Chance to rescue ANC

EVERYBODY who cares about this country and is disappointed by the abominable leadership of our president must have gone into panic mode on hearing some of his recent strange utterances.

Two that stand out are: “The country is ready for a female president”, and “It’s not ANC tradition for the vice-president to lead the organisation after the president serves his term of office”.

The president’s support for a female president is a direct swipe at his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, who is diametrically opposite to him in intellect, leadership style, moral character and vision.

The vice-president has come out strongly against corruption among the party leaders. Our president is doing his best to align himself with factions that will protect him from being prosecuted. It could be that Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma is all he needs to protect his back.

The inept and insignificant ANCWL has given the president full support on issues ranging from his rape trial and the poor performance of the party in the municipal elections to the Nkandla issue.

Its silence on the Guptas undermines its credibility. It has become a group of the president’s “yes-women” so they will back Dlamini Zuma all the way, not because she is a woman, but, we can reasonably believe, because she will save their man.

She vehemently defended her ex-husband over the party’s poor performance in the municipal elections, and this in the face of former stalwarts of the ANC and most religious leaders calling for the president’s resignation. She did not make one mention of Thuli Madonsela’s report on the president’s violation of the Constitution, even though she was chairperson of the AU.

It’s highly unlikely that if Dlamini Zuma becomes president she will allow Zuma, who is the father of her four children, to be prosecuted or sent to jail if the cases of corruption against him are reopened.

If Dlamini Zuma is thrust into power, it could signal the death of the once-powerful ANC.

The ANC is not short of credible and good leaders who can bring the party back to its former glory. Ramaphosa, Kgalema Motlanthe and Mathews Phosa are but a few of those who have bravely attacked the corrupt behaviour of the current leadership instead of blindly following the party line.

Opposition parties would love to see Dlamini Zuma lead the ANC because this would hand over a big slice of the electorate to them.

An ANC with a considerably reduced majority in Parliament would eventually lose power and that could pave the way for the president’s prosecution.

There isn’t a better time than now for the ANC branches and all the party’s affiliates to ensure that a person of good moral standing is chosen to lead the party. With the right leadership, we have the potential to reverse our losses and be the dynamic country we are capable of becoming, without the Guptas interfering.