Easy does it
Why Ramaphosa prefers the slow but cautious approach
● In his reply to the debate on his state of the nation address on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that South Africans are often easily distracted “by the political intrigues of the day” and, as a result, overlook some of the country’s strengths and capabilities.
“We are too often overcome by the unrelenting pressures of the moment, so that we fail to see the potential that resides within this nation. If we fail to see that potential, if we fail to recognise our strengths, then we will fail to seize the opportunities that they present for building a better society,” said Ramaphosa.
His remarks came after two days of unrelenting attack from opposition MPs, who not only slammed the president’s state of the nation address for what they said was a lack of vision and detail, but painted him as a dithering head of state whose ability to deliver is hindered by his fear of offending powerful interests in Luthuli House.
Could it be that the president is guilty of the very thing he is accusing his nation of: that the “political intrigues” within the ANC prevent him from realising the strengths of his presidency and the potential to lift the country out of the morass?
Ramaphosa is too often painted as a president so much under siege that he can’t take any meaningful steps against corruption or introduce economic reforms without risking the ANC breaking up and crashing out of power.
But a closer look at the events of the past 12 months or so suggests that the Ramaphosa presidency is in a much healthier position than even he recognises.
Granted, this does sound counter-intuitive, especially in the context of a court appearance this past week by party secretary-general Ace Magashule in Bloemfontein, which attracted throngs of supporters.
In the days before Magashule’s corruption case, news headlines were dominated by ANC-aligned groups and individuals heading to Zululand’s most famous rural town, Nkandla, for tea and some meat with former president Jacob Zuma, who is refusing to appear before the state capture commission despite a ruling by the Constitutional Court that he must do so.
Both Zuma and Magashule paint themselves as victims of some political conspiracy in the ANC to rid the organisation of “radical voices”. By doing so, they have made Ramaphosa a marked man among their supporters, who blame him for the two politicians’ legal troubles as well as the ANC government’s failure to deliver on its “radical programme”.
But, though the supporters of the two men are loud and media-savvy, on closer inspection they do not pose a real threat to the Ramaphosa presidency. At least not yet.
There is no gainsaying that Zuma still has legions of sympathisers within the ruling party, but it is also true that not a single official structure of the ANC and its allies has actually come out to back his decision to boycott the Zondo commission. Though the uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association is closely associated with the ANC, it does not enjoy the constitutional recognition given to the likes of the ANC Veterans’ League, the ANC Women’s League and the ANC Youth League.
Not even provinces such as the North West and the Free State, known to be Zuma loyalists during his tenure in office, have officially backed him. Only individuals have done so.
ANC leaders in KwaZulu-Natal have also not been singing the Zuma hymn and have instead called on Ramaphosa and other national officials to meet Zuma and convince him to make his way to the commission, and avoid arrest.
The same can be said of the Magashule case. Individual ANC leaders have appeared alongside him in court to offer their support, but none of the party’s official structures have come out to endorse his political conspiracy theory.
What all of this demonstrates is that Ramaphosa has the upper hand in the ANC. He has so far won most of the major battles in the national executive committee (NEC).
His re-election for a second term is by no means a given. But there is consensus even among his detractors in ANC structures that it is in the interest of all of them that he completes his term in office.
The party has been weakened by the divisions of the past two decades and many fear it may not survive another presidential recall from office.
Instead of capitalising on all of this to make bold moves and stamp his authority on the presidency, Ramaphosa continues with the cautious approach he adopted from the outset of his tenure.
He has been in power for three years and yet his cabinet still reflects “the unity executive” he felt he needed to put together for the sake of reconciliation and stability in the ANC.
A good number of his ministers have proven to be out of their depth, especially in this time of the Covid19 pandemic, which requires an agile and creative national executive. Even his supporters in the ANC NEC and some cabinet ministers readily admit that change is overdue.
Yet he would not let the axe fall, fearing that this would upset internal ANC power dynamics.
“Many people want a leader who is going to say we go to the Left or we go to the Right. To other people that is power — to him that is not how he operates,” said one of Ramaphosa’s NEC backers as he tried to explain the president’s approach.
Ramaphosa has already started consultations with the top six on a possible cabinet reshuffle, he added.
Another Ramaphosa loyalist said his cautious approach is winning him new admirers in the NEC.
“In the main, what is gaining ground in the NEC — with all our impatience — is unity and renewal. There were times when you expected him to pronounce on matters, but he believes in process. That’s what has gained him authority. His ability to reach out and listen.”
Maybe it is doing that for Ramaphosa in the ANC, but it is causing the process of change to be excruciatingly slow for SA at a time when change is desperately needed.