President Cyril Ramaphosa will use this week's BRICS Summit to position himself as a global statesman and a shoo-in for a second term after the 2024 election. With an expected 40 heads of state jetting into Johannesburg, Ramaphosa wants to make clear his intention to fight and win next year's election for the ANC.

Sandton in Johannesburg is getting a spit, polish and shine to host the summit where BRICS countries want to establish a voice to end the Ukraine war, discuss expansion of the five-country bloc and mull a currency to challenge the US dollar's global economic hegemony.

The jury is out on the efficacy of the plans. President Cyril Ramaphosa will be looking to build his somewhat battered global profile. More importantly, he wants to make clear to South African power blocs and the public that he aims to fight the 2024 election to win a second term and establish a governing reputation that has evaded him since he became President in 2018.

Early in 2023, a narrative developed in political circles that he was tired and "quietly quitting" (See News24's Qaanitah Hunter here). Deputy President Paul Mashatile was primed and ready to take over. Mashatile's team briefed constituencies, including the media and business, on how he would be an implementer (the implication being Ramaphosa was a ditherer).

The numbers bore out the narrative. Power cuts have been worse in 2023 than in any other year. The stalled reform of Transnet in a commodity boom bashed growth projections from post-Covd hopeful...