The dedicated confrontationists had reconvened to deal with business left unfinished by the previous night’s curfew: President Ramaphosa’s strange meekness as good cop in the state capture looting spree. He had, after all, been deputy president during the Gupta crime era.
Temperatures were running as high as boiling frogs’ legs when Stevie the Poet had insisted on “another side of the story”. So what was it?
“The floor is yours, Steven,” ruled The Prof.
“As I was going to say before I was so rudely curfewed,” continued Stevie the Poet, “there’s more to it, as fortuitously revealed by Mcebisi Jonas, deputy finance minister in the time of Zuma, when state capture was an industry and the Guptas were lining pockets – mostly their own – with ill-gotten South African loot. Marianne Thamm interviewed him for Daily Maverick.”
“Well… what did he say?” frowned Big Ben.
“As I remember,” continued Stevie modestly, “he waxed lyrical about behind-the-scenes actions President Ramaphosa took to thwart corruption and presidential conniving while being Zuma’s deputy.
“For instance, Zuma’s appointment of ‘weekend finance minister’ Des van Rooyen. Jonas, then deputy at finance, wanted to resign and approached Ramaphosa, who told him to wait till after the weekend. On Sunday Ramaphosa called and said, ‘Listen, it has been reversed. Pravin (Gordhan) has been appointed.’
“Van Rooyen and Gordhan feature in another example: The Great Russian Nuclear Deal, when Russia was going to build eight nuclear reactors in South Africa, costing us a trillion rand. Zuma was very keen on it, although clear heads knew it would be great only for Russia and scammers greedy to syphon off loot. In 2011 Gordhan, then on his first stint as finance minister, warned Zuma that he was heading for a disaster as big as the arms deal still haunting him. He was overruled and then removed. Gordhan’s successor, Nhlanhla Nene, also challenged Zuma about the deal. He was fired for his troubles and replaced by Des van Rooyen.
“The Russian nuclear problem was eventually sorted by Ramaphosa playing his long game – issuing instructions to delay as much as possible. ‘He said that by the time we have to make a decision, Zuma will be gone,’ Jonas recalled.”
“Also, when SA banks wanted to close Gupta accounts, agitation in the ANC was to squeeze the banks via the Treasury. Ramaphosa had ‘stood against the tide’, insisted on the Constitution and the laws, and succeeded in preventing government intervention.”
“I told you so,” beamed Big Ben.
“On the other hand,” continued Stevie the Poet with a wink at Jon the Joker, “we have respected analysts such as William Saunderson-Meyer on Politicsweb who argue convincingly that Ramaphosa is failing his country and himself.
“We all agree that, compared to Jacob Zuma, Ramaphosa is an honourable president, albeit a timid one. But: Like Zuma, he is the leader of the ANC – a party hell-bent on subjugating all of South Africa to its total control. And that is the poison in the water.”
