Deputy President Ramaphosa says South Africa must avoid "mafia state" fate

By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, seen as a top contender to lead the ruling ANC into 2019 general elections, said on Sunday that the country must not become a "mafia state" as he admitted his party had become associated with corruption. Ramaphosa's comments were among the strongest he has made on governance as the race heats up to replace President Jacob Zuma, whose administration has been hit by scandals and missteps, prompting street protests and calls for him to resign or be removed. In televised remarks at an event in the platinum mining town of Rustenburg organised by the South African Communist Party (SACP), Ramaphosa responded to a warning this week from the influential South African Council of Churches that graft is turning South Africa into a mafia state.