By Nicholas Woode-Smith*
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s almost resignation was welcomed and booed across the country. Many lamented the possible stepping down of the president in the face of the Phala Phala report and possible impeachment. Others called for the rule of law to be respected and urged the president to do the right thing and step down.
What is clear is that Ramaphosa’s backtracking on his resignation was a missed opportunity to instil respect in the rule of law and repair trust in the African National Congress (ANC) in the eyes of voters.
Many people feared Ramaphosa’s resignation and fear his possible impeachment as events progress. This all stems from the still pervasive idea that Ramaphosa is a trustworthy and decent leader. Many analysts have urged the Phala Phala investigation to be ignored and the rule of law to take a backseat to prevent worse factions in the ANC from taking charge.
But shouldn’t Ramaphosa’s behaviour be proof enough that he is not standing in the way of the “bad ANC”? He is the bad ANC.
Ramaphosa has not been a good president. And he has never been the incorrupt successor to the kleptocracy of Zuma’s government. Rather, Ramaphosa’s only accomplishment has been to create a cult of personality around himself whereby people forgot his many past sins and continue to blind themselves to his incompetency today.
Do not forget why he almost resigned now. He is under investigation, and is likely guilty, of gross corruption. Before that, he was deputy president to Jacob Zuma. He almost definitely knew what was going on with all the corruption in the ANC at the time. He has been a member of the ANC for decades. He would have to be a fool to be blind to it all. And if he knew about it, why has he not done anything about it before or now? Not to mention his involvement with Marikana, and his continued maladministration.
Ramaphosa pays lip service to fighting corruption while overseeing a government still rife with it. He pays lip service to good governance while governing South Africa through one of its darkest periods. Eskom has never been as bad as it has been under Ramaphosa. He has done nothing to push for privatisation – the only real solution to Eskom’s woes. He continues to back terrible policies that have caused the plummeting of our economy and the exploding of unemployment.
Ramaphosa has not been a good president and we need to stop pretending that he’s some saint protecting us from the corrupt baddies of the ANC. The best thing Ramaphosa could have done is strengthen the rule of law by stepping down.
Not only would resigning have signalled to the country and the world that the law matters, it would have also allowed an opportunity for positive changes within the ANC. There may be leaders and factions within the ANC worse than Ramaphosa, but there are also people better than him.
The best alternative to rule by Ramaphosa would, of course, be the official opposition. But loyalty to the cult of the ANC may still be too high. Voters still aren’t ready to see the Democratic Alliance (DA) in charge. So, they will still vote for the ANC. Or no party at all.
The ideal, as would be suggested by polls by the Social Research Foundation, would be a coalition between the ANC and DA. The ANC still wins the hearts and minds of many South Africans, but the DA is recognised as a superior governor.
But a coalition between the ANC and DA would require two things: firm boundaries by the DA and a moderate, pragmatic faction leading the ANC.
The former would require the DA to enter a coalition with firm and strict criteria that would allow them to pass the policies needed to fix the country and govern well. The DA would need to be willing to torpedo the coalition if the ANC does not behave itself.
In essence, the ANC needs to be willing to rule in name, while allowing the DA to govern effectively in practice.
The latter requires that a decent faction steps up and dominates the ANC. Perhaps, a Thabo Mbeki led faction. Mbeki, for all his flaws, has proven to be the most effective president South Africa has ever had. He is not a socialist – which puts him leagues above the other ANC leaders.
If Mbeki or a similar leader could form an ideologically sound faction willing to compromise for the good of the country, an ANC-DA coalition could become a distinct possibility.
Ramaphosa’s resignation could have ushered in this moderate faction. But now, we will have to wait to see what happens. Perhaps, Mbeki or similar ANC leaders could still step up to the plate? And if they do so, a coalition between ruling party and official opposition may become a distinct possibility. Otherwise, I am not sure what else could save the country.
Read more:
- RW Johnson sizes up Mbeki’s potential presidential challenge against Ramaphosa at ANC conference
- FT on Phala Phala: “The whole affair reeks”, as Ramaphosa clings on
- Ramaphosa shouldn’t resign but we “have to proceed to second phase” in impeachment process
- Would ANC survive Ramaphosa’s exit?
*Nicholas Woode-Smith is a political analyst, historian, fiction writer, and author of the upcoming South Africa: The Unconscious Empire.