Overview

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is credited with driving through the deal between the apartheid government and the African National Congress that was at the heart of South Africas democratic constitution. He was the ANCs lead negotiator and the man who persuaded one of the most recalcitrant racist governments in the world to buy into a settlement based on one of its most enlightened bills of rights. But once the ink had dried on the constitution, Ramaphosa found himself politically sidelined. Before the negotiations he had been the head of the countrys largest mineworkers union. Afterwards, he went into business after concluding a landmark black empowerment deal. A talented negotiator capable of driving a hard bargain between implacable enemies, Ramaphosa has always been the man in the middle. Now, as Jacob Zumas presidency enters its final stretch, Ramaphosa has re-entered politics and is one of a handful of candidates to take over as ANC president and as president of South Africa. Should he succeed, he will take over a country that has been battered by years of corruption and misrule which flourished under Zuma. The question that everyone is asking is: can the man in the middle lead from the front? Ray Hartley, author and seasoned journalist, attempts to answer that question by looking at how Ramaphosa has handled the key challenges he has faced in the unions, in business and in politics.

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9781868428342

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In the newly released book, Enemy of the People, former National Treasury director general Lungisa Fuzile recalled the confusion, disruption and the poor taste in which Des van Rooyen and his advisers tried to capture South Africas fiscal purse. These are the top quotes from Fuzile, who recalled the painful December week in 2015 in which President Jacob Zuma removed Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister. Van Rooyen replaced him for the weekend, but was then replaced by Pravin Gordhan, who had been finance minister before. -- fin24 Zuma followed wrong legal advice, his advocate argued. This is a delicate time in a dangerous year, Gauntlett said, asking the court not to make a wide, condemnatory order against Zuma that could be used to impeach the president in Parliament. Gauntlett also told the court to place no reliance on the reports by [then Police Minister] Nathi Nhleko and the ad hoc committee, and that the upgrades were a rip-off operation . Interestingly, Gauntlett, who had previously represented Zuma's former financial advisor Schabir Shaik during his appeal hearing, was spotted at an ANC NEC meeting the weekend before the Nkandla case. -- City Press 'The ANC was at a loss. The leadership did not know of Zuma's plans beforehand and the president had merely informed Zweli Mkhize, the party's treasurer general, shortly before the announcement to dismiss Nene was made. 'We understand it is your right, even though we might not agree with it,' Mkhize told Zuma. The party issued a terse statement, saying it 'respects' the presidential prerogative to appoint a new minister. Jeff Radebe, briefing the media on Friday morning, said the executive had not been not informed and reiterated the president has the final say on ministerial appointments. -- Huffington Post Ever since Trevor Manuel's tenure as finance minister, the national expenditure allocations how much money each department would be getting has always been finalised before Christmas. Fuzile, Sachs and Mogajane talked about the implications before agreeing that they would come back straight after Christmas to start looking for the money. It was a precarious situation to be in and unknown territory for these experienced Treasury professionals. Fuzile, director general since May 2011, got a text message from Nene while he was weaving his way through the capital's traffic. It simply said: 'The axe has fallen.' Nene had been fired in the middle of a budgeting crisis. -- News24 A remarkable, well-researched and easy to digest book, a must read for anyone interested in available evidence on state capture and getting South Africa back on track as a successful globally respected constitutional democracy. The narrative advances a theory backed by evidence that the Guptas, having captured President Jacob Zuma through becoming his close friends and family bankrollers, are using the president and his son to capture and repurpose state owned enterprises and other key organs of state as vehicles for their own economic gain. Zuma himself has captured and repurposed public agencies such as the National Prosecuting Authority, the Hawks, the State Security Agency and South African Revenue Service seemingly to protect him, his family, the Guptas and other associates. Thuli Madonsela, former Public Prosecutor

Author Information

Ray Hartley worked as an administrator at the CODESA negotiations, which ended apartheid. He has covered the unfolding drama of the new South Africa as a political correspondent, travelling extensively with Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki. Hartley was the founding editor of The Times and editor of South Africa's largest newspaper, The Sunday Times, from 2010 to 2013. He is author of Ragged Glory: The Rainbow Nation in Black and White and editor of the essay collection How To Fix South Africa.

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