Opinion: No guarantee Zuma’s new ‘fission expedition’ will succeed

We know for certain what President Jacob Zuma’s latest Cabinet reshuffle was not. It was not about South Africa, or about good governance. It was not about doing what is necessary to place the economy back on a growth trajectory. It was not about dealing with the triple scourge of poverty, inequality and unemployment. So, what is it about? It’s about the increasingly destructive fight for control of the African National Congress and cultivating a patronage network around what’s left of State resources. The removal of Blade Nzimande is the clearest signal of the former, while the appointment of David Mahlobo as the country’s third Energy Minister for 2017 is the surest sign of the latter.