Forget the plot, tackle state capture
It does not take much for President Cyril Ramaphosa to be a crowd pleaser. Ramaphosa has been applauded for putting his detractors on notice, warning those in the ANC plotting in “dark corners” to desist.
It was not expected that Ramaphosa would confront his comrades by commenting publicly on the Sunday Times reports that ANC secretarygeneral Ace Magashule had secretly met with former president Jacob Zuma and a number of other disgruntled characters that want to reverse the outcome of the ANC’s December elective conference.
But the president took the opportunity at Cosatu’s 13th congress, in the presence of a squirming Magashule and other ANC officials.
He was characteristically polite in his swipe against the “plotters”. “If there are any plots those plots should be directed at eradicating poverty and not playing marbles,” he said.
The ANC prefers to hide its dirty laundry, so for Ramaphosa to give credence to the reports appears to be a radical move. This came after Magashule publicly denied that his meeting with Zuma was part of a plot.
Perhaps Ramaphosa believes that by publicly shaming his opponents in the ANC, they will retreat. But the reason they will not is because of the rest of his speech.
These are uncertain times, with the economy in recession as unemployment, debt and the cost of living rise and crime and social discord grow.
It needs a firm line of march — something Ramaphosa thinks he is giving but is really not.
At the end of July, the president announced that the ANC would amend the constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation.
He also announced that the government would introduce an economic stimulus package. Seven weeks later, there is still no clarity on these announcements, other than indications that the fiscal stimulus will include a large infrastructure fund discussed with business and labour leaders last week.
Ramaphosa told the Cosatu congress he had urged business not to be “too hasty to retrench workers, especially in these difficult economic conditions”.
“In the coming days, government will come up with measures that will lead to the reprioritisation of government spending within the current fiscal framework,” he said.
He assured Cosatu that the government has no plans to retrench public servants.
Was the president really in the position to give such assurances? Was this not the opportunity for some straight talk with the ANC’s alliance partner about what needs to be done to rescue the economy?
The unions continue to hold the government hostage in wage negotiations and will persist in it as long as the ANC leadership thinks pacifying its ally is a bigger priority than financial prudence.
Addressing Nedlac last week, deputy president David Mabuza said the state might have to implement “surgical and difficult austerity measures” due to the lagging economy.
If this is true, when is Ramaphosa planning to inform Cosatu? Why would the deputy president hint at austerity measures if these are not under consideration?
It seems the president might have been worried that his reception at Cosatu would have been less than cordial had he broached such difficult issues.
But the moment in which we find ourselves requires some tough talking, particularly on the issue of state capture.
The president asked Cosatu to keep up its “principled stance” against corruption and called on those with knowledge of state capture to co-operate with the Zondo commission.
But some elements in the ANC and Cosatu appear to have adopted a nebulous if not adverse approach to the inquiry.
While there was general support for its establishment, discomfort over the revelations so far has taken over, particularly on the political culpability of ANC leaders.
Some people, such as outgoing Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini, appear to believe that supporting the inquiry serves another agenda. In his written speech Dlamini said: “As Cosatu we support and actually lead the fight against corruption and state capture but currently the fight against corruption coexist with clear policy programmes meant to create space for the heightening of a neoliberal agenda.”
Ramaphosa cannot be oblivious to the growing antipathy towards the inquiry because of the skeletons falling out. There seems to be a lack of appreciation of the extensive damage caused by 10 years of state capture and why it is necessary for the government to embark on a massive cleanup campaign — particularly in the state-owned companies.
Some people believe that public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan is on a personal crusade and is purging people randomly at SOEs without support from the rest of the cabinet. Others who had vested interests in the capture network are being impaired.
For as long as Ramaphosa peddles softly on such issues, he will be undermined. Inasmuch as the Cosatu congress was the opportune moment to ambush the ANC plotters, it was also the chance to get real about the state of the nation. Playing nicely will not lead SA out of the morass.