Ramaphosa's sharp State Capture comments in an otherwise flat speech – as conference survives to fight another day

President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses delegates on day one. (Photo: Leila Dougan/Daily Maverick)

By Marianne Merten

16 Dec 2022

Aside from hard points on State Capture and ANC division, polite applause was pretty much all that President Ramaphosa got, on delivery of his political report. The ‘polite’ response from delegates after earlier disruptive chants. Signalling a tough weekend ahead.

It was the comments on fighting graft that had the loudest applause and whistles, predominantly from delegates of Limpopo and Eastern Cape. Both provinces have come out in support of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid for a second term as party president.

“The actions we need to take over corruption and State Capture have at times caused friction amongst us…” said Ramaphosa, who maintained that those implicated in State Capture should be held responsible because such conduct was “anti-democratic” and against the ANC’s national democratic revolution. And this ANC conference should take the necessary resolutions but “we know there will be resistance”.

It wasn’t quite what the political report said – about corruption or State Capture and the State Capture commission.

“… (T)he persistence of corruption within our ranks stands out as one of the greatest threats to the continued existence of our movement as an effective force for fundamental social change…

“Unless we act now with courage and honesty to redeem our organisation, we will have betrayed the ANC’s historical mission and failed our people,” said the political report.

Clean governance ticket

But the public comment from Ramaphosa, who came into office both in Luthuli House and the Union Buildings on an anti-corruption, clean governance ticket, nailed his colours to the mast. And tactically, set some of the priorities on the conference resolution front: anti-corruption and State Capture, ANC renewal.

After a seven-hour delay to Friday’s conference start, and fired-up concerns in some circles of disruptions, that’s about as clear as it got over some three hours of speech delivery.

These worries about disruption seemed to be fuelled by suspended secretary-general Ace Magashule sharing a stage with ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) member Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who held a public call to arms outside the Nasrec ANC conference venue.

At the ANC conference itself, difficulties with delegates’ registration continued well past the Friday 8.30am starting time. ANC National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe officially announced a delay to 2pm. It took another two hours for Ramaphosa to take to the podium.

Former President Jacob Zuma at Nasrec on 16 December 2022. (Photo: Leila Dougan/Daily Maverick)

Several delegates privately muttered “What a disaster!” or some version of that. Heads often shook. For some it was not the ANC they were used to; for others the poor level of organisation came as a shocker. It wasn’t just the delays and inept organisation, as one member put it, but also the tensions and terse factional fractures.

Earlier on Friday, word of various last-minute caucuses emerged. Clearly, deals were being sought – but as Daily Maverick understands, a unity deal was swatted away amid the shifting sands of ANC lobbying and jockeying.

For Ramaphosa, it had been a rough and ready ride to get here. He was ready to resign, after Parliament’s Section 89 independent panel recommended that the president had to answer a case for impeachment over the Phala Phala farm forex saga. Ultimately, ANC MPs were instructed to shoot down that recommendation – and with five contrary yay votes, also from Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma – that happened, clearing the way for Ramaphosa’s bid for a second term as party president.

On Friday evening after Ramaphosa’s three-hour speech, the conference postponement to Saturday was welcomed to ease tensions, but also as it emerged that the last delegates were still being registered.

Delegates at the party's 55th National Conference on 16 December. (Photo: Leila Dougan/Daily Maverick)

Chaaaaange chants

Earlier, inside the Nasrec ANC elective conference plenary hall, Gauteng ANC delegates were closely watched to see who they would join – the “chaaaaange” chant of the KwaZulu-Natal delegates, accompanied by the rolling hands soccer referees use for substitutions, or the Eastern Cape and Limpopo delegates, firmly supportive of Ramaphosa. In part, this watching relates to talk of presidential contender Zweli Mkhize’s inroads in Gauteng.

Ramaphosa finally got to speak, after security were called in to quieten a raucous KwaZulu-Natal delegation – which also erupted when ex-president Jacob Zuma walked in.

“Comrades, let us start the conference,” Ramaphosa had said earlier, appealing to those wanting to raise dissatisfaction, to do so in an orderly manner with “This does not behove well for the ANC”.

The three-hour speech – with the exception of comments on the ANC’s need to deal with State Capture in its ranks, and calls for ANC renewal – was more like a practice run for February’s State of the Nation address.

It did not quite stick to the tickbox list of government achievements – from expanding social grants both in value and in numbers provided, to the provision of free basic services such as water and sanitation, free school education and moves towards free healthcare under the National Health Insurance legislation that is before Parliament.

It did acknowledge some challenges, primarily the Eskom rotational power cuts that escalated again to Stage 6. The power system being “in a state of real disrepair” was what Ramaphosa eventually settled for, after seemingly searching for the best words:

“The effects of load shedding are felt every day… It represents a real threat to the advancement of the national democratic revolution.”

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And then it was a segue back to the glass half-full view. Much was being done to bring renewable energy online, and about restructuring of the embattled Eskom power utility.

“While there may be diverse electricity generators and distributors, transmission must remain under the control of the people as it is a national security matter.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses delegates on day one. (Photo: Leila Dougan/Daily Maverick)

Applause, even some whistles

The governing ANC policy priorities such as black economic empowerment, alongside women’s empowerment – those got more than polite applause, even some whistles – alongside job creation and more.

“Economic transformation… is an economy in which the features of apartheid inequality and exclusion are steadily removed and replaced by an economy that involves, empowers and benefits all South Africans…” is how the political report put it.

Ramaphosa talked of how challenges of socio-economic transformation could not be blamed on the Constitution, as populist rhetoric has it.

“Improving our performance lies at the centre of what we described as our second phase of transition... This phase should be characterised by decisive action (for economic and social transformation).”

Interestingly, Ramaphosa walked back the social compacting that has featured big previously, also in the ANC’s 8 January statements that indicated party priorities. The comprehensive social compact he had promised within 100 days in the 2022 Sona, has still not happened.

“We need to assess whether our ambition to build a ‘grand’ social compact is feasible, or whether we need to focus on building social compacts around the various areas that require broader social collaboration.”

Again, it’s not quite what the political report said.

Somewhere towards the end, Ramaphosa found some spark.

Underlining, again, the need for unity and renewal, he hit home the cost of disunity – essentially a contest for positions in state that come with resources – on the ANC’s social standing, and at the hustings.

Instead of “howling at each other” Ramaphosa said, “let’s discuss and debate”.

Considering the display on the conference floor after the leadership and NEC left the stage, whether that happens remains to be seen. But whatever transpires, the next few days will chart the ANC’s future. DM

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Chaaaaange chants

Applause, even some whistles