By Oyintari Ben
Many South Africans are sending their best wishes to President Cyril Ramaphosa as he celebrates his 70th birthday today.
Quite a few people also express criticism in their birthday greetings to the president.
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa is the sixth democratically elected leader of South Africa. He was born on November 17, 1952, in Johannesburg. Since 2017, he has served as the ANC’s president.
He had previously worked as a businessman, trade unionist, and anti-apartheid campaigner.
From 2014 until 2018, Ramaphosa held the positions of head of the National Planning Commission, vice president to former president Jacob Zuma, and secretary general to late ANC leader Nelson Mandela.
Ramaphosa relocated with his family to Soweto in 1962 from Western Native Township, where he attended Tshilidzi Primary School.
In 1971, he graduated from Mphaphuli High School in Sibasa, Venda.
He was chosen as the ANC’s vice president in December 2012 at the party’s 53rd national conference in Mangaung.
On May 25, 2014, he was named the Republic of South Africa’s deputy president.
Following Zuma’s resignation, Ramaphosa was sworn in as President of South Africa on February 15, 2018.
The Presidency asked South Africans to wish Ramaphosa a happy birthday on Wednesday by using the hashtags #HappyBirthdayPresident and #Ramaphosa70.
While many South Africans expressed their support for the president and best wishes, others were more critical and said that he should step down.
