Bloemfontein - ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday he was honoured to join the top leadership of the party.
“I was minding my own business, I really did not expect this (appointment),” he joked with guests at The New Age breakfast in Bloemfontein.
“I had responded to the call by the members of the ANC who felt I should come and assist the president.
“I responded to that. It is a real honour for me. It is really humbling to be chosen to do this work. I am filled with great excitement to be working with the president,” he said.
He said it was wrong to say that there were high expectations for him in his new position in the party.
“It is wrong to put expectations on any individual. The ANC does not function like that. We are a collective leadership.”
Ramaphosa succeeded deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe on Tuesday at the ANC’s national conference in Mangaung.
Ramaphosa resigned from political positions in 1997, and ventured into business, setting up Shanduka Holdings.
He is also chairman of the Bidvest Group Limited and MTN, and is the owner of the South African franchises of fast-food outlet McDonald's.
His other non-executive directorships include Macsteel Holdings, Alexander Forbes, Standard Bank and SABMiller. - Sapa