Ramaphosa has won his re-election. Will he squander an opportunity to salvage his and the ANC’s legacy?

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When Cyril Ramaphosa finally won his long cherished seat as ANC president some five years ago, I thought his slim margin of victory dictated that he could only do one thing in the years ahead — behave like a one-time president. And by that, I mean make all the tough decisions, ensure that those that quivered at the very thought of a new dawn, in the end felt the radiation of it. The very slim margin by which he had won should have given him no comfort. He should have understood that he only had a limited time if he wanted a legacy of good and clean governance which he so cherished.

But instead of a swashbuckling presidency — he played for re-election I felt. Always a man for process, he kept on his path. Steady at the wheel, even though we (the peanut gallery) have literally felt the world was caving in on us – a Covid pandemic, a cancer of corruption, a collapsing Eskom that has us sitting on Stage Six of load shedding — even though heavy industries have all but virtually shut for the festive season. 

His re-election play — as nervous as it must have been over the past month and especially over the course of this elective conference that the Mail & Guardian team has covered so brilliantly well — has in the end proved successful. He has got his second term.

He now at best has about five years left as President of South Africa if the ANC manages to hold onto its majority in about 18 months time. There’s little chance of him completing that term if Jesus doesn’t come in 2024 for we know through ANC history that they’ll recall Ramaphosa after the 2027 elective conference. I’m open to put a wager on that.

The question for Ramaphosa, who would be 75 by the year 2027, is, just what are you going to do to salvage your legacy as the ANC’s 14th president and the country’s fifth since the dawn of democracy. Nelson Mandela’s chosen one has a whole lot of work to do if he is going to redeem himself in the eyes of his many countrymen and women, investors and all manner of folk who rallied behind his 2017 ANC victory. “Ramaphoria” was a real thing, albeit probably gullible, given the state of his party.

He is surrounded by better men and women than those that stood at his side in 2017 — it did look like a hostage situation in truth. This time he has a team, will he use it to bolster his reputation and give his party its best shot at holding onto its majority in 2024, or will he squander it? I say that knowing very well that there’s the matter of Phala-Phala, which could undo all this promise.

Which brings me back to my earlier point, what if he just behaved like a one-time president in the first place. Where would he, the ANC and the country be today?