An EFF statement on Sunday calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa to “take a leave of absence” while the high court decides on his application to review public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s Bosasa report did not have the intended impact.
It was meant to shake the earth under Ramaphosa, weaken him politically and give his detractors a new talking point to rattle his presidency. By mid-morning on Monday, however, the EFF’s call had fizzled out.
Instead of the intended noise around Ramaphosa, the conversation moved elsewhere. Mkhwebane was on the ropes after a devastating Constitutional Court ruling that not only leaves her almost R1m out of pocket but also serves as a possible basis for her removal from office.
The past 10 days felt like a hell ride, with the melodrama around former president Jacob Zuma’s appearance at the Zondo commission, Mkhwebane’s announcement that Ramaphosa had violated the constitution and that his ANC campaign should be investigated for money laundering, the president’s Sunday-evening media briefing to up the game with the public protector, and the Constitutional Court’s searing judgment that upheld a personal costs order against her.
The ANC national executive committee meets this week with neither of the two main factions in the party certain about where things stand politically
Then on Tuesday, the high court in Pretoria heard an application by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan challenging the implementation of Mkhwebane’s remedial action on her report on the special investigations unit at the SA Revenue Service pending a judicial review.
In the midst of the legal showdowns, the SA Communist Party, with the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, launched a “Defend our Democracy” campaign, central to which is confronting the state capture “fightback”.
All these events are by no means insignificant to the big political play.
The ANC national executive committee meets this week with neither of the two main factions in the party certain about where things stand politically. Both sides will have to tread cautiously as internal pressure continues to build in an already volatile party.
For the rest of the country, the main question is where all this leaves Ramaphosa and whether he is still in a position of strength to keep his government agenda on track.
This, perhaps, was the main reason why he addressed the media on Sunday evening, a rather extraordinary step as presidential media conferences are rare. There was a message Ramaphosa wanted to deliver to the nation, beyond his announcement that he would apply for an urgent review of the public protector’s report, findings and remedial action.
He said many South Africans have expressed concern about Mkhwebane’s findings against him and their implications for the country.
“The findings that the public protector have made against me are serious. They allege conduct that cannot — and should not — be taken lightly,” Ramaphosa said.
Protracted conspiracy
The president’s acknowledgment of the adverse findings and admission that they have repercussions for the image of his administration is a departure from his predecessor.
Up to last week, when he appeared before deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo, Zuma felt he owed no explanations to anyone. He believes the allegations and investigations against him are part of a protracted conspiracy and therefore he is not answerable for what occurred during his presidency.
He was clearly still aggrieved that former public protector Thuli Madonsela had made him pay a portion of the costs of the non-security upgrades at his Nkandla home. He even suggested the fact that the Treasury had made funds available to Madonsela to conduct her investigation into state capture before she left office was a devious move and part of the attack on him.
Ramaphosa was careful not to imply any improper motive on the part of Mkhwebane while concluding that her report was “fundamentally and irretrievably flawed”.
“The report contains numerous factual inaccuracies of a material nature. The findings are wrong in law, are irrational and, in some instances, exceed the scope of the powers of the public protector,” he said.
But when asked about the fightback campaign against him, Ramaphosa flaked and instead proclaimed the party unity line. “It is in the culture and tradition of the ANC [to] bring everyone into the kraal,” he said.
But just last week, in his reply to the presidency budget debate, Ramaphosa warned that “the road ahead will be long and difficult” because of the nature of the fightback campaign.
“We will continue to encounter resistance from those who have benefited from acts of criminality and wrongdoing,” Ramaphosa said.
So the president appreciates that he has an enormous problem politically that can potentially derail his agenda.
What Ramaphosa has not yet done is identify the elements of this pushback and who is responsible.
He wants to maintain party cohesion while the legal showdowns ensue.
Luckily for Ramaphosa, the Constitutional Court judgment on Monday delivered a deadly blow to a central pillar of the fightback faction. By confirming that Mkhwebane was dishonest and acted in bad faith, the judgment disoriented those using her investigations and reports to target Ramaphosa and his key allies.
The EFF, Zuma’s supporters and the Ace Magashule faction in the ANC were all left punctured, as Mkhwebane has been extremely effective in creating a sideshow and throwing Ramaphosa’s agenda off course.
The president’s media briefing on Sunday was therefore an attempt to stop the ground shaking and “reaffirm that the work of government continues” while the legal processes play out.
However, he still does not have a firm grip and could not confront those working to sabotage him.
Ramaphosa’s response to the commotion might hold off his opponents in the ANC for now, but keeping everyone “in the kraal”, including the perpetrators of state capture, is hardly encouraging for business confidence or his anticorruption drive.
Amid economic distress and special appropriations to bail out state-owned entities, the government should do more than just “continue its work”.
While the political and legal turmoil continues, Ramaphosa appears vulnerable and his agenda will flounder.
That is bad for him and bad for the country.
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