Cape Town - It came as no surprise that the ANC has instructed its MPs to put the party first and reject the adoption of the damning Ngcobo report when the matter comes before the National Assembly next week.
What has attracted our attention is how embattled President Cyril Ramaphosa has been handling the matter – more so when many South Africans held him in high regard insofar as accountability and transparency are concerned.
He has now turned to the courts to have the report, which is not binding, reviewed and set aside, instead of it being debated in the National Assembly and allowing his comrades to use their majority to shield him.
They did the same with Jacob Zuma, who is often accused of causing many of this country’s problems, including state capture, which is said to have cost billions of rand.
So why can Ramaphosa not trust that ANC MPs will once again use their numbers and have the report rejected?
Unless the president is trying to tell South Africans that he has little to no faith in his own caucus.
Remember, this is a president who promised to deliver what many have longed for – respect for the rule of law, transparency, accountability and clean governance.
So far he has delivered none, instead he is mired in a scandal that has the hallmarks of money laundering through his Phala Phala farm, among other crimes.
The fact that the ANC wants its MPs to toe the party line and ignore the interests of the country tells you everything you need to know about the party and Ramaphosa’s failed renewal project.
Allow us to borrow from the words of Mogomotsi Mogodiri, an ANC NEC nominee, who in his column on Wednesday aptly says: “The decision by the ANC NEC to instruct MPs belonging to the organisation how to vote has confirmed that our country has entered uncharted and treacherous territory of a lack of principles and moral fortitude.
It is no longer about values, ethics, respect for the rule of law, and defence of the Constitution. It is simply about self-preservation and self enrichment, irrespective of how that causes incalculable damage to Brand ANC and steals our country’s future.”
The ANC can be best described as a party dying a slow death, and it’s only a matter of time until voters pull the plug come 2024.
Cape Times