WHAT NEXT FOR RAMAPHOSA?

Experts weigh in on the president's chances of being re-elected when the ANC chooses its leader in December

- NASIFA SULAIMAN

AS THE policy conference drew to a close there was just one question everyone wanted answered: has President Cyril Ramaphosa been able to secure a second term as head of the African National Congress?

The answer is about as quintessentially South African as it gets: ja, no, well, maybe. Ramaphosa may have won several battles at the party's policy conference held recently in KwaZulu-Natal. But experts say he still has plenty of problems to deal with and faces an uphill battle to hold on to power.

There are Eskom's rolling blackouts, the country being in economic turmoil, a lack of state capture kingpins being punished, his Phala Phala game farm cash-in-the-couch scandal, and the ANC's Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction plotting his downfall, among other things.

We speak to experts to find out if the country's No 1 citizen can triumph when the ANC chooses it a leader in December or if his time at the top is coming to an end.

CONFERENCE CONFLICT

The policy conference was a mixed bag, experts say.

Many ANC members didn’t hold back in showing their opposition to Ramaphosa.

But their efforts didn’t derail any of his policies, including the step-aside rule for ANC members embroiled in legal matters.

“In KZN, where a younger generation is rising, opposition to Ramaphosa is more open and these delegates felt free to vent,” says political analyst Professor Susan Booysen.

Ramaphosa spoke about the party’s mandate to renew its values, ethics, and political culture and to deal decisively with corruption and unacceptable conduct.

The ANC, he told attendees, must pursue the aspirations of South Africans and use state resources responsibly.

But is it all just more of the same?