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I feel like we’ve heard this one before, and we will hear it again in the years to come, but the Jacob Zuma faction of the ANC might finally be finished.

Sadly, the damage they have done will take generations to undo (take ‘energy skunk on quicksand’ Eskom, for example), but yesterday’s loss of a crucial court challenge by former SA Revenue Service (SARS) chief Tom Moyane is certainly a step in the right direction.

According to experts and analysts, who spoke with the Citizen, it’s a damning blow to former president Zuma:

Moyane and Zuma’s faction are now finished politically, experts agree, and the ruling has strengthened Ramaphosa’s hand in the ANC.

Political analyst Dirk Kotze said the Moyane matter was significant to the Jacob Zuma camp, who were desperate to have the official stay put at the helm of Sars.

According to Kotze the ruling by the High Court in Pretoria marked the beginning of the end for Moyane and those he represented.

As it was the first high-profile legal case in which a senior state official and a staunch Zuma supporter directly challenged Ramaphosa, it became an important victory for Ramaphosa against his adversaries – including former president Zuma…

Kotze said the ruling put a stamp on Ramaphosa’s action to fire Moyane and the recommendations of the Sars commission, including that he was not fit to hold office, proving they were not irrational but fair. This also aligned with the public opinion that the official was indeed guilty.

“He can say he has to be heard, but he is finished politically, along with Zuma’s faction. There is no chance of him being reinstated,” Kotze said.

Maybe now he can start sacking the likes of Bathabile Dlamini, who continues to be a blight on this country’s governance.

Another analyst who spoke with the Citizen, Daniel Silke, agreed with Kotze:

“The ruling broadly weakened the case for those who support Zuma and strengthened Ramaphosa’s hand within the ANC.

“That Ramaphosa was prepared to take the battle to Moyane gave him ammunition to do a clean-up in the state,” Silke said.

Quite a clean-up job ahead, but at least the wheels are turning.

Now to work on putting Zuma and his cohorts behind bars.

[source:citizen]