Is Ramaphosa consolidating his power ahead of ANC conference?

The move to let Public Service and Administration Minister Ayanda Dlodlo go to the World Bank is nothing but part of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s plan to get rid of his opponents to enable him to consolidate his power towards the ANC elections in December, said an expert.

He is now feeling that he is gaining traction among ANC structures after some of the provinces have endorsed his second term.

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The Dlodlo move had provided an ideal opportunity for the president to get rid of an opponent and get his supporters close to consolidate his power.

Dlodlo’s appointment as an executive director on the bank’s 25-member board set tongues wagging about the criteria the bank uses for such appointments. Some wondered why South Africa did not send someone with a financial and economic background.

They noted that Dlodlo’s promotion came despite the State Security Agency’s (SSA) poor performance in last July’s violence in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng – when she was the minister responsible for state security – and her alleged failure to report corruption that had occurred in the SSA.

But political analyst Prof Mazwe Majola said it was highly likely that the move was Ramaphosa’s plan to get rid of an opponent to consolidate his power and influence in the runup to the ANC national conference in December.

Dlodlo was seen as a Jacob Zuma supporter as she was an ally of the late Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association chair, the late Kebby Maphatsoe.

The Sunday Times reported that Dlodlo would take up her position at the Washington DC-based financial institution as early as next month. She would resign from the Cabinet.

Despite massive political pressure to fire Dlodlo, then defence ministerNosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and her police counterpart Minister Bheki Cele for failing to act to stop the last July insurrection, Ramaphosa has decided to keep them.

Instead, he moved Dlodlo to another portfolio and the ANC promoted Mapisa-Nqakula to speaker of the National Assembly, a position equivalent to deputy president.

Majola said: “I think Ramaphosa is busy consolidating his power and trying to get as much support as possible. The move on Dlodlo means a Cabinet reshuffle is in the offing.

“The next few months will see him very busy. The question is why now is he suddenly organising izimbizo’s and attending meetings of ANC structures in the provinces when he had the time all along,” Majola said.

Another analyst, Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast from Nelson Mandela University, said Dlodlo’s departure to join the Bank “provided a golden opportunity for Ramaphosa to rid Dlodlo, a non-ally, from the Cabinet.

He said the fact that the minister was moved clearly showed she was not Ramaphosa’s ally. She was kept and moved sideways merely to maintain ANC unity in line with Ramaphosa’s renewal project.

He said it would be unfair to blame Dlodlo alone for mismanaging the violence because not only the SSA but also the police and the armed forces dragged feet.

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