State Capture 2.0 a real possibility
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently met his US counterpart Donald Trump in the White House. When another head of state decides on behalf of his counterpart, we must start questioning whether the sovereignty of the country remains intact, says the writer.
Image: THE PRESIDENCY
THE composition of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s delegation visiting his US counterpart Donald Trump is a matter that should alarm all South Africans.
Recent history demands that we, as a country, should remain alive to any attempts, no matter how small, by foreign elements to dictate the direction South Africa pursues nationally and globally.
After all, our country is emerging from what became known as state capture, where hundreds of billions of rand were reportedly stolen from the state allegedly with the help of the most senior government officials including then President Jacob Zuma.
It’s not incorrect to assume that for someone who was the deputy president at the time, the incumbent would not only be able to pick up the signs pointing to potential state capture 2.0, but would be the first to nib such attempts in the bud.
However the makeup of last week’s delegation to visit Trump and his team suggests the opposite. The absence of Ramaphosa's envoy to the US Mcebisi Jonas remains shrouded in history. Our news pages report that Jonas’s past remarks against Trump made him unwelcome to the Oval Office.
Then there was an inclusion of retired professional golfers who, according to Ramaphosa, were there at the insistence of his host Trump. Billionaire businessman Johan Rupert is also said to have been part of Ramaphosa’s team because Trump wanted him there, according to ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula.
It’s unclear if Ramaphosa had told Trump who should be in his team, but that seems unlikely judging by how the meeting went.
When another head of state decides on behalf of his counterpart, we must start questioning whether the sovereignty of the country remains intact.
If the government openly admits to being dictated to in this manner, we should not be comfortable with what may have been agreed to behind closed doors.
Our desperation for whatever it is that we need from the US should not come at the expense of South Africa’s sovereignty.
The secrecy shrouding Elon Musk’s Starlink has the hallmarks of some backdoor deals. Rupert said it should happen and it's happening.
Imagine all of this unfolding during the Zuma era.