ANC out of touch with what most South Africans want, according to IRR poll
‘One cannot understand the [ANC election] results without realising power in today’s ANC lies largely with great regional barons’
The majority of South Africans favour business-friendly, job-creating policies over the "radical economic transformation" rhetoric of the ANC, according to a survey by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR). In a report written by researcher RW Johnson titled, "Ramaphosa and the Strange Workings of ANC Democracy", the institute said its poll of 5,000 South Africans found the views of the electorate completely out of sync with the policies adopted at the ruling party’s conference in December. The IRR said its poll showed Cyril Ramaphosa should have won the ANC presidency by a landslide instead of just scraping through ahead of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. "One cannot understand the results without realising that power in today’s ANC lies largely with great regional barons who control patronage, jobs, tenders and contracts," Johnson wrote. "Three such barons are particularly visible: David Mabuza of Mpumalanga, Ace Magashule of the Free State and Supra Mahumapelo of the North West. All thre...
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