restore the credibility of those elected to serve them.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Land has been an issue of great concern to our people.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We are going to seek to improve the lives of our people on an ongoing basis, and since 1994, we have done precisely that.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

I will try to work very hard not to disappoint the people of South Africa.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We are building a country where a person's prospects are determined by their own initiative and hard work and not by the color of their skin, place of birth, gender, language, or income of their parents.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We have brave hearts and won't retreat. We are not going back; we are going forward.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Things such as corruption is a big thing in the ANC.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We have realized that corruption is rife, and we are going to address it. We are going to root out corruption, and that is a promise I can make.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

The country is yearning to put behind all these horrible things that have to do with corruption, state capture, behind us. The sooner these are all done, the better, because we want to move on; we want to move on to a better life.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

In defence of Madiba's legacy, we will continue to wage a relentless war on corruption and mismanagement of the resources of our country.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

If we are to put a stop to corruption and state capture, those responsible must be brought to book.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

In working to end violence against women and children, we need to ensure that men are centrally involved. Men need to organise themselves in a sustained campaign against gender-based violence.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Students want free education because their parents are struggling. The fees of universities and technikons are too high.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Money has come to play a very bad role in the ANC; people's votes are bought, and patronage has become the order of the day. All those deviant tendencies need to be curbed.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We are a nation that does not build walls. We do not believe in building walls. And that defines who we are. We are South Africans, and we do not subscribe to the building of walls.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Climate change is a reality.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We will wash and clean the ANC, and it will be the ANC you know. The ANC that will work for the people.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We should put behind us the era of diminishing trust in public institutions and weakened confidence in our country's public leaders.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

To those who have being stealing government money, it has to come to an end.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Whenever you go through the length and breadth of our country... you see a long face: you will see the long face of an African woman because she's black, because she's poor.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We want to clean up South Africa so that we can begin to make it more attractive to investors but at the same time to deal with the issues that are impeding growth.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

There is nothing wrong with students demanding free education, and, in fact, it is something that our children deserve.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

I believe that our economy is not a one- or two-percent growth economy; I believe it can grow at four percent, and we can revitalize our economy if we do the right things.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Land is a very broad as well as a complex issue, and it has to be handled very delicately because around land, there is quite a lot of emotion.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We need to transform our rural areas, restore the land to its rightful owners, and significantly grow our agricultural output.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

It is important that South Africans of all political persuasions be represented in Parliament.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

I believe things that happen in the ANC family must be handled there.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We must be able to identify those who want divide our movement, and say, 'Not in our name.' We need to choose leaders that will not divide the ANC.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We must be humble and listen to the people who elected us to lead.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

If you read the Freedom Charter carefully, you will find that - the clause that refers to education, and it says education must be free 'on merit.'

- Cyril Ramaphosa

We have to have a good look at the Constitution. Let's determine where the shortcomings are. Then we can start talking of clauses.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

To get education to sink deep into the minds of a nation takes a generation and more.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

What we want is for our young people to be skilled.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

The ANC must ensure that South Africa does not become a mafia state because once you reach that state, all the wheels have come off.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Nobody, no family, is above the law.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

Marikana is a huge wake-up call.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

South Africa must come first in everything we do.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

You can never have unity if you want things to go your way.

- Cyril Ramaphosa

People must respect our movement.

- Cyril Ramaphosa