Citizens reduced to spectators as the ANC plays musical chairs

David Makhura’s exit from the post of Gauteng premier to make way for education MEC Panyaza Lesufi this week earned high praise. President Cyril Ramaphosa was especially congratulatory, which is no surprise. He has no doubt watched the outcomes of ANC provincial machinations more closely than most because they will determine the success or otherwise of his bid to win a second term as party leader later this year. For most of us, the ANC’s internal intrigues resemble a game of musical chairs, with lots of backslapping for the cameras and as much backstabbing behind the scenes. An expensive charade, a lot of fury and thunder signifying not much at all, at least for those of us in the cheap seats who watch this expensive pantomime.

The only winner in what Ramaphosa described as a “well-executed move” in Gauteng is the party itself, at least in the short term. The president’s own cabinet is testament to the primacy of ANC concerns over those of the public, packed with dissidents whose main role seems to be to sabotage his reforms and sow division. Unity, at least of the superficial variety, always trumps performance, a tendency that appears to have gained much traction in the ANC.

As recently as a few weeks ago, Makhura was confident he would complete his term as premier, which was due to end in 2024. This was despite the outcome of the party’s June provincial conference, a tense and disputed affair in which Lesufi narrowly beat his opponent, Lebogang Maile, to the top post.

Maile, the MEC of co-operative governance and traditional affairs, who has strenuously denied loyalty to the radical economic transformation faction that plans to unseat Ramaphosa in December, remains in the provincial executive in his previous post. This in spite of having failed to prevail over Lesufi at the provincial conference. So Gauteng will have a “unity’’ premier who will accommodate the factions while still presenting a façade of radical populism to boost the ANC’s election prospects.

While we the voters look on, many will be asking what the public benefit of all this manoeuvring will be. The short answer is none. Even the ANC’s alliance partner, trade union federation Cosatu, described the move as “inward-looking’’ and said it followed “the same old trajectory of obsessing over palace politics while the working class is bleeding”.

In KwaZulu-Natal, ANC factional battles took centre stage as premier Sihle Zikalala was forced out after losing the contest for provincial chair to elements that oppose Ramaphosa’s bid for a second term. His record in office was of no concern to voting delegates, who instead criticised him for not enthusiastically supporting former president Jacob Zuma in the latter’s long-running legal battles. In Limpopo the drive for unity at all costs has seen premier Stan Mathabatha include new MECs in a reshuffle that overlooks their role in the loss of municipalities’ monies in the VBS banking heist.

Makhura, amid the fulsome praise directed at him, might have been wondering why he was ejected prematurely. If you leave aside the Life Esidimeni mental-health patients scandal, the R200m personal protective equipment scandal and the Tembisa Hospital cover-up linked to the slaying of whistleblower Babita Deokaran, Makhura can be said to have been a successful premier. At least by ANC standards. Lesufi, for his part, brings with him the legacy of the R430m classroom “deep-cleaning’’ scandal which, he claimed when it was uncovered, had “shocked’’ him. He knew nothing about it.

As a consolation perhaps, Makhura is being tipped for future greatness, with a seat in Ramaphosa’s cabinet a possible reward for being an obedient servant of the party, if not the people. And yet, regardless of his abilities and his sincerity, he can be certain he will get that cabinet post only if it suits the party’s power brokers and if the appointment further enhances the faux unity of the ANC. Sadly, whether his elevation would be in the public interest or not will be the least of considerations.

Gauteng will have a ‘unity’ premier who will accommodate the factions