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The most feared score in cricket is called a “Nelson” after the Battle of Trafalgar hero Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson and the myth of his one arm, one leg and one eye.

On 8 January 2023, President Cyril Ramaphosa took to the podium at Dr Molemela Stadium in Mangaung to deliver the Statement of the National Executive Committee for the 111th anniversary of the ANC’s founding. Ramaphosa’s opening words evoked the spirit of the party’s founding fathers Dube, Rubusana, Plaatje and Seme.

“This spirit calls upon us, over generations, to recognise the injustices of our past. It calls on us to honour those who suffered for freedom in our land,” he said. “It demands of us to fundamentally transform the living conditions of all citizens and free the potential of each and every person in our country.”

It was the same day that the South African national cricket team – the Proteas – limped to a draw in the third Test against Australia. The result restored a little pride to a team that was bowled out for 99 runs in the second innings of the first Test and lost by a full innings and 182 runs in the second Test.

Much like the current ANC-led national government, the Proteas are a poor reflection of the side that celebrated a victory over Australia in a Test that included the bizarre occurrence of the “Nelson of all Nelsons.”

Elevensies

At 11 minutes past eleven ‘o clock, on 11 November 2011, South Africa needed 111 runs to win the first Test (it was the third day, for those keeping count). The near capacity crowd at a sun-soaked Newlands Stadium in Cape Town all rose to one leg to ward off any dark forces that would conspire to undo the arduous work Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith had done at the crease to put SA in a winning position.

In a cruel act of irony, Amla would survive his personal Nelson, only to lose his wicket one run later for 112 runs when South Africa were on a “double Nelson” (222) – Graeme Smith finished on 101 not out.

President Jacob Zuma was in his third year of his first term in office leading the fourth non-racial Parliament of South Africa – the 25th in the nation’s existence – with a near two-thirds (264 of 400 seats) majority for the ANC.

South Africa was in its fourth year of loadshedding, and had a continent leading GDP of $458.2 billion – it was soon to be overtaken by Nigeria, though.

We all know how this era played out, and Cyril Ramaphosa was the man who asked to be sent to clean up the mess.

Thuma mina

Our current Ramaphosa administration, by contrast, is part of the 27th Parliament of SA and is led by an ANC that won 230 seats in its sixth consecutive successful national election. The country’s GDP is around $440 billion and is poised to overtake Nigeria to lead the continent once more.

The party leader in his second term is still preaching about the “renewal of the ANC,” “resolving the energy crisis and loadshedding” and “economic reconstruction and recovery to create jobs.”

Ramaphosa also played his New Dawn classics “build the social compact”, “improve basic service delivery”, and “strengthen the fight against crime and corruption” for a solid speech of the ANC’s greatest hits, before paying tribute to the upcoming centennial celebration of the party’s adoption of the country’s first Bill of Rights, alongside the 100-year anniversaries of Moses Mabhida and Nadine Gordimer’s birthdays.

He concluded by declaring 2023 as the “year of decisive action to advance the people’s interests and renew our movement.”

Having already sunk below the magical Constitution amending two-thirds majority, and facing internal factional battles, the ANC is staggering to the 2024 general elections missing an arm to fight with, a leg to stand on, and an eye to see that the revolution is not coming anytime soon.