TONY LEON: How Ramaphosa has changed the game
'His bold moves on shaking up the Eskom board are deeply encouraging, although one swallow does not a summer make'
South Africa's ruling party elects a new president; he assures audiences at home and abroad that he will herald an era of desperately needed reform leading to political and economic recovery. Opinion is deeply divided. The optimists, in short supply after the ruinous misrule of his predecessor, cling to the hope that the new man will walk the path his new-era talk indicates. The pessimists suggest this is simply placing a better face on an organisation incapable of transcending change.Anyway, what hope of the new man delivering? He sat in the cabinet of the old president doing nothing - visibly at least - to halt the rot of his calamitous policies. But when the new president delivers his state of the nation speech - his election as party president being followed by his assumption of the country presidency - he capsizes, in one address, the old order almost entirely. The above is a reasonable working description of South Africa after FW de Klerk's election as leader of the National P...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.