President Cyril Ramaphosa has faced fierce criticism for failing to act and prevent further looting and corruption under Jacob Zuma’s tenure

President Cyril Ramaphosa has told the State Capture Commission that he considered resigning as deputy after President Jacob Zuma fired Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister in his Cabinet reshuffle.

Ramaphosa gave his testimony at the commission on Wednesday, 11 August 2021, his capacity as the country’s president and deputy president.

In December 2015, Zuma decided to give Nene the axe, replacing him with Des Van Rooyen, who became known as the “weekend special” because he only served in the portfolio for four days. Unhappy by the decision, he then informed the African National Congress (ANC) deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte that he would be stepping down as Zuma’s second in-command.

“Concerned by what I considered the ‘capture’ of National Treasury, I contacted ANC Deputy Secretary General Ms Jessie Duarte and indicated that I would resign my position as Deputy President of the Republic. I believe that that message was conveyed to the then-President”

President Cyril Ramaphosa

After a negative reaction from the markets, Van Rooyen was then replaced by Pravin Gordhan, a move which Ramaphosa supported.

“I believe the decision by President Zuma to replace Mr van Rooyen with Mr Gordhan was critical in preventing further damage to the economy and safeguarding the integrity of National Treasury,” he said.

RAMAPHOSA ON WHY HE CHOSE TO STAY

When the legions of state capture allegations emerged, implicating Zuma and the Gupta family, President Cyril Ramaphosa says it became clearer that a network of people colluded with people in government to occupy key positions.

He says as deputy president, they needed to decide on the best way to adequately respond to the saga.

According to Ramaphosa, there were several options that he was considering: to resign, speak out, acquiesce and abet, remain and keep silent, or remain and resist.

“The first option for me, was to resign. The second would have been to speak out, and the third would have been to acquiesce and abet and just go along. And the fourth, would have been to keep quiet and remain silent. And the fifth option would have been to remain, but to resist, hoping that we can turn things around.” Ramaphosa said.

“The first option for me, chairperson, that was available to me, was to resign from the executive. While I would have earned quite a lot of praise from many quarters, this action of resignation would have significantly impaired my ability to contribute to bring about what I would call an end to state capture.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa

The president says he opted for the last option – which was to stay and work to pursue change from within the ANC.

“The final option, which was what I chose, was to remain in my position as Deputy President–not to resign, not acquiesce and not to be confrontational –but to work with others in the Executive to resist abuses and bring about change where we could and to sustain the work of social and economic transformation,” he said.