DURBAN - PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa is being accused of failing to provide leadership, after he made “reckless ethnic statements” which allegedly sparked nationwide protests, coupled with rampant looting, and brought the country to a standstill.
South African scholars and analysts have accused Ramaphosa of downplaying the real causes of the civil unrest, which has confronted the country since the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma, who was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for being in contempt of court.
Analysts criticised the president, saying his statements were divisive and were the reason for protests intensifying after his address.
On Sunday, during his address to the nation, Ramaphosa lashed out at protesters calling for Zuma’s release, referring to them “as violent ethnic mobilisation”, which analysts said stirred up vicious protests in many parts of South Africa, with people resorting to torching and looting businesses, and all services shutting down indefinitely.
Professor of economics at Wits University, Chris Malikane said: “His attempt to dismiss the protests as ’ethnic mobilisation’ shows how far in denial he is regarding the overwhelming rejection of his leadership by the masses of African people, at the head of which are ANC members.
“Ramaphosa missed an opportunity, but it is in his interest to feign ignorance of what is happening and to minimise the scale of the discontent, because the discontent expresses a deep sense of dissatisfaction in his leadership.”
Malikane said there was a host of issues, beyond the demand for the release of Zuma, which have been aired. “They range from his reversal of the gains by black people in the economy, to the sale of state assets, to the liquidation of ANC structures.
“There is also a legitimate concern that he opportunistically uses the lockdown regulations to unilaterally pursue a counter-transformative programme of structural reforms to strengthen white monopoly capitalist accumulation,” said Malikane.
According to political analyst Jackie Shandu, not only did the president miss an opportunity to provide leadership, but he showed “how inadequate” he was. “He demonstrated, like never before, how grossly inadequate he is for the role of head of state.
“He should have addressed the strong correlation between poverty and looting, especially under lockdown conditions, where the already vulnerable are thrown into deeper socio-economic misery,” Shandu said.
“He should have given people hope about their strong views, finding expression in the workings of the judiciary. Judges are not above the law, neither are they beyond reproach. But being directly involved in the capture of the judiciary himself, we can't expect that much from him.”
Professor Tumi Senokoane said: “I am not sure whether level 4 of the lockdown is about rising Covid-19 statistics or if it is about house arrests and a prohibition of strikes/protests/riots.
“We have been turned into zombies and ’yes’ men/women in the name of Covid-19 lockdowns and control. I am disappointed that President Ramaphosa thinks that the problem is the protest itself or protesters. He knows what the problem is but chooses to act ignorant.”
The INJEJE yabeNGUNI Council distanced itself from Ramaphosa’s statement about ethnic conflict and called for Zuma’s release. “It has become abundantly clear that the current president is aloof and divorced from the realities on the ground, in a country in which he claims to lead. His nonsensical statements – that the current revolutionary activities gripping the country are ethnic criminality and mobilisation – are a shallow, desperate and pathetic attempt to divide the people of the country on ethnic cleavages which, for us, was the final straw that precipitated this declaration,” said the council.
The council declared that Ramaphosa would be “persona non grata” in all provinces except for the Western Cape until Zuma was released. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Tyrone Seale dismissed the allegations that
Ramaphosa stirred up protests, stating that “there could be no justification for the violence experienced in parts of the country”.
Daily News