South Africa and Ramaphosa Still Have a Lot to Clean Up
To do more than merely survive his political scandal, South Africa’s president must stiffen his resolve to reform government.
An uncomfortable position for reformers.
Photographer: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFPCyril Ramaphosa will likely survive the crisis that brought him to the brink of resignation last week. South Africa’s president has decided instead to challenge the findings of an independent advisory panel into the scandal involving a cash-stuffed sofa in his farmhouse and to press ahead with his campaign for a second term as leader of the ruling African National Congress.
Ramaphosa has said the money came from the sale of buffalo and had been hidden in the couch by an overcautious manager. But suspicions of presidential wrongdoing will not easily be waved away — his bitter rivals within the ANC will see to that. For its part, the opposition will use the scandal to chip away at the crumbling edifice of a party that has never shaken off the reputation for corruption cemented during the presidency of his disgraced predecessor, Jacob Zuma, when the government estimates that nearly $30 billion was stolen from state coffers.