Zuma remains a tricky problem for Ramaphosa
ANC must not forget where votes come from, Contralesa says in reply to resolution on custodianship
CYRIL Ramaphosa may have won the race to be leader of the ANC, but he failed to decisively wrest control of the party from President Jacob Zuma.
Zuma’s faction retains influence in the ANC’s incoming National Executive Committee (NEC) and was felt in conference debates on divisive policies such as land expropriation and nationalisation.
Ramaphosa’s incomplete victory lessens his chances of ousting Zuma from the state presidency before his second term ends in 2019.
That could disappoint investors who have bet heavily that Ramaphosa, 65, will be able to turn around the economy.
The rand has been volatile since Ramaphosa’s election, as investors continue to assess how much clout he wields.
“Because Ramaphosa does not have a strong majority in the NEC and because of the lingering presence of Zuma loyalists, he will not be able to drive his own agenda,” Eurasia Group Africa director Darias Jonker said.
The new NEC, announced in the early hours of yesterday, is split roughly 50-50 between the Ramaphosa and Zuma factions.
The party’s top six most powerful officials are also split down the middle.
Zuma said yesterday there was no winner or loser in the election of leaders.
Were Ramaphosa to try to force Zuma from office, he would need to secure the support of the NEC, which includes his main rival in the ANC race, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Others on the NEC include prominent Zuma lieutenants Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and Energy Minister David Mahlobo.
A senior ANC source said the Ramaphosa camp would try to ensure that the shift to full state ownership of the Reserve Bank would go no further than the resolution adopted at the conference.
Land expropriation without compensation is also unlikely to become the norm soon, but the fact that the ANC called for the constitution to be amended as a step in that direction could dent already weak investor confidence.
“This kind of rhetoric will now have to inform Ramaphosa’s speeches and perpetuate concerns over property rights at a time when the economy needs exactly the opposite signals,” Anne Fruhauf, an analyst at consultancy Teneo, said
Yesterday, the DA criticised the ANC’s call for land expropriation, saying it failed to address the broader issues of property rights for poor South Africans and government mismanagement of existing land programmes. – Additional reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Reuters
TRADITIONAL leaders have warned the ANC not to forget where its votes come from after the party resolved to limit chiefs’ authority over communal land. The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) said the resolution was a result of the party’s failure to hand back land to black South Africans.
Contralesa president Chief Mathibela Mokoena said the ANC did
They must consult us. We have a strategy on how to take back the land
not want to deal decisively with the land issue‚ and instead had targeted traditional leaders.
“As traditional leaders‚ we are waiting for the government to tell us what they are planning to do about taking back the land‚ not these silly tactics of disrespecting us,” Mokoena said.
“We are against this resolution of theirs. If they lack the strategy to deal with the big issue‚ they must consult us. We have enough wisdom and a strategy on how to take back the land.
“They must stop bullying traditional leaders. We are not the enemy and they can’t wish us away.
“Most things go wrong because they are scared of speaking truth to power – the real land that our fathers fought for is still not ours.”
Mokoena said by interfering with communal land custodianship‚ the ANC was biting the hand that fed it.
“Come elections‚ they get the most votes from communities that are under traditional leaders. They must not forget. We deserve to be recognised and respected as important role players.
“All we ask is for them to consult us before making misleading announcements‚ because one day we will get tired of this treatment.”
The ANC resolved on Wednesday at its 54th national conference that it would remove some of the authority of traditional leaders over communal land‚ with the goal of eventually giving communities 13% of land.
Dr Aninka Claassens‚ who has researched land issues in South Africa for 25 years‚ said the resolution was not a triumph as it still did not give ownership to the individual.
“It’s more of the same. It’s actually disappointing. Land rights are still denied to the individual.
“You either transfer the title to the individual or a group‚” she said. “A community like the council of traditional leaders is a group . . . what they must do is empower the individual‚ give rights and titles to individuals.”