Hopefully, Ramaphosa is the president we deserve
‘YOU have new president? I see it on Al Jazeera. Mabrook. But everything happen so peaceful. So nice. I like this about South Africa very much.” I smile at Tarek, my Egyptian colleague. And not only because of the way he pronounces my name. When Egyptians say “Ridwaan”, it comes out as “Rudwaan”. But they spell it “Radwaan”. As do the Lebanese. Tomato, tomato, I suppose.
What’s in a name? Except, I have a Tunisian friend who calls me “Redwaan” but spells it “Redouane”, which is pushing it a bit, I think. Nothing, though, can beat “Redwine”, which is what the good people of Claremont used to call me as a kid.
I’m waiting to hear Tarek pronounce “Ramaphosa”. Is it going to be “Ramaposer”? Or maybe “Ramafosa”?
But Tarek – as a marketing manager, thinks on his feet. “His name is Cyril? Nice name, he looks good and strong.”
Tarek is no stranger to regime change. The Arab Spring playing itself out on Tahrir Square and former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s ousting after a 30-year rule are fresh in his mind, as is the military removal of Mubarak’s successor, Mohamed Morsi.
It’s why Tarek is so impressed by our orderly and peaceful transition of power from Jacob Zuma to Cyril Ramaphosa, especially when he sees photos on Twitter of the two laughing together at a farewell party for the former president.
“Amazing. This never happens in Egypt. There, they want to put Mubarak in jail.”
I’m thinking that Zuma might want to eat his cake while he can still have it, when Holger, the company’s German digital director, walks into my office.
He says in Germany, there are no term limits for the chancellor. Angela Merkel has been in power since 2005, and will be there as long as citizens believe she’s the right leader.
“Ritwan, (that’s the German pronunciation of my name, apparently) we are a true democracy.The people get who they want,” says Holger.
Sometimes, I want to tell him, the people get who they deserve. And it’s only later, when it’s too late, that they realise it’s not who they want.
After years of court battles, parliamentary scuffles and ANC in-fighting, we feel we deserve President Ramaphosa. Hopefully, after the honeymoon period, he is still the president we want.
But I don’t get the chance because my phone beeps. It’s a message on a WhatsApp group for South Africans in Qatar. “Have you seen the rand-dollar exchange? Eish, blame it on our new president. LOL.” And then the beeping doesn’t stop.
Yep, a Ramaphosa presidency that charms the markets might make more sense than rands for expats. But that is a small price to pay for a leader we hope can deliver the change we need.