As the future of South Africa’s fourth democratically elected president hung in the balance, the images of the recall of former president Jacob Zuma revisited our collective mind as a troubled nation.
On Thursday, the nation waited with bated breath for an important announcement on Ramaphosa’s future as the fallout from the Phala Phala
saga deepened.
Confusion and anxiety were palpable for hours on end. The wheels of our constitutional democracy ground to a halt. However, it is not the first time that the ANC and its presidents put a nation of over 60 million people on tenterhooks because of its internal battles.
In February 2018, the ANC national executive committee (NEC) recalled Zuma after Ramaphosa’s ascendancy to the ANC presidency. At the time, Zuma was embroiled in scandals and allegations of state capture. There was
also a damning report by then public protector Thuli Madonsela, which put him at the centre of state capture, while it recommended a judicial commission be set up to probe state capture under his presidency. Earlier, Madonsela had in a separate investigation ordered Zuma to pay back some of the money used in building his lavish R246-million Nkandla homestead.
Zuma’s woes had also been compounded by the Constitutional Court’s finding that he had violated his oath of office by ignoring Madonsela’s recommendation in the Nkandla saga. Not long after Ramaphosa was elected party president, the NEC decided to recall Zuma.
“The NEC received a report from the national officials about the engagements with the president. The NEC noted that the officials had agreed with him in principle to resign.”
The president proposed he be given a period of three to six months,” former ANC secretary general Ace Magashule said at the time.
“The decision of the NEC provides certainty to the people of South Africa at a time when the economic and social challenges facing the country require urgent and resolute response by all sections of society,” he added.
Zuma eventually resigned in a televised speech after the ANC made it clear that he was going to be voted out through a motion of no confidence in parliament.
Fast forward to this week, a section 89 independent panel of experts commissioned by parliament delivered a devastating report saying Ramaphosa may have violated the constitution by not reporting the theft of several hundred thousand US dollars from his Phala Phala farm.
The panel’s report immediately plunged the country into a leadership crisis.
Since Wednesday, South Africa once again experienced a period of uncertainty and anxiety. On Thursday, the rand tumbled over 3% against the dollar, the biggest one-day drop since February 2021. All in the while the nation was told Ramaphosa would break his deafening silence on his future.
The nation waited as rumours spread that he would resign in a televised address. This did not happen. We were later told Ramaphosa was still consulting his allies and stakeholders.
“We are in an unprecedented and extraordinary moment as a constitutional democracy as a result of the report. Therefore, whatever the decision the president makes, the decision has to be informed by the best interest of the country and that decision cannot be rushed and cannot be taken in haste,” Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.
A Friday special NEC meeting convened over how the Phala Phala report was processed led to its “collapse” again leaving the country directionless.
It was decided that the matter be taken back to the ANC officials and the party’s national working committee for discussion. The ANC said another NEC would be convened before parliament meets on Tuesday to debate the matter.
We are again in a weekend of uncertainty, rudderless and, quite frankly, on flight mode.
The point is that the phenomenon of ANC presidents not finishing their terms causes instability in government, hurts investor confidence and leads to uncertainty about the country’s policies.
Even if Ramaphosa does not resign, chances are that he might not survive the Phala Phala saga until 2027, when his second term ends – that is if he is re-elected in two weeks when the ANC convenes its elective conference.
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