Calls for an early election make sense at this time of crisis

The Phala Phala saga threatening the presidency of Cyril Ramaphosa is but one in a series of betrayals that have harmed the credibility of the administration. Ramaphosa rose to power on a ticket of cleaning up the mess created during the nine destructive years of his predecessor, Jacob Zuma. Where Zuma had stood for state capture and corruption, Ramaphosa promised good governance and a fight against graft. Not only did he make the right noises, he started taking encouraging steps to fix the National Prosecuting Authority, the South African Revenue Service and many other key state institutions that had been hollowed out by state capture. He allowed the Zondo commission to carry out its duty unhindered, even when it was clear that it would harm the ruling party’s image and expose some of its powerful leaders as crooks. Though many complained at the lack of arrests of those implicated in corruption, or about Ramaphosa keeping accused criminals in his cabinet and the civil service, he was slowly gaining a reputation as an anti-corruption crusader.

But all of this began to come undone in 2020, amid a devastating Covid crisis, when it emerged that funds set aside for personal protective equipment and other life-saving equipment were looted to benefit politically connected individuals. Some of the accused were too close to Ramaphosa for his image as an anti-graft president not to come into question. From that point on, other scandals hit the headlines regularly. If it was not the Eastern Cape health department’s scooter ambulance scandal, it was the Digital Vibes saga where millions earmarked for a National Health

Insurance communications campaign are said to have ended up in the pockets of associates and relatives of then health minister Zweli Mkhize. All this undermined the fight against corruption and belief in the Ramaphosa administration’s commitment and ability to defeat the scourge.

By the time the Phala Phala scandal broke, the government had lost much of the credibility it had when

Ramaphosa took office in 2018. His handling of the matter has not inspired confidence and it is no surprise that after the publication of the Ngcobo panel report there are strong calls for him to leave office.

It is not clear yet whether he’ll stay on even if parliament votes to impeach him on Tuesday. All he has said is that he plans to challenge the report in court. His supporters are suggesting that he is still determined to seek re-election at the party conference in December.

His opponents are determined to stop him doing so and are lobbying the ANC national executive committee to force him to “step aside” in line with rules forbidding those accused of criminal conduct from standing for office. It is all part of internal party factionalism and has little to do with us as the general population.

Whatever Ramaphosa and his party decide to do, we are of the view that the crisis will not be resolved through the ANC’s internal processes alone. It has tarnished whatever was left of the administration’s credibility and, no matter if Ramaphosa stays or goes, is likely to render the government between now and the 2024 elections ineffective. It is for this reason we believe that calls for an early election are not misplaced and that going to the polls early may help the country avoid the interregnum that is likely to prevail between the start of the new year — with a new ANC leadership in place — and the 2024 elections.

South Africa has too many problems and can’t afford 15 months of leadership uncertainty.

Whatever the ANC decides to do, the crisis will not be resolved through its internal processes alone