{"id":115175,"date":"2018-05-20T14:47:40","date_gmt":"2018-05-20T12:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/ramaphosas-new-dawn-much-better-but-not-nearly-enough-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2018-05-20T14:47:40","modified_gmt":"2018-05-20T12:47:40","slug":"ramaphosas-new-dawn-much-better-but-not-nearly-enough-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/ramaphosas-new-dawn-much-better-but-not-nearly-enough-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramaphosa’s new dawn: much better, but not nearly enough | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ramaphosa’s new dawn: much better, but not nearly enough<\/a>: <\/p>\n

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.<\/span> Aaron Ufumeli\/EPA<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s rise to power has been greeted enthusiastically by most South Africans. Their hope is that the new president represents a leadership cohort within the governing African National Congress (ANC) that\u2019s capable of reversing the toxic legacies of Jacob Zuma\u2019s presidency. <\/p>\n

Under Ramaphosa, the government is proving forceful in beginning to dismantle Zuma\u2019s patronage networks in both party and state, determined in battling corruption. The new administration is also offering hope that South Africa can pursue a more viable economic trajectory. <\/p>\n

Yet the Ramaphosa moment is far from being a new beginning.<\/p>\n

First, much of the momentum behind Ramaphosa\u2019s assault on corruption comes from fear in party ranks that the ANC is facing the very real prospect of losing its majority at 2019\u2019s general election. The loss of control over three major metros in the 2016 local government elections came as a great shock to many in the party. The ANC had become complacent about maintaining itself in power. <\/p>\n

This was despite extensive evidence \u2013 accumulated over five democratic general elections \u2013 that the ANC\u2019s electoral dominance was being eroded by a mix of enlivened opposition. It came in the form of a more racially diverse Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Africanist populism of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). <\/p>\n

From this perspective, ANC \u201crenewal\u201d \u2013 the suggestion that the party is capable of overcoming its flaws and restoring its liberation credentials \u2013 is necessary for both self-belief and public persuasion. There should be no doubt that there is significant support for the project within the party. But it could well flounder.<\/p>\n

If much of the momentum behind ANC \u201crenewal\u201d is situational rather than driven by conviction, then a reformist ANC leadership under Ramaphosa is going to confront major obstacles in the path ahead. <\/p>\n

Return to the ANC\u2019s old elites<\/h2>\n

Academic and political analyst Jonny Steinberg has argued that those who assumed state power in 1994 were the descendants of an African elite who, after white conquest, had attended mission schools. This elite had remained intact across generations. The majority of those who led the struggle for freedom were mission-educated, culminating in the presidencies of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki. <\/p>\n

In contrast, Zuma was the son of a domestic worker too poor to send him to school. Such a man might have featured as a genuine revolutionary. Instead, Zuma betrayed the hopes of the poor and workers by, in the words of Steinberg, empowering \u201ca bureaucratic bourgeoisie to steal one public utility at a time\u201d while,<\/p>\n

\n

spitting venom at the descendants of the old mission-educated elite, claiming they had used their generations of privilege to sew up a deal with white people. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Steinberg\u2019s analysis suggests that the Ramaphosa presidency signifies the return of state power to the hands of the ANC\u2019s traditional elite. But a reformist president and ANC elite at the centre won\u2019t be able to impose their will on those running either the country\u2019s provinces or its state owned enterprises. As the examples of premier Supra Mahumapelo in North West province and commissioner Tom Moyane at the South African Revenue Service demonstrate, there will be strong resistance from within the ranks of the \u201cbureaucratic bourgeoisie\u201d. <\/p>\n

Present indications are that Ramaphosa will prove able to assert his authority. And that he\u2019s willing to face down political turbulence.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s likely that succession of high profile prosecutions are still to come. Even so, the state\u2019s capacity to unravel ANC patronage networks is likely to prove limited. Pursuit of state capture kingpins at the major parastatals and in the provinces will prove hard. In any case, the enthusiasm of the ANC for having its dirty-linen washed in public is likely to diminish, especially if an election is nicely won. <\/p>\n

On top of this it should not be overlooked that the newly dominant Ramaphosa faction may need \u2013 or want \u2013 to establish patronage networks of its own. It will need to make its own peace with the bureaucratic bourgeoisie, a class which is very much of the ANC\u2019s own making since 1994.<\/p>\n

Changing the political economy<\/h2>\n

ANC renewal and the war on corruption is one thing. But transforming the character of the South African economy is quite another. <\/p>\n

One view is that the recovery of looted resources and a clampdown on future corruption will provide a more socially just and equitable government. And that it will lead to considerably high rates of growth and developmental welfare. <\/p>\n

The thrust of the narrative is not untrue. But this wouldn\u2019t, on its own, amount to a significant change in the economy\u2019s overall trajectory. That\u2019s because there\u2019s little in the government\u2019s economic policy that can seriously be construed as radical.<\/p>\n

Much is made of the ANC\u2019s commitment to \u201cradical economic empowerment\u201d. In particular, the party\u2019s decision to embrace a policy of expropriating land without compensation. Ramaphosa has taken the policy on board. But he\u2019s stressed that land reform must go forward only as a result of extensive dialogue and without endangering food security. <\/p>\n

Beyond such ambiguity, and vague commitments to rendering the economy more efficient and competitive, there\u2019s little to suggest that Ramaphosa intends to take the economy in a new direction. There is, for instance, little about breaking up the cartels that dominate the economy. Or of tackling the economy\u2019s historic reliance on the extraction of resources. <\/p>\n

Nor is there any evidence \u2013 beyond Ramaphosa\u2019s promise of a new model of public ownership \u2013 that an overhaul of the state economic enterprises such as the power utility Eskom and South African Airways is imminent. <\/p>\n

And beyond rhetoric, there is little evidence of new thinking about how to tackle massive inequality or reduce the chronic level of unemployment. <\/p>\n

These are early days, and the juggling short-term crises is, perhaps, inevitably taking priority over long-term thinking. But present indications are that the Ramaphosa presidency may prove to be little more than an attempt to purge Zuma-ism from an Mbeki-style neoliberal economy. <\/p>\n

The future verdict may well be: much better, but far from enough.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

Roger Southall receives funding from the National Research Foundation <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong> The Conversation \u2013 Articles (AFRICA)<\/a><\/small>
\n<\/p>\n

Read more on The Conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Join the fun:<\/strong> Add Your event<\/a> | Submit a Press Release<\/a> | Add your listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ramaphosa’s new dawn: much better, but not nearly enough: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Aaron Ufumeli\/EPA Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s rise to power has been greeted enthusiastically by most South Africans. Their hope is that the new president represents a leadership cohort within the governing African National Congress (ANC) that\u2019s capable of reversing the toxic legacies of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[4328,8890,9497,3807,8689,4729,27456],"class_list":{"0":"post-115175","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-better","8":"tag-conversation","9":"tag-dawn","10":"tag-enough","11":"tag-much","12":"tag-nearly","13":"tag-ramaphosas","14":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}