Ramaphosa goes from hero to zero

It should have been so easy for President Cyril Ramaphosa. It should have been the proverbial “easy act to follow” after the disastrous term of state capturer Jacob Zuma.

And indeed, Ramaphosa’s “new dawn” philosophy was a breath of fresh air, promising to rid the country of the stench of corruption.

Ramaphosa is not your savior

Then came the Covid pandemic and Ramaphosa was, for a brief spell, the leader who united the country against a common, non-human enemy.

Yet, eventually, it became painfully apparent to the citizens of South Africa that Ramaphosa was no superhero who could wrest the country from its steady slide into failed state status.

His promises of cracking down on corruption have come to nought, with not one high-ranking ANC cadre or private sector accomplice yet wearing orange prison uniform.

In reality, on Ramaphosa’s watch during Covid, hundreds of millions of rands were looted in personal protective equipment contracts and bogus “sanitising” of schools against the virus.

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Ramaphosa’s ‘weak’ ruling

Emboldened by the lack of action against graft, ANC comrades and their allies rolled up their sleeves to get stealing.

One of the most visible effects of this is in the collapse of most municipalities where the ANC was in charge; even the massive metros like Johannesburg are failing to deliver water and electricity, as well as other basic services.

It’s no wonder political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki has labelled Ramaphosa a “very weak president”.

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Mbeki’s assessment is that Ramaphosa is unable to control either his party or his Cabinet.

“He doesn’t feel he’s strong enough to insist that decisions must be enforced and so what you have is a rather hectic, chaotic government and it becomes even more hectic and chaotic now that it is in partnership with other political parties, the government of national unity.”

That is a depressing – but accurate – summing up of our glorious leader.

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