Ramaphosa: SA is not a failed state

Ramaphosa defended the country’s current state of affairs to a panel at the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), where he was called to give account on the July civil unrest.

The commission launched hearings into last year’s catastrophic events.

The eight fateful days left more than 350 dead when violence and looting swept through parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. 

The youngest victim was 12 years old. 

The riots threatened to cripple the country’s already frail economy, with major strategic routes closed, shelves emptied and warehouses burnt to the ground.

Security agencies were left wanting. 

Ramaphosa admitted to the commission that government’s response to the unrest was lacklustre, adding his administration was caught napping. 

He blamed this on a number of factors including a lack of capacity in public order policing and a lack of coordination. 

“The other problem was the over the years there’s been a hollowing out of really good and capable people and we cannot discount the period of state capture and the impact that it has had in denuding our state of really capable people - some who were pushed out and some who left in exasperation,” he told the panel on Friday.

“All the continued to weaken components of our security structures,” Ramaphosa added. 

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Ramaphosa also conceded that the country was left humiliated.

“It was humiliating because our people, poor as they are, the instigators wanted to exploit their vulnerabilities.

“They participated in their own humiliation because they couldn’t help it because they are caught up in this minestrone of poverty and inequality.

“For the state itself, I have to admit that I found it humiliating.”

Despite a myriad of challenges facing the country, Ramaphosa dismissed the labelling of the country as a failed State.

“We are not a failed state yet and we will not get there. We are not a failing State because we are rebuilding the capacity of the Tate. We are taking steps every day to rebuild that capacity. 

“We admit that we lost that state capacity along the way and it’s like turning the Titanic around - it will not take one day, it takes time.”

Watch Ramaphosa below: