TONY LEON: Why Ramaphosa won't reform the country until he reforms his party
'Ramaphosa’s early exit from London last week was a rude reminder of a fundamental political truth'
It ranks as a great cosmic irony. Cyril Ramaphosa’s debut on the world stage as president is interrupted by the suppurating standoff in the far northwestern corner of his local empire. No doubt Ramaphosa would have preferred to have hobnobbed with the Queen and the Commonwealth heads of government in London. But he had to rush home to ensure, again and a century later, what the British empire once proclaimed: “Mafikeng has been relieved.” Of course, in today’s South Africa, the name of the town is Mahikeng – and the relief being sought is not from the Boers, but from the corrupt rule of local ANC strongman Premier Supra Mahumapelo.Most politicians, government and opposition alike, have degrees of addiction to the narcotic of foreign travel and the flummeries of red carpets and international summits. But Ramaphosa’s early exit from London last week was a rude reminder of a fundamental political truth. Years ago, in 1932, Tip O’Neill – who in the 1980s earned fame as Speaker of the U...
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