Name? Cyril Ramaphosa
Westphalian identity? South African
Age? 68
Why is he in the news? President Ramaphosa has called the South African military for help with containing the protests over the imprisonment of Jacob Zuma which have turned into economically motivated looting. Meanwhile, voices raising their discontent with Ramaphose are becoming louder as the government failed to protect businesses during the riots.
Why do we care? The underlying reasons for the protests are social and economic inequalities originated from Apartheid and now worsened through lockdown measures in response to Covid-19. This is something we, and many others, have predicted for the past 16 months and it is now surfacing more and more in countries all over the world.
Why should you care? If you are a regular reader of RAIA Group, you are most likely economically well off enough that you can spend your Thursday’s reading up on this topic and, most importantly, stay at home in order to avoid a Covid-19 infection. However, the majority of our planet’s population cannot afford this, resulting in situations like we are seeing right now in South Africa where the inability of the government, whether under Zuma or Ramaphosa, is only making matters worse. Global inequality should make you care 10/10.
Who else cares? Colombian President Iván Duque. His country has experienced similar protests with similar underlying reasons (mismanagement before and after the pandemic, corruption and police brutality). Duque responded to the protests with extreme force and has managed to “calm” them down. Will Ramaphosa copy his style?
Any further comments? After a week of violence called the worst since the end of Apartheid, Ramaphosa is sending in 25000 soldiers. A little late for some South Africans as shopkeepers and local communities have formed civil defense corps acting against looters and bringing them to “justice”. What is making the situation even more complicated are supply chain disruptions of food and fuel supplies, adding more fuel to the fire…
