CYRIL SHINES, ANC DOESN’T

Chasm between appearance and reality makes ANC reform elusive unless it confronts the core of its malaise: the quality of its members

Appearances are deceptive in elections, poignantly so this time around. It is this chasm between appearance and reality that makes true reform elusive for the ANC unless it confronts the core of its malaise: the quality of its members.

Party president Cyril Ramaphosa has been busy. His election programme has taken him from Tlokwe to eThekwini to Kimberley. He’s hugged, sung, danced, laughed, looked sombre when appropriate and held children in his arms. His message has been one of hope. Ramaphosa is never arrogant; he’s a likeable guy, always humble, apologetic and even — dare I say it — trustworthy.

No doubt about it, Ramaphosa is great on the campaign trail. Independent surveys and the ANC’s internal polling all show that he is more popular than the party itself. With more than a century of history behind it, the “glorious movement” that emerged victorious from the anti-apartheid struggle cannot outshine Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. No surprise, then, that the ANC rolls him out like a newly crowned beauty queen. Pity it’s all a lie, a mirage.

Ramaphosa is the face of the party, but precious few of the ANC candidates who will be elected as the mayors of the hundreds of municipalities run by the party are remotely like him. This is why, ahead of these elections, the ANC was at pains to illustrate how it had shaken up its internal processes to ensure that candidates were “vetted” and approved by their local communities.

How honest that process was is unclear — given that even Northern Cape chair Zamani Saul, regarded as one of the party’s best and brightest, conceded in an interview that his province had not followed the new vetting process to the letter.

Low-calibre leaders

What of the ANC’s leadership track record at municipal level? Two examples were hard to ignore this week.

Mpumalanga agriculture MEC Mandla Msibi handed himself over on charges of murder and attempted murder on Monday. Msibi, who has been described as a “warlord” by those who know him, became a councillor in Mbombela in 2006 and council speaker 10 years later. During this period he faced charges of assault, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, malicious damage to property and attempted murder — but was acquitted after a witness recanted.

How did the glorious movement respond? It promoted Msibi to the provincial legislature after the 2019 elections and appointed him MEC. Despite his continued reign of terror in the province — the murder charge he is now facing arises from a scuffle at an

ANC branch meeting earlier this year — this stellar example of a party comrade still apparently had a bright future ahead of him: he was being punted for election as provincial ANC treasurer later this year. That is until this week’s arrest. He has now been fired from his MEC post and even the ANC would not have the gall to have a murder accused stand for election to a key provincial structure — or would it?

Then there is Vusi Tshabalala, provincial chief whip for the ANC in the Free State, who has been suspended after being accused of disloyalty.

Tshabalala is the disgraced former mayor of the Maluti-a-Phofung municipality, who was so rotten that 16 ANC councillors were willing to risk their posts and party membership by voting against him with the opposition. Tshabalala — a staunch ally of corruptionaccused Ace Magashule — shrugged off that setback and was rewarded with the chief whip post.

Another reason that seeing Ramaphosa’s tired smile on the campaign trail is so tragic is that after the elections on November 1, the party will in all likelihood go into succession mode and the knives will be out. A poor performance at the polls will ensure the blades are sharpened for him. For now, it is clear that he will serve another term as president. Still, the political intrigue to line up his successor will begin, with a feverish race expected for the deputy presidency.

In the end, Ramaphosa has no choice but to hug the hyena, to quote Oliver Tambo, who was referring to the way expediency can trump morality.

On November 2 Ramaphosa will be back in the Union Buildings taking courtesy calls from world leaders. And what do ordinary South Africans, you and I, do next? We hope and pray that we will not be saddled with mayors of the ilk of Msibi or Tshabalala, the ANC’s hitherto, erm, finest.

Precious few of the ANC candidates who will be elected as mayors are remotely like Ramaphosa