The president on display for the rest of Thursday’s engagement was a man who looked – to put it colloquially – well and truly over it. And by the signs of his reception, so are many of his countryfolk.
Illustrative image | President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing the Cape Town Press Club at Kelvin Grove Club, 15 February 2024.
At 71, Ramaphosa is some years younger than the likes of Joe Biden and Donald Trump – both of whose fitness to hold office on the grounds of advanced age has recently been questioned. The phrase suggests a kind of growing defensiveness on Ramaphosa’s part, which was equally evident while he was taking questions from journalists – itself a vanishingly rare occasion – on Thursday.
Concerning the mysterious Russian ship that docked in Simon’s Town in December 2022: “We were criticised over the arrival of Lady R here.” Among them, in a wonderful Shakespearian twist, will be the new political outfit of Ramaphosa’s former boss: Jacob Zuma’s MK party, which is alreadyNo. Because, despite “the predictions of many in media circles, political analysts” and so forth, the ANC still has it in the bag.
In response to questions about load shedding, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and the permanently-in-limbo National Health Insurance Bill, Ramaphosa trotted out boilerplate ANC copy and increasingly implausible assurances – although he appeared to walk back his Sona claim that load shedding would end imminently when he said he could not “set a date” for the end of the electricity crisis.
It was a glimpse of President Cyril Ramaphosa circa 2018: the one who caused even the most ANC-sceptical pundits to briefly set aside their concerns in the hope that this could be a truly nation-uniting political figure.The president on display for the rest of Thursday’s engagement was a man who looked – to put it colloquially – well and truly over itRamaposeur’s “Tintswalo” stunt in parliament today would fool only the basest of starry-eyed suckers.
Bram Fischer was a member of the SACP and did work on the ANC’s internal codes. Muff Anderson was involved in weapon smuggling for MK. David Webster was involved in anti-apartheid activities and was murdered. Jeanette Schoon was first banned, then assasinated by Apartheid spooks. Does that put all white people automatically on the right side of history? Of course not.
Back in the 70s and 80s, very few in white SA regarded Ronnie Kasrils or Joe Slovo as any sort of hero, and I include the Jewish community in that. They were insulted as “k****ir boeties”. They were communists , terrorists and agents of an evil force.
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