Ramaphosa cannot delay acting on Mkhwanazi's claim

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership has been one characterised by doubt, confusion and often lacking urgency in addressing some of the most pressing matters confronting the country. 

Mostly, he chooses to delegate his responsibilities to costly task teams, advisory councils and commissions when he is called to make bold decisions. 

On the face of it, Ramaphosa appears to be a president that seeks to always appease, depending on who the issue is about. What we are referring to is well documented and there is no need to dwell much on it.

Suffice to ask how many people has he acted on when presented with evidence of wrongdoing? Not many really, except those that posed a significant threat to his political career.  

Nonetheless Ramaphosa has been accused of hiding behind 'due process' even in clear-cut cases that would, at face value, go a long way in dealing with the rot in the country’s public service.

That appears to have come back to bite him. The fact that KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi did not discuss the serious allegations against Police Minister Senzo Mchunu before coming out publicly can be viewed as a vote of no confidence in Ramaphosa's leadership. 

He has failed to act when called up to do so in the past. Indirectly that may have sent a signal out there that he would not do anything when presented with serious allegations against members of his party and Cabinet colleagues in the future. 

Ramaphosa says he will outline a way forward after engaging with a number of people regarding Mkhwanazi’s claim implicating the police minister in criminal syndicates. 

He is yet to inform the nation about the outcome of his meeting with National Director of Public Prosecution Shamila Batohi on her statements that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had been infiltrated by unscrupulous prosecutors working with criminals to deliberately bungle cases.

Herein lies a worrying pattern; that Rome is burning while Ramaphosa holds the fiddle.  Phala Phala will not be the only stain that taints his leadership. How he acts on the Mchunu matter may make or break his legacy.  At stake though is the safety of South Africans who are at the mercy of criminals holding our communities hostage.