John Matisonn: Then there were four – Ramokgopa joins CR succession race

The race to succeed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has intensified, with Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa hinting at his potential candidacy, joining Deputy President Paul Mashatile. The 2027 ANC congress will determine who leads South Africa's ruling party forward..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..By John Matisonn .___STEADY_PAYWALL___.The race to succeed President Cyril Ramaphosa is hotting up as Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Sputla Ramokgopa became the second ANC leader to signal his availability, following Deputy President Paul Mashatile. .In ANC tradition it's considered bad etiquette to campaign openly and early, so both ANC bigwigs couched their remarks diffidently, but unmistakeably indicated they are in the running. Outside the public eye, competition will be fierce and could involve substantial amounts of cash, if past campaigns are repeated..Mashatile told the Sunday Times he will make himself available if branches nominate him. ."As leaders of the ANC … we should always avail ourselves to serve the movement when asked to do so," he said. "Let's wait for members to ask us and, should they, my own view is that we should make ourselves available for whatever task they give you.".Ramokgopa told the SMWX podcast that "It's humbling that certain quarters (in the ANC) think" that he should be considered. ."…At the right time when the party says the race has started then we will calculate where we're at," he said. "But I really want to be part of the leadership at the forefront…."We're not anointed to run this country. We know we're not fulfilling our potential. I accept the ANC has been complicit in getting us here, and yes I want to be part of that generation that helps to resolve this." .Two other candidates expected to try for the job are International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula. The ANC may want Police Minister Senzo Nchunu in the mix if they hope to restore any appeal in the populous, predominantly Zulu-speaking KwaZulu-Natal, where former President Jacob Zuma's Mkhonto weSizwe Party routed the ANC in the May elections..Read more: Ramaphosa's pro-Russia stance risks key western trade.Managing the succession has become more and more difficult each election, and no ANC president has completed a second term as president of the country. It is understood that Ramaphosa hopes to be the first to do so, which will require all his "long view" negotiating skills as the party's support has waned. .The key date is 2027, when the ANC congress elects Ramaphosa's successor, leaving two years in which the president of the country and president of the leading party constitute "two centres of power.".The next president will be the first who was not already a leader of the anti-apartheid movement before 1990..With none of the candidates considered strong, and several with clouds over their heads, Ramokgopa's background as an engineer and as the Electricity Minister when load-shedding declined sharply could merit a second look. But there is dispute in the sector over whether his role was decisive and whether he too has baggage from his time as mayor of Tshwane. .Having an engineer as president has been the Chinese model..President Xi Jingping is a chemical engineer, a graduate of Tsingua University. Xi follows a long line of engineers. His predecessor, Hu Jintao was a hydraulic engineer, and before him came an electrical engineer, Jiang Zemin..So who fixed Eskom?.Most of the key players at Eskom seem better equipped than their predecessors. The Eskom board includes highly experienced engineers, but many in the sector agree that the real game-changer was appointing Bheki Nxumalo as group executive for generation. Nxumalo had been a power station general manager as well as leading Eskom Enterprises and Eskom Rotek Industries. .After he took over in April 2023, he changed an estimated 45% of the power station managers. The best people were redeployed to the six worst-performing power stations, that contributed to 70% of failures in the coal fleet. .Eskom reintroduced performance incentives that had been removed as part of bailout conditions from National Treasury when Tito Mboweni was finance minister. Now each station competes with other stations for the best performance and the best performers are rewarded..Read more: Ramaphosa/Musk 'Bromance' confirmed in NY footage.Eskom also took up a long-neglected offer from Eskom veterans that was finally acknowledged by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan in mid-July 2022..Eskom also reversed a policy of using local companies for maintenance to bring back original equipment manufacturers for this role..In March 2023, when the Generation Recovery Plan was implemented, the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) was around 51%. For the last few months it has hovered between 65% and 70%. .The target is to have an EAF of 70% by March 2025..The coal-fired machines are now more reliable and diesel usage has declined significantly..Ramakgopa started his tertiary education with a civil engineering degree at University of Durban-Westville, went on to two master's degrees – in public administration at the university of Pretoria Pretoria and business leadership at Unisa, followed by a doctorate in public affairs at Pretoria. .His rise in ANC leadership has been extensive. He's been head of Student Congress (SASCO), the ANC Youth League at the University of Durban Westville and the ANC branch in Atteridgeville. He is currently Chairperson of the ANC in the Tshwane Region. .He was mayor Tshwane for six years until 2016, when the national ANC announced that it had proposed national politician Thoko Didiza as the party's candidate to succeed him. Five people died in vi9olent protests in the week after the announcement. .Ramokgopa expressed his support for Didiza, calling for calm in the city, but local ANC members opposed to Didiza reportedly demanded his re-election, chanting "No Sputla, no votes"..Read also:.Ramaphosa should not align SA with NATO's enemies, warns defence analyst Kobus MaraisRamaphosa's shaky NHI plan might be self-imploding: Patrick McLaughlinRamaphosa signs Public Procurement Act into law: ANC uncompromising amid GNU tensions – Katzenellenbogen

John Matisonn: Then there were four – Ramokgopa joins CR succession race

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