Mr President, we have heard it all before, promises that come to nothing

While delivering the speech to mark the ANC’s 110th anniversary in Polokwane on Saturday, President Cyril Ramaphosa touched on corruption while trying to set the tone in an important year for the ruling party.

We use the word touched because tackling corruption really isn’t the ruling party’s main focus.

Mr President, we have heard it all before. All the promises that come to nothing.

What will be different this time around?

Yes, the first of three parts of the Zondo report into state capture has been delivered.

However, with Ramaphosa revealing they won’t act on anything until mid-2022, forgive us for not expecting a different outcome to all the many, many promises made in the past.

Ramaphosa admitted the party had been guilty of ignoring “acts of indiscipline”, adding “those who are guilty of corruption, ill-discipline, factionalism and undermining our democracy find no home in the ANC”.

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Ramaphosa said: “These acts include blatant acts of state (corruption) and criminality […] the concerted campaign of public violence and destruction that took place in July last year, as well as ongoing theft, destruction and obstruction of infrastructure.”

The ANC face a tricky year.

In last year’s local elections the party took a battering, with most registered voters not even bothering to cast votes.

Moreover, the party’s finances are in shambles despite their denials and there is plenty of infighting ahead of the ANC’s vote later this year to grant Ramaphosa a second-term in office.

One has to look at the farcical scenes on Friday night when the lights went out while Ramaphosa was delivering his thank-you speech to businesses at their fundraising event.

The ANC, in turn, have said they are not embarrassed by what is almost certainly a deliberate act to thwart the president.

That, in itself, is what is wrong with the ANC.

You should be very embarrassed indeed.