Zuma is gone, but South Africans are divided over what comes next
▶ ANC leadership is in a state of transition welcomed by some but not all citizens
South Africans woke up yesterday to the news that Jacob Zuma was no longer president. But amid the euphoria of his departure is the realisation that his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, has a hard road ahead. Mr Zuma resigned on Wednesday once it became clear that his party, the African National Congress, was ready to remove him. Mr Ramaphosa was elected the country’s leader by parliament yesterday.
“I honestly never thought I’d see the day this happened; I was convinced he’d die in office,” said Elize Bekker, a retiree living in the Cape Province, of Mr Zuma. “I can stop thinking about emigrating now.”
For some, the departure was bittersweet. “Imagine if Zuma did not engage in all these corrupt shenanigans, what an inspirational success story his would have been,” said artist Zondwa Njokweni. “An uneducated young Zulu man who fought in the liberation of our people, rises to become the president of South Africa. Very sad that power corrupts.”
Others were glad Mr Zuma was gone. “With immediate effect”, the most beautiful words South Africa has heard in years, said Cape Town writer and columnist Tom Eaton in a widely shared social media post.
Those living abroad also voiced their opinions. Cameo Edwards said via Twitter from his home in Vietnam: “I’m so happy to hear that Zuma has stepped down as president, However, I’m not excited to see Cyril ‘Murderer’ Ramaphosa being sworn in as our new president” – a reference to a mass shooting during a mineworkers demonstration in 2012 that left 34 dead.
At the time, Mr Ramaphosa was on the board of Lonmin, the company in charge of the Marikana mine where the incident took place, and some still hold him culpable. A subsequent inquiry cleared Mr Ramaphosa of wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the first signs of Mr Zuma’s unravelling patronage network were also welcomed. Few benefited more from Mr Zuma’s presidency than a family of Indian-born businessmen. Together with Mr Zuma’s son Duduzane, three Gupta brothers inserted themselves into lucrative state-funded deals.
By yesterday morning, one Gupta brother was arrested after a police raid on the family’s Johannesburg mansion; another was on the run and associates were requested to make themselves available for interviews.
Anti-corruption organisation Outa welcomed the arrests.
“We also urge Mr Ramaphosa to ensure that the justice system moves swiftly to hold the many people in authority, including ministers, to account for their actions and participation in state capture,” said Outa chief executive Wayne Duvenage.
A motion of no-confidence to unseat Mr Zuma scheduled for yesterday will no longer take place. Instead, parliament will sit as soon as possible to announce when Mr Ramaphosa will be formally sworn in. He holds the position of deputy president.
Once in office, Mr Ramaphosa is expected to take a hatchet to Mr Zuma’s cabinet, many of whom are implicated in corruption scandals.
“Now the massive cabinet restructuring will start,” said Wayne McCurrie, a fund manager at Ashburton in Johannesburg. “Only a few will be carried over. Ramaphosa will act quickly on this.”
Not all were happy with Mr Zuma’s departure.
As his popularity waned in recent years, Mr Zuma committed himself to a programme of “radical economic transformation” that aimed for mass confiscation of land and the nationalisation of industry, among other proposals.
Mr Ramaphosa will have to dabble in some populist policies to keep the left on his side, but he is generally seen as business friendly and so under him radical economic reform is dead in the water.
Andile Mngxitama, a defender of the former president and head of the left-wing Black Land First movement that advocates confiscation of property, said: “BLF is proud to have stood with President Zuma to the end. History will show it was the correct thing to do.”
I never thought I’d see the day this happened; I was convinced he’d die in office. I can stop thinking about emigrating ELIZE BEKKER Retired Cape Province resident