Johannesburg - President Cyril Ramaphosa has come under serious criticism from different political parties, including the EFF, which is calling on him to resign.
Ramaphosa has a number of issues that he has to personally deal with as the country crumbles economically due to the power crisis, but he has not revealed the person who will take the position of electricity minister despite assuring South Africans that this was urgent.
Ramaphosa is also under pressure, as he is expected to reshuffle his Cabinet and announce former deputy president David Mabuza's successor following his resignation yesterday.
As if that is not enough, the Phala Phala cloud will not go away. Yesterday, the highest court in the country, the Concourt, dismissed his bid to challenge the Phala Phala report.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, was quick to say that this judgment wasn’t a blow for Ramaphosa.
"The judgment just says there is no case for the Concourt to be petitioned directly, and we should put that into context and understand it. I’ve heard some journalists say it is a blow for the president, but it is not a blow for the president.
“What will happen now is that the legal team will convene and map the way forward and consider options going forward, but it's not necessarily a blow," Magwenya said.
In an interview this week, EFF leader Julius Malema urged Ramaphosa to resign with immediate effect.
“The reason why we are calling for the removal of the president is because, guys, the president has resigned. And you all know that the president wrote a letter; the people who work with him, the people who typed his speech, told me it was done; we just waited for the time to call a press conference.
“Until affection went to persuade him the same day not to resign. His conscience has concluded that he doesn’t have what it takes to be president,” said Malema.
He added: “The body might be there, but the guy is gone. If we were to conduct a raid now in his offices or homes, we are going to find the resignation letter. You have a president whose body is there but whose soul is gone. That is why he is telling you that it is not his responsibility to give you electricity.”
Magwenya said the president was fully aware of how the electricity crisis continued to threaten the kind of economy they wanted to see.
“When it comes to economic recovery, what’s been done towards resolving this energy crisis? The targets in the short term are to reduce the severity of load shedding; sort of medium- to long-term targets revolve around a more secure and stable energy future.
“That talks to a serious, honest, dedicated commitment not only on the side of the president but of the entire government that he leads,” Magwenya said.
He said when it comes to the level of criminality in Eskom, that cannot be resolved overnight and that it is going to take time.
“Law enforcement agencies are working on it. The state of disaster that has been declared is another signal at this level of seriousness that the government is working on reducing this crisis,” he said.
Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said he couldn’t agree more with Malema.
“Ramaphosa has used every trick in the book to duck and dive. When caught off guard, he would claim that he was misunderstood. He has not taken responsibility for his failure,” Seepe said.
He added that “Ramaphosa has conveniently hidden behind state capture, Covid-19, or the July riots. Under him, the economy has stagnated. Small businesses and households are subjected to never-ending blackouts. His promises carry little weight”.
Magwenya said that in due time, Ramaphosa would appoint the electricity minister and that he would announce the imminent Cabinet reshuffle.
The Star