Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that he was resigning as African National Congress Secretary-General, as well as from Parliament. Speculation around Ramaphosa's resignation was because of a belief that he has been overlooked by Nelson Mandela in naming him the second most powerful person in the country instead of Thabo Mbeki. Ramaphosa was widely tipped both within the corridors of the African National Congress, and by the business sector, to be groomed for the Deputy President position. It is rumoured that the favouring of Thabo Mbeki for the Deputy Presidency led to Ramaphosa's dissatisfaction. Ramaphosa ventured into the private sector.
References
Ramaphosa Cyril, M,. (2000), 'Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa biography', from South African history online, [online], Available at https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/cyril-matamela-ramaphosa [Accessed 28 May]|50th National Conference, Report of the Secretary General., (1997), 'Activities of the National Executive Committee', from ANC Organisation, 17 December, [online], Available at https://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=2484 [Accessed 28 May 2014]