•The return of Zuma to the political scene is viewed as retaliatory, following his ouster after which Ramaphosa took over.
•Displeased with the details of his ouster, Zuma and his cronies founded the MK Party a little while to the elections and successfully deprived the ANC of 14% percentage.
Image: BBC
Under the watchful gaze of the globe, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa took the oath of office earlier this week, signifying a continuation of guard and an opportunity to steer South Africa; the home of 1993 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, for another term.
We were all glued to our newsfeeds, hoping not to miss a moment that they considered historic.
Historic for two reasons – the Rainbow nation was celebrating thirty solid years of democracy, but even at the backdrop of it, the second historic thing was that for the first time since their inception of democracy, the independent party, the African National Congress (ANC) had failed to garner more than 50% of the vote, consequently lacking an express mandate to constitute government.
South Africa’s political scope is not entirely domineered by the ANC, for the adherents of multipartyism they are. Other participants include The Democratic Alliance which is known for steadfast advocacy of liberal democracy, market economy, and zero racialism.
Then there is the Inkatha Freedom Party, the Freedom Front Plus, both of which seek to cater for cultural constituencies. The IFP largely focuses on Zulu nationalism, while the FF+ epitomises Afrikaner interests.
On the other hand, parties like the United Democratic Movement (UDM), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Congress of the People (COPE) augment to the assortment, each of them contributing distinctly to national discourse.
There however has been a latest entrant, one which political pundits have vehemently credited for the inability of ANC to expressly form government - uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) led by former president Jacob Zuma.
The return of Zuma to the political scene is viewed as retaliatory, following his ouster after which Ramaphosa took over.
Having succeeded the brief tenure of Kgalema Motlanthe, Zuma’s ascent to the presidency in 2009 was as contentious as it was initially celebrated.
Perceived to be an overly charismatic personality with immense grassroots support, Jacob’s regime was at the onset occasioned by aptitudes of economic inclusivity and evidential job creation.
His tenure as head of state however became tantamount with scandals and widespread corruption. One will remember the ill-reputed Gupta family saga that was connected to state capture, exposed entrenched corruption, damaging public trust in the ANC.
Amid the misgivings, Zuma's administration is cited to have witnessed massive infrastructure developments and the expansion of social welfare, even though they were eventually outdone by economic decline and increasing unemployment.
Displeased with the details of his ouster, Zuma and his cronies founded the MK Party a little while to the elections and successfully deprived the ANC of 14% percentage.
Save for the case of Jacob Zuma, the ANC party is privier to a lot of internal strife and I rekindle the fallout with its youth league former president Julius Malema’s.
The discord resulted from ideological differences and disciplinary issues that informed his expulsion from the party in the year 2012.
Julis Malema was well known for his sizzling rhetoric and views considered to be radical and did not sit well with the party’s conservative leadership.
He openly criticised ANC's economic policies and detested slow progress on land reforms.
He proceeded to call for nationalization of mines and banks and made provocative comments on a range of political issues. He got expelled.
Malema, along with other embittered ANC members then proceeded to found the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the year 2013.
The EFF champions a radical leftist ideology with a solid focus on economic and social justice, and redistribution.
Vital to its stand are policies promoting the nationalization of crucial industries such as mines, banks, and land, which the party contends that are essential in addressing the economic inequalities fixed in South Africa's apartheid past.
The EFF equally advocates for free education, healthcare, and other social services as cardinal rights, highlighting the need for state intervention in order to uplift marginalized communities.
By aligning itself as a militant substitute to the ANC, the EFF looks to challenge the status quo and push for a more equitable distribution of South Africa's wealth and resources.
Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema suffice in cementing the evidence of continued internal discord in the ANC earlier, they however were just a mere tip of the iceberg, for things seemed to have worsened during the reign of Ramaphosa that commenced in 2018.
He took the baton from Zuma with the promise of cleansing the ANC and to endeavour to revive South Africa’s economy.
Having been an astute former trade unionist and a successful businessman, Ramaphosa's presidency was a balancing act flanked by the implementation of reforms and handling internal party dynamics.
However, his anti-corruption initiatives and economic recovery plans have faced obstacles, and top of them have been factional battles within the party – all of which are the contributing factors to the decline of ANC in the 2024 elections.
The people of South Africa decry run away corruption, unemployment and regular power outage among other issues.
The world observed as a first unfold – the citizenry had given no party express heads up to form government within the constitutional confines of South Africa’s parliamentary order.
Caught between a hard rock and a hard place, the ANC moved to sway the other political parties into the formation of a government of national unity, second only to the independence one.
The acute ideological differences made it difficult for the ANC to broker a coalition deal.
While President Ramaphosa seemed to have paid utmost cognisance to the need of the parties to work together in his inaugural address, a little skeptism, or perhaps the fear of unknown resides in the hearts of the people of South Africa, with all eyes set on seeing how his cabinet will look.
Going forward, the ANC must move fast, and for a first – sort the internal discontent, address the plight of South Africans, or face further decline in the next election cycle.
As a citizen of the African continent, I celebrate the Rainbow nation’s 30 years of democracy. Encapsulating the Zulu and Xhosa spirit, I conclude, ‘Amandla!’
The writer is a PhD candidate in Leadership and Governance.