Ramaphosa takes a swipe at Zuma’s ANC – says it is time for change
Deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa has delivered a speech criticising the current state of the ANC, calling for a renewed, unified movement where leaders put the needs of the people before their own desires of self-enrichment.
The speech, made at the Nelson Mandela Memorial Dialogue‚ at the Nelson Mandela Foundation on Monday, marked a step away from Ramaphosa’s characteristic silence on matters concerning the ANC.
In almost every scandal that has rocked the party over the past few years – almost always involving president Jacob Zuma – Ramaphosa has sat silent on the sidelines, toeing the party line whenever he did speak up.
Even during the recent ANC NEC meeting, insiders reported that the only contribution Ramaphosa made to the debate on whether president Zuma should be recalled, was to say that consensus had been reached after the motion failed.
According to political analysts, Ramaphosa is seen as the leader of the ANC ‘reformists’ – also known as the anti-Zuma faction within the ANC. He is also seen as one of the key contenders to take over as president of the ANC, likely going up against Zuma’s preferred candidate, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Ramaphosa first alluded to his alignment in late October and early November, when he came out in full support of Pravin Gordhan after fraud charges were laid against the finance minister – a case that was largely seen as a ploy by those aligned to Zuma to get the minister out of National Treasury.
Read: How Zuma’s faction is starting to unravel
Ramaphosa’s speech has all but cemented that alignment.
In his address, the deputy president said that the ANC needed to set aside its arrogance, and to start listening to the people of South Africa.
He said that the ANC needed to be renewed – that greed, self-enrichment and the “bad and deviant tendencies” that infiltrated the movement needed to be corrected.
He also questioned whether the ANC had leaders that matched the unifying power of those who came before – such as Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and Albert Luthuli.
Exerpts from his speech are quoted below:
“This is a moment when we‚ as leaders‚ need to listen and be in conversation with our people. This is the time to listen. This is not the time to display a sense of arrogance. This is not the time to ignore our people.
“This is the time to heed what they are saying‚ however difficult it might be for us to do so. This indeed is the time to put the interests of our people ahead of our own parochial interests.
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“It is only through unity that we can defeat the virus of consumerism‚ individualism and greed.
“But unity is not the same as closing ranks. Unity is not a conspiracy of silence in the face of misdeeds. Unity is not an excuse to avoid the difficult‚ painful questions that we need to ask ourselves.
“That is why‚ as we work together to tackle the challenges of the present‚ we must make a concerted effort to correct some of the the bad and deviant tendencies that have infiltrated our movement and our society.
“For as much as this is a moment that calls for unity‚ it is also a moment that calls for renewal.
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“We have to ask ourselves uncomfortable questions such as “Does South Africa today have such leaders (like Mandela)?”. Does our movement have such leaders? Are we living up to the example that Madiba‚ Tambo‚ Sisulu and Luthuli set? Most importantly‚ are we living up to the expectations of our people?
“For unless we have leaders who are united‚ who are credible‚ who are honest‚ who listen‚ who are inspirational‚ we will not be able to unite our movement or unite our nation.
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“Now more than ever‚ we need leaders of his (Mandela’s) quality and integrity‚ leaders who are committed to serve only the interests of the people.
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“This is a moment for unity. This is a moment for renewal. It is a moment when we need to raise our gaze and look to a future that is better than yesterday and even much better than today.
“It is also a moment for action.
“For unless we want history to judge us unfavourably‚ we must act now to build a united South Africa with a clear vision and a firm plan.
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“We want a society where leaders regard themselves as servant leaders rather than leaders who shout “follow our lead”.
Read: Zuma on the offensive against those who dare to challenge him: report
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