President Cyril Ramaphosa is no longer in his post as SA’s first citizen on the strength of the ANC’s vote alone.
The result of the 2024 election — Ramaphosa himself said in his acceptance speech after his election as president in parliament on June 14 — showed that the people of SA did not choose a single party to meet their needs, rather they “expect their leaders to work together”.
Ramaphosa was not elected to lead by just the ANC, but also by the nine political parties which constitute the government of national unity.
An observer in recent weeks would be hard pressed to find evidence that Ramaphosa represented all South Africans or was holding up his promise at his election last year when he said: “We are all South Africans and I will serve all and work with all.”
This was after his coalition partners complained of a lack of consultation when taking crucial government decisions in the aftermath of the signing of the Expropriation Act into law. The legislation is contentious as some believe it threatens property rights, but is deemed necessary to correct constitutional flaws in the 1975 law governing expropriation.
Sure, signing off legislation on the president’s desk is his prerogative, but at the very least informing coalition partners of the move so they can prepare their own constituencies hardly qualifies as a lavish courtesy. Ramaphosa should know this.
It was not just the DA complaining that Ramaphosa was driving the ANC’s agenda alone, and failing to consult, but another key party to the pact, the IFP, also felt snubbed.
The ANC national executive committee lekgotla over the weekend was business as usual, without recognising the new political reality: that its agenda was not wholly accepted by the electorate. Instead, the ANC ordered its government to push forward with the programme it developed during the previous administration, with no compromise.
This is short-sighted and does not reflect the reality that for the first time in three decades, voters did not give the ANC the mandate to do as it pleased.
If Ramaphosa’s address shows he is caving in to the ANC at every turn, as suggested by the outcomes of the lekgotla this week, instead of employing a give-and-take strategy balancing his party demands with those held by coalition partners and importantly the advice of his own ministers in the National Treasury, it is likely to do more damage to the economy than to build it.
An economy growing at 0.8% last year, edging up to less than 2%, is in urgent need of faster reform, anchored in the fiscal realities the country faces — not further political point scoring.
It is likely to be a closely watched statement of intent by investors and businesses after the tension in the GNU in recent months and Ramaphosa’s nonchalant — or nonexistent — public reaction to it.
The president has also not yet responded to businesses and professionals in the health sector on their proposals on the contentious National Health Insurance Act, despite the financially unattainable ideals envisaged in the legislation.
The proposals put forward are aimed at ensuring universal access to healthcare, without further breaking the health sector and the economy.
A public sector wage increase above what has been budgeted for is another constraint to finance minister Enoch Godongwana, who will have to budget on Ramaphosa’s promises this week.
What the ANC and the DA agree on, albeit with different priorities, is ensuring that the programme for this year includes fixing SA’s limping logistics and passenger rail sector. Signs of reform in this sector will be crucial for business and investor confidence. Deepening energy reform is another area which will be watched closely.
Local government should feature strongly in Ramaphosa’s address, as the country’s towns and cities sink further into decline. Local government’s inclusion in the president’s signature programme, Operation Vulindlela, is a crucial development is welcomed, but the pace of reform should be accelerated, given the impact of poor service delivery on residents and businesses alike.
Ramaphosa’s election on June 14 last year was historic — it was the first vote of its kind in SA’s democratic history. For the first time, the ANC actually needed the votes of its GNU partners to cross the line and elect their president.
So when he stands up to deliver the seventh administration’s plans for the year on Thursday, will he be speaking to us as the president of the ANC or the president of a coalition-governed, but united, SA?
We urge the latter. The country is in dire need of a leader.
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