Mabuza as deputy poses conundrum for president
Ramaphosa between rock and a hard place to appoint woman
MPUMALANGA Premier David Mabuza claims to have survived at least one attempt on his life by poisoning. He disappeared from public view for some months around 2015, then re-emerged. In the run-up to the ANC’s elective conference in December, one of his protégés from Emalahleni escaped with his life. When Sunday Mathebula came out of hiding six weeks later, after also spending some time in hospital, he postulated that the attempt on his life was to settle the score for Mabuza’s odd strategy to get Mpumalanga branches to vote for “unity”, instead of either of the remaining candidates for ANC president.
These votes were ultimately counted as abstentions, making one wonder what good it was for Mabuza to have worked so hard to land Mpumalanga in second place of all nine provinces in terms of its number of branches in good standing?
To some people’s way of thinking, this cost Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma the victory that many were expecting. It also meant that none of the Top Six are from KwaZulu-Natal. Was this tactical genius or self-interest by Mabuza?
To some, this seems to be a moot point; to others, he is to blame. Mathebula almost paid with his life, as he is one of the senior executives of PRET, an NGO that has benefited handsomely from the DD Mabuza Foundation, and was helping with the lobbying for “unity” in the run-up to the ANC conference.
President Cyril Ramaphosa must think carefully about the backlash that could come from KZN if he appoints Mabuza as deputy president. It could destabilise the province, the ANC, and cause another unexpected backlash in the runup to the 2019 elections. The prospect of Zulu nationalism is a serious concern.
Then there is the issue of gender. From two out of six before the 2017 elective conference, the gender balance of the Top Six sank to one out of six. This looks very bad and the ANC Women’s League has stated its disgust.
Ramaphosa could face double-jeopardy if he keeps Jackson Mthembu on as chief whip (whom the new president owes a lot to for his loyalty to the CR17 campaign) and appoints yet another man to be deputy president. If he does that, the ANC will not be walking the talk about gender balance.
Then there is the issue of the “smallanyana (little) skeletons”. Mabuza has a number of these lurking around Mpumalanga. For example, he may have a protection order hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles, depending on what the magistrate decides on his dispute with the Cradle of Life.
But then again, so does Ace Magashule. Everyone is wondering if he and/or Minister Mosebenzi Zwane are among the five remaining arrest warrants that the Hawks say they still have? Can Ramaphosa run a convincing election campaign on a clean-up platform while two of the Top Six are still suffering from a hangover from, at best, their inability to control their subordinates? The ANC has a toxic organisational culture that it must shake off altogether, if it wants to win back the confidence of the electorate.
Will having Mabuza as his deputy help or hinder that fightback strategy? Ramaphosa needs a clean break, and South Africa needs more women at the highest levels of leadership.
Or does “unity” mean he can’t take a step in any direction without first checking to see if he will be stepping on the toes of Jacob Zuma’s shadow?
FROM TWO OUT OF SIX WOMEN BEFORE THE 2017 ELECTIVE CONFERENCE, THE GENDER BALANCE OF THE TOP SIX SANK TO ONE OUT OF SIX THEN THERE IS THE ISSUE OF THE ‘SMALLANYANA (LITTLE) SKELETONS’. MABUZA HAS A NUMBER OF THESE LURKING AROUND MPUMALANGA