Even with a decisive election victory Cyril Ramaphosa could still struggle to push through the tough reforms needed to galvanise Africa's most developed economy.
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa gestures during the party's final rally at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, May 5 2019.JOHANNESBURG - Even with a decisive election victory for South Africa’s ruling party this week, the country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa could still struggle to push through the tough reforms needed to galvanise Africa's most developed economy, say analysts and some party insiders.
Ralph Mathekga, a political analyst and author of a book on Ramaphosa, echoed the view."There's a herd mentality that if Ramaphosa gets a strong majority for the ANC, it will somehow strengthen him. That's not the case," he said. In the 15 months since he took office, Ramaphosa has been forced into uneasy compromises in key policy areas like land reform and fixing struggling state power firm Eskom, opposition politicians say., endorsing an opposition bill to amend the constitution to make expropriation without compensation easier.
"If you see progress in the clean-up of state-owned enterprises like Eskom that would mean that big headache that investors have would fade away," said Tilmann Kolb, analyst at the financial services firm UBS Global Wealth Management.A key challenge for the president is the opposition he faces within his own party, sources in the ANC say. A close Zuma ally, Ace Magashule, is in charge of the day-to-day running of the party.
A challenge to Ramaphosa's leadership could emerge at the next party conference in 2022 -- or even before if his enemies can muster enough support.
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