Can the ANC survive Zuma?

Policy Brief

On December 9^th 2015 President Zuma fired his respected Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene and replaced him with a little known backbencher. Four days later Zuma revised his decision by re-appointing the predecessor of Nene, Pravin Gordhan, as the new Finance Minister. While Zuma supporters praised the wisdom of the president to have the stature to correct a wrong decision the overwhelming opinion in the press is that Zuma had made his largest political blunder.  A president who until then seemed to be in full control of the party and able to decide single handled on his succession suddenly appears vulnerable. The question at this juncture is: will the ANC be able to use this historic chance to find its way back to the values of the liberation struggle and avoid the further decline of the party into a patronage machine?

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