S Africa’s Ramaphosa admits ANC ‘mistakes’ before graft panel

President says ruling party could have done more to halt state graft and enforce accountability.

South Africa’s President and African National Congress (ANC) leader Cyril Ramaphosa has said the country’s governing party could have done more to halt state corruption under his predecessor, Jacob Zuma. During a much-anticipated appearance before a judicial panel probing allegations of corruption and fraud under Zuma, Ramaphosa said on Wednesday graft had “eroded” constitutional values and “undermined the rule of law”. “We all acknowledge that the organisation could and should have done more to prevent the abuse of power and the misappropriation of resources that defined the era of state capture,” Ramaphosa, who was Zuma’s deputy president from 2014 until 2018, told the panel probing alleged state looting.