BARNEY MTHOMBOTHI: Can Ramaphosa cut the Zuma umbilical cord?
'Why he wants to protect either Zuma or a shady agreement which is not of his doing, only he knows'
When Jacob Zuma finally made his disappearance in the middle of the night, the expectation was that he would leave the political stage completely to allow Cyril Ramaphosa, his successor, the space to stamp his authority on the party and country in the run-up to next year's general elections. But thanks to Zuma's need for self-preservation, especially his desperate desire to stay out of jail, and Ramaphosa's innate penchant to please, the former president will be up and about and gambolling like a newly born calf feeling its oats. He's certainly not about to ride off into the sunset in a hurry. Zuma will be a headache for Ramaphosa and probably the biggest challenge to his leadership of the party.In the wake of Zuma's departure most of the attention has been focused on Ramaphosa's new team; who among Zuma's lickspittles he should sack expeditiously, and who he should bring on board. Howls of derision, for instance, have greeted his retention of some of Zuma's most incompetent toadies...
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