OPINIONISTA: The Economist is wrong to back Ramaphosa By Ivo Vegter IvoVegter
under the tagline, “Good man, bad party”. “The liberal opposition cannot win an election on May 8th. So it is up to the president to clean up his own party’s mess,” it wrote in its leader.
That is hardly a ringing endorsement. It also agrees that there is a strong case for backing the liberal opposition, the DA:It is far cleaner than the ANC. Its charismatic young leader, Mmusi Maimane, believes in free markets. The parts of the country that it runs, including Cape Town and Johannesburg, are islands of efficiency in a sea of murk and incompetence.
It will also not change who occupies senior positions within the ANC. Neither as the country’s president, nor as the ANC’s president, does Ramaphosa wield the power to change that. This power lies with the branches and the patronage networks established by strongmen like David Mabuza, Ace Magashule and Supra Mahumapelo.
The power balance within the ANC is not determined by the national election. The policy objectives of the ANC are not determined by the margin of victory. What happens within the ANC is determined by its internal democracy. In the ANC, the power lies with the branches and those who control the local and provincial patronage networks. General election voters don’t get a say in this.
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