Deputy presidents have generally played an understated role in South Africa.
However, Paul Mashatile entered office dramatically in 2023, announcing an array of seven advisers focusing on various issues of governance, from the economy to land, spatial planning, international relations and service delivery.
Expectations were high that Mashatile would “get stuck in” and prove his worth as a potential future head of state. But with the country now a matter of months away from critical municipal elections, he has yet to convert that promise into unanimous approval.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has — we can only assume not wilfully — contributed to the uncertainty. He has taken
over the management of the water crisis in Gauteng, for example, a task he assigned to Mashatile two years ago.
The severity of the water crisis in Gauteng is such that questions must be asked of all in government who did not act with the expediency and efficacy that was required.
In the key Joburg battleground, the ANC must contend with a rival in Helen Zille, who will point out every pothole and dry tap she can find.
The severity of the water crisis in Gauteng is such that questions must be asked of all in government who did not act with the expediency and efficacy that was required.
Her polarising tendency notwithstanding, Zille’s roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-your-hands-dirty approach will be especially alluring to residents of Joburg who have had to put up with non-delivery of basic services for years, regardless of party political affiliations.
The same electorate has already registered its discontent with the ANC in urban centres over eTolls on Gauteng roads, corruption and load-shedding in successive general and municipal elections.
Mashatile’s ascent to the deputy presidency followed the now-deceased David Mabuza, a figure who was criticised for his spells away from the public eye. In fairness, Mashatile has more closely resembled his current boss, at least in making himself visible.
Even so, there is no aura of inevitability about him being promoted to party president, as there was, for example, with former president Jacob Zuma when he was Thabo Mbeki’s deputy. Back then, rising to the helm of the ANC also resulted in assurance of state power, but there is no such guarantee anymore. Party politics are now inexorably linked to coalition dynamics.
Mashatile’s performance in the government of national unity (GNU) has been mediocre. He has delivered more speeches than any other deputy president, including Ramaphosa back when he had that job. Behind the scenes, though, party leaders have bemoaned his agenda, or lack thereof, when he chairs meetings of the GNU clearing house, the coalition government’s dispute resolution mechanism.
It has also been argued that he was not critical in the discussions that set up the GNU in the first place — a crucial moment in the country’s history in which it turned away from the so-called doomsday coalition of the ANC, MK and EFF.
Despite the shifting tide of national governance, Mashatile still carries a reputation for astute timing in politics. He knows better than most — including the likes of Patrice Motsepe or Thoko Didiza — how to win an ANC elective conference.
South Africans at large are an entirely different proposition, though, and sentiment toward the ANC, and political parties in general, has shifted over the past decade. The country hankers for competent, effective leadership, regardless of their political affiliation.
Ramaphosa captured imaginations when he bid for the presidency with his call of “thuma mina” (send me) because he had cultivated a reputation for bringing people together to get things done. It is unclear what Mashatile’s rallying cry would be.
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