What Ramaphosa should have said…

Once again, used by an ANC politician, the word “challenges” is having to do some heavy lifting – or terminological contortions – when used to explain the morass in which South Africa finds itself.

According to President Cyril Ramaphosa in his new year address to his “fellow South Africans”, our “current challenges” include “unemployment, poverty, crime, gender-based violence, rising food prices and a severe electricity crisis”.

Seemingly, the two factors most responsible for our current situation – ANC corruption and its cadre deployment policy – are quietly pushed into the background. Or, perhaps not quite.

Ramaphosa did claim his administration was “making progress in the fight against corruption”, but almost immediately thereafter invited derision with his assertion that the government was “bringing those responsible for state capture to justice”.

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What is abundantly clear from his message – as well as from multiple comments from him and others in the ANC royalty – is that there is a distinct disjuncture between how the ANC acts and how it speaks to the world. And seldom do the twain meet…

Instead of listing sundry “challenges”, as if they fell from heaven or are merely an unfortunate quirk of fate, Ramaphosa would do a lot to positively impact his historical legacy if he was forthright with the citizens of the country.

He should be saying: “We, the ANC, are sorry. We, the ANC, are so corrupt that it is impossible to find anyone in our ranks who is straight. We, the ANC, have criminally abused the policy of affirmative action to enrich ourselves and our friends and provide guaranteed employment to the party faithful, no matter how useless they may be. We apologise for setting up and maintaining this awful system of patronage and corruption.

“We apologise for betraying the revolution and for failing to provide a better life for all.”

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