Obviously President Cyril Ramaphosa cannot decide whether to resign or not because he is addicted to being indecisive. Even in this moment of profound crisis for him, the ANC and our democracy he is prevaricating.
Prevarication is his default leadership mode. Throughout his presidency he has displayed this fear of committing to clearly articulated positions on crucial questions of the day and that same trope of indecision is now on display as we wait for him to tell us what he thinks and what he has decided.
I have had a crazy number of conversations and interviews over the past 24 hours with local and international friends and journalists and other people with an interest in this story of the independent panel’s finding that Ramaphosa has a prima facie case to answer in response to whether he had seriously violated the constitution or other sources of law or whether he is otherwise guilty of serious misconduct. The speculative questions I keep getting are: “What do you think he will do? What do you think is the reason he did not address the country yesterday already?”
Obviously, I do not know what he will do. A more interesting question is what he should do. Some commentators, like TimesLIVE editor Makhudu Sefara and Mail and Guardian contributor Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, have argued unambiguously he should resign. Others, like political analyst Richard Calland, writing in Daily Maverick , have argued that the panel’s report is so flawed that resigning on the basis of it would be irresponsible.
I think the preliminary report’s findings are not trivial and it is a gross misreading of the details, substance and status of the report to effectively interpret words and phrases like “may be guilty” as the equivalent of being exonerated. But I do not want to settle here the (admittedly important) normative question of whether he ought to resign nor, for the moment, do I want to write about the interpretation differences many interlocutors have about the report, including disagreements about the quality of the panel’s work.
It is the president’s behaviour in this moment that intrigues me. Silence. Prevaricating. Listening to millions of voices. Indecision. Repeat. That is his manner. At best, it is reminiscent of Ramaphosa the negotiator of the 1980s and early 1990s, who played a key role in the labour movement, the mass final mobilisations against the apartheid regime, and delicately negotiating with the other side in the making of a new constitutional order.
A spin doctor might say he is a calm figure who is humble enough to listen and to do so deeply before he acts so that his decisions draw on the wisdom and experiences of those who have insights and experiential knowledge he lacks. I think this would be spin in overdrive. It would, frankly, be sheer balderdash.
EUSEBIUS MCKAISER | Waiting for indecisive Ramaphosa: A movie we have seen too often
Prevarication is his default leadership mode
Contributor and analyst
Image: REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
Obviously President Cyril Ramaphosa cannot decide whether to resign or not because he is addicted to being indecisive. Even in this moment of profound crisis for him, the ANC and our democracy he is prevaricating.
Prevarication is his default leadership mode. Throughout his presidency he has displayed this fear of committing to clearly articulated positions on crucial questions of the day and that same trope of indecision is now on display as we wait for him to tell us what he thinks and what he has decided.
I have had a crazy number of conversations and interviews over the past 24 hours with local and international friends and journalists and other people with an interest in this story of the independent panel’s finding that Ramaphosa has a prima facie case to answer in response to whether he had seriously violated the constitution or other sources of law or whether he is otherwise guilty of serious misconduct. The speculative questions I keep getting are: “What do you think he will do? What do you think is the reason he did not address the country yesterday already?”
Obviously, I do not know what he will do. A more interesting question is what he should do. Some commentators, like TimesLIVE editor Makhudu Sefara and Mail and Guardian contributor Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, have argued unambiguously he should resign. Others, like political analyst Richard Calland, writing in Daily Maverick , have argued that the panel’s report is so flawed that resigning on the basis of it would be irresponsible.
I think the preliminary report’s findings are not trivial and it is a gross misreading of the details, substance and status of the report to effectively interpret words and phrases like “may be guilty” as the equivalent of being exonerated. But I do not want to settle here the (admittedly important) normative question of whether he ought to resign nor, for the moment, do I want to write about the interpretation differences many interlocutors have about the report, including disagreements about the quality of the panel’s work.
It is the president’s behaviour in this moment that intrigues me. Silence. Prevaricating. Listening to millions of voices. Indecision. Repeat. That is his manner. At best, it is reminiscent of Ramaphosa the negotiator of the 1980s and early 1990s, who played a key role in the labour movement, the mass final mobilisations against the apartheid regime, and delicately negotiating with the other side in the making of a new constitutional order.
A spin doctor might say he is a calm figure who is humble enough to listen and to do so deeply before he acts so that his decisions draw on the wisdom and experiences of those who have insights and experiential knowledge he lacks. I think this would be spin in overdrive. It would, frankly, be sheer balderdash.
On many of the most critical issues of the day, from low growth, high unemployment, deep levels of poverty and inequity to emotionally complex issues like identity politics and racism and misogyny, it is impossible for even a politically well-informed citizen to summarise the president’s main views. He has none.
He has governed as if becoming president was merely a bucket list item for him. As soon as it was ticked off his disinterest began to show. It was almost a case of “Now what do I do?”. There is no evidence of him leading with clear intentionality, being in charge of a crucial executive position of leadership — the highest in the land — so as to change society and leave a legacy of undoing the structural injustices that still plague us.
Instead, he has deferred to endless numbers of committees and panels and shown greater deference to the arduous and outdated party-political norms and processes of the ANC than he has shown willingness to take his constitutional oath seriously. He has shown less interest in being the country’s president than in being an ANC member seconded to the state, answerable to Luthuli House only.
This is why a more obvious reading is that even in this moment he is showing how addicted to uncertainty he is. Instead of puzzling through the issues, making up his mind, and telling his friends why they must respect his decision, he freezes, and chooses silence.
That is not a trait we need in a president and it means that even if he chooses to stay on, his leadership will be considerably weakened. It will be weakened not only by the work of the panel, but by how sloppy he is in his response to it, putting an entire country — and a world watching — on hold, as if his self-serving buddies trying to persuade him one way or the other are not motivated by factionalism or careerism. None of them care about the best interests of the country. What they are really worried about is losing out at the trough if Ramaphosa left and the next leader kicked them out of cabinet or positions within the state where they are wielding influence.
None of this (lack of) decision-making going on, as we speak, has anything to do with the interests of the country. The ANC is simply at war with itself, with a weak leader unable to put an end to it.
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos