Ramaphosa ‘must address migration’, warn experts

Against the background of a trouncing in the local government elections, billions lost in the July pro-Jacob Zuma looting spree and the recent burning of parliament, the ANC on Saturday celebrates its 110th anniversary in Limpopo.

The focus is on the January 8th statement to be delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

A stagnant economy, unemployment, porous borders and a response to the first tranche of the report on state capture handed to him by Acting Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo were among key issues political analysts expected his speech to cover.

“We see parliament burnt, someone with a hammer attacking the Constitutional Court and the July insurrection.

“Migration is something he cannot afford to miss, due to poor border control. If he does not talk on this he better watch out. [ActionSA leader] Herman Mashaba might be our next president, because people on the ground want to see action.

“The flooding of borders by illegal foreign nationals has nothing to do with xenophobia but is about upholding the laws of the land as per the Refugees Act of 1998 and the United Nations Charter on Refugees,” said University of South Africa research director Prof Lesiba Teffo.

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He slammed Ramaphosa’s consultative approach within the tripartite alliance as not “in his interest or that of the nation”.

“It is also one of his greatest undoings. As leader, you can consult but you must also lead from the front and be ready to take unpopular decisions.”

University of Pretoria politics lecturer Roland Henwood said: “This will be a difficult year for the ANC and the government. Priorities include the economy, unemployment, governance, with local government being in dire straits.

“We then have the reality of the first part of the Zondo commission report, which is not just a summary of what went wrong. I know people in the ANC don’t agree with this, but it is not Jacob Zuma who is the guilty party, but the ANC as the governing party. The ANC is accused for everything that went wrong.”