President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has an extraordinarily tough job. He leads a country reeling from a series of corruption scandals and a party at war with itself. South Africa’s citizens are losing faith in the power of democratic governance to provide dignity and opportunity.

The upcoming White House visit presents an opportunity to deepen monitoring and evaluation of bilateral collaboration on defense, intelligence, and law enforcement matters.

In a nationwide broadcast on July 12, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he was reimposing the ban on alcohol and a curfew. Both measures were imposed earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic and were designed to ease the strain on hospitals.

The ascendancy of Cyril Ramaphosa to the presidency of South Africa has been greeted with a mix of enthusiasm, relief, and skepticism. It comes as South Africa prepares to celebrate the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth and it is worth remembering that Ramaphosa was Mandela’s first choice as his deputy.

Ramaphosa announced that he will not be going to New York this year for UNGA. South Africa’s delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor. Ramaphosa says that, instead of attending UNGA, he will focus on a number of crises currently facing the country. He will work on implementing measures against gender-based violence and public violence, which almost certainly refers to the xenophobic attacks on foreigners.