Ramaphosa ‘being betrayed by members of his Cabinet’

Was it an attempted coup or a failed insurrection? Whatever phrase President Cyril Ramaphosa has found suitable to explain the recent spate of violence and looting that has seriously crippled the economies of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, some members of his Cabinet have contradicted him – the latest being Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

While Ramaphosa has acknowledged government’s unpreparedness for the violence, he has used the phrase “failed attempted insurrection”.

But Mapisa-Nqakula broke ranks. Addressing the parliamentary joint standing committee on defence over the weekend, she shrugged off any evidence of insurrection, describing the unrest as “a counter-revolution creeping in, in the form of criminality and thuggery”.

Commenting on the impact of the contradictory statements, Institute for Global Dialogue political analyst Sanusha Naidu said the president was “being betrayed by members of his Cabinet”.

“This does not bode well for [Ramaphosa] because it does not just undermine him, but tells us that his project of unity was never won and had no traction.

“The president now feels betrayed by his Cabinet in various ways. It is very difficult to try and extrapolate and make sense of a single message from government right now, during this crisis.

“The fact that ministers feel they can provide an opposite narrative or an opposite set of statements to what the president is saying puts him in a very difficult position.

“This has always been a difficult challenge for him, particularly due to the bureaucracy he inherited and a set of ministers he was compelled to appoint after Nasrec (54th ANC national conference).”

Naidu said the ministers speaking from a different script would have to “come forward and explain themselves, or face a Cabinet reshuffle”.

“The president is in a very difficult situation, having to deal with what happened last week, who is responsible inside and outside government. Now, he has to deal with ministers talking from opposite directions.

“The question is: how does he bring this Cabinet into line and create cohesiveness around a single set of statements? The challenge is going to be to what extent he is able to use his prerogative of appointing ministers to Cabinet.

“He could use this as an opportunity to further entrench his footprint and ability over the architecture of the party and the state.”

University of Pretoria political science lecturer Roland Henwood blamed infighting within the ANC, which has led to “the undermining and neglect of government”.

“President Ramaphosa has to deal with this and the ANC has to come to terms with itself. ANC elites are being elevated above South Africa – causing all in SA to be captive to this and suffering the negative consequences.

“Another opportunity for Ramaphosa is to take the initiative and act decisively – relying on the support of the majority of South Africans.

“The dynamics of the past days may indicate a limit to what South Africans are willing to endure.

“The president has to show leadership and act as the leader. It will be fatal for him if there is a sense of weakness or unwillingness on his side – both in the [ANC national executive committee] and in government.

“What is also required is capable leadership across the responsible persons who occupy key positions in government.”

– brians@citizen.co.za