Acta Non Verba: Deeds, Not Words, Will Save Ramaphosa

Thebe Mabanga

President Cyril Ramaphosa now arguably has a month to ignite or even save his presidency, or face the daunting prospect of approaching his party’s National General Council (NGC) in June with the embarrassing possibility of being recalled, or be threatened with a recall.

Ramaphosa’s tenure is now turning out to be a classic case study of how euphoria turns into despair and disillusion when words are not followed by action, or, when credibility is eroded by perceptions that a leader is prone to uttering falsehoods, or outright lies, to fend off criticism and save his blushes when under pressure at a particular moment.

He now has three critical events ahead of him within which to redeem himself or all mantras associated with his term in office, from ‘New Dawn’ to ‘Thuma Mina,’ will continue to ring hollow.