The waning of Msimang’s decisive faculties has resulted in a notable erosion of his once-potent influence within the ranks of the ANC and the broader fabric of society. In the past, he possessed the capacity to openly articulate his dissent towards the leaders of the movement, but those days have now become a relic of the past; writes Professor Sipho Seepe.

Dr Mavuso Msimang’s resignation from the once-mighty African National Congress has sparked intense discussion and speculation. His decision to leave the ANC was met with both applause and scepticism. While some praised his choice, others had cynically dismissed it as a mere publicity stunt.

The group harbouring a cynical perspective has been vindicated in their assertions.

Those who welcomed his initial decision argue that it was about time that he walked the talk. Msimang had become a go-to person whenever a commentary lamenting the sorry state of the ANC and government is sought. He has become the darling of the right-wing and neoliberal outfits. This grouping understandably welcomed his resignation.

Msimang is no ordinary member of the ANC.  He belongs to a selfless group of activists who joined the struggle against apartheid when doing so was tantamount to signing a death warrant. As a former member of the Umkhonto we Sizwe, he served the ANC with distinction. In the parlance of the ANC, he is tried and tested.

Also, having served in government in the capacity of Director-General he could speak with authority when it comes to identifying the administrative failures of the ANC-led government. No president, except Kgalema and Mandela, escaped his caustic tongue-lashing.

At a time when the echo chamber of the mainstream media and so-called civil society found it fashionable to blame former President Jacob Zuma for everything that went wrong with the country and Eskom, Msimang broke ranks and put the blame squarely on former President Thabo Mbeki.

Addressing the Interactive Risk 2015 Laboratory, organised by the Institute of Risk Management SA, Msimang argued: “Mbeki admitted that in 1998 Eskom had asked the government for permission to build new power stations. The government rejected the request… Economists’ estimates in March [2015] were that the Eskom crisis had curbed economic growth by as much as 10%. A Department of Public Enterprises presentation to Parliament in the same month said Eskom’s power cuts had cost the national economy between R20 billion and R80.1 billion.”

Msimang’s most acerbic criticism was reserved for former President Jacob Zuma. Like Chief Justice Zondo and Pravin Gordhan, he never misses an opportunity to speak about the Zuma and state capture. Msimang’s flip-flopping has weakened his critical voice within the ranks of the movement, and society in general. Msimang could get away with excoriating ANC leaders. Not anymore!

Few would disagree with the litany of failures that Msimang lists in his letter of resignation. The failures are wide-ranging. This includes high unemployment rates due to disastrous policy decisions, maladministration, and outright corrupt practices.

Msimang correctly contends that “the ANC’s own track record of corruption is a cause of great shame. The corruption we once decried is now part of our movement’s DNA. This has had dire consequences for the most vulnerable members of our society…You do not need to dig too deeply to discover that most of the country’s failures are linked to corruption somewhere in the system: a tender that should never have been awarded, a job that should have gone to a better-qualified, more deserving and less factionally-aligned person. This is happening on the watch of the ANC government.”

The question for many was not so much a case of Msimang’s enumeration of the ANC’s failures but has more to do with the timing of the decision to resign, and then change his mind.

It would seem that the final straw for Msimang was that “those who seek change by raising voices endure slurs or are met with downright hostility.” As if to underscore his major concerns, Msimang adds. “It’s a pity that the ANC has a person like Mbalula as its secretary general. It is an embarrassment. For an organisation party that once boasted the likes of Sol Plaatjie, Oliver Tambo, Duma Nokwe, and a few others to end up with a Mbalula is actually a commentary on the state of the organization. How did we elect a person like this to that position.” 

While Msimang flip-flops, leadership failures in the ANC have not changed. Neither has the ANC’s shameful record of misgovernance. The only change is that Msimang has been given an audience. Msimang comes across as a petulant spoilt brat.

If truth be told, the crisis of leadership goes all the way to the top. In his recently published book, Leadership for Transformation Since the Dawn of South Africa’s Democracy: An Insider’s View, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba also found President Ramaphosa to be a master of obfuscation and dangerously lacking in key aspects of leadership: decisiveness, courage, and conviction.

Those dismissive of Msimang’s antics argue that he comes across as someone who is permanently seeking relevance in the unfolding drama of South African politics. They argue that as an elder and a veteran of almost 60 years in the ANC, he certainly should shoulder the blame for what the party has become.  He was after all, at the very top or close to the top.

He accordingly should have used his influence and power to shape the present and the party’s future. Had he done so, he would have rid the party of the rot he was complaining about. He has accordingly failed in nurturing the cadreship or an ethical civil service. To a certain Msimang’s belated distancing of himself from all that is wrong with the ANC should be seen as an admission of failure. 

Accordingly, his critique of the current leadership is a convenient way of washing off blood from his hands. Others have pointed out, perhaps unfairly so, that the likes of Msimang have all benefitted handsomely from the ANC government. As the beneficiaries of the largesse of the ANC-led government should be last to cry foul. They were never that ‘innocent’ to begin with.

Msimang is also damned for having supported Ramaphosa’s presidency. The putrid smell around the funding of his campaign in 2017 should have been sufficient. To Msimang’s credit, he has been outspoken in his critique of the ANC and Ramaphosa’s handling of the Phala Phala scandal.

Ramaphosa has proven to be a constitutional delinquent. The parliamentary panel that looked into the Phala Phala scandal were as clear as a crystal in their findings. The fact that the state organs have been called upon to shield Ramaphosa’s shenanigans cannot erase the findings of the panel that “there was a deliberate intention not to investigate the commission of the crimes committed at Phala Phala openly [and that] the misconduct based on violations of the provisions of section 96(2)(b) and the violation of section 34(1) of PRECCA were committed to keep the investigation a secret.”

The panel went further to state that the “President abused his position as Head of State to have the matter investigated and seeking the assistance of the Namibian President to apprehend a suspect.”

The panel concluded that the President may have committed (1) A serious violation of sections 96(2)(a), (2) a serious violation of section 34(1) of PRECCA, (3), a serious misconduct in that the President violated section 96(2)(b) by acting in a way that is inconsistent with his office, and (4) a serious misconduct in that the President violated section 96(2)(b) by exposing himself to a situation involving a conflict between his official responsibilities and his private business. of the Constitution.”

To redeem himself Msimang’s voice should be more strident in calling for the radical transformation of racially skewed social and economic patterns that still bear the hallmarks of apartheid. Failure to do so will make him appear like an apologist of the current economic arrangements.

It is an indictment for all Africans that 30 years down the line, Africans are in no better situation than they were in 1913 when Sol Plaatjie declared that “the South African native found himself, not actually, a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth”.

Today, Africans, who constitute about 80% of the population own arguably around 4% of the land.

Professor Sipho Seepe is a Higher Education & Strategy Consultant