Briefing | Dawdling and decay

Why this is South Africa’s most important election since 1994

It may force the country’s indecisive leader to make a fateful choice

A pensioneer in her home in Bioemfontein, South Africa
Photograph: Lindokuhle Sobekwa/Magnum
|CAPE TOWN

Since taking office in 2018, Cyril Ramaphosa has turned indecisiveness into an art form. No matter the problem, South Africa’s president will dither about the solution. Six years after pledging a “new dawn” he has yet to get to grips with the country’s multiple crises, including record unemployment, the highest murder rate in 20 years and widespread corruption.

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This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “Dawdling and decay”

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