The unfulfilled promises of Cyril Ramaphosa have caused the public and trade unions to lose confidence in his administration. This is according to political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe, who believes the current leadership of the African National Congress has failed in their duties. And their actions have caused irreparable division amongst the politicians in the party.
During his tenure as the President of South Africa, Ramaphosa failed to resolve critical issues plaguing the country. Issues such as political corruption, the high youth unemployment rate and the mounting difficulties at Eskom.
When Ramaphosa took office, he pledged that his administration would usher in a new and prosperous age in South Africa. He vowed that he would remove the obstacles and individuals who were crippling the country.
However, according to Seepe, Ramaphosa’s incompetence and capitulation on these matters have led the country into a downward spiral, with no hope of course correcting.
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Currently, the ANC holds all the cards and maintains most of the public’s favour. As such, they must establish a more competent and united front.
However, as it stands, Ramaphosa still enjoys most of the provincial ANC branches’ support, even though a vital province prematurely pronounced their preferred candidates for the ANC leadership.
Despite Ramaphosa’s shortcomings, he is still praised by mainstream media and respected judges. They sang his praise when he ran for office and continue to sing his praises with a different tune.
Seepe believes that it is not by chance. Ramaphosa’s influence and control over these people and organisations allow him to hide his misconduct from the public.
“At the moment, we’re talking about mainstream media, talking about the so-called civil society and talking about the party itself. They are [all] under his pocket. So, unless something drastic happens, this is a person who … [Will] use the state organs to make sure or to ward off anyone who might be a challenger to [him].”
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South Africans are unhappy with the track record of the ANC over the past 28 years. Their unfulfilled promises, rampant corruption and lack of service delivery have placed them in boiling water as far as the people are concerned.
They have given the ANC multiple chances to correct their mistakes, but their unwillingness will be their Undoing. As such, citizens are eager for the 2024 national elections, and perhaps it will be the year that will bring about much-needed change.
But there is still uncertainty surrounding which party will replace them, with mainstream media labelling Ramaphosa “the best of the worst”.
And even though the idea of a coalition government is still new and vague, it would seem that the country is headed in that direction.
Seepe states that if a coalition government is to succeed where the ANC has failed, it will need to mature based on its collective experiences as political leaders.
“Those who are going into collisions must be able to put people first and must come up with a program of action and spend more time making [sure] that the citizens are uppermost. At the moment, the ANC and these coalition partners seem to be more obsessed about being in office as opposed to making sure that they make life better for the ordinary citizens of this country.”
