Give us hope, Ramaphosa

AS WE approach the end of another year, we are inclined to reflect on what worked and what didn’t throughout the year – our gains and losses, our achievements and disappointments, our setbacks and good fortunes.

This reflection will hopefully inform our decisions and choices in the year ahead.

To be frank, there was little for South Africans to enthuse over in the past year.

Our economy had more downs than ups and is sitting in junk status, unemployment figures have hit a record high, especially among young people, and criminals are having a field day as police struggle to cope with limited resources and low staff morale.

Corruption, tender fraud and the wholesale looting of state-owned enterprises have almost become a way of life in the government, leading to a volatile rand and a sharp decline in investor confidence.

In fact, the new buzz words in the South African lexicon are “state capture” which has seen the infamous Gupta family and other private interests accused of influencing the state’s decision-making processes to their advantage.

Hopefully, the change in the ruling ANC’s leadership will help herald a new chapter in the country’s relatively short history as a democracy.

It’s not going to be easy for the new ANC president, Cyril Ramaphosa, whose first challenge is unifying a party wracked by bitter power struggles, crippling factionalism and inept leadership, which saw the country lurch from one crisis to another this year.

Undoing the damage caused by the previous leadership is no enviable task.

Ramaphosa might be the ANC’s new president but has to work with an executive that’s evenly split between his camp and that of his rival, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.

And therein lies his greatest challenge.

The stakes are high for the party and the country. Ramaphosa can succeed if the new ANC executive can agree to put the interests of the country first, work together to chart a new course and dedicate themselves to meaningfully improving the quality of life for all South Africans.

This is not a time for empty slogans and wild political rhetoric. The country needs leaders of courage, integrity and foresight, who can rebuild our economy, create millions of desperately needed jobs, attract investments and promote a climate of harmony and tolerance across all communities.

What South Africans yearn for most is hope for the future.