Cyril not saviour we hoped for

When Ramaphosa became president, there were hopes of ethical leadership – a big clean- up. Unfortunately, this was not to be.

From nine wasted years of the Jacob Zuma presidency, SA has gone into what leading political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga has described as “a wasted term of President Cyril Ramaphosa”. When Ramaphosa took over the reins three years ago, the country yearned for change in the aftermath of the rampant plunder of state coffers and assets – now laid bare at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

With a solid labour, political and business background, few doubted Ramaphosa’s promise of “a new dawn” – widely expected to be complete break with his predecessor.

Under Zuma, you did not need any business acumen or aviation experience to be appointed board chair of SA Airways, if revelations before Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo of malfeasance during the controversial tenure of Dudu Myeni is anything to go by.

Not only was she chair of the national carrier, but the queen of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), whose direct line to Zuma emboldened her to give orders to board members of other SOEs.

Then there were the highly influential Gupta family, whose closeness to Zuma gave them a mandate to summon Cabinet ministers to their Saxonwold compound.

Lest we forget, Bosasa, which won billions in dodgy correctional service tenders, through wining and dining ANC bigwigs – some of whom were in the company’s payroll.

When Ramaphosa became president, there were hopes of ethical leadership having taken over – a big clean-up operation underway or perhaps a new team in government. Unfortunately, this was not to be.

From a multimillion-rand personal protective equipment scandal, which involved Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko, to the party’s uncertainty about what to do with ANC leaders facing criminal charges – we have begun to see a weak leader, whose promises can no longer be taken seriously.

The euphoria of the new dawn has died down. Policy decision-making is firmly in the hands of a divided ANC leadership, leaving Ramaphosa with little room to manoeuvre.

While leadership by consensus is not a bad thing, an elected president has a mandate to exercise a presidential prerogative in dealing with some key issues. A high crime rate, creeping lawlessness – seen in the torching of trucks and vandalism of public infrastructure – are signs that state intelligence has collapsed, with Ramaphosa expected to step in.

Following the latest downgrade by Fitch and Moody’s, a SA hit by the Covid-19 pandemic is facing a bleak future – destined to go to the IMF and the World Bank with a begging bowl.

How did we get here?

Mathekga maintains we are reaping the outcome of the ANC’s 54th elective national conference three years ago at Nasrec.

“You do not get out of this hole until you are politically realigned,” he says.

“The president finds himself having to negotiate policy – held back by Nasrec, which has made policy decision-making difficult.

“Issues that require the president to take a decision are now subject of contention, divisions and factionalism within the governing party, with the next tiebreaker being the next elective conference – making this a wasted term.”

With SA’s debt borrowing level said to be an astronomical R2.1 billion a day, we have a long way to go towards some recovery.