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For the umpteenth time in umpteen years, the leader of the ANC has condemned corruption within its ranks, and promised to root out those bad apples.

This time, it’s President Ramaphosa at the helm, and saying the right things, although a certain Jacob Zuma has also taken to writing letters defending the moral integrity of the ANC.

Ahead of this past weekend’s ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting, which was called in part to focus on the ‘decisive’ measures that need to be taken against corrupt party members, it was lining up to be another Cyril versus Ace showdown.

In the build-up, Zapiro made it clear that he doesn’t believe the party is best suited to investigate itself, with this cartoon going live on the Daily Maverick on August 26:

Picking the bones bare.

Fancy seeing some actual justice dished out, with people sent to jail? So does Zapiro, except that we know how this usually ends.

His cartoon from the Daily Maverick on Saturday:

As the dust settles following the ANC NEC meeting, it appears that President Ramaphosa emerged victorious over the Ace Magashule faction.

Rather than letting Magashule address the media in the wake of the meeting, as is customary for the party’s Secretary-General, Ramaphosa himself did so.

This from the Mail & Guardian:

The president described the meeting as a “turning point” in the party confronting corruption within its ranks, saying it had endorsed his letter to ANC members as a “clear articulation” of where it stood on the matter.

Ramaphosa said the NEC had emphasised that “what appears to be a choreographed campaign” against him would not deter the party from acting against state capture and corruption.

It had endorsed the proposal that members charged with corruption stand aside in their party and government positions for the duration of their trial and should resign if found guilty.

The president himself said he would appear before the integrity commission, to answer questions related to his 2017 campaign finances.

More on that here.

His decision to override Ace wasn’t lost on Zapiro, with this published on the Daily Maverick today:

A small step in the right direction.

However, until heads actually start to roll, I have no doubt the satirical cartoonist, much like the rest of the country, will remain well aware that we’ve heard all of this before.

[sources:dailymav&dailymav&dailymav&mg]