IT was with great relief here at the Mahogany Ridge that we learnt that the ANC was not going to rubbish Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's final report into the security upgrades at President Jacob Zuma's private residence at Nkandla.

As secretary general Gwede Mantashe put it, "The ANC condemns the mischievous and downright false assertions by some political pundits and opposition politicians that the ANC intends to either ignore the Public Protector's report or undermine the validity of her findings. 

"We are asking everyone to subject the report to objective assessment and make an informed judgment about it."

And why not? The ANC has already made its own informed judgment and it is this: Mandonsela's findings, according to Mantashe, confirm the inter-ministerial task team whitewash led by Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi which suggested that unscrupulous developers and construction companies specialising in culverts and chicken runs have taken an innocent and naive government to the cleaners. Unsurprisingly, the SA Communist Party has adopted the same position. 

Both the ANC and the SACP have questioned why the report was released just seven weeks before the elections. The timing, Mantashe said, "remains a source of concern in terms of the disruptive effect it will have on the election campaigns of all parties. We have already observed from the reaction of many of the opposition parties that the report has provided some ammunition to many of these parties that have nothing to offer to the electorate."

But, if not now, then when should the findings have been released?

There is perhaps never a good time for bad news - and, make no mistake, the Nkandla report is bad news. It's bad for Zuma, bad for his government, and bad for the party. 

While there is a giddy buzz in the air, especially down at the police stations where criminal charges have been laid against Zuma, and much prattle of impeachment, we should remind ourselves that Madonsela's previous findings have hardly bothered the ANC in the past. 

Analysts like Nic Borain point to her rulings against former national police commissioner Bheki Cele, Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson and former Communications Minister Dina Pule. All of whom are high on the ANC's election list.

"The party will lose votes as a result of this," Borain said, "but we think it was losing votes anyway because of Zuma's general probity." One upshot, he added, is that Zuma may be sidelined "by around 2016" by an ANC "old guard" that will rally to save the brand, as it were.

Until then (and moving on), another consequence of the Nkandla hullaballoo is that it has deflected attention from Helen Zille's controversial rejection of Tony Ehrenreich's challenge to a public debate.

We should remember that it was the Premier herself who had placed "debates" on the national agenda by daring Zuma to go toe-to-toe with her live on television and discuss the economy and job creation. 

The President is no fool and it was, of course, not unexpected that he should have turned down Zille's offer. His métier, after all, is that of song and dance and, as this column suggested last week, it would have been a much fairer contest had the two squared up against each other for a half-naked stick fight.

Ehrenreich, on the other hand, seems to have little in the way of expertise in anything. That, at least, is the popular opinion with the Ridge regulars.

But, to give him his due, Cosatu's provincial secretary refuses to let his own shortcomings and inadequacies derail his ceaseless quest to expose racism wherever he imagines it. His own sex life has reportedly suffered terribly as a result and it is said that the trembling hands and the shrill, manic edge in his speech are now quite pronounced. Down on the Foreshore, on those rare days that he does turn up for council business, City of Cape Town employees can talk of little else.

Ehrenreich, I understand, had compiled a list of topics that he wanted to debate with the DA leader. It was rather long - unlike "economy and jobs", which is fairly to the point - and guffed on incomprehensibly about Zille's "toxic cynicism [and] its impact on the separation of many whites from the construction of a SA incorporated" and her "personal inability to unite and work with those who disagree with [her] policies". 

But reading between the lines you could see Ehrenreich had serious issues - chief among them being that Zille was the better politician. Perhaps she considers herself above such pettiness, but I wonder if I'm alone in thinking the opportunity to rub his face in a mess of his own making has been squandered. 

This article first appeared in the Weekend Argus.

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