President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses scores of African National Congress (ANC) supporters at the Siyanqoba Rally at FNB stadium. Photo: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen
In Zimbabwe in the ’80s, Robert Mugabe wanted a one-party state because he believed sincerely that he and Zanu-PF were all that the people could ever want.
Jacob Zuma was similarly arrogant when he said the ANC would rule “until Jesus returns”.
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Quite apart from the ANC’s tendency to conflate “govern” with “rule” – as if it has a divine right to the latter – many in the party believe that the ANC is South Africa and South Africa is the ANC.
It is disturbing, but somehow not surprising, that President Cyril Ramaphosa is one of those blurring the line between party and government.
And nowhere was this more egregious conflation of roles more in evidence than on Sunday night, when he used his privilege as head of state to address the nation… and turned the speech into thinly-veiled ANC electioneering.
What made the spectacle more distasteful was the fact that from the first thing yesterday morning, no more election advertising would be allowed in terms of the electoral laws.
Therefore, as head of the ANC, Ramaphosa got to have the last (and unchallenged) word ahead of tomorrow’s polls.
His words in his televised address almost exactly mirrored the ANC’s own claims in its campaign, that “we” – the ANC only, not the government and not the people – have been responsible for electricity supply, free education and health, housing and economic opportunities.
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It followed on the ANC’s shameless hijacking of government development projects and service delivery – ranging from the supply of ambulances to rural communities in Limpopo, to the jump-starting of stalled infrastructure projects, to the NHI – to portray to voters that it is solely responsible for anything positive which happens in this country.
Ramaphosa’s address was a faux show of “nationbuilding”… when a genuine uniting message would have been: vote for democracy.
