Cyril Ramaphosa has been president for more than 18 months now. It’s about time he heeded the advice of William Shakespeare: "There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune."
This is something Ramaphosa seemed to get at the outset of his presidency. Getting rid of his predecessor, the wrecking ball that is Jacob Zuma, took a great deal of courage. Together with his patriotic comrades in the ANC, this was his biggest single act of patriotic duty.
But ridding the country of Zuma was only the first of many tough decisions to be made. Ramaphosa continued on the march, firing the corrupt boards and management at Eskom and Transnet. It was low-hanging fruit, you could say. Replacing those tainted officials was part of uprooting all that Zuma represented. At the time, the forces of progress seemed to be winning against the corrupt. The "new dawn" was breaking in the east, never to set again, a weary and impatient nation hoped. Our long, dark nights seemed finally banished to the ugly memory of a time past.
When he dismissed the foot soldiers of state capture at the National Prosecuting Authority and the SA Revenue Service earlier this year, Ramaphosa and his comrades seemed invincible. More palatable and competent leaders took their rightful place at the helm of the most critical of these institutions.
The country took notice — and rewarded them with a solid mandate to continue the reforms.
The ‘new dawn’ was breaking in the east, never to set again, a weary and impatient nation hoped
But the process of rebuilding, always harder and trickier than that of demolishing, was bound to take longer. Forces within the ANC, led by secretary-general Ace Magashule and Nomvula Mokonyane, were never going to give up that easily. Man will fight to the death when jail is the only option.
This group has used the inevitable delay in rebuilding the law enforcement agencies to their advantage. Their fightback against reform is now unrelenting.
Now they have even found allies in the opposition ranks and in some of the chapter 9 institutions. After all, the cancer of corruption during the 10 long years under the native of Nkandla was not the exclusive terrain of those enjoying state power. Some of the EFF leaders have always had a warm relationship with other people’s money. They share the same fears as Zuma, Magashule and other comrades: no motivation is bigger than avoiding jail time. The soon-to-be former public protector has been a lethal weapon in their hands.
SA thirsts for good governance
The public protector’s reports, ill-fated as they are, will keep the president and his most trusted comrades busy for a while. It means the job of reforming the state and rebuilding the economy will suffer.
But it need not be so. Ramaphosa ought not to lose focus. The country thirsts for his leadership and he should take care not to squander goodwill. The job of governing cannot wait. The starting point is to appoint a permanent CEO at Eskom. Ramaphosa also needs to provide the utility and the public enterprises minister with the political cover they need to proceed with the utility’s restructuring. For this, the president must bring the trade unions to the negotiating table and make them part of the solution.
Time and tide wait for no man. Shakespeare says this about the consequences of missing the right tide: "Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures."
It’s an apt sentiment. We cannot continue floating aimlessly or the thieves will steal a march on us again. And the damage would be too ghastly to contemplate. Take the lead, Mr President.
PODCAST: Business Day Spotlight - Politicians are putting the SA economy at risk
For more episodes, click here.
Subscribe: iono.fm | Spotify | Apple Podcast | Pocket Casts | Player.fm
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.