ActionSA's swift and decisive action against one of its own sets a strong precedent

It is often said that “comparisons are odious", an old idiom coined to discourage commentators like me from comparing people or things that may be similar but not the same.

Indeed, one needs to be careful not to compare bananas with potatoes as it can be unfair or unhelpful. However, I couldn’t resist imagining how President Cyril Ramaphosa and those around him would have handled the hot potato that ActionSA found itself saddled with these past few days. I found myself wondering if disgraced former Tshwane MMC Kholofelo Morodi would have been kicked out so thoroughly and swiftly after the explosive revelations in the Madlanga Commission involving her name.

Leaving others aside, this young five-year-old political party has set an excellent precedent for itself. Every self-respecting political party that also respects its supporters and voters should be sure to take notes.

Quite often, in cases like these, there’s no need to wait for endless processes or final reports when a clearly errant member needs to be urgently held to account and shown the door. But leaders and "structures" waver like reed in a raging river and fiddle while Rome burns. It was, therefore, really refreshing to see some clean, swift action for a change. First by Her Worship, the mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, followed by the party in first suspending and then expelling Morodi.

In my book, swift and decisive action against wrongdoing doesn’t necessarily clash with administrative justice and other democratic principles. Someone in a position of power like a mayor or a president can – and often should – take swift and decisive action even while awaiting the completion of other related processes. Often there would be no need to wait and see, for example, if the police build up and present a strong enough case in court, or to wait for a commission’s report a couple of months or years down the line, before taking action. But other leaders do seem to prefer the longer, indecisive route.

Of course, we all know why the “Man of Processes” takes forever to take action, especially against a comrade. When he dilly-dallies, as he has been with regards to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, we can all surmise that it’s the “smallanyana skeletons” phenomenon that is causing such otherwise inexplicable moments of leadership paralysis.

What is hard to figure out is why a leader would say to all and sundry “send me!” when he is not up to the tough and dirty job of cleaning up and renewing the party and the country he leads. Thankfully, we still have good cops like Lt-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi who aren’t afraid to take action.