It’s a pity Ramaphosa’s ‘investment lions’ can’t kill the destructive beasts in his own party

It is evident that our country has low expectations of political leaders when we are impressed that our president cut short a foreign trip to fly home to attend to political unrest in North West. It should not be extraordinary when elected leaders actually do their jobs or realise when problems have reached crisis levels.

However, South Africa has registered one of the highest rates of protest action in the world as communities are perpetually trying to draw attention to their grievances.

Many of their cries go unheard and their complaints remain unresolved as it is usually the police, not their elected representatives, who interface with protesting communities.

While talking up the “new dawn” in London, it came to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s attention that the people of Mahikeng had had enough of North West premier Supra Mahumapelo.

By the time Ramaphosa got to Mahikeng on Friday afternoon, the town resembled a war zone, with extensive damage to public property.

The eruption in North West is indicative of the rot in government and the ANC, and how tired people are of corruption, nondelivery and dysfunctional state services.

While Ramaphosa has been rolling out his cleanup campaign in the cabinet, the South African Revenue Service, and in some state-owned enterprises, the corrosion of the state is deeply rooted at provincial and municipal level.

When Ramaphosa was elected ANC leader in December, the concern of many observing the collective elected alongside him was whether they would stand in the way of him getting things done.

To his credit, Ramaphosa quickly asserted himself as the guy who calls the shots. He did not fall into the trap, or perhaps the escape hatch, Jacob Zuma relied on, of hiding behind the “royal we”.

Ramaphosa’s letter suspending SARS commissioner Tom Moyane, for example, made it patently clear that it was Ramaphosa who wanted him gone, and why. “As I made plain to you, I have lost confidence in your ability to lead SARS,” Ramaphosa told Moyane.

But while the president is asserting his authority, the commotion, factional battles and power networks in the ANC seem to be getting in his way.

On Monday, Ramaphosa announced an ambitious new investment drive spearheaded by four investment champions tasked with drawing $100-billion (R1.2-trillion) to the country over five years. Former finance minister Trevor Manuel, former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas, businesswoman Phumzile Langeni and former Standard Bank CEO Jacko Maree have been tasked with trawling the major financial centres to entice potential investors.

Even in the glow of the new dawn, this is no easy task. Foreign direct investment fell to R17.6-billion last year; international investors had more confidence in the economy at the height of the disinvestment campaign against the apartheid government than they did during the Zuma years.

The appointment of Ramaphosa’s “hunting pack of lions” has been welcomed as there is finally some hope for South Africa’s woefully sluggish economy. Unfortunately, when Ramaphosa made the announcement, he was competing with his comrades at Luthuli House for the nation’s attention.

A group of former ANC Women’s League leaders summoned journalists at the same time as Ramaphosa’s briefing to “set the record straight” about their relationship with the recently deceased Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and counter allegations that they had acted to undermine her.

News channels would have been in a dilemma about whether to broadcast live the unveiling of Ramaphosa’s investment lions or 11 desperate women attempting to clamber out of the dog box.

ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, however, vetoed the league leaders’ briefing, saying the timing was inappropriate.

Ramaphosa’s return from his London roadshow to attend to Mahumapelo’s mess meant that the intervention by ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and Duarte since Wednesday had failed to quell the protests.

Ramaphosa announced on Friday night that the ANC wanted to engage further with communities in North West to dissect all the issues at play and “come to a rational decision”.

He said this process would not be dragged out and the situation would be resolved speedily.

There is no need to guess what the people of North West will tell Ramaphosa when they are consulted. They are tired of Mahumapelo’s mafiastyle government that has rendered the province dysfunctional, and want him fired.

But the ANC’s cumbersome decision-making processes, factional interests and propensity to sit by and allow its leaders to run their governments into the ground have made Mahumapelo difficult to dislodge.

Ramaphosa might have great plans for South Africa’s recovery, but it would appear that his own organisation is weighing him down.

Instead of focusing on stabilising the state and creating an optimum climate for investment and economic growth that would hopefully result in job creation, he must fight the ANC’s internal problems.

Meanwhile, other ANC leaders are ineffective, dogged by scandal or engaged in sideshows.

While Ramaphosa is able to send his lions on the hunt for investment, it is a pity he does not have beasts at his disposal to deal with the nuisances in the ANC.