A man walks near posters of former African National Congress (ANC) presidents including former South African President Nelson Mandela (R middle row) at the entrance of Luthuli house, the ANC headquarters in Johannesburg. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH RELIGION)
The ANC presidency is a very powerful position. This position tames members of the glorious movement into treating the incumbent like a demi-god. Instead of serving the political organisation, members tend to serve the president.
Interestingly, the governing party presidents (I am referring to those who served during the democratic era) have proved to have feet of clay. They committed costly mistakes, which warranted them to step down, or step aside. However, they never did.
Former president Thabo Mbeki succeeded Nelson Mandela. Mbeki had a very different style to that of his predecessor. He was aloof (although he had denied it) and a back-room operator. In fact, his was referred to as the Machiavellian style.
During his tenure, HIV/Aids was ravaging the nation. Developed countries were giving their infected citizens ARVs, which prolonged their lives. Instead of following suit, Mbeki entered the scientific debate by raising the question, “does HIV cause Aids?”
While the former president was debating with scientists, infected citizens were dying like ants. These deaths could have been prevented by giving victims ARVs. Therefore, Mbeki’s debate was costly. And the ANC defended him. At what expense?
Enter Jacob Zuma. The nation didn’t expect much from Msholozi. And he didn’t disappoint. His Cabinet was not composed of the best cadres, and some of his appointments were questionable. But he didn’t care.
Former public protector Professor Thuli Madonsela uncovered that the president’s house in Nkandla was developed with the taxpayer’s money. Zuma denied it, as expected. The ANC also came to his defence. It was embarrassing.
When he took to power, Cyril Ramaphosa was seen as the messiah who would take this country out of its troubles. Ramaphosa came with a ticket of fighting corruption. The nation believed him because he was a businessperson. According to research, he is more popular than the ANC brand.
The ANC president has since disappointed many, including business, which supported his bid for presidency. He is slow to act and to take decisions. Whenever he is supposed to change the Cabinet, he takes a long time, which is a sign of poor leadership.
A year ago we found out that his Phala Phala farm had been robbed of “millions of dollars”.
The president has tried to explain how the money ended up in a sofa on his farm but his explanation does not add up. Apparently, he wanted to resign over the scandal but his close allies talked him out of it.
The matter was raised in Parliament. Opposition parties, including the EFF, were up in arms demanding answers. However, they got nothing. The ANC came to his defence. The acting public protector has also cleared him from the Phala Phala scandal. I will not be surprised if the acting PP gets the nod for the position.
It is clear from the above that the governing party has a penchant of defending its presidents, sometimes at the expense of the nation. This has made the ANC presidents untouchable. This is wrong.
* Thabile Mange, Mogale City.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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