In her insightful analysis Ranjeni Munusamy correctly treats the Bosasa state capture scandal as a stain on Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidency. But her conclusion that “this tainting of Ramaphosa by [the] Bosasa affair highlights political meddling by big business … even with a good guy in charge” suggests ANC leaders are the victims of the evil corrupting influence of big business. This is a misdiagnosis.

In truth, the Bosasa-Ramaphosa scandal is an illuminating example of the modus operandi the ANC has carefully fostered over years. In this model, the ANC-in-business relies on the ANC-in-government for tenders and access, and then funnels money to back to the ANC-the-party and its leaders. It is a mutually reinforcing triangle of corruption, and it infects every level of the state. Examples abound. VBS got money from ANC municipalities, funnelled donations to ANC affiliates and enriched ANC (and EFF) personalities. Chancellor House bought a big stake in Hitachi Power Africa, which...

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