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Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has earned so much praise for his handling of the coronavirus crisis that he is touted as a possible successor to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Advised by a panel of top scientists, Mkhize has crossed the country evaluating the health system’s ability to cope with an expected increase in cases.
A medical doctor, he has appeared on television to educate the public about the disease. Along with Ramaphosa, he has been a driving force behind one of the world’s strictest blockades that has helped limit infection-related deaths to 186 since the first case was detected two months ago.
“It would not surprise me at all to see Mkhize as the next president of South Africa,” said Xolani Dube, an analyst at the Xubera Institute for Research and Development in the eastern port city of Durban. “Covid was a golden opportunity for him to shine. Everyone knows him now.”
Mkhize’s rise in political position reflects that of other accredited politicians with effective responses to the pandemic.
His German counterpart Jens Spahn, who has made no secret of his ambitions to one day become chancellor, is undergoing a wave of popularity, while South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating has hit a record for any democratically elected leader of Asia. nation at the same point in its mandate.
Before becoming health minister, Mkhize served as general treasurer of the ruling African National Congress and prime minister of KwaZulu-Natal. It maintains strong support in the province, which has the largest contingent of party members, and plays a key role in the ANC’s internal elections.
Leadership ambitions
Mkhize unveiled his presidential ambitions when he ran for ANC leadership in 2017. Ramaphosa eventually beat Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in that competition by a slim margin. Although Mkhize failed to obtain the nomination of any of the nine provinces, he obtained the most votes in the election of the party’s National Executive Committee.
Dlamini-Zuma, now the cooperative minister for governance and traditional affairs, has suffered the brunt of a public backlash against a series of unpopular blockade rules, including bans on the sale of tobacco and alcohol and a nightly curfew. Vice President David Mabuza, another possible future presidential candidate, has been absent from public attention during the crisis.
Ramaphosa, 67, has recognized the critical role that Mkhize, 64, plays. “He has been doing truly outstanding and excellent work for the entire nation,” said the president in Durban on May 5.
Running Mate
With coronavirus infections only expected to increase in South Africa in August or September, being the key man in fighting the disease could still backfire for Mkhize, according to Dube.
“It is still early to know if he has done a good job,” Dube said.
“Having to deal with the virus is a double-edged sword. It can end Mkhize’s career, to the extent that it can end Ramaphosa’s. His reputation hangs on a cotton thread.”
Mkhize may have to wait for his time if he makes another attempt for the presidency. Ramaphosa, a lawyer and former union leader whose leadership has also been praised during the pandemic, is eligible to run for a second term as ANC leader in late 2022 and only has to resign as president in 2029.
“If Ramaphosa wants to continue for a second term, then Mkhize would be an ideal partner as he could secure the very important KwaZulu-Natal voting bloc,” said Susan Booysen, director of research at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection. in Johannesburg
If Ramaphosa resigned, “Mkhize would have a great deal of public support” to take over, he said.
