Paul Mashatile has had a very Ramaphosian 2024: cautious, inoffensive and ever-present. He runs the deputy presidency much like his boss did — which can be soothing to a country that hasn’t forgotten how forgettable his predecessor, DD Mabuza, was. In that position he has been the cheerleader-in-chief for the government of national unity, travelling to the United Kingdom and Ireland to hobnob with barons and brokers, keeping the narrative burning that South Africa is plum for foreign investment. Back home his rhetoric has focused on two of our biggest problems: gender-based violence and youth unemployment. The problem with being safe is that it will take bold moves, not palliatives, before we begin to heal. Mashatile, along with the rest of the unity government, will be judged harshly next year should he fail to convert the talk into any measurable difference in people’s lives. We’ll also give him half a bonus point for predicting the end of load-shedding. “I would like to assure you ladies and gentlemen, that plans are in place nationally to ensure that load-shedding is ended this year,” he said in a lecture in April. “I know you don’t believe me … [you] think I am electioneering.”
