London 19 Dec (ANA) - UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has congratulated South Africa's Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on his election as leader of the governing African National Congress (ANC). The pro-business politician succeeded the scandal-hit President Jacob Zuma, who stepped down as ANC leader after two terms. Mr Zuma is due to remain as president until the 2019 election, but Mr Ramaphosa may sack him early in the new year in order to regain the confidence of voters and the business sector ahead of the poll. However, this could prove difficult as Mr Zuma's allies secured some of the other powerful posts in elections at the ANC conference in Johannesburg. Mr Ramaphosa won on a pledge to fight corruption, defeating Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the former chairwoman of the African Union Commission and the ex-wife of Mr Zuma, in the battle for the ANC presidency. She promised "radical economic transformation" to break the dominance of white-owned businesses in South Africa. Mr Zuma's presidency has been marred by allegations of corruption. The courts have ordered that he should stand trial on 18 counts of corruption. He denies any wrongdoing, and is resisting moves to prosecute him.(ANA)

FA/ANA/19 December 2017-------