BARNEY MTHOMBOTHI: The ANC's Ramaphoria bounce might be bad news for SA
'Uniting the party is no longer akin to serving the interests of the country or taking it forward, for the ANC has metamorphosed into something different, something alien to the original canons and traditions of its founding fathers'
EXTRACT
Corruption seems to tower above all else. I'd therefore argue that corruption has become its abiding culture. It's endemic, it's systemic, it's ingrained. In fact corruption is the glue that holds the ANC together. To the ANC, corruption is like a drink to a drunkard who's at an advanced stage of alcoholism. He has to keep drinking, or he dies.
To expect the ANC to deal effectively with corruption is to invite turkeys to vote for Christmas. It won't happen. It's suicidal. Corruption is its lifeblood.
Why such a bleak assessment? The evidence is there for all to see. It's not only a festering sore; it offends our very humanity. Zuma's Nkandla debauchery and his role in advancing the interests of the Guptas via state capture have been well documented. For Ramaphosa, those are sins of omission rather than commission. He slept at the switch.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has been quick to welcome the news this week that support for the ANC has increased dramatically since he took over the leadership from the scandal-prone Jacob Zuma. Ramaphoria is alive and kicking, it seems. Surveys show that the ANC, which was in the doldrums only a year ago, has increased its support from below 50% to around 60%. On the face of it, Ramaphosa seems to have given people enough reason to take another look at the ANC. Ramaphosa, however, is a cleft stick. He still insists that his main priority is to unite the ANC, an impossible task. In that respect, his approach is no different from that of Zuma who, a few years ago, famously said the organisation was more important than the country. I guess admiration of the party above all else is in the DNA of its members.But uniting the party is no longer akin to serving the interests of the country or taking it forward, for the ANC has metamorphosed into something different, something alien, to the or...
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