A common question asked by the chattering classes is why South Africans have not taken to the streets en masse to protest against the appalling failure of government to meet the most basic needs of the people who live in what is the continent’s wealthiest nation.
The only time that South Africans were galvanised into collective action on a national scale was during the #ZumaMustFall protests in 2017. As the party was approaching its national conference, that moment was pivotal for the ANC to recognise how the corruptible one and his coterie were turning public opinion against it.