BARNEY MTHOMBOTHI: Ramaphosa's Herculean task
'Mabuza has a cupboard teeming with skeletons. How would Ramaphosa justify having such a compromised character as his deputy in the government?'
Amid the euphoria caused by the sudden resignation of Jacob Zuma - did anyone really want him to stay? - Cyril Ramaphosa's ascent to power and the swooning over his masterful delivery of his maiden state of the nation address, a little detail has been forgotten or simply buried in the excitement. The inconvenient truth is that David Mabuza made it all possible. That hoodlum saved us from a fate worse than death.Were it not for Mabuza, or - put it the other way - had he carried out the original mandate, it would have been Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who emerged victorious at Nasrec. She would not have insisted on being named president, would not have taken the oath of office, delivered the state of the nation address or hosted the presidential golf day this week. Zuma would not only still be in charge, he would have become even more dominant and assertive. It would have guaranteed Zuma's rule almost into perpetuity because Dlamini-Zuma would merely have been an extension of his kleptocrac...
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