Cyril is the alpha but he's not Moses, plus 5 highlights from 'Vrye Weekblad'

Here's what's hot in the latest edition of the Afrikaans digital weekly

04 September 2020 - 07:33 By TimesLIVE
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A supporter with an ANC flag. President Cyril Ramaphosa has won more room to manoeuvre, but can he drag SA back from the precipice?
A supporter with an ANC flag. President Cyril Ramaphosa has won more room to manoeuvre, but can he drag SA back from the precipice?
Image: DAILY DISPATCH

The latest dramas in the ANC are a triumph for Cyril Ramaphosa and the Ace Magashule camp was left with a bloody nose. Can Ramaphosa take this further, clean up the party and blow life into the economy?

It is tempting to wonder if Ramaphosa's famed long game, that he has been widely criticised for this year, was indeed the right one and if it is indeed bearing fruit.

His over-cautiousness hasn't always worked for him — Magashule has often outplayed him at ground level and portrayed his consensus-seeking as a weakness, while other factions inside the party were flourishing.

Read more about our politics and more news and analysis in this week's edition of Afrikaans digital weekly Vrye Weekblad.


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We can safely begin to say the Covid-19 pandemic has counted in Ramaphosa's favour. He was the calm statesman addressing the nation, Zweli Mkhize the technocrat who managed the pandemic and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma did the dirty work and took the pain for it. Good cop, bad cop.

There are rumours of a cabinet reshuffle. Ramaphosa could use this to make cabinet smaller, as he promised to do last year.

Most people have by now realised that Ramaphosa is not a knight in shining armour, the Moses who has come to lead us out of the desert.

The state that he leads will have to be built up from the ground to be functional again.

At most, South Africans can hope that Ramaphosa now has more confidence and room to move so he can drag the country away from the precipice.

Read the full article in this week's Vrye Weekblad


Must-read articles in this week's Vrye Weekblad

FREE TO READ — IN THE STREETS | In parliament, farm murders were debated while another child, and then another, died in the streets where they should be able to safely play.

TEFLON TINA STRIKES AGAIN | For Tina Joemat-Pettersson, only her children and international travel are allegedly more important than the ANC. Even with the stink of mismanagement and strange decisions always following her, Tina is still holding on tight.

THANKS, FED | The announcement that the American Central Bank will alter its inflation policy means that US interest rates will remain low for longer. If SA implements reforms on time, the Fed's decision could be positive for us.

FIGHTING THE LIE FACTORY | How do you fight Donald J Trump's lie factory and the Republican Party's absolute abdication to The Leader?

FREE TO READ — HERMAN | It is spring and our wings remain clipped. An overseas holiday is now more tempting than ever, but let Herman Lategan remind you that not all travels are smooth.


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