President Cyril Ramaphosa answers questions in the National Assembly at the Good Hope Building of Parliament on November 03, 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/Die Burger/Jaco Marais)
President Cyril Ramaphosa has modelled himself as a man of high moral standards, and if he hopes to maintain this image, he must fall on his sword for the Phala Phala scandal.
Experts have, however, also noted with concern the glaring celebration by those implicated in state capture ahead of his possible demise.
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There are also fears that the downfall of Ramaphosa, seen as driving the reclaiming of government from crooks, could scupper the implementation of the State Capture Inquiry recommendations.
According to independent political analyst Solly Masilela, the Radical Economic Transformation [RET] forces had sought to bring down Ramaphosa since he took office and the Phala Phala scandal has given their mission momentum.
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He said the RET faction is made up of former president Jacob Zuma and allies, most of them fingered in the state capture devastation, and their sympathisers, which puts the ruling party ANC in a perilous position.
“The ANC is in a dire situation now. If an RET candidate comes into power, chances are they will scupper the process of bringing those fingered in the state capture report to book. So, this will depend on who comes on board,” Masilela said.
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He added that whoever comes to power cannot ignore the recommendations of the State Capture commission without a public outcry, or the opposition coming down hard on the ANC administration.
Dr Rasodi Manyaka, Public Administration lecturer at the University of Mpumalanga said state capture beneficiaries were, however, not completely wrong in celebrating the impending demise of Ramaphosa.
He said the president had demanded that those with clouds hanging over their heads think twice before contesting any leadership positions in the ANC, saying “so, he ought to hold himself to the same standards he demands of others”
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Manyaka said Aurthur Fraser, a Zuma ally also fingered in the state capture inquiry, was well within his right to expose Ramaphosa, who he said has styled himself as the cleanest man within the ANC.
He said as ANC Women’s League leader and former minister Bathabile Dlamini had said, indeed every single ANC leader seemingly has skeletons in their closet.
“Hazim, who is reported to be the source of the [Phala Phala Farm] funds, is Ramphosa’s own Gupta. From where I am staying, every leader of the ANC seems to have his own Gupta hidden somewhere,” Manyaka said.
On whether the law enforcement agencies and other state organs hollowed out during the state capture years could withstand the shift of power, he said these were now biased in Ramaphosa’s favour.
“How do we explain the situation where a police case was open since June and we have not heard anything? Why did it take the independent panel to finalize its investigations before the Public Protector and SA Reserve Bank could complete theirs? Is this not a new capture of state institutions? What should we as citizens make of this?” Manyaka asked.
He said the talk of an early election and the assumption that there was no one within the ANC capable of leading the country post-Ramaphosa was misplaced.
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Manyaka said investors already appeared to be worried about Ramaphosa’s fate but remained quiet about the cloud hanging over his head.
He added that the ANC must rise beyond its factions and defend the little gains of the democratic dispensation, saying much of the problems facing the ANC were largely ideological and had nothing to do with who leads the organisation.
Manyaka said the ANC was like a broken vehicle struggling to move forward, adding that the party could only be renewed if all its leaders rose beyond their factions and take collective responsibility for the crisis confronting this country.
Political science lecturer at the University of Mpumalanga Khanya Vilakazi largely echoed Manyaka’s sentiments, saying the renewal project was an ANC project and not that of Ramaphosa alone.
He questioned the credibility of the renewal project itself, saying it did not appear good for the ANC as it had been factionalised.
“…it brings up the question what are they renewing from? What if that renewal is not good for that institution? I think it would be naïve for people to think that the political space is the space of clean, good people that do things out of the goodness of their hearts,” Vilakazi said.
Vilakazi added that there were ANC leaders suspected of misconduct but nothing has happened to them because of the slate on which they sit.
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