Cyril Ramaphosa faces ‘ring-fenced’ second term

President Cyril Ramaphosa is edging closer to retaining — and regaining — his status as the leader of the governing party, but is likely to be ring fenced by a national executive committee (NEC) focused on “managing” him until the 2024 national and provincial elections.

Although Ramaphosa has survived the hostile parliamentary debate about the failed attempt to impeach him, signalling that he is a shoo-in for a second term as party president at the upcoming ANC elective conference, he will lead an NEC dominated by allies of Paul Mashatile, who will probably be elected as the party’s deputy president. 

This is likely to see the president being tightly managed by the NEC to ensure that key conference resolutions about the economy are implemented — one of the major complaints from Ramaphosa’s critics in the party with regard to his first term.