With the recent unrest happening throughout the country, some people have called president Cyril Ramaphosa to hang his suit and call it quits. However former Democratic Alliance leader, Mmusi Maimane decided to write a letter to the president; asking him to sack some of his cabinent Ministers.
Here is how the letter goes;
Dear President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa
I’m writing to you on the 1254th day of your administration, at a time when our country is experiencing political and social unrest.
On the day you were elected president of South Africa by a majority of the National Assembly on February 15, 2018, I distinctly recall being in Parliament. As the head of the opposition at the time, I made sure that no opposition candidate ran in that election as a show of support for your efforts as South Africa’s most important citizen.
“I would like to assure him that he can count on our support and collaboration as long as he acts in the greatest interest of the people of South Africa,” I said in my address to Parliament following your victory. I was rooting for you, as did millions of South Africans, and we thought you were rooting for us as well.
Over the previous 1 254 days, the majority of South Africans have given you and your government the benefit of the doubt. Your “long game” was something we believed in. “At least it’s not the squandered decade of state capture under Jacob Zuma,” we’ve remarked. We’ve attended your “family meetings,” given up our civil liberties when requested, and ignored the rising unemployment rate and expanding poverty. In dealing with Covid-19 and the vaccination deployment, we’ve permitted error after error – or “mistakes,” as you describe them.
We’ve turned a blind eye to our errors, confident that we’re about to round the proverbial corner. We, on the other hand, are not. And last week’s events exemplified this point spectacularly.
South Africans watched in astonishment as communities were immersed in violence, looting, and anarchy, while your state security agencies were found wanting, and your police force was rendered weak and defenseless. For many, it was a Damascus moment, as there was no Thuma Mina to save us in our hour of need. Every citizen was on their own — many were terrified, frustrated, and despondent.
We cannot turn a blind eye to your government’s feeble and ineffective response to outright illegality. The slow and piecemeal reaction to the crisis empowered individuals who broke the law to act out without fear of repercussions.
As a result, 215 people have died as of this writing, with over 200 000 jobs lost and tens of billions of rands in losses. Worst of all, recent estimates of GDP decrease owing to this robbery and devastation range between 0.4 and 1%, a devastating blow to an economy already battered by Covid-19.
I am not a lawyer and make no claim to be. Even a layperson like me can see that you and your administration were negligent — that you and your government failed to fulfill your obligations to citizens and the state. You and your Cabinet ministers chose ANC internal feuds over South Africans’ safety and security. That is unforgivable, Mr. President.
What remains to be seen is who will be held accountable for this crisis that threatened to rip our country and constitutional democracy apart. Of August of last year, you assured Parliament that we had entered “a new age in transparency and accountability.” It’s time to put this to the test by dismissing the members of your Cabinet who are to blame for the situation.
Bheki Cele, the Police Minister, was in charge of an under-resourced and under-prepared police force that was a bystander to the pandemonium. He was gone for several days at a time when leadership and guidance were urgently needed. He has to leave.
A small number of domestic terrorists outsmarted and outwitted State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo. She has to leave. And Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has publicly questioned and contradicted you on the origins of the violence and looting. She, too, must depart.
In terms of Section 91(3) of the Constitution, President Ramaphosa, you have the authority to appoint ministers to your Cabinet. As the Constitutional Court declared in Masethla v President of the Republic of South Africa & Others, you also have the authority to fire ministers, which is inherent in the power of selection. You have a vast, bloated Cabinet that is possibly one of the least effective in the world.
After last week’s humiliating failure of administration, it would be nonsensical for you to keep these ministers in your Cabinet. In this circumstance, Mr. President, inaction is not an option.
You’ve been relying on our residents’ resiliency for far too long. Our residents are counting on you to come to the table and, for the first time, prove that you are in charge and accountable. You can’t keep acting startled or keeping an arm’s length distance from the task.
You must take action. The democratic process is under jeopardy.
– Mmusi Maimane is the One South Africa Movement’s Chief Activist.