South Africa Vote Aftermath: Revamping Eskom tops Ramaphosa's agenda after election win

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03:11

After the ANC retained power with 57.5 percent of the vote last week, South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa now faces the daunting task of forming a cabinet which he promised would oversee the transformation of the economy. Top of the agenda is reforming Eskom, the country's electricity utility firm. CGTN's Yolisa Njamela has more.

President Cyril Ramaphosa's governing African National Congress has been given another chance to prove itself willing to diligently serve the people of South Africa.

YOLISA NJAMELA JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA "With the elections now behind us and with president Ramaphosa having secured his election as president, investor focus will shift to his ability to fix the country's major problems."

The country is already moving rapidly towards the first sitting of parliament. And the appointment of new ministers and deputies to implement standing policies. The list of expectations from the South Africa population remains quite lengthy.

GIDEON CHITANGA POLITICAL ANALYST "The biggest challenge is unemployment. A lot of young people graduating from universities. He has to hit the road running in terms of unemployment and job creation and make sure that these young people coming out of universities and colleges, get jobs."

One of the other essential first steps the president has to take, is to revive a waning economy.

GIDEON CHITANGA POLITICAL ANALYST "Transforming an economy once it falls down is a very difficult process and it's normally a medium to long term process. If he has capital on his side, if capital buys into his economic agenda, then it means he has extra resources other than the resources he has within government to drive the economy."

Cash strapped state-owned power utility Eskom poses one of the biggest threats to economic growth as it struggles to meet electricity demand. Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. But there's also the question of land reform.

South Africa's lawmakers agreed to amend the constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation. Investors have been jittery about this. The president has on many occasions had to reassure them.

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT "We've got to have land reform. We've got to address the original sin but I'm clear on one thing - we've got to do it in terms of the rule of law. We are not a banana republic, we are a Nelson Mandela's republic and we will do it in accordance with the ethos that Nelson Mandela lives by and stood for."

After his inauguration on the 25th of May, President Ramaphosa is expected to announced substantially trimmed down cabinet as part of cost cutting measures. Yolisa Njamela, CGTN, Johannesburg, South Africa.