Four things Cyril Ramaphosa must do to “save” the ANC

The ANC is a party filled with cracks and those cracks are multiplying and growing day by day. While the governing party may be broken it is still able to boast millions of supporters and members that remain loyal to leaders like President Zuma. While the voters are slowly slipping away and the loyalty damages the country, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has been described as the last hope for the ANC to self-correct.

While Ramaphosa has question marks and is far from a universally liked candidate, many believe he is a “lesser of two evils” candidate. While these candidates are common in global politics over the last few years, their fortunes are often mixed.

Centrists and anyone remotely left-leaning deemed US President Donald Trump a vulgar, unpresidential, calamitous disaster of a man. To them, Hillary Clinton was the “lesser of two evils” but look how that turned out. French President Emanuel Macron was put in the same group against far-right Marine le Pen, he managed to become President even though analysts labelled him “more of the same” for France.

While Macron did it in France, becoming president of South Africa is not a path set in stone for Ramaphosa. First, he has to make it to the ANC Elective Conference in December with his campaign in one piece. That means dodging and swatting away whatever the ongoing smear campaign will throw at him. Then he has to beat Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma…

Read: ANC Elective Conference: Previous outcomes, winners and venues

Cyril Ramaphosa saving the ANC if he does win

Let’s move onto some hypotheticals now, assuming Ramaphosa does win the ANC presidency in December, what can he do or what must he do to fix those country shattering cracks in and surrounding the ANC.

Get rid of Zuma before his term ends

Many South Africans forget that even if Ramaphosa replaces Jacob Zuma as president of the ANC in December, Zuma will remain president of the country until after the next general elections in 2019.

The newly elected ANC top six and NEC could decide to make a move to recall him or “force” his resignation. You know, just like Zuma did to Thabo Mbeki a few months after he was elected ANC president in 2007.

Getting rid of Ramaphosa would partly depend on how many members from “team Ramaphosa” are elected onto the top six and NEC. During the last “ousting” NEC meeting where a motion of no confidence was tabled by ANC member Derek Hanekom, it is believed that the pro-Zuma camp made up just under 60% of the NEC.

While many of those ministers and MPs are unlikely to make it back into the NEC, Ramaphosa will quickly have to move to quieten or oust any that remain.

If he can do so, Zuma could potentially be gone before June 2018. That would not only save the country millions, but also help strengthen his hand and back his claims as the leader who wants corruption out of the ANC.

Go after and actively seek out ministers linked with corruption

It doesn’t take a political analyst to tell you that the corruption in the ANC goes far deeper than just the president. While Zuma may represent the nucleus of the problem, countless cabinet members, ministers and MPs have been heavily linked to corrupt practices. Be it the Gupta Leaks or financial records, there is more than enough evidence for Ramaphosa to take action.

If not through the law, then at least ensure that those party members are ousted from the cabinet and all serious positions of power. Either way, a clear stance has to be taken in order to root corruption out of the party down to its lowest levels.

While opportunities for the Guptas in SA already seem to be disappearing, the new president will have to ensure the family knows that the looting taps have been turned off and welded shut. If they aren’t sealed tight enough, less powerful families than the Guptas will be able to enter the fray.

If Ramaphosa does not do enough to smother coruption, the money grabbing and dodgy dealings will creep back into the higher tiers of the party straight from the ground up.

Unite the party

Some of the new ideas put forward at this year’s ANC party conference were rather worrying. President Zuma’s pushing for the Elective Conference’s presidential runner-up to become one of two Deputy Presidents can easily be seen as a potential ploy. While that rule won’t be in effect for this conference, that would have ensured that Dlamini-Zuma gets some power even if Ramaphosa wanted her nowhere near.

While there already have been reports that some members of Ramaphosa’s camp want Lindiwe Sisulu as deputy, that move would also work to help bring in some female member support away from Dlamini-Zuma.

Two “factions” united like that will be able to work to re-legitimise the ANC Youth League and ANC Women’s League. Both are currently almost completely pro-Zuma and have been linked to the Gupta’s

Pump the money back to the people

This last one is crucial if the ANC wants the return of significantly large voter base that it lost due to Zuma’s reign.

The loyal ANC voters are often the poorest of the poor. Ramaphosa and his “new” ANC need to deliver good service delivery to these people. Build them the houses, hospitals and schools that they have been waiting for, often for more than 20 years.

Getting rid of the rot in the ANC is the most obvious task for Ramaphosa and co, providing good governance for the poor should not be lost in that. After all, governance and service delivery is what politics is all about.

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While there are undoubtedly many other problems with the ANC, Ramaphosa will have to dedicate his every moment to prioritising what’s most important.

Simply put, the ANC as a party cannot survive another Zuma-like candidate.