President Cyril Ramaphosa's response to Mkhwanazi falls flat as fatigue for commission of inquiry creeps in
It was probably the most anticipated presidential address since the updates on the Covid-19 pandemic, which became widely known as the 'family meeting'.
However, President Cyril Ramaphosa's response to KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi's shocking allegations against Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, among others, has left many disappointed.
'Cyril must go and burn with his judiciary commission,' singer and retired politician Ringo Madlingozi said, speaking on X (former Twitter) after Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Sunday evening.
'It's a waste of time while SA will be burning, and the corrupt and dangerous individuals will be ruining our country to the core.'
Among his announcements on Sunday, Ramaphosa said Mchunu has been placed on a leave of absence.
This comes after allegations that the minister interfered in police investigations and has an improper relationship with police service provider Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala.
ALSO READ: Ringo Madlingozi: From being hands on in politics to now reflecting on it [VIDEO]
'President doesn't give a hoot about South Africans'
'It took Cyril Ramaphosa the whole damn week to respond with nothing while SA is burning,' Ringo said in another tweet.
'Why must we keep quiet! Why must we oblige to such nonsense? This guy, called [the] SA president [does not] give a hoot about South Africans. He doesn't feel the pain of thuggery and corruption. He seems to be enjoying seeing us tortured. Cyril Ramaphosa must be pushed out with his organisation,' he said.
The Citizen spoke with Ringo to expand on his comments on social media, and he said he preferred not to comment.
'Unfortunately, I'm not willing to answer questions about my X input,' the singer told this publication on Monday morning.
In a shock move in 2019, the Sondela Sthandwa singer became a member of parliament (MP) of the EFF, cementing his commitment to politics.
After the conclusion of the general election in 2024, Ringo announced that he's stepping away from politics, but will remain an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) member.
Ringo said his time in politics has given him a better understanding of the decisions taken by those in power.
'For me to be part of the deciders and constructors of the laws of the country, I learnt a lot [about] how things are going. I'm really going to put that up in the music that I'm doing,' Ringo told The Citizen in 2024.
ALSO READ: 'South Africa needs brave men like Mkhwanazi,' says Moja Love TV boss' foundation
Commission of inquiry fatigue
Ramaphosa announced on Sunday that he will establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the infiltration of law enforcement agencies by criminal elements.
'The minister has undertaken to give his full cooperation to the commission to enable it to do its work,' said Ramaphosa.
Other public figures weren't impressed with the president's response to Mkhwanazi's allegations.
Political and social commentator Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh described Ramaphosa's government as one 'of commissions, dialogues, and delay tactics'.
'Commission of Enquiry!!! Meaning another telenovela!!!' expressed sports broadcaster Robert Marawa.
NOW READ: Miss SA Mia Le Roux joins National Dialogue to 'ensure credibility'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
36 minutes ago
- Daily Maverick
Explainer: Ramaphosa making sunshine out of RDP and RET shadows
After four presidents (stop trying to make the Kgalema Motlanthe 'era' happen) and no fewer than six different plans to grow the economy, South Africa is still in bad shape… Let's look back at the path that got us here. After a week of being the weird guy at the braai/birthday party/coffee shop/shopping mall asking every person of sufficient age: 'What comes to mind when you hear the letters RDP?' it has come to light that a number of South Africans don't know that each presidential administration has been guided by an economic policy. And now that the ghosts of State Capture (Molefe arrest, SAPS rot) and Radical Economic Transformation (Julius Malema's plan to nationalise the Reserve Bank) have had their time haunting the 2025 news cycle, it seems like the perfect opportunity to unpack the economic path Cyril Ramaphosa has had to travel, and what may lie ahead. The reality is that South Africa's post-apartheid economic story isn't just about presidents making speeches about transformation – it's about distinct economic eras, each with their own policy frameworks, promises and ultimately, their own report cards written in stunted GDP growth rates and lamentable employment statistics. Starting from the negative An uncomfortable truth for many apartheid apologists is that the old regime did the country no favours. In 1994, the newly democratic South Africa inherited what was referred to as a 'technically bankrupt' economy. FW de Klerk's administration had been shielding R86.7-billion in foreign debt (about $14-billion at the time), an economy crippled by sanctions, and the worst 10-year growth performance since World War 2. More fundamentally, decades of exclusionary policies had created what would become known as the 'triple challenges' – poverty, inequality and unemployment. These weren't just statistics; they were the lived reality of millions of South Africans who had been systematically excluded from economic participation. And then it grew, courtesy of a fully funded pension scheme. When the freedom writing was indelibly on the wall, outgoing officials made sure their own pensions and golden handshakes were bulletproof, even if it meant loading up the country's credit card. According to UN research, in 1989, government debt sat at R68-billion – but by 1996, it had exploded to R308-billion. Debt repayments jumped from R12-billion a year to more than R30-billion, while the Government Employees Pension Fund assets fattened up from R31-billion to R136-billion. The great reconstruction project When Nelson Mandela walked free, the country was hungry for redress. His Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) was a moral and social lifeline to jumpstart the inclusive economy. But by 1996, fiscal reality bit hard. Enter Gear (Growth, Employment, and Redistribution), a pivot towards macroeconomic orthodoxy that prioritised fiscal discipline, deficit reduction and trade liberalisation. RDP was never officially scrapped, but Gear was supposed to fund it through growth. Haters see it as a failure, but the RDP's delivery was genuinely impressive. More than 1.1 million low-cost houses were built by 2001, benefiting around five million people. Clean piped water reached nearly 4.9 million people by 2000. Rural electricity connections jumped from 12% to 42%, with 1.75 million homes connected. Around 500 new clinics were built. Gear delivered macroeconomic stability – the fiscal deficit was slashed to 2.2%, inflation brought down to 5.4%, and negative GDP growth was reversed. But despite Gear's consonant success, it failed spectacularly on its employment and redistribution vowels. The hoped-for private investment boom never materialised sufficiently. Growth was concentrated in the tertiary and financial sectors, not in labour-absorbing industries. Agricultural employment collapsed from 1.4 million to 637,000 between 1994 and 1998. The rise of the technocrat When Thabo Mbeki picked up the Gear baton of 'jobless growth', he articulated its structural flaws in a 'Two Economies' thesis. This notion, introduced in 2003, acknowledged that macroeconomic stability hadn't translated into widespread job creation. There was a 'first economy' (modern, skilled, global) and a 'second economy' (marginalised, informal, poverty-trapped). This analysis led to the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) in 2005 – a targeted, evidence-based policy aiming for 4.5% annual growth from 2005-2009, then 6% from 2010-2014, with the highfalutin goal of halving unemployment and poverty by 2014. And boy, did it make an impact. For the first time since 1994, economic growth seriously addressed unemployment, with the official joblessness rate falling from over 31% in 2003 to around 22% by late 2008. The AsgiSA period (2004-2007) saw the economy expand robustly, averaging more than 5% annual growth. Massive infrastructure investments were launched, including the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link and 2010 Fifa World Cup infrastructure. The country's fiscal health was further strengthened, with public debt significantly reduced. A crash felt around the world AsgiSA's momentum was brutally interrupted by a savage one-two combination of the 2008 global financial crisis and Mbeki's knockout-blow political recall by the ANC in September 2008. The era's darkest shadow was Mbeki's HIV/Aids denialism, which led to an estimated 330,000 preventable deaths – a devastating human cost that overshadowed economic achievements. Officially, the Jacob Zuma era promised a 'developmental state' through various policy frameworks. The New Growth Path (2010) aimed to create five million jobs by 2020. The National Development Plan (NDP) 2030, introduced in 2012, was a comprehensive long-term vision to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030. By 2017, 'Radical Economic Transformation' (RET) was the rallying cry (alongside Zuma's obsession with being brought a machine gun), officially aimed at fundamental changes in economic ownership. In practice, RET became a synonym for wholesale looting of state-owned enterprises. Nine wasted years Okay, we felt it and it was here: the 2010 Fifa World Cup was successfully hosted (though much infrastructure planning occurred under Mbeki). We also gained free higher education for poor and working-class students in 2017, but, as we have come to find, without a concept of sustainable funding plans. This era represents the most catastrophic failure in South Africa's post-apartheid economic history. State Capture – the systematic repurposing of state institutions for private gain – is estimated to have reduced potential GDP growth by up to 4% per year. Key institutions were systematically weakened. SOEs such as Eskom and Transnet were crippled by corruption and mismanagement, leading to load shedding and logistics failures that continue to plague the economy. The country suffered multiple credit rating downgrades to 'junk' status. The NDP, widely lauded by economists, was never meaningfully implemented. Its tenets directly contradicted the political project of State Capture unfolding in real time. A work in constant progress To clarify: Ramaphosa's 'New Dawn' narrative is actually called the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP). Introduced in 2020 in the face of another global crisis (read: Covid), the focus was on high-impact priorities: job-creating infrastructure projects, energy security, industrialisation through localisation and structural reforms in network industries. While some progress has been made – Eskom reforms, increased private power generation, and the SRD Grant cushioning the worst of the pandemic – South Africa remains bogged down in crisis mode. Logistics failures and persistent energy woes drag on growth, which has averaged a dismal 0.7% over the past decade. The pandemic knocked GDP down by 6.2% in 2020, and unemployment soared to record highs: 32.7% overall, with youth unemployment topping 60%. Freight rail collapse continues to sabotage export competitiveness. On a macro scale, the country's economic trajectory over the past 30 years paints a sobering picture. Averaging only 1.2% annual growth since 1994, the country has chronically underperformed – trailing far behind upper middle-income peers, which grew nearly four times faster, and lower middle-income economies, which outpaced South Africa by a factor of 2.6. This persistent stagnation has resulted in a classic 'middle-income trap', with the nation stuck well short of its economic potential. Meanwhile, the country's industrial base has eroded: manufacturing's contribution to GDP has shrunk by 13% since 1994, and mining's share has fallen from 15.5% to just 8.1%. Perhaps most concerning, job creation has consistently failed to keep pace with a growing labour force. The employment absorption rate stands at just 56.3%, which means that out of 100 new entrants into the workforce, only 56 find employment. Three decades after democracy, South Africa's economic gains remain fragile and incomplete. The challenge, now more than ever, is to break out of stagnation and ignite truly inclusive growth. DM
Daily Maverick
37 minutes ago
- Daily Maverick
When lies Trump truth — debunking the migrant myth in South Africa's healthcare crisis
Blaming migrants for South Africa's ailing healthcare system is a dangerous and politically convenient fiction. Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, this narrative persists, deflecting attention from the real source of collapse: State failure. There is no question that South Africa's public health system is in crisis. Healthcare professionals, policy analysts and political parties highlight systemic dysfunction, characterised by chronic underfunding, collapsing infrastructure, staff shortages and weak governance. ActionSA itself has admitted that Gauteng's health crisis stems from ' inadequate project management, lack of accountability and consequence management, coupled with a lack of skilled personnel and inefficient supply chain processes '. Few would dispute that the state, across all spheres, has failed to deliver quality, accessible healthcare to all. Yet, the claims that foreign nationals are 'overburdening' hospitals or 'abusing' the system continue to dominate the discourse. So widespread is this scapegoating that it has taken on the illusion of truth. But there is no credible evidence to support such claims. On the contrary, multiple studies, including government-commissioned reports, show that many migrants – especially those who are undocumented – actively avoid healthcare facilities due to fear of arrest, discrimination and outright denial of care. When they do seek help, many pay out of pocket, often at higher rates than South African citizens. Scapegoating is not a solution. It's a distraction – and not a new one. There is a deep irony in a nation forged through the struggle against racial oppression now deploying the same exclusionary logic against 'outsiders'. The parallels with Trump-era politics are disturbing. Just as the US president weaponised the myth of white victimhood to slash aid to South Africa and promote a whites-only refugee policy, local politicians have embraced the same playbook – fear-driven, fact-free and designed to divide. Figures like Gayton McKenzie and Herman Mashaba, and movements such as Operation Dudula have built platforms on xenophobic conspiracy theories, and revived colonial-era stereotypes. Their messages, amplified through social media, reach millions, spreading fear and misinformation. Trump would be proud. We may not be exporting white refugees, but we are certainly importing white nationalist logic. 'How can we improve access to quality healthcare?' asks ActionSA. Well, take a look: they don't know. Their solution? ActionSA asserts: ' No South African can enter another country legally without providing proof of medical insurance.' This statement isn't just factually flawed, it reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of both international mobility and health equity. Many South Africans can and do travel without medical insurance, and many countries do not require it for entry. But more importantly, health access should not be framed as a zero-sum, transactional privilege – it is a human right Debunking the 'healthcare rescue' myth South Africa's healthcare system is not collapsing under the weight of so-called medical tourism. It is crumbling under decades of budget cuts, poor planning and political neglect. The South African Human Rights Commission has warned that denying foreign nationals access will not alleviate pressure on the system. The government's own data shows that migrants constitute just 4% of South Africa's population. They are not responsible for drug shortages, collapsing infrastructure or staff vacancies. Yet, the fearmongering has deeply distorted public perception. The Human Sciences Research Council's South African Social Attitudes Survey found that most South Africans believe there are more than 25 million foreign nationals in the country, with more than 20 million assumed to be 'illegal'. This is not just incorrect, it is the result of sustained political misinformation. Until evidence replaces ideology, this 'alternative truth' will continue to thrive – and 'trump' truth. Scapegoating isn't policy, structural reform is South Africa's crises – whether in healthcare, housing or public safety – are not demographic pressures. They are the result of structural failures. Blaming the marginalised is easier than confronting the uncomfortable truths about misgovernance. In provinces like the Eastern Cape per capita health spending has declined even as patient numbers continue to grow. Experts have consistently pointed to institutional neglect, not migrants, as the root cause. The Life Esidimeni tragedy, in which 144 mental health patients died due to state negligence, had nothing to do with foreign nationals. And yet the migrant 'burden' myth endures – because it serves a purpose: it redirects public anger away from those in power and towards those with the least power. We must hold all political rhetoric to the same standard. Just as we rightly demand evidence when Trump claims white victimhood, we must also demand it when Mashaba, McKenzie or Dudula blame migrants for systemic failures. We cannot selectively suspend our commitment to truth. The real crisis is not migration. It is misgovernance. And the sooner we name it, the sooner we can begin to rebuild what has been broken. DM Associate Professor Jo Vearey is director of the African Centre for Migration & Society at Wits University and vice-chair of the international Migration Health and Development Initiative. Dr Rebecca Walker is an independent researcher and associate of the African Centre for Migration & Society at Wits University. Diego Iturralde is chief director for demography and population statistics at Statistics South Africa, co-chair of the South African Migration and Urbanisation Forum and former chair of the UN expert group on international migration statistics.
The South African
3 hours ago
- The South African
Public trust in SAPS plunges to historic low
Public trust in the South African Police Service (SAPS) has plunged to a historic low, according to the latest South African Social Attitudes Survey released by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) on Monday. The survey, which has tracked public sentiment since 2003, revealed that confidence in the police has dropped to just 22%, a low that reflects growing disillusionment with law enforcement in the country. Between 1998 and 2010, trust in the SAPS remained relatively stable, averaging between 39% and 42%. However, a sharp decline followed the 2012 Marikana massacre, where police shot and killed 34 striking miners. While public confidence showed signs of recovery by 2015, the trend reversed again in subsequent years. Between 2016 and 2020, trust in the SAPS hovered around 31% to 35%, before falling to 27% in 2021 – a drop researchers link to the July unrest that year. In 2022, public confidence declined a further five percentage points, and has remained at that level since. The HSRC noted that over the 27-year period, a majority of South Africans have never expressed consistent trust in the police, pointing to a long-standing crisis of police legitimacy. The latest findings come amid renewed calls for a judicial inquiry into policing, following ongoing concerns over crime, corruption, and poor accountability within the SAPS. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
