A reflection on ANC’s governance and monumental failures

With his second term firmly in place, experts have cautioned President Cyril Ramaphosa to deliver on his mandate to urgently address issues plaguing the country.

The Citizen has revealed how the private sector was increasingly stepping in and taking over key functions of the state as state-owned entities (SOEs), which were consistently mismanaged, pillaged, and run into the ground.

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The president, experts agree, is the only reason the ANC was still in power, but that top on his priority list should be to deliver on South Africans’ faith in him and not his ruling party.

The collapse of the R3 billion Giyani bulk water project meant to benefit 55 villages in Mopani and Vhembe in Limpopo has been the monument of the ANC’s governance and delivery failures.

Last chance

Coming up tops in the expert assessment of the ANC and ultimately government’s monumental failures has been lack implementation of policies to free the nation from the shackles of poverty, corruption and violent crime.

Political expert Solly Masilela lamented that the ruling party’s legacy has been decimated by former President Jacob Zuma’s destructive reign, which he said exposed the ruling party’s inability to protect and advance the nation’s interests.

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“[Ramaphosa] is popular more than the ANC and he better deliver to South Africans. This is his only chance and he needs a team aligned to his mandate to deliver. He has the desperate hopes of the nation on his shoulder,” he said.

Achievements

Masilela said the party’s greatest achievements such as social welfare, social cohesion and national pride has been ruined by the party’s deployment policy, decisive leadership and political will.

“We cannot ignore the ANC’s achievements but all these efforts have been defeated by the deployment of clueless comrades. I come from an area where piped water was a dream. Today we do not drink from the river anymore, though there are challenges,” he said.

Masilela said chances were the ruling party will be given a last chance in the next elections but that this was dependant on Ramaphosa showing who is boss and delivering on the nation’s immediate needs.

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“We cannot have a situation where 55 villages in Limpopo are still waiting for water promised to them over a decade ago. Sadly, this is the stamp of the ANC government,” he said.

He said the party’s service delivery record was appalling and that the president needs to take charge, crack the whip and get things done.

Masilela said load-shedding was not only destroying the economy but lives as well, contributing to the country’s already stubborn issues of inequality, joblessness and crime.

Destructive deployment

Senior public administration lecturer at University of Mpumalanga Dr John Molepo agreed that the ruling party’s biggest failure has been deployment and implementation of key policies.

“This translates to poor governance. Top on the president’s priority list should be addressing inequality, addressing economic issues that are a source of the country’s problems but this requires strong leadership,” he said.

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Molepo said as much as the ruling party has achieved a great deal on some social issues, he had noted a neo-liberal agenda that he said was not humane in nature.

He said without strong and decisive leadership, nothing was possible but lamented that the ANC has demonstrated that it did not possess these qualities, to the detriment of the nation’s development.

“I think the president needs to focus on strong governance, dealing with the country’s immediate issues of economy, governance and the rule of law,” he added.