This all started with a phone call I made on 3 April 2019 to Thabiso (TT) Tema on his afternoon programme on Power FM in which I asked people to vote for the ANC. I then followed up the point I made to TT with a post on my Facebook page on 8 April 2019.

Thank you so much, mkhaya, for not only reading that piece but for giving it such a comprehensive response – more than 5,500 words! This is, therefore, my reply.

You’re quite right when you say my central point is that by giving the ANC a decisive victory, we will be strengthening President Cyril Ramaphosa thus enabling him to continue with the clean-up campaign with even more vigour and steely resolve.

Let me be upfront and say I was not even making a political or ideological argument but rather what I see as a pragmatic choice. We have seen just how fractious and unstable a government of coalition politics is. A weakened ANC will certainly lead to precisely such political instability as we will have to govern through coalitions. On the other hand, an emboldened President Ramaphosa will allow him to unleash the full might of the powers he will derive from the constitution of the Republic. In your piece you say the trust I have in President Ramaphosa “…as an individual is misplaced”. I do not think you appreciate the vast powers that this individual has as the president of the country.

The words of Dikgang Moseneke

In his keynote address entitled, “Reflections on South African Constitutional Democracy – Transition and Transformation” which he delivered at Unisa in 2014, the then-Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke referred to “a few” of the vast powers of appointment that the constitution confers on the President and said the following:

“The president appoints the ministers of the cabinet and deputy ministers, leaders of government business to the National Assembly. He appoints all ambassadors. The President appoints the Chief Justice and the Deputy Chief Justice after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and appoints the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal. He is also empowered to appoint the Judge President of the Land Claims Court and Chairperson of the Competition Tribunal, and the Judge President of the Competition Appeal Court. He appoints all judges on advice from the JSC and acting judges in consultation with the Chief Justice. The President further appoints heads of many vital public institutions; these include the National Director of Public Prosecutions, the Public Protector, the Auditor-General, members of the South African Human Rights Commission, the Commission for Gender Equality and the Electoral Commission on recommendation from the National Assembly and may remove members of Chapter 9 institutions on specified grounds. He appoints commissioners of the Public Service Commission, the head of the Defence Force and the military command of the Defence Force, the head of the Police, the head of the Intelligence Service and members of the Financial and Fiscal Commission. Under a variety of legislative instruments, the president appoints the Statistician-General, the Governor and Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, the Commissioner of South African Revenue Service, members of the Tax Court, members of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. As you would expect powers of appointment are often coupled with powers of removal, albeit subject to some prescribed process.”

Moseneke went on to say there are other powers such as the power to appoint judicial commissions of enquiry, the power to establish an intelligence service, to appoint the five members of the IEC and to designate four of the JSC members etc etc. The then-Deputy Chief Justice warned that in exercising this “remarkable concentration” of powers, the President does so by and large within his “exclusive discretion”.

The words of Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng

To take this point further, let me remind you of what Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng wrote in the unanimous judgement of the Constitutional Court in the Nkandla matter about the President of the Republic of SA. He wrote:

“The President is the Head of State and head of the national executive. His is indeed the highest calling to the highest office in the land. He is the first citizen of this country and occupies a position indispensable for the effective governance of our democratic country. Only upon him has the constitutional obligation to uphold, defend and respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic been expressly imposed. The promotion of national unity and reconciliation falls squarely on his shoulders. As does the maintenance of orderliness, peace, stability and devotion to the well-being of the Republic and all of its people. Whoever and whatever poses a threat to our sovereignty, peace and prosperity he must fight. To him is the executive authority of the entire Republic primarily entrusted. He initiates and gives the final stamp of approval to all national legislation. And almost all the key role players in the realisation of our constitutional vision and the aspirations of all our people are appointed and may ultimately be removed by him.

“Unsurprisingly, the nation pins its hopes on him to steer the country in the right direction and accelerate our journey towards a peaceful, just and prosperous destination, that all other progress-driven nations strive towards on a daily basis. He is a constitutional being by design, a national pathfinder, the quintessential commander-in-chief of State affairs and the personification of this nation’s constitutional project. He is required to promise solemnly and sincerely to always connect with the true dictates of his conscience in the execution of his duties. This he is required to do with all his strength, all his talents and to the best of his knowledge and abilities.”

I’m afraid you are completely wrong, mkhaya, when you reduce this “constitutional being… who occupies a position indispensable for the effective governance of our democratic country” to a mere individual. In my earlier piece, I alluded to the leading role Ramaphosa played in ushering in the Constitution as Chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly. You would be hard-pressed to identify a more suitable candidate to occupy the “highest office in the land”. Unlike the previous incumbent, who brought shame and dishonour to that office, I have no doubt that Ramaphosa fully understands that indeed he is expected to be “… a national pathfinder, the quintessential commander-in-chief of State affairs and the personification of this nation’s constitutional project”.

Be that as it may, the task of turning things around for the better cannot, and should not be the sole responsibility of the president – no matter how powerful he or she may be constitutionally. We, as ordinary citizens, must also play our role not only once every five years when we vote. More than 20 years ago, Archbishop Desmond Tutu warned us that,

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance and there is no way in which you can assume that yesterday’s oppressed will not become tomorrow’s oppressors. We have seen it happen all over the world and we shouldn’t be surprised if it happens here. We so easily jettison the ideals we had when we were struggling. It is important that we retain the vigour of our civil society organs that were part of the struggle.”

The words of Zwelinzima Vavi

I remember clearly that one of the reasons you became unpopular within the movement was your support for progressive civil society organisations. In October 2010, as Cosatu General Secretary, you delivered the keynote address at the historic Civil Society Conference. Being aware that the ANC of Jacob Zuma and Gwede Mantashe was implacably opposed to the convening of that conference and that they tried to pressurise you into not taking part, you were bold and principled enough to withstand that pressure. In fact, in your address, you defiantly pronounced that:

“Today, as we gather here, there is panic in the ranks of the predatory elite, which is a new coalition of the tenderpreneurs. Paranoia elsewhere is deepening within the political elite, convincing itself that any gathering of independent civil society formations to confront our challenges is a threat to them.”

This was 2010, mkhaya – still early in Zuma’s state capture project and you were already sounding the alarm. Many did not listen to your warning.

The point I am making here is that we all have a role to play in the quest to usher in another South Africa. As usual, you were spot-on back in 2010 when you said “the forces we represent here today can – and indeed must – have a decisive say in the future of our country. Our goal must be to forge a strong, united movement for change.”

I, therefore, call on every patriotic South African to take part and actually support the many excellent civil society organisations we have in the country. Our support can be financial, it can be by offering our skills and expertise and also coming in numbers when they go on marches to fight the many worthy causes they take on. One can recall the good work done by such organisations as Section 27, Equal Education, Outa, Corruption Watch, Save South Africa and the many foundations established by, or in the names of, former leaders.

The words of the Constitutional Court

Therefore, even with the vast powers that President Ramaphosa can wield, there’s a limit to what he can achieve. That is why for me, the role of civil society and we as ordinary citizens cannot be over-emphasised. Just recently, yet another NGO led the way in making sure that there is transparency around private funding of political parties. I am referring to the important and landmark victory that My Vote Counts scored in the Constitutional Court. Last year, the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of My Vote Counts and declared that:

“… Information on the private funding of political parties and independent candidates is essential for the effective exercise of the right to make political choices and to participate in the elections.” And that;

“… Information on private funding of political parties and independent candidates must be recorded, preserved and made reasonably accessible.”

In the light of this and many other examples of court victories by civil society organisations, I am certain there’s room and scope for us to campaign and fight for the tightening of the requirements on who qualifies to be a member of Parliament. I have always wondered why is there no requirement that, to be eligible to stand for election to Parliament and the provincial legislatures, one must be “a fit and proper person”. The requirement to be a fit and proper person has been written about extensively and there are also many court cases where the basic elements of being fit and proper have been expounded. They all boil down to the expectation that such a person must be imbued with conscientiousness, dignity, honesty and integrity to be entrusted with the responsibilities of the office concerned.

It is not for President Ramaphosa to campaign and fight to have these qualities as the basic requirements for election. I do not know what you expect him to do when the compromised and captured branches nominate and elect questionable characters to go to Parliament. If anything, it is us and progressive civil society organisations who must insist that electoral laws must be changed to put these basic requirements of “fit and proper” in place for our elected office bearers. For example, the Electoral Commission Act deals with the “Powers, Duties and Functions” of the IEC. One of those duties is to “continuously review electoral laws and proposed electoral laws, and make recommendations in connection therewith”.

I argue strongly that the legitimacy and credibility of our legislative bodies are seriously undermined when parties send to and keep people who are not “fit and proper” in those legislative bodies. In my view, the IEC is therefore in dereliction of its responsibility by not proposing changes that will ensure that we send “fit and proper” persons to Parliament. Once again, that cannot be Cyril Ramaphosa’s responsibility to effect such necessary changes to electoral laws. It is us, the electorate who must agitate for that and put pressure on the IEC to do its job properly.

I am therefore challenging each and every one of us to stand up and say, “Send Me, Thuma Mina”, instead of expecting Ramaphosa to single-handedly change things for the better. We all have our roles to play. Of course, we must hold him accountable and stay vigilant, as Archbishop Tutu said.

I see you also repeat the narrative that Ramaphosa sat there quietly and did nothing while Zuma was wreaking havoc. People conveniently forget or overlook the fact that the Deputy President has no original powers in terms of our constitution. In fact, the Deputy President also serves at the pleasure and discretion of the President. If Ramaphosa had stepped out of line, Zuma would have simply fired him. Where would that have got the country? I’m glad Ramaphosa chose to bide his time.

The words of the Presidency

I note that you reminded us that Zuma’s demolition of our institutions started with the dismantling of the Scorpions. It is therefore noteworthy that last month the Presidency announced that:

“President Cyril Ramaphosa has intensified government’s campaign against corruption and state capture with a proclamation establishing an Investigating Directorate in the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions to address allegations emerging from current and recent commissions of inquiry, and corruption-related crimes in general.”

This prompted some commentators to say the NPA was going to get “Scorpions Version 2”. So, even before we give him the decisive victory I am calling for, Ramaphosa has already given an indication of what he will do with a strong mandate.

In fact, as I was busy finalising this response, I glanced at the Sunday Times of 28 April 2019 and it led with this headline:

“SARS goes after ANC top brass in Bosasa scandal – Taxman makes move after shocking claims at Zondo hearings”.

The wheels of justice grind slowly for our liking but, at last, we can see they are beginning to grind under Ramaphosa. Therefore, I maintain that he is the right person for the job.

I agree with you that the rot in the ANC runs deep, really deep! Very few, if any, can go through the eye of the needle. So I cannot name the 20 ANC leaders that you challenge me to name as the clean ones. Gatekeeping and capture of ANC branches is an open secret. How else can you explain the repeated election of the likes of Humphrey Mmemezi, John Block (who has since been convicted), Ace Magashule (soon to face trial, I have no doubt about that) and many other disreputable and scandal-ridden individuals? I am under no illusion about how seriously compromised many leaders are in the movement. At the ANC Policy Conference in June 2017, the Diagnostic Organisational Report noted that:

“Although the membership of the ANC is more literate now, the culture of reading policy documents of the movement is dying, because political and ideological clarity is no longer the deciding factor for election to leadership positions and deployment.”

Why bother with political and ideological clarity, if you can just buy votes! That is the sad reality. That is why I argue strongly that we should insist on a requirement that aspirant parliamentarians must be “fit and proper”.

But then, mkhaya, you yourself admit and say, “I have no illusion in my mind that the ANC will win the 8 May elections.” Who then do you say must lead it? It is unhelpful to bury your head in the sand and hope… I’m not even sure hope for what. As for me, I would rather have Cyril Ramaphosa exercising and wielding those vast powers that our constitution grants to the President.

The words of lots of people

In the days and weeks after I called for the nation to support Ramaphosa by voting for the ANC, he got an endorsement from several quarters. Peter Bruce in Business Day encouraged voters to vote for the ANC. President Thabo Mbeki came out in support. So did The Economist. Time magazine named Ramaphosa as one of the most influential people in the world, saying he “…has the chance to end corruption and grow the stalled economy”.

Whether one agrees with the ideological and class leanings of The Economist, Business Day or Time or not is beside the point. In the capitalist world that we live in, it certainly counts in our favour that our president is endorsed by those publications. Granted, they surely have their agendas, but we cannot pretend that we do not need their support.

By the way, I have not in any way abandoned my belief that socialism is the future. The problem is that we are not doing anything to build it now – remember when, as SACP, we used to say, ‘Socialism is the future – BUILD IT NOW’? The sad reality is that the working class formations are in disarray. This is not just here in South Africa. The crisis we are confronted with is a manifestation of the crisis of capitalism. Yet the working class seems unable to coalesce into a united force to deliver decisive victories.

Remember how the Occupy Wall Street movement started in 2011 with all the promise of a new revolution. More recently, the Yellow Vest movement in France started in November last year and at some point threatened to topple President Macron and then seemed to lose direction and momentum.

I digress.

As I said, my call for supporting the Ramaphosa-led ANC is mainly driven by pragmatism. We can have a separate and necessary debate about the state of the politics of the left some other time.

And the words of the Indlulamithi Scenarios

I would like to believe that most South Africans do not wish our country to end up in the Gwara Gwara scenario painted in the Indlulamithi South Africa Scenarios 2030 where protests and uprisings become frequent and more violent. I mention the Indlulamithi project because I saw your name as one of those who were interviewed by the researchers. I do urge those who have not read it to go to the Indlulamithi report and read about the three scenarios painted there. It will enrich the dialogue that we as South Africans must have.

There is this scenario, entitled “Nayi le walk – a nation in step with itself”, where it concludes with this aspirational picture of our country:

“A younger generation, born into the age of democracy and the internet, start governing in politics and leading in business. They are connected to the world and its infinite possibilities. More South Africans get involved and stay involved in helping to create a better-functioning society. Membership of political parties and civic organisations, growing in the late 2010s, swells further in the 2020s. Spurred on by a sense of momentum and some success in reducing crime rates, South Africans in the diaspora slowly return, repatriating capital and skills.

“In 2030, South Africans will be able to look back on 35 years of democracy with some satisfaction. While the process will have been messy and contested, and while the NDP targets on economic growth were not fully achieved, economic growth in the 2020s was far higher than expected – and jobs outpaced population growth.

“South Africans are more in sync with each other as they see a more coordinated state deliver better services. South Africa has become a place where popular uprisings have given way to the rising up of the people.

“Promises of a better life for all become more tangible, not only just through the actions of government, but through the power of people taking charge of their own destinies.”

Let us dare to hope – and strive for this scenario.

I welcome the engagement. DM

Mthimkulu Mashiya is an ordinary member of the ANC and a member of the Centurion Branch, Ward 65. He is also Zwelinzima Vavi’s homeboy. He tweets at @Mashiy_Amahle