Here are some fun state of the nation facts.
National Prosecuting Authority boss Shamila Batohi is halfway through her 10-year term and does not have a single conviction for state capture under her belt.
State capture don Jacob Zuma is set to contest elections. So is his son and former Gupta employee Duduzane Zuma.
Transnet is still reeling from the state capture era, as is Eskom. Former Transnet and Eskom CEO Brian Molefe has been charged, but is out on bail; the corruption case against former Eskom CEO Matshela Koko fell to pieces late last year.
South African Revenue Service commissioner Edward Kieswetter’s term is coming to an end, yet his predecessor Tom Moyane remains blissfully unaccountable for the damage he inflicted on fiscus and taxpayer alike. Lest we forget: it’s his destruction of the revenue service that precipitated the first VAT hike in more than a decade.
They’re all awkward facts, given President Cyril Ramaphosa’s sudden realisation in his state of the nation address (Sona) last week that “perhaps” the “greatest damage” to post-apartheid South Africa was inflicted during the state capture era. “Perhaps.”
It speaks to a president so in the dark about the goings-on in his own nation that it was fitting that South Africa was plunged into stage 6 load-shedding soon after this address. That may have been the sound of a shoe dropping in the darkness.
His Sona last Thursday could have been the same; his corruption-busting talk could have hit the mark — had it come six years earlier
Ramaphosa has waved his hands vaguely at state capture in every Sona since 2018. But this was the first time in opening parliament that he properly acknowledged the damage inflicted by his predecessor’s capricious interference in the state to further his own ends and those of his family and friends.
“There have also been times when events at home have shaken the foundations of our constitutional democracy,” Ramaphosa finally declared. “For a decade, individuals at the highest levels of the state conspired with private individuals to take over and repurpose state-owned companies, law enforcement agencies and other public institutions.
“The effects of state capture continue to be felt across society, from the shortage of freight locomotives to crumbling public services, from the poor performance of our power stations to failed development projects.”
“Perhaps” someone woke the president from his slumber.
It’s a convenient time for Ramaphosa to lay into his predecessor. Zuma has, after all, bolted from the ANC stable, stating his intent to vote for — and lead — an opposition party. It’s a betrayal of the worst kind, given how Ramaphosa bent over backwards to place party unity ahead of accountability. Zuma’s fickle turn has shown those efforts were all for nothing. It has also shown Ramaphosa up for being the docile suit that he is; had he acknowledged Zuma’s truly devious nature he could have neutralised him years ago.
Make no mistake, Ramaphosa is no slouch when it comes to delivering speeches. Who can forget his rousing addresses in the early days of the pandemic? Or the call to action that was his “Thuma Mina” speech?
His Sona last Thursday could have been the same; his corruption-busting talk could have hit the mark — had it come six years earlier. Instead, it spoke to the torpor of his administration.
This, in many ways, will be Ramaphosa’s legacy. No longer the “new dawn”, the calls to action; Ramaphosa’s tenure will be one marked by stasis.
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