Cape Argus E-dition

Unprecedented speculation

THERE has been fevered speculation about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s continued tenure at the helm of this country.

The hyperbole has matched it with the adjective “unprecedented” being used an unprecedented number of times. If he is recalled after the S89 panel report, Ramaphosa will be the second president out of five – Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe, Jacob Zuma and himself – to suffer this fate.

When you consider that Motlanthe was literally a caretaker president, South Africa will have effectively recalled two sitting presidents. To some critics, it’s an appalling record, to others it’s a crystal-clear indication of the functioning of our democracy and the efficacy of our institutions. But it is also an indicator of the difficulty of the decision Ramaphosa faces.

Many within the ANC believe Mbeki was too quick to step down and, in doing so, sowed the seeds of Zuma’s kleptocracy. They believe Mbeki could and should have fought on.

Zuma fought on until he could fight no longer. He survived an unprecedented – in the true sense of the word – nine no-confidence votes in Parliament, despite overwhelming evidence of his venality through Guptagate.

It was only when the party finally turned on him in February 2018, almost two months after his proxy lost the elective conference the previous December, that he stepped down.

So, argue Ramaphosa’s fans, why shouldn’t he fight on? Ultimately, it will have less to do with the potential intrusion of a parliamentary inquiry like disgraced Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is currently enduring and more with whether Ramaphosa has, to use a sporting analogy, lost the dressing room. The events of the last few days suggest, despite the tumult of the social media echo chambers, that he hasn’t yet and that enough ANC NEC members and MPs will support him.

But what that means for the ANC will only be clear after the next general election in 2024.

METRO

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2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

http://capeargus.pressreader.com/article/281556589850853

African News Agency