LETTER: Retaining Cyril Ramaphosa as president condemns SA to incompetence

During his tenure as president, Cyril Ramaphosa has led us inexorably from his promised “New Dawn” to a state of national darkness and despair.

His long awaited “reconfiguration of the executive” has turned out to be a keeping-up-appearances exercise, and has again exposed just how firmly stuck he is between the proverbial rock and a hard place, and why his own presidential light should be extinguished once and for all.

His personal constitutional prerogative — not the ANC’s or anyone else’s — in this matter could have been an opportunity to show South Africans that he is truly and solely in charge of choosing an executive of independent excellence, integrity, experience and competence, but it is clear that his choice of cabinet was overwhelmed by the wishes and wants of the various ANC, SACP and Cosatu factions, internal underhand party manipulations and bargaining, and personal fears about a challenge to his own presidential status. There is clearly no concern for the future wellbeing of our nation.

That those responsible for our failed state of energy provision, public enterprises, policing, education and health remain in charge of their portfolios immune from accountability or sanction beggars belief.

Even Ramaphosa must now recognise that he is totally incapable of providing the strong, fearless, inspirational leadership our country needs, and that if he does not willingly step aside his legacy, and that of his cabinet appointees, will lie increasingly in tatters. And so will our nation’s prospects of stability, growth and wellbeing.

His conflict between loyalty to his crisis-ridden party and responsibility to the nation at large, the growing implications of malfeasance and dubious financial dealings in the Phala Phala matter, his inability to reject internationally controversial and suspect relationships with Russia and China, his neglect of and indifference to time deadlines to sign bills and make statutory appointments, his fear of dismissing patently failed members of his cabinet, and his wilful blindness to cadre corruption and incompetence, render him devoid of credibility, totally unfit for purpose and an obstacle to progress, peace and prosperity for our country.

While we may fret over the stark absence of a capable and untainted successor from within the ANC — there are none, least of all his deputy — retaining Ramaphosa as president simply condemns our country to a state of continued indecision, stagnation, lawlessness, incompetence and endemic fraud and corruption.

Willingly or unwillingly, be it by way of recall, resignation, retirement, stepping down or stepping aside, he should go.

David Gant
Kenilworth

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