By Ray Solomons
Cyril Ramaphosa’s silence in the aftermath of his #FarmGate saga is worrying for South Africa’s democracy.
It’s not just that he is on mute but also the manner in which he continues to evade any sort of responsibility for the potential illegality of it all, is what’s worrying.
South Africans are not stupid, we have seen this movie before, just with different characters. And, instead of taking the nation into his confidence, Ramaphosa hides behind all sorts of excuses.
As the momentum over what transpired at Phala Phala increased, the Gupta brothers were suddenly arrested. When the office of the public protector sends the president questions on the matter, she is suddenly suspended. Like in all horror movies, I suppose timing is everything.
The directors of this movie clearly have not learnt from their previous flops at the box office. South Africans are gatvol of bad movies. It’s not just the movie that’s bad, but the actors are atrocious to say the least.
The lead character has millions of dollars stashed under mattresses and in couches while his staff have not been paid their salaries and a large number of the people he is responsible for, go hungry every night. In the darkness of the night and in full view of CCTV cameras at what ought to be a National Key Point, the loot is stolen.
Not that poverty, unemployment and hunger phase him. The ‘Hero’ (as depicted by some journalists at that Serbia Top Gun operation) then gets his personal, state sponsored gestapo to track down the criminals in another country, bring them back to the scene of the crime (not sure if this was done legally, and I wish the SAPS was this efficient in real life), interrogate them under dubious circumstances and recover some of the stolen loot.
But just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, according to the scriptwriter (via sworn affidavit), the ‘saintly hero’ pays those who stole from him to keep the whole sordid saga under wraps. You really can’t make up this crap!
Bad acting aside, Ramaphosa has serious questions to answer. In a country ravaged by corruption and almost bereft of any meaningful economic opportunity, there is simply no room to hide.
Where did this money come from?
Was it declared?
Were any laws broken?
Why was it hushed up?
The list goes on…
There is a high probability that the investigation into #FarmGate will absolve Ramaphosa.
One thing is certain though… South Africans are tired of bad movies and Ramaphosa is not James Bond.
PS. I’m hearing in some circles that all that cash was to be used as a firebreaker in case of an emergency. Ring any fire pool alarm bells?
The views expressed by the author are not necessarily those of Independent Media.