Sam Mkokeli:
This is a bit crude: “Ndibomvu ndibomvu, ndibomvu nomnqu***. (I am red — so red, even my arse is red).”
It was one of Enoch Godongwana’s favourite jokes two decades ago — not inconsistent with his history as a colourful socialist and trade unionist.
In fact, Godongwana occupied the apex of Left politics in SA in the 1990s, until he became Eastern Cape finance MEC in 1997. He was general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA, which placed him at the centre of key developments in labour federation Cosatu and its ally, the South African Communist Party.
But the Godongwana who was this week made finance minister is far removed from the politics of the Left.
His appointment is not entirely surprising, though it speaks volumes about the intellectual dearth facing the ANC. This is not to say Godongwana is not capable. Quite the opposite; he is so talented that he has probably become lazy over the years.
But Ramaphosa tapped him because there are very few people in the ANC who have the capital to manage the party’s vuvuzela politics and still get market approval.
Godongwana’s appointment has indeed been welcomed by the markets. He has been branded as steady and politically dexterous. No-one else on the ANC national executive would have received that approval.
But there are questions about him. One relates to his controversial business interests, the “Canyon Springs” scandal. The other question is about his ability to press the pedal where Mboweni left off.
Which brings up another issue: why was Mboweni’s resignation accepted this week instead of, say, last year, or any other time in the past, given that he has regularly said he was a “stop-gap” and reluctant finance minister? The timing is curious. You would have thought Mboweni would deliver the “minibudget” in October, then ride gently into the Magoebaskloof sunset.
The political market is full of speculation about the manner of Mboweni’s departure, especially with regard to the timing. They say the president invited him to lunch on Thursday and served him lamb curry — but gave no indication that this was their last lunch as cabinet colleagues. They discussed everything but that evening’s announcement.
Mboweni had the usual boisterous spring to his step until 9pm. Boom: Godongwana is his successor.
Godongwana inherits a messy portfolio. The National Treasury is a shadow of its former self, having never recovered its ability to manage both fiscal politics and realpolitik.
The Ramaphosa administration has to walk a tightrope, managing social pressures amid massive state weaknesses. It needs to feed the electoral beast ahead of the local polls and also pretend to put the unrest genie back in the bottle by offering more social support to the needy.
And how big is the task? Apparently there are hundreds of documents in Godongwana’s new in-tray, ranging from the unemployment stimulus package to annual rollovers. Some were left unsigned by Mboweni as his departure came a couple of months premature to his own calculations.