“ … quantity easing …”, said ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule. The markets were spooked, the rand dropped and the cracks within the ruling party were painfully displayed.
That pain is endured by the countless South Africans who have to pay more at the tills because of what is clearly a rogue element opposed to the so-called “New Dawn” within the party.
The use of this particularly important area of government policy to settle internal party political contests is completely unacceptable.
But then again so is state capture, Marikana, high unemployment, economic decline, a high crime rate and the highest level of inequality in the world.
For someone like Magashule, who clearly possesses a poor grasp of economics, to speak on the economy in the face of an economic meltdown is not only disrespectful but borders on criminality.
Maybe Magashule actually wants a dysfunctional society, where the economy is run by gangsters and criminals of state capture.
What we are getting tired of is holding our breath hoping that someone will rein in the mad Gupta/Zuma minions who remain embedded within the party.
While it was important for Tito Mboweni and Enoch Godongwana to respond quickly to this madness, these responses did not do much to quell deep concerns about South Africa’s future.
Obviously, we are dealing with people within the ANC who have no qualms about destabilising the whole country to achieve their nefarious ends.
The danger they pose to this country is clear and imminent.
I am not sure how we are expected to turn and implore President Cyril Ramaphosa to act every time one of the Gupta/Zuma minions fires a “poisoned bomb” into our public space.
While the investors are clearly spooked by the acts of economic sabotage committed by Magashule and his crew, this is not the end of it.
The whole country is spooked by the consistent sabotage of and disrespect shown to a sitting president by the secretary-general of the same party.
The apparent inability of the ANC to put a stop to this disrespect gives an indication of a party which has little power against this.
It means there’s little hope it could successfully support its anointed executive to achieve the much touted economic turnaround.
Ramaphosa knows that he needs to act to quell this blatant challenge towards his leadership. This does not require negotiation, it requires stern action.
Maybe he forgets that he is doing battle with people who sold this country for a few measly pieces of silver like Judas Iscariot of the Bible.
Aren’t these his comrades? Doesn’t he sit with them around the same table and laugh at the same jokes?
Doesn’t he know what extent they are willing to go to turn this country into a lawless banana republic fit only for the purpose of looting billions to be banked abroad?
The investors may be spooked, and this is dangerous because we have no way of turning this economy around with weak investor confidence. However, even more ominous is that ordinary South Africans are just as spooked.
Once we allow hope to fade away, the chaos which the rogue elements think will be manageable to their ilk, cannot be predicted, and nor can it be controlled.
If they hope this country will go out in a blaze while they collect the last few billions, they are mistaken.
That blaze will consume every one of us, and they may be among the first casualties.
If Ramaphosa himself thinks this is just a game and forgets that he leads an angry people, whose historic grievances have never been adequately addressed, he is in for a shock.
If the ANC thinks our people can stomach a few more disappointments and add a few more anxieties to their towers of piled-up anxieties, they have another think coming.
We are exhausted, tired and desperate.
If Ramaphosa doesn’t know how to deal with men like Magashule, I am certain, he won’t be able to deal with millions of angry people.
A pig may be at home in the mud. But if one has to get to it, one must wade into the mud and pull it out into the clear.
Ramaphosa must wade into the mud, pull out the pesky little pig, tag it and put it in its proper place now!
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