It was a hard week for ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa. On the eve of the party’s January 8 birthday celebrations — in his capacity as head of state — he received the first part of the state capture commission’s report, a document that named and shamed his predecessor Jacob Zuma and several other cadres and compatriots or, at the very least, supporters.
Then, as he started those birthday celebrations, he thrice faced challenges at events he was due to speak at.
First, an ANCWL event had to be called off due to Covid-19 compliance breaches that came at a significant health risk for Ramaphosa. Then, he was made to speak outside from the top of a van after ANC Youth League members complained that too few people could be admitted to the hall.
Lastly, as he spoke at the party’s fundraising gala dinner, the lights were cut off and the venue plunged into darkness — something which police minister Bheki Cele later said was due to tampering with the power supply.
If he believes in events being predictors of the future, then Ramaphosa will do well to brace himself for what could be a rocky 2022 as the ANC heads towards its elective conference in December.
If he believes in events being predictors of the future, then Ramaphosa will do well to brace himself for what could be a rocky 2022 as the ANC heads towards its elective conference in December.
But when the moments of madness passed by and Ramaphosa was given the platform to speak, he was quick to talk about renewal in the party, saying that unity cannot come at the expense of fighting corruption.
“We must act unflinchingly and with urgency to renew the movement. As we do so, we must be clear that this will be a painful and protracted process. Like the collective leadership of comrade OR Tambo’s generation, we must give no quarter in pursuing what is ethically right and socially just.
“No resistance, even from within our ranks, can force us to abandon the cause of truly being the ANC of the people,” Ramaphosa said at the celebrations in Polokwane, as quoted in the Sunday Times.
The cake-cutting and the pomp and ceremony of the weekend’s birthday bash will be no balm for the ANC’s wounds. The party is still reeling from a disastrous 2021 local government election result, from severe infighting — particularly from members hit by the step-aside ruling, most notably suspended secretary-general Ace Magashule — and from the response to the July riots that casts even longer aspersions on the credibility of deployees to key government posts.
His government has also been beset throughout 2021 with allegations of corruption and tender skulduggery, right up to the eventual departure of health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize over the Digital Vibes scandal.
The only way Ramaphosa — and the ANC — can truly rebound is to live up to another plethora of promises.
He needs to make good on assurances in the wake of the commission that resolutions will be implemented and action taken — even if the country has to wait a little longer until the final report is handed over at the end of next month.
Ramaphosa also must come through on promises to clean up the ruling party. If he doesn’t, the ANC risks further erosion of power and, while the party remains with an outright majority, the country risks continued suffering in the economic doldrums.
This will be a big year for Ramaphosa, and for the country too — and, worryingly, it seems to have started where 2021 left off.
