By Tarryn-Leigh Solomons 
Aug 4, 2021
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Cape Town – Political analyst JP Landman says President Cyril Ramaphosa’s survival in a party consisting of factions will most likely result in him serving another term as head of state.
Landman, who among others served on former president Thabo Mbeki’s economic advisory panel, addressed the Cape Town Press Club on Wednesday on the three timelines of the Ramaphosa presidency, which include the economy, corruption and the ANC.
On the issue of corruption, Landman said that when Ramaphosa claimed the highest seat in the land, he took action against former Sars commissioner Tom Moyane whose fitness to hold office came into question. Former National Prosecuting Authority boss Shaun Abrahams also came under fire resulting in the Constitutional Court declaring his appointment unlawful, and former Eskom boss Brian Molefe for receiving a golden handshake from the utility.
“It is quite clear that Ramaphosa is getting good legal advice. He has not lost a single court case yet despite all the cases brought against him,” Landman said.
He added said under Ramaphosa’s leadership, new institutions were introduced to fight corruption, which include the Special Tribunal established to assist the Special Investigating Unit with investigations, and the Fusion Centre which was established to deal with money laundering and related activities.
“One should not underestimate the work that has been done. It’s fair to say on the corruption front he is doing quite well, although he would probably like to see more,” Landman said.
The economy is one area which remains a battle and the onset of Covid-19 and the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng adds to this, he said.
He said the four main pillars to improve the economy include supportive macro-economic framework, energy, infrastructure and structural reform.
According to Landman, energy is the next big discovery after gold: “This thing is going to change the South African economy the way gold did. Seven to eight weeks after being elected president in 2018, government signed the 27 independent power producer contracts that were put on hold by the previous Gupta regime at Eskom.”
On the ANC, Landman noted a remark made by suspended ANC secretary general Ace Magashule when he said “in five years we will take the party back”. This was after Ramaphosa was elected as ANC president.
“When Ramaphosa took to office, there was quite a huge Cabinet reshuffle where he dropped 10 ministers. It was quite a substantial shuffle – from 35 ministers to 25 ministers, and we will probably see a similar one soon,” he said.