It was sad to see Julius Malema and other opposition leaders vow to get President Cyril Ramaphosa kicked out of office through a motion of no confidence. They want the man removed because of the very convenient charges laid by former spy boss Arthur Fraser against him, concerning the theft of money at Ramaphosa’s farm back in 2020.
These opposition leaders are being manipulated to take a starring role in the ANC’s corrupt and dirty internal politics. Fraser, a man who became head of intelligence with allegedly questionable security clearances (read the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture report) and who is accused of myriad crimes and misdemeanours during his tenure in this position, now has the opposition doing his dirty work for him. Like mindless zombies, the opposition leaders are being led by the nose. It would be funny if it were not so tragic — and dangerous.
The truth is that someone should bring a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa for the real reasons the man should go. He has failed in almost every department he promised SA action on. The economy is in the doldrums and the nation is unemployed and living in poverty. You won’t see Malema holding a press conference about that.
When Ramaphosa came to power in February 2018, the rand strengthened to R12 to the dollar. That’s the optimism that enveloped the land. On Sunday, 4½ years into Ramaphosa’s tenure, the rand was at a pitiful R17 to the greenback.
Take unemployment: SA’s unemployment rate for 2018 was 26.91%, a 0.13% decline from 2017. Then things turned ugly. In 2019 it shot up to 28.47%, a 1.56% increase from 2018. We can forgive Ramaphosa for 2020, when unemployment reached 29.22%. The following year, 2021, was a whopper at 33.56%, a 4.34% increase on 2020.
If Ramaphosa were in charge of his cabinet, he would have fired Cele ages ago. Why hasn’t he? Why does he employ the many somnambulant nobodies from his predecessor’s cabinet?
This year? The rate eased to 34.5% in the first quarter of 2022, the first decline in seven quarters, down from a record high of 35.3% in the previous period. These numbers are horrific, but remember that the expanded unemployment rate was 45.5% in the first quarter of 2022. Half the nation’s adult population is unemployed.
In March the World Bank told us what we already know, and have known for more than 15 years: SA is the most unequal country in the world. In 4½ years, Ramaphosa is nowhere near putting a dent in this.
In 2018, Ramaphosa’s first year at the helm, the SA economy grew by a paltry 0.8% for the entire year. In 2019, the economy grew by 0.1%. Why? Because Ramaphosa’s empty promises saw the resurgence of load-shedding caused by political, operational and financial mismanagement at Eskom. Today? Well, the Reserve Bank forecasts the economy will grow by 2% this year, while most private sector economists peg growth at between 1.8% and 2.3%. Hardly a number that will eradicate poverty and boost employment.
Here’s another example: crime. In former president Jacob Zuma’s final year in power in 2016/2017, the murder rate stood at 52 a day. In statistics released by police minister Bheki Cele last week, the daily murder rate now stands at an astonishing 71 people — an 11.5% increase on last year. Essentially, in all the key areas where Ramaphosa could have brought about real change, he has failed to do so.
If Ramaphosa were in charge of his cabinet, he would have fired Cele ages ago. Why hasn’t he? Why does he employ the many somnambulant nobodies from his predecessor’s cabinet?
There are different ways to judge Ramaphosa. You can become a useful idiot for the likes of Zuma, Fraser and others in the ANC who want to get rid of Ramaphosa for his admirable though lacklustre attempt to fight corruption, greed and crime. If you choose this path, you become part of the conspiracies, smear campaigns, lies and dirty politics of the ANC.
This is the path Malema and other opposition leaders have chosen. The truth is that Ramaphosa has failed on virtually every key promise he made to the nation. Malema and company are pretty tjoepstil about that while doing the bidding of the ANC’s radical economic transformation puppet masters.
* While the DA did initially form part of a forum of political parties pushing for a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa, the party withdrew its support from the initiative last week. This piece was edited to remove references to the DA and its leader, John Steenhuisen.
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