To an audible sigh of relief, intermingled with cries of joyful disbelief, President Jacob Zuma, with every possible escape route blocked, finally resigned. In so doing the nine year old nightmare of corruption, graft, bribery and fraud that had spread throughout South Africa like a cancer ended. Zuma had tested the infant South African democracy to its limits and he was scarily close to turning it into yet another banana Republic with his bullying, authoritarian and scandalously unlawful behavior.
The South African celebration was magnified by the fact that Zuma’s replacement was the charismatic and competent Cyril Ramaphosa, (CR), who in many ways, for decades, had epitomized the post Mandela future of the non racial state. While Nobel Laureates Nelson Mandela and Willem de Klerk were the principal dramatis personae in the successful transformation of apartheid South Africa to a democratic non racial state, they would be the first to agree that it could not have happened without the backroom operatives such as CR.
So Zuma grudgingly passed the baton onto Cyril Ramaphosa in this the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela. Ironically CR had been the icon’s choice in 1999 to be his successor. Unhappily South Arica’s trajectory has been downhill ever since. The immediate nine years after the euphoric Mandela reign was under the stewardship of the remote Thabo Mbeki who had waged “the struggle against apartheid” from London. The uninspiring Mbeki gained notoriety by becoming the Aids Denier in Chief. (Mandela rather than attacking him directly spearheaded, with the help of the Clinton Foundation, the widespread availability of retrovirals). South Africa’s downhill trajectory was accelerated when Mbeki was replaced by Zuma who even at the time of his inauguration was already under the cloud of unseemly criminality both in his personal and public life. Zuma turned out to the disaster that so many had predicted.
DEMOCRACY ULTIMATELY TRIUMPHED - BARELY
In the run up to the ANC Assembly’s election for its 2018 leader it became painfully obvious to all that a deep rift had developed between Zuma and CR. This spat assumed more than the usual significance because a desperate Zuma needed to ensure his succession in order to prevent any possibility of criminal prosecution.
Zuma who had racked up a decidedly negative public persona in his shambolic Presidency faced major setbacks which were magnified in the last year of his reign. Firstly, the Supreme Court ruled that Zuma could face over seven hundred charges of corruption that had been held over for over a decade. The Constitutional Court of South Africa decided against him in the allegations that he had used State moneys in the building of his private quarters in Nkandla. The prosecution was lead by a brave Constitutionally mandated Public Protector, Ms Thuli Madonsela. His resignation was demanded and predictably declined by the teflon President.
Then there were the two firings of Finance Ministers who refused to sanction purchases and contracts that stunk to high heaven. The most recent involved Mr. Pravin Gordhan who was in no way going to sanction a deal with Russia for the purchase of several nuclear reactors. The public protests to this axing were unprecedented. The streets were lined from Cape Town to the outer Northern reaches of Gauteng. The ANC were getting the message that their reversals in the Municipal elections would be magnified if the rot was not stopped.
The final major public relation disaster was the publication of Jacques Pauw’s expose “The President’s Keepers” which detailed the corrupt cabal and the criminality involved in the Zuma regime. Zuma threatened legal action and demanded withdrawal of the book with the same success as Trump had in stopping Michael Wolf’s disclosure “Fire and Fury”. Both authors had constitutional protection.
All these events had to dent the vast influence a President might have in actively canvassing for his successor - after a corrupt nine years there had to be so many that owed the President. Also the fact that Zuma cynically was pushing the view that it was time for a woman President, his own ex wife, ensured the support of the Women’s League of the ANC. CR barely scraped home by a one hundred and seventy - nine votes out of close on five and a half thousand electors thereby changing the future of South Africa.
RAMAPHOSA’S STELLAR CREDENTIALS
In The Beginning - COSATU
The sixty - five year old South African President is no political neophyte. In fact you could tick off every possible box that an aspirant leader of the Republic of South Africa might need for success. He started off as an activist in the black student movement. His anti apartheid credentials were then buttressed by two prolonged detentions without trial in the seventies.
He became the successful head of the South African Trade Union movement in the eighties. He started of in the economically sensitive area of mining, forming the National Union of Mineworkers. He then was the driving force in the creation of the all embracing Congress of South African Union of Trade Unions, (COSATU). CR had successfully exploited the concession made by President PW Botha in his Reform Project to allow for the collective organization of workers. In no time he dramatically increased the membership of COSATU. His control of the majority of African workers in the country was to become an overriding factor in his influence at every level, including in breaking down apartheid and in the subsequent run up to the creation of the new South Africa.
Political and Theoretical Work to Create a New South Africa - CODESA
Ramaphosa could have earned his place in history simply for his role in negotiations between the different constituencies in shaping the future of South Africa which culminated in his Chairmanship of the Committee that produced the new Constitution. In these endeavors his diplomatic and organizing skills were superb. He had swopped his leadership of COSATU by then, (1991) for the Secretary Generalship of the ANC, ironically, beating Zuma for the position, This job change increased his bargaining powers exponentially. In addition to his gargantuan policy - making duties he increased the ANC’s membership by hundreds of thousands.
When one considers the vast number of diverse viewpoints that had to be welded into consensus and the fact that the future had to rise, phoenix like, from the ashes of the discrimination, racialism and injustices of apartheid, it is a miracle it all came into being. There were the citizenry of the white apartheid party and their white opposition, the black freedom parties, and eight indigenous tribes whose needs had to be met. All this maneuvering while the Xhosa ANC and the Zulu Inkatha were in open warfare. The latter hostility was stoked on by white rogue South African security forces who could form the nidus of a possible right wing white insurrection against the new order,
The consultations, bargaining and horse trading that took place following the De Klerk declaration and the release of Nelson from prison took place at CODESA, The Convention for a Democratic South Africa ,which was attended by nineteen political organizations. There were endless territorial battles and disputes including de Klerk’s decision to hold a referendum among whites as to whether they supported the new dispensation. Another explosive concern was the demand to the ANC to disband their military wing. Tony Leon former leader of the white opposition Democratic Alliance and Rolf Meyer the chief negotiator of the then white ruling Nationalist Party have waxed eloquently at the masterful role that Ramaphosa played in the run up to Independence. The first CODESA concentrated on the preliminary work of transfer and then divided up into working parties that were to effect the changes. The key committee was the formulation of a new Constitution, which was the charge of CR.
Constitution
The Constitution was subject to intense scrutiny and the first draft took nearly two years in the making. CR invited public and institutional opinion. The finished product detailed the role and responsibilities of office bearers and legislative entities at every level. The cardinal commitments were to the sovereignty of the law and a Bill of Rights. It is not an exaggeration to argue that the Constitution of South Africa played a key role in the ultimate ouster of what was labelled Zexit. Central to the integrity of the Constitution was that the final arbiter as to its interpretation was to be in the hands of an Independent Constitutional Court.
Ramaphosa Turns Businessman in 1999 Following his Failure to be Mandela’s Successor
Shattered by the adverse outcome of the power struggle between him and Mbeki, as to who would be Mandela’s successor, CR decided to venture into the business world where he achieved phenomenal success. He formed his own investment company Shanduka and became Chairman of two other vast national entities. He was on the board of multiple corporations including Standard Bank, South African Breweries Miller and Alexander Forbes. His international involvements included Mondi and McDonalds. Other investments included diamonds, petroleum and real estate. When finally returning to politics in 2014 he reportedly either disinvested from the companies or placed his assets into a blind trust. One well publicized outcome of his holdings was the formation of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation. The latter focuses on education having supported close on a thousand schools and a million learners. Assistance to small business was another goal and reportedly his largesse has been the spur for ten thousand new jobs.
His estimated wealth is well over five hundred million American dollars.
CR Returns to the National Scene as Deputy President
In 2014 he was drawn back to his roots - politics. He was elected Deputy Leader of the ANC which ensured that he would be South Africa’s next Vice President. Even after his long absence he was overwhelmingly backed by the more than five thousand representatives who participate in the ANC National Assembly. As some one who had been out of politics for that length of time this achievement was pretty remarkable. For whatever reasons his nemesis President Jacob Zuma backed him.
It is fair to say the last four years had to have been the most uncomfortable of CR’s life. There was non stop harassment as he sat silently and morose while being mocked at ostensibly colluding with the rogue President. The Opposition repeatedly asked him what he was doing to counteract the actions of Zuma who was undermining the very constitution that he had been responsible for.
CR has been dogged by a major scandal referred to as the Marikana Massacre. Ironically, bearing in mind his roots, he was said to be responsible for the police killing of thirty - four striking miners at his Lonmin holdings. Ramaphosa characterized the miner protests as criminal rather than industrial. The subsequent independent judicial enquiry concluded that whatever his actions were they did not result in the largest incidence of security violence since apartheid. Whichever way this is diced and sliced Ramaphosa, the father of Trade Unionism in South Africa, called for a massive police presence in response to what was generally beleived to be industrial unrest.
Ramaphosa was also accused of hushing up extra marital affairs, allegations which seemed to dry up with his denials.
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA
CR has started his Presidency with a bang. His universally acclaimed State of the Nation Address was hailed as he comprehensively addressed all the issues that the country faced. He has made it quite clear that there had been no deal to secure Zuma’s resignation. The fact too that he meant business in cleaning up house was evident when the Gupta family, the recognized President’s Keepers, were raided - an event that would have been unimaginable a week earlier. In addition Zuma’s bloated cabinet is out. The markets have reacted favorably and the Rand has strengthened against the dollar. The expectations are high. One fact that is for sure is that CR has the skill set to carry on from where Mandela left off. Mandiba’s legacy has once again been rejoined.
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