LETTER: Cyril Ramaphosa’s hands tied
Anecdote in Michael Jones’s Stalingrad book describes president’s position
Much has been written both for and against President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership style. Recently, I came across this anecdote in Michael Jones’s book Stalingrad — How The Red Army Triumphed concerning Vasily Chuikov, the Russian general in charge of the 62nd army that successfully defended Stalingrad.
Though criticised in the West, Chuikov was loved by his men for his exceptional leadership under terrifying conditions. I believe this quote succinctly describes Ramaphosa’s position within the ANC: “Chuikov was scathing: ‘This reminds me of the anecdote about the man who caught a bear. ‘Bring it over here’, someone said. ‘I can’t’, he replied, ‘it won’t let me’.”
Dr Leon Jacobson
Sasolburg
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