Delegates to the convention of the African National Congress, ANC, in South Africa, have elected Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, to lead the ruling party as it grapples with corruption allegations and disunity. Mr. Ramaphosa narrowly defeated Mrs. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to become the new head of the ANC last Monday.
Supporters of the Deputy President chanted hilariously in the conference hall while jeering at those who voted for Mrs. Dlamini-Zuma. By this victory, the wealthy Ramaphosa has been well-positioned to take over from President Jacob Zuma, whenever he decides to step down from office. Observers feel this will be sooner than later, given the mountain of corruption charges that has trailed his administration.
In the view of political risk consultancy firm, Eurasia, “Zuma is unlikely to hold out until the end of his term in 2019 as this will damage the party ahead of that year’s election. He is thus likely to end his tenure sometime in the second half of 2018.”
However, political analyst, Richard Calland, has warned that Ramaphosa would be constrained by the allies of Zuma who were also elected into top ANC positions during last Monday’s vote. “The winner has inherited a mixed blessing, possibly a poisoned chalice,” Calland told reporters. “It’s going to be very difficult for him to manoeuver, he’ll have to reach compromise at every step.”
The fact that Mr. Ramaphosa is popular across the land was buttressed when his image was beamed at bill boards mounted at strategic areas around the party conference venue outside Johannesburg. ANC supporters cheered and unconsciously blocked a road leading to the conference centre, dancing and singing party songs.
It is widely believed that President Zuma backed his estranged wife to win the contest if only to shield him against facing prosecution after he leaves office.
Some political analysts worry that the ANC, which used to be unassailable since 1994 when Nelson Mandela won the first multi-racial election in the land, is not sure of retaining power in the 2019 election due to the mess it brought on itself.
The 65-year old Ramaphosa is a former trade unionist who featured in the vanguard to end white-minority rule in South Africa before becoming a wealthy business tycoon. He returned to active politics in 2010 and emerged in 2014 as the country’s Number 2 leader.
