NOT A HOT-AIR BALLLOON RIDE
The more things change, the more they stay the same. It may be a tired cliché, but it aptly describes the latest furore around ANC apparatchiks hitching a lift on an air force plane to meet their Zanu-pf counterparts in Zimbabwe. It almost feels like we are back in the Jacob Zuma era, when arrogance in the face of wrongdoing was par for the course for the governing party, and no consequences ever followed.
Party leaders such as secretary-general Ace Magashule and social development minister Lindiwe Zulu, who were both part of the ANC delegation, initially sought to defend the trip.
But President Cyril Ramaphosa’s order that defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-nqakula submit a report on the circumstances around the ANC delegation hitching a lift was a slight break from the way these things were handled in the past — though it will mean nothing if it is not followed by swift and transparent action.
For its part, in a rare admission of guilt, the ANC belatedly acknowledged its delegation had travelled in an “unusual” way. This was the phrasing used by the party’s amateurish communicators in a statement meant to convey remorse over wasting taxpayer money, blurring the lines between party and state and violating lockdown regulations.
“We travelled in an unusual manner and profusely humble ourselves where we went wrong during the lockdown,” it said.
It was not “unusual”, it was plain wrong — “unusual” would be a hot-air balloon ride.
And now Magashule expects us to believe that the party will reimburse the defence force for the trip, when the party cannot afford to pay Luthuli House staff salaries?
What is also disquieting is that the party delegation consisted of at least two cabinet ministers, in the midst of a lockdown during which international travel is banned, and without the requisite permission. To make matters worse, according to the Sunday Times, the defence minister’s “meeting” in Harare lasted just 30 minutes.
The ANC’S admission of guilt speaks volumes.
It was offered on Tuesday after Mapisa-nqakula would have already submitted her report to Ramaphosa, if she stuck to his deadline. “We will comment only once the president has studied the report,” acting presidential spokesperson Tyrone Seale tells the FM.
The usual Monday meeting of the ANC’S top six leaders would have been slightly awkward if it took place this week, since two of the six were in the group that went to Zimbabwe — Magashule and party chair Gwede Mantashe.
The saga places Ramaphosa in a bind: he has to act against the minister responsible, but the ANC members who hitched a ride should also face censure — apart from Magashule, Mantashe and Zulu, they included staunch Ramaphosa ally Enoch Godongwana.
Ramaphosa was clear in a discussion with the SA National Editors Forum that building strong institutions is a key focus for his administration, and improving governance is at the heart of the legacy he hopes to leave.
He tacitly appealed for support for his reform agenda: “The best way to change nations is to back reformers, it is to stand behind reform efforts.”
The only way citizens and even cynics in his party will be persuaded to stand behind him is if he behaves like a reformer in dealing with wrongdoing in the party and in his cabinet.
This is a good place to start. If he fails to do so, his so-called reform agenda will be stillborn.
History will not absolve him, unless he begins converting his lofty words into action.
It was not ‘unusual’, it was plain wrong — ‘unusual’ would be a hot-air balloon ride