Stefan Heunis/AFP; Rosetta Msimango/News24
Phala Phala: Is this the beginning of the end of the ANC?
In December 2022, after a Section 89 panel recommended that Cyril Ramaphosa be investigated further over the Phala Phala scandal, the president stood on the precipice.
He was talked down from resigning by those within the ANC, who were afraid of what it would mean for the party if Ramaphosa – an extremely popular figure among voters, more so than the party itself – walked away.
The editorial of that edition of Friday Briefing stated: “Ramaphosa needed to be honest. He wasn’t. He needed to come clean and explain what happened at Phala Phala. He couldn’t.”
Ramaphosa stayed on after the ANC, then still in the majority, prevented efforts to refer the report to an impeachment committee.
On Monday, a far more defiant Ramaphosa than the one we saw in 2022 told the country he would not resign, following last week’s Constitutional Court ruling that the National Assembly had erred by failing to refer the Phala Phala matter to the impeachment committee.
With local government elections approaching, the ANC continues to stand firmly behind its man. While we are still waiting for answers about what happened at Phala Phala during the robbery, what has changed over the past four years is that the ANC no longer holds the majority in the National Assembly.
In 2022, we asked if this was the end of Ramaphosa. The answer was no – but in this edition, we ask if this is the beginning of the end of the ANC.
Wits Emeritus Professor Susan Booysen says yes. She writes that the Phala Phala scandal has dealt a devastating blow to both Ramaphosa’s credibility and the ANC’s political standing, further eroding public trust in a party already in long-term decline and bringing it closer than ever to its ultimate political end. You can read her submission here.
In his submission, analyst Dr Mpumelelo Mkhabela considers the pros and cons of the various options available to Ramaphosa. Read his views here. And in case you have forgotten what has transpired over the last four years, features writer Muhammad Hussain reflects on all the key developments since the robbery on Ramaphosa’s farm was first reported. Read that timeline here.
Finally, stepping away from Phala Phala, Hussain speaks with infectious disease specialist Professor Lucille Blumberg of the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) about how her team tracked down the strain of hantavirus that caused an outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius. Read that Q&A here.
