Can Ramaphosa Unite ANC And Give South Africans New Hope?

The problems facing new leader extend well beyond the rehabilitation of a divided and increasingly unpopular party

Cyril Ramaphosa, who was elected leader of South Africa’s ANC on Monday, faces many challenges. As he will almost certainly become president of South Africa after polls scheduled in 2019, the problems extend well beyond the rehabilitation of a divided and increasingly unpopular party.

Twenty-three years after the end of the racist, repressive apartheid regime, South Africa remains a country with enormous resources and great wealth but also massive inequality and deep poverty.

Can Ramaphosa Unite ANC And Give South Africans New Hope?

Though successive ANC governments have made huge efforts to build homes and supply basic services to millions of people, they have been unable to meet expectations. Many people live without electricity or sanitation. Schooling and healthcare are often rudimentary. Levels of violent crime are among the highest in the world, with the poor suffering most. Profile

Perhaps the most significant problem is unemployment, particularly among young people. Economic growth has been limited in recent years, with a technical recession this year, and job creation is slow. Investors have been scared away by political instability.
Then there is corruption – from the police officer demanding cash to ignore a minor driving offence, to the massive sums mentioned in investigations into allegations of graft involving senior public figures.

Corruption has not just undermined public finances but also public confidence in the state. South Africa still has many strong institutions, particularly the judiciary, but there is limited faith in public prosecutors or the police.

The ANC cannot rely on its extraordinary history and the reputations of the giants who led the anti-apartheid struggle for much longer. A younger generation of politicians is pushing through, and they cannot counter accusations of incompetence or wrongdoing by appealing to the efforts made by their forebears to build a multiracial democracy against such odds.

There is impatience and anger. But the first task for Ramaphosa will be to unite the ANC after a bruising, acrimonious leadership campaign and prepare the party to fight the 2019 elections. The aim will be to limit losses and avoid being forced into a coalition government.

Analysts have repeatedly described the ANC’s choice as a turning point for the country, not just the party. That choice has been made. Now 54 million South Africans will be watching Ramaphosa’s every pronouncement to know whether the future will bring new hope or disappointment. Can Ramaphosa Unite ANC And Give South Africans New Hope?