{"id":1512,"date":"2020-09-02T09:46:49","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T07:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=430626"},"modified":"2020-09-02T09:46:49","modified_gmt":"2020-09-02T07:46:49","slug":"dont-believe-the-hype-its-the-same-old-anc-analyst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interwebdev.co.za\/index.php\/2020\/09\/02\/dont-believe-the-hype-its-the-same-old-anc-analyst\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t believe the hype \u2013 it\u2019s the same old ANC: analyst"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Talk of president Cyril Ramaphosa strengthening his position following this past weekend\u2019s ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting \u2013 and \u2018fighting off\u2019 attempts to have him removed \u2013 is largely bluff and bluster, serving as an \u2018easy win\u2019 to distract from the lack of actual reform in the party.<\/p>\n

Ramaphosa appeared to flex his muscles in a briefing on Monday (31 August), outlining the outcomes of the ANC NEC meeting held over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Bloomberg reported that Ramaphosa gained the upper hand in a power struggle in the nation\u2019s deeply divided ruling party after surviving a bid to force him out of office, clearing the way for him to overhaul his cabinet.<\/p>\n

The ouster attempt was reportedly made during a three-day meeting of the ANC top leadership that ended Sunday, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n

Intellidex analyst Peter Attard Montalto described headlines this week as \u201cpost-NEC Ramaphoria delusion\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe past weekend seems to have been the triumph of over-simplistic reporting, the taking of spin, and the need for many to have a moment of Ramaphoria again,\u201d the analyst said. \u201cThere was never a serious \u2013 numbers or logistical \u2013 threat to the president\u2019s position, and the fact this has become the story is a distraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that the suggestion that Ramaphosa step down was made on Friday ahead of the meeting, according to sources, and was never formally made at the NEC itself.<\/p>\n

The subject, along with repeated talk around fighting corruption, has only distracted from the real issue the country faces \u2013 being economic growth and avoiding the fiscal edge: things which require reform and a recovery plan, Attard Montalto said.<\/p>\n

These two items have been largely skipped in the party\u2019s post-NEC briefing.<\/p>\n

Same old ANC<\/strong><\/p>\n

Attard Montalto said that the fight against corruption is a \u201cnecessary distraction\u201d, but markets and people respond more to action (arrests, prosecution) than to vague internal policy direction.<\/p>\n

He previously highlighted<\/a> how rent extraction \u2013 tenderpreneurship and patronage linked to government contracts \u2013 is core to how the ANC operates, and that the only way to move away from this will be for the entire party to reform.<\/p>\n

While the ANC has come out of its NEC meeting with promises of strengthening its clamp-down on corruption, it has not yet made any definitive policy or structural changes to alter this system, the analyst said.<\/p>\n

The outcomes that were addressed, are not new, or were vaguely explained, he said.<\/p>\n

One of the outcomes tackling corruption was that ANC members charged with corruption must \u201cstand aside\u201d \u2013 however this has been a long-standing resolution within the party, and members appear to keep full salaries and perks, Attard Montalto said.<\/p>\n

Members accused of corruption will be \u201casked\u201d to go to the Integrity Commission to explain themselves, and if the explanation is not acceptable they \u201cmay\u201d be suspended \u2013 but it is not clear what the committee is meant to do to judge the acceptability of an explanation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere doesn\u2019t seem to be any new requirement on the ANC to report suspected members to law enforcement authorities,\u201d Attard Montalto said.<\/p>\n

Members convicted of corruption must resign and face disciplinary action, but there is no explicit mention yet that they will have membership revoked.<\/p>\n

ANC leaders and their families will have to abide by new guidelines on doing business with the state \u2013 yet parallel, existing rules on civil servants and government leaders are not a block on this occurring.<\/p>\n

And finally, ANC leaders will have to make regular financial declarations \u2013 a positive step, Attard Montalto said, \u201cbut easily bypassed by family members\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an implementation credibility test \u2013 given how much the ANC and its leaders have railed against corruption in the past and allowed it to go on or be complicit. A number of actual examples of people being forced out of the party will be needed to cement any evidence of change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Reality<\/strong><\/p>\n

Attard Montalto said the ANC\u2019s latest bustle around corruption is likely a political play leading into the 2021 elections, with low-hanging fruit like the Covid-19 contracts and big names accused of corruption an easy win to make it seem like it is taking action.<\/p>\n

However, the party mechanics \u2013 particularly at a provincial and local level \u2013 are so rooted in rent extraction, that it is unlikely the ANC can step away from this, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ANC has no ability to stop this because it would erode the very foundations of its ability to fund itself and the ability for it to function at a local level in particular. We need be clear therefore that an exercise will go on to partly address historic corruption that was particularly blatant, and low level and high profile PPE related corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of this, the Intellidex analyst said that there is no real political will to change things within the ANC \u2013 and even if president Ramaphosa had gained a sudden \u2018gust\u2019 of support within the party \u2013 as reports suggest \u2013 split ideologies, lagging policy implementation and lack of consensus on fundamental issues means little could be done with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think the markets risk getting the wrong end of the stick on the NEC. What is happening is more subtle and more boring \u2013 though still important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n

Read: Ramaphosa powerless to stop ANC corruption: analyst<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

BusinessTech<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Talk of president Cyril Ramaphosa strengthening his position following this past weekend\u2019s ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting \u2013 and \u2018fighting off\u2019 attempts to have him removed \u2013 is largely bluff and bluster, serving as an \u2018easy win\u2019 to distract from the lack of actual reform in the party. Ramaphosa appeared to flex his muscles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interwebdev.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interwebdev.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interwebdev.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interwebdev.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interwebdev.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/interwebdev.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interwebdev.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interwebdev.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interwebdev.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interwebdev.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}