President Ramaphosa's Challenges Getting Close and Personal

SOUTH AFRICA - In Brief 19 Jul 2019 by Iraj Abedian

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Ever since assuming the high office of the country, President Ramaphosa has not been short of challenges. Aside from the enormous task of turning the economy around and restoring the integrity and operational efficacy of the machinery of the state which had been left in a poor financial and administrative state after a decade of President Zuma's legacy, President Ramaphosa has had to contend with an ongoing barrage of internal strife and contestations within his own political party- the African National Congress (ANC). Two key factions have been battling it out on all possible fronts. The Zuma supporters have been on a "fight back" campaign, aiming to discredit Ramaphosa and undermine his supporters both politically and administratively. One powerful front in this ongoing battle has been the use of the office of the Public Protector which is a constitutional institution accountable only to the Parliament.President Ramaphosa and his close ally – Minister Pravin Gordhan - have been the subject of the Public Protector's investigations for a few months now. In a dramatic, and yet not so unexpectedly, the South African Public Protector, Ms Busisiwe Mkhwabane, today pronounced President Ramaphosa as guilty of having knowingly misled the Parliament as well as potential involvement in large scale money laundering associated with his 2017 election campaign. Ms Mkhwabane, then, warns against the potential for a new case of “state capture”, calling on the National Prosecuting Agency to investigate the case.These developments emerged hot on the heel of an eventful week during which x-President Zuma caused considerable angst amongst his political party with his testimonies at the S...