Future of SA lies with Ramaphosa, says Limpopo’s Mathabatha

Limpopo premier Stan Mathabatha shot to prominence this month with a straight-talking defence of President Cyril Ramaphosa – telling the ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting that Ramaphosa was “one of the best presidents that we could ever find”.

At the same time, he minced no words when noting that there were people “running around [dividing] the African National Congress, pursuing their personal and factional agendas in our provinces”.

So, who is this man who has, up to now, kept a relatively low profile politically?

Those who know him and have worked with him describe him as a quiet, gentle man who wouldn’t hurt a fly and who is devoted to his family. He is married with three children and has built his mother a simple house in their village.

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He doesn’t live the high life and even still has the Audi A8 he bought more than 10 years ago during his 18-month stint as ambassador to the Ukraine.

Chatting to The Citizen at his simple home in Tooseng village, outside Lebowakgomo, the 64-year-old Mathabatha – who is now ANC Limpopo chair – revealed that he will not stand for re-election as provincial chair nor as premier after the ANC provincial elective conference next year.

Is that because he is going to retire?

Mathabatha will not comment on rumours in Limpopo that he is being lined up for a possible Cabinet job by Ramaphosa but said: “I am open for any deployment as a good servant of my organisation, the ANC.

“I will agree to be deployed anywhere else because I am what I am today because of this organisation.”

Mathabatha has come a long way with the politics of the liberation struggle, a journey he has walked only with the ANC.

From the age of 18, when in high school, he was influenced by activist George Tladi Manthata and joined the ANC’s underground structures – becoming part of a group known as the Young Lions.

“These comrades would send us to distribute organisational pamphlets in and around the Polokwane taxi rank…” but it didn’t take long for the security police to pick them up.

They were detained under the Internal Security Act during a state of emergency.

“[While in custody] I was pulled to a corner, where I was forced to undress. The officer gave me straight eight strokes on the buttocks. My buttocks developed huge open cuts and swelled.

“Within days, they became sceptic and I was admitted to hospital.”

After the ANC won the elections in 1994, Mathabatha – who has an economics degree from Harvard University – worked as chief executive for the Limpopo Economic Development agency, an organisation from which, he said, he was later “purged”.

He sat at home for a while unemployed, while things around him in the province collapsed because of “rampant corruption and financial mismanagement”.

In November 2011, five of Limpopo’s provincial departments were placed under administration and the provincial government was unable to pay the salaries of teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers, service providers and other public sector employees.

Then came a call from then president Jacob Zuma, while Mathabatha was working as ambassador to Ukraine.

“He said he had decided to redeploy me to Limpopo, adding that the province was bleeding financially.”

Ten years later, the premier is proud of the role he and his political colleagues and civil servants played in turning around the fortunes of the province.

“Our finances are no longer in shambles as they were 10 years ago – proof of which is in the recent auditor-general’s audit outcome, which saw this province scoring five clean audits,” he said with a broad smile.

But Mathabatha is also proud of being able to turn around the political fortunes of the ANC in Limpopo.

“When I joined the province in 2011, there were no ANC branches and regions were not in good standing. Now, during my reign, Limpopo is the second biggest after KwaZulu-Natal in terms of membership. The province is now united politically and speaks from the same page.”

And when Mathabatha spoke at the NEC, people sat up and took notice. He has made it plain where he believes the future of this country lies… and it is with Cyril Ramaphosa.

news@citizen.co.za