Ramaphosa feigns shock at ANC decline

Despite the writing being on the wall for all to see, President Cyril Ramaphosa has revealed that it took him a while to admit that the ANC has truly failed to achieve a decisive majority in the recent national elections.

Ramaphosa said that after the penny dropped, he had to accept the new reality of the impact of the Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto weSizwe Party which for the first time, took the governing party to 40%, resulting in the controversial decision to form a grand coalition with the DA.

In a recent interview with eNCA, Ramaphosa said he still believed the ANC would at least get 50% even though polls and analysts had predicted a big decline into the 40% range.

"I did not want to talk because I thought the ANC was going to win. I thought why would I even entertain talking about coalitions.
"In many ways, that was the process of discounting what the surveys were saying as they kept on saying we were going to go below 50%. I discounted and dismissed them," Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa, who recently returned from a trip to the People's Republic of China, said he was adamant even up to the last minute that the ANC would spring a victory in KZN and other strongholds.

"Up to the last minute and when the last count was done, as the votes were being tallied up, because we kept hoping that the most populated areas in our country would come in and save us.

"We were waiting for Soweto to come in or uMlazi to come in as those usually boost our numbers. But lo and behold, that did not happen," he said.

"As the penny dropped, I heard the sound very loudly and clearly. I said to myself that our democracy has matured, way ahead of the time we thought it would mature," he added.

On the impact of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party on the ANC's fortunes as well as its performance in the elections, Ramaphosa said he was shocked.

"It was a shock and the most unbelievable outcome. Even with the entry of the MK Party, I knew that they would pick up votes, but not to this extent, where they would reduce the ANC in the manner in which they did.

"It was a big shocker and it was a surreal moment. We had to accept that this was a new reality," he said.

However, speaking to ‘The Star' in response to Ramaphosa's shock admission, political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said the President's late admission proves that he lives in his own world.

"No, I was not surprised that President Ramaphosa was taken aback by the election results. If anything, this proves that Ramaphosa lives in a parallel universe.

"Ramaphosa has failed on every front. He presided over the most divided party. He has been the worst performing president since the advent of democracy.

"Unemployment has grown to unsustainable levels since he has taken over. He has not delivered on any of his promises. He has also proved to be a serial liar.

"According to both Afrobarometer and Transparency International, corruption deepened under his presidency," he said.

For Mzoxolo Mpolose, Ramaphosa's shock is not a rare occurrence as the president has always been prone to being shocked and surprised by things that should be common knowledge under his leadership.

"It is unsurprising that he would say that. Ramaphosa is known for often being quite ‘shocked' by what is sometimes common knowledge to many ordinary South Africans.

"After almost 30 years in power, some in the ANC thought it impossible that the party would be below 50%, and Ramaphosa is no exception.

"This is despite that the most credible polling showed the ANC would hover at around 40% ... because of the societal and economic conditions, coupled with the ANC's image of corruption and incompetence."

"And perhaps to a lesser extent, the Jacob Zuma/MK factor, which was not a result of Jacob Zuma per se, but the need of an alternative to the ANC," Mpolose told ‘The Star'.

KwaZulu-Natal-based analyst, Thobani Zikalala, said that Ramaphosa was in denial of the circumstances and of his role in taking the ANC to its current position.

"What I make of the statement by the president is that he is in denial. The indications( for the decline) were always there that the ANC will drop below 50%.

"It seems as if the president of the ANC was in denial of the circumstances of the ANC's position in society.

"The fact is that the ANC failed to effectively transform society and usher in a new order since 1994.

"What it has done is to manage the different disparities without fundamental change. So, the decline of the ANC was always on the cards," Zikalala said.