DA leaders have already started using Ramaphosa’s comments as campaign slogans.
Doubts are emerging on whether President Cyril Ramaphosa will see out his term after his admission that the DA is better than the ANC at running municipalities.
He made the remarks at an ANC roll call meeting on Monday.
“It is hugely painful each time when the auditor general comes to report to Cabinet, and they put up their report, and those municipalities that do best are not ANC-controlled municipalities.
“And I can name it here because there is nothing wrong with competition; they are often DA-controlled municipalities. We need to ask ourselves what it is that they are doing that is better than what we are doing. There is nothing wrong with us saying we want to go and see what Cape Town is doing, we want to go see what Stellenbosch is doing,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa told to fix his mess
Senior ANC members reportedly told the Sunday Times that Ramaphosa was forced to backtrack on his comments.
This is what led to him admitting days later that he hadn’t explained his position on the matter properly. He said the DA municipalities were not “meeting the mark” when it came to transformation, and this is where the DA could learn from the ANC.
“I should have talked about the full equation. The full equation is that there are compliance issues and there are the transformative issues. Both need to go hand in hand, and when I made the example, I should have made a comprehensive one,” said Ramaphosa.
ALSO READ: Ramaphosa makes admission over ‘copy the DA’ comments
Should Ramaphosa resign?
But ANC leaders are reportedly furious, with some even suggesting Ramaphosa should step down before the upcoming local government elections.
“You ask yourself why he [would] want to be the president of a party he does not believe in. If he thinks the DA is outperforming the ANC, maybe he should step down. It’s a political blunder we may not be able to survive,” a minister told the Sunday Times.
Ramaphosa’s comments have also reignited calls from young ANC members for older leaders to be pushed out of the party.
“We must really revisit this retirement age thing and have it cover even us in politics,” said an ANC member.
“Now we can see that [a] retirement age [in politics] is valid. [If we had one], then at least by 70 or 71 politicians would be preparing for their exit. Otherwise, you have all these things [happening].”
ALSO READ: ‘ANC needs to introspect’
DA jumps at opportunity
The DA has already started using the president’s comments to campaign ahead of the local government elections.
On Saturday, during the announcement that Helen Zille will run for Joburg mayor, she mentioned Ramaphosa’s comments.
“There is no braver act for a political leader than endorsing his main political opponent. Make no mistake, that is exactly what the president did. He told South Africa that the DA’s political offer is better than the ANC’s,” Zille said.
DA leader John Steenhuisen alluded to it when saying the DA is better at service delivery.
“… even the ANC’s own president has admitted it, saying: ‘the municipalities which do best are DA municipalities’,” he said.
DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga also used Ramaphosa’s words, telling the crowd that the DA does not have time to teach the ANC how to govern.
“We do not have time to teach people not to steal, but we have time to implement projects. We do not have time to teach people not to kill each other over tenders…We do not have time, Mr. President, to teach your councillors, your mayors and speakers not to fight among themselves, but we have time to fight for the residents of Johannesburg,” he said.
READ NEXT: ‘You cannot trust them’: Steenhuisen warns against voting for small parties
