They have threatened each other to a standstill, taking the country to the brink but stopping short of going over the cliff. They may still do so — the volleys of insults haven’t ceased — but there’s a realisation by both the ANC and the DA that the public won’t look kindly on whoever is responsible for dissolving the coalition.
It may not be perfect — in the pantheon of good governance, it’s a bit of a shambles — but it’s the only show in town. The sole buffer, and not unimpregnable at that, against a return to the unrestrained looting orgy of the ANC. And perhaps, this time, with the gleeful participation of its deranged descendants in the MK and the EFF. Fearing the wrath of the electorate, both parties have paused, hoping and daring the other to blink first.
The public will hope no-one blinks or winks. That we soldier on. That the two parties are joined at the hip — until the next elections, at least. The country is caught in something of a maelstrom, with little appetite for paralysis at the heart of government. One would think politicians would be smart enough to know that this is not the time for them to be gazing at their navels. But then this is, after all, the lot that got us into this ditch.
We’re told the budget was at the centre of the kerfuffle. There’s a hole in the budget, they plead. They dug the hole themselves, and now they want to fill it in by raising taxes. South Africa has one of the highest rates of taxation in the world — for which the taxpayer gets little in return. A lot of it ends up in private pockets and the scoundrels are never brought to book.
But this manufactured rage has less to do with the budget — which is not a good enough reason to cause this debilitating rupture — and more to do with a number of people in the ANC who aren’t too keen to look a gift horse in the mouth. This is a good problem that should not be allowed to go to waste. The differences over the budget provide a pretext to cause trouble for their own parochial interests.
Why should the tussle over the budget suddenly become a deal-breaker when all the parties went into this arrangement fully cognisant of their political differences?
The reason is something that is rarely talked about: the ANC has an inferiority complex. It has no confidence in its own abilities, which is not surprising given the shambles they’ve reduced the country to. It’s astounding that the ANC, veterans of 30 years in government, would feel threatened or intimidated by a bunch of ministers from smaller parties with no experience whatsoever in government.
In 30 years, they seem neither to have learnt the skills to govern judiciously, nor acquired the confidence that often comes with longevity in power
Instead of taking these novices by the hand (or is it the scruff of the neck?) and confidently showing them the ropes, they cower and cringe at the prospect of being shown up by these upstarts for the frauds that they are. In 30 years, they seem neither to have learnt the skills to govern judiciously, nor acquired the confidence that often comes with longevity in power.
The opposition by many ANC supporters to the formation of the GNU was rarely about policy. The constant gripe was that the party — in the person of President Cyril Ramaphosa — has either sold-out or capitulated to the DA. I don’t know whether these people can count. The DA has six ministers in this unwieldy 34-member cabinet, and the ANC has 22, which is more than their electoral support justifies. That would seem like a cat being scared of a cucumber.
What the ANC fears most is competition and the skeletons that may come tumbling out of cupboards, which the new ministers are only too happy to parade. They were rattled by Gayton McKenzie, who became a mini celebrity for posting every iniquity he discovered in his department on social media. The DA ministers are no slouches in this regard either.
But while the smaller parties have put forward their best talent to the cabinet, with the hope of showcasing their skills and therefore increasing electoral support, the ANC is still stuck in its old ways of using government positions to reward old comrades, irrespective of their competence. In other words, while the others are looking to the future, the ANC is still captured or captivated by the past.
For a party with the biggest support and presumably a larger pool of talent, it’s amazing there has been little change or turnover in its hierarchy. It keeps recycling the same old people.
Angie Motshekga, for instance, has been in government for more than 20 years; Blade Nzimande and Gwede Mantashe — avowed communists both — are not far behind. By the time Jeff Radebe was dropped by Ramaphosa in 2019, he had been in the cabinet for 25 years, since his appointment by Nelson Mandela in 1994.
No wonder there’s a lack of confidence and initiative, or even a desire for change. Too much dead wood at the top and not a lot of new blood to challenge it.
Ramaphosa’s threat to sack DA ministers was a bit of a surprise because that’s not what he’s often keen to do. Maybe he had finally been convinced by the malcontents in his party to go rogue, as it were. But he hangs on to his comrade ministers for dear life, even when they beg to be sacked.
Thembi Simelane, alleged VBS champion fraudster, is still happily ensconced in her cabinet post, and so is the excitable Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, who came into government dragging scandals from her previous employment.
The last time we heard from Mantashe was when he said he was going to take the Zondo commission report on review. Which is what they all say when they’re in a fix. It’s a holding position, until they think of something more intelligent or convincing. Our president, meanwhile, doesn’t want to know. It’s none of his business. His head is comfortably snuggled in the sand, hoping it will all blow away.
The ANC should groom and appoint competent people — and sack the laggards and the corrupt — and they won’t be bothered by those who’re simply doing their job.
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