Opinion / Columnist
South Africa's Ramaphosa walking on a tight rope
16 Jul 2021 at 04:13hrs | Views
I HAVE been watching countless videos about the crisis in South Africa.
I have been enjoying the witted debates going on. South Africa is at a turning point, a turn into uncharted territory.
We can blame the leadership, blame the ego of politicians and the naivety of those looting from employers and industry, so perhaps looting their future.
Perhaps, we can blame greed and shortsightedness too. Looters are busy stealing steak and pork and then burning the butchery on exit.
But there are some points to take home.
-South Africa was in the midst of a COVID-19 crisis before these events. The violence is "masking" the COVID-19 crisis. The cases are rising in the background and that is not news yet!
- The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, straight from the suspended secretarygeneral Ace Magashule debacle, has nurtured and matured its politics to a form affecting non-ANC members. Who will say "I am not interested in politics" now? All jobs are threatened.
- A junk status rating for South Africa beckons.
- There was a chance to not get former President Jacob Zuma into prison by Zuma himself and by President Cyril Ramaphosa. But now, the horse has bolted on that one.
- If Zuma is freed now (perhaps through a pardon), a precedent will be set. For worse, it will weaken Ramaphosa. For his good, he may set himself to be pardoned himself when he leaves office. Is there a middle? No, I see only egos.
I have been enjoying the witted debates going on. South Africa is at a turning point, a turn into uncharted territory.
We can blame the leadership, blame the ego of politicians and the naivety of those looting from employers and industry, so perhaps looting their future.
Perhaps, we can blame greed and shortsightedness too. Looters are busy stealing steak and pork and then burning the butchery on exit.
But there are some points to take home.
-South Africa was in the midst of a COVID-19 crisis before these events. The violence is "masking" the COVID-19 crisis. The cases are rising in the background and that is not news yet!
- The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, straight from the suspended secretarygeneral Ace Magashule debacle, has nurtured and matured its politics to a form affecting non-ANC members. Who will say "I am not interested in politics" now? All jobs are threatened.
- A junk status rating for South Africa beckons.
- There was a chance to not get former President Jacob Zuma into prison by Zuma himself and by President Cyril Ramaphosa. But now, the horse has bolted on that one.
- If Zuma is freed now (perhaps through a pardon), a precedent will be set. For worse, it will weaken Ramaphosa. For his good, he may set himself to be pardoned himself when he leaves office. Is there a middle? No, I see only egos.
Source - New York Times
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