Archbishop Thabo Makgoba described the ruling party as seeming “to be in meltdown” and “at war with itself”. Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA)
CAPE TOWN - Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba said nobody should be spared from the law as he called for an elder to take over the leadership of the country should under-pressure President Cyril Ramaphosa step aside.
The country is waiting with bated breath to hear whether Ramaphosa will resign as the ANC NEC holds a special meeting to discuss the Section 89 panel’s report, which made hard-hitting findings against the president for his part in the Phala Phala farm scandal.
In a statement on Monday, Archbishop Makgoba said if Ramaphosa loses the ANC’s political support, “South Africa should be ruled until the next election by a respected elder leading a government of national unity”.
DA leader John Steenhuisen on Sunday announced the DA’s bid to dissolve Parliament so that early elections could take place.
Archbishop Makgoba described the governing party as seeming “to be in meltdown” and “at war with itself”.
He said nobody should be exempt from the laws, “but to pass final judgement on a person based on what is in effect a board of preliminary investigation, which has not made a final determination of the facts, could lead to lawlessness”.
On the possibility that the ANC dumps Ramaphosa, Archbishop Makgoba said: “I call for the establishment of a government of national unity under a respected elder to stabilise the country until the next election.”
He also called for a Codesa 2.0, which would focus on redressing decades-long “scandalous” inequality “between those who benefit from inter-generational wealth and those who are locked out of the economy”.
Archbishop Makgoba said: “The church is observing the season of Advent, which is a time of alertness as we wait to celebrate at Christmas the arrival of the Incarnate Son. Our focus as we prepare for Christmas should be to give voice to the ‘ordinary’ people of the country.
“The vast majority of South Africans want to see our political leaders dealing with their problems, such as load shedding and joblessness, urgently, and are probably getting impatient with seeing a governing party at war with itself.”