Ramaphosa: New Hope For A Cynical, Depressed Nation

Political analyst Max du Preez believes a new era of modern leadership has dawned in South Africa. The election of Cyril Ramaphosa as the new leader of the ANC is a critical turning point in the country’s history.

- Max du Preez

In our country, which US President Donald Trump might call ‘South Sh*ithole’, the pendulum is swinging back. We hit rock bottom, but are on our way up again. How long it will take to recover remains to be seen.

The so-called Zuma years made South Africa poorer, more divided, more unequal and more unstable. It destroyed most of the gains the country made between 1994 and 2009. It also compromised many of South Africa’s crucial state institutions. Zuma singlehandedly managed to cause a credit downgrade. He also introduced concepts such as entrepreneurship and state capture to South Africans. He was a president driven by greed, a lust for power, and paranoia about going to jail. Zuma outsourced the political power that South Africans gave him to an immigrant family in exchange for money.

END OF THE ZUMA YEARS: A REASON TO CELEBRATE

The last decade of the Zuma years made many South Africans depressed and cynical. When Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as president of the ANC, South Africans did not dance in the streets as the Zimbabweans did when Robert Mugabe was forced to resign.