Season of hope and action supplants a decade of despair

South Africa has entered a new age of hope, leaving behind what former president Thabo Mbeki correctly described, just more than a year ago, as the age of despair. Addressing captains of industry at the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies awards in November 2016, Mbeki said he had observed how the country had slid from the age of hope that had been ushered in by the election of Nelson Mandela as its first democratically elected president. That season of hope did not last long, ending abruptly when Jacob Zuma was elected to the highest office in the land in 2009, after the NPA controversially decided not to pursue a raft of charges against him.

Mbeki said: “The hard reality we face today is that our country is trapped in a general and deepening political, economic and social crisis which has, for many, begun to turn what was an age of hope into an age of despair. It is obvious that over the years, progressively since 1994, some negative features have emerged in our governing party, the ANC, which the organisation itself has recognised, including the disease of the abuse of political power for personal enrichment.”

Mbeki was right. In the nine dreadful years of the Zuma presidency, the country became trapped in an age of despair in which the abuse of political power for self-enrichment was rife.

Together with his friends, the Gupta family,

Zuma used his newly attained power and influence to set up and run a sophisticated patronage network. In doing so, he dispensed with skilled ministers, notably Pravin Gordhan and Nhlanhla Nene, all the better to facilitate the scramble for illicit riches.

So powerful and influential was this network that the Guptas’ hand was never far away when controversial figures were elevated to posts beyond their capabilities and experience. The ability to assist state capture often seemed to be the only necessary qualification. For, as we now know following the leaked e-mails from Gupta-owned companies, these ministers were expected to pass on sensitive and confidential cabinet information to the Guptas.

Under Zuma’s presidency the Guptas were allowed to cherry-pick lucrative state contracts they wanted for themselves and their friends. They were able to do this by inserting their own lackeys into key positions in parastatals and by capturing the boards of state-owned companies.

Those who disagreed or dared to challenge Zuma were consigned to oblivion. The list is too long to publish all the names. But that list includes the names of former ministers, leaders of the ANC, senior government officials and executives in state-owned companies.

Not only did Zuma cripple our institutions of democracy, he also diminished our ability to defend ourselves as a nation and to fight crime, by hobbling our law enforcement agencies.

When he took over in 2009, the unemployment rate was at 23.7 %. As he left office on Thursday evening, the unemployment rate had risen to 27%. Under his watch every sector of the economy bled jobs apace.

Our debt ratings were downgraded to junk. The rand took a beating and investors gave our economy a wide berth.

Despite all this, multiple efforts to boot him out of office failed dismally, including eight votes of no confidence in parliament, as the ANC protected him throughout.

But over the past few weeks a wind of change has howled through the governing party and law enforcement institutions. The change started in December with the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as president of the ANC. As the country prepared for his swearing-in as state president, law enforcement awoke from its slumber.

The Zuma patronage network started crumbling on Wednesday as the Hawks raided the Gupta family compound in Saxonwold and the homes of their associates. By that evening no fewer than five people had been arrested. By the end of the week that number had risen to eight.

As we wrote this last night, the police were hot on the heels of the three Gupta brothers and the president’s son Duduzane.

In parliament on Friday it was evident that the hold that Zuma had on our nation for almost

10 years was no more. As Ramaphosa delivered his maiden state of the nation address, the country marvelled at the sight of MPs laughing and interacting freely with one another.

Members of the opposition clapped and gave

Ramaphosa a standing ovation — something we have not seen in parliament since the Mbeki presidency.

In his speech, Ramaphosa urged all of us to embrace what he called the new dawn. “It is a new dawn that is inspired by our collective memory of Nelson Mandela and the changes that are unfolding. As we rid ourselves of all negativity, we should reaffirm our belief that South Africa belongs to all those who live in it. For though we are a diverse people, we are one nation. There are 57 million of us, each with different histories, languages, cultures, experiences, views and interests. Yet we are bound together by a common destiny,” Ramaphosa said.

With the goodwill his election has created, Ramaphosa dare not let up on this momentum. While there is a lot of pressure for him to deliver, and huge expectations on his shoulders, there is also a lot of support from ordinary South Africans.

All he now needs to do is focus on what needs to be done, deal decisively with corruption, first within his own cabinet, and deliver on his promises.

Indeed, a new dawn is upon us.

The ability to assist state capture often seemed to be the only necessary qualification

With the goodwill his election has received, Ramaphosa dare not let up on this momentum