Analysts divided on Ramaphosa’s new dawn

President Cyril Ramaphosa has been getting mixed reviews from local political experts as he battles to make his “new dawn” promises a reality.

Political analyst Xolani Dube took off the gloves and lashed at Ramaphosa for including a host of inexperienced young people and individuals with cases to answer into his Cabinet.

Dube, head of Xubera Institute for Research and Development, called the president a “spineless” leader who was hellbent on rewarding individuals at the expense of service delivery.

However, Ramaphosa was praised by some analysts for having made commendable achievements within a year after taking over from Jacob Zuma, in February 2018. Under him, said political analyst Levy Ndou, investor confidence had increased and he had made bold decisions to fight corruption.

“Ramaphosa achieved a lot in a short space of time. In the first few weeks of becoming president, he sidelined obvious ministers, his message was an all-out fight against corruption,” Ndou said.

Ndou, who is based at Tshwane University of Technology, said as part of Ramaphosa’s antigraft campaign, he appointed new National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Shamila Batohi, who then established the Investigating Directorate led by advocate Hermione Cronje.

The other bold step he took was the firing of former NPA senior officials, Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi, and successfully kicking SA Revenue Service boss Tom Moyane out of office. But Dube lambasted the new Cabinet.

“These appointments don’t make sense. Maybe they are there to serve a purpose, maybe there is going to be a Cabinet reshuffle down the line. It looks like this is a temporary measure .”

He had a different view about Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, who was welcomed by some as a good choice.

“Lamola, who has never been a deputy minister, is now the minister of justice. But he has never been a magistrate and never been in court. The Deputy Minister if Mineral Resources and Energy, Bavelile Hlongwa, is so young that she had never served in any portfolio in her life,” Dube said.

He suggested that instead of making John Jeffery a deputy minister, Ramaphosa should have appointed him as minister considering his experience in the justice field. He didn’t think that former energy minister Jeff Radebe should have been dropped.

“Former Limpopo premier Cassel Mathale (deputy police minister) and David Masondo (deputy finance minister) collapsed Limpopo finances yet they were appointed by Ramaphosa,” Dube said.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.