The leader of the African National Congress party, Cyril Ramaphosa, faces the steep challenges of unifying the party and reviving the country's flagging economy. Ramaphosa won a leadership contest in December that exposed glaring divisions in the ruling party. CGTN's' Yolisa Njamela has more.  

Cyril Ramaphosa is a wealthy businessman who campaigned on an anti-corruption platform to be the leader of the ANC. He took over the reigns from Jacob Zuma. As ANC leader, Ramaphosa is in a favored position to win election as the country's next president in 2019.

Ramaphosa's rise to power started off when he became the first secretary general of the National Union of Mineworkers. He helped built the NUM into the largest trade union in the country, serving as its secretary general for just over 10 years.

He went on to play a key role during South Africa's transition, becoming one of the key architects of the country's constitutional democracy. In 1994 Ramaphosa lost the contest to become President Nelson Mandela's deputy. He then went into business.

But he made his major comeback onto the political scene at the ANC's 2012 elective conference in Mangaung, Bloemfontein. That's where he was elected deputy president of the ANC, and later of the country.

Ramaphosa had his fair share of controversy. He remains at the center of the Marikana tragedy with many community members blaming him for the bloodshed five years ago. Ramaphosa, who was a Lonmin shareholder at the time, had called for concomitant action to end an unprotected strike in 2012. Ramaphosa has since apologized, saying he was sorry for the type of language he used at the time.

YOLISA NJAMELA JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA "After being elected as ANC president in December 2017, Ramaphosa has been traveling around the country trying to reignite the organization. He is well aware that there's expectation in the country for him to fix the economy and resuscitate the nation-building project."

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA ANC PRESIDENT "This pilgrimage is taking us through the length and the breadth of the country, visiting our past leaders, the forebears of our movement, particularly the past presidents of our movement as well as a number of other key leaders in our movement."

GIDEON CHITANGA POLITICAL ANALYST "What's important for Ramaphosa is to restore confidence in the country. To make sure that there's political certainty, which obviously comes from the fate of him taking over power from Zuma. Investors and the markets are actually worried about the short term to medium term politics in South Africa. So it is important for Ramaphosa to assume power to make sure that he has a definitive policy agenda that deals with nervousness in the markers and establishes confidence in the national economy."

Ramaphosa is expected to set the direction for the ANC, and probably South Africa, for years to come. Yolisa Njamela, CGTN, Johannesburg, South Africa.