President Jacob Zuma's scandal-prone leadership was a gift to faded opposition parties who united and pushed very hard for his removal from power by hook or crook.

The ANC under his leadership spent most of their time defending him and subsequently giving room to the likes of the African Christian Democratic Party, Cope, DA, UDM, EFF, Freedom Front and the IFP to gain some lost ground.

Since the EFF came into the picture our politics has changed dramatically. Their militant and robust engagement has given the ANC a wake-up call. Opposition parties set aside their ideological differences and united around one common enemy - the ANC. They have united and are now eyeing the 2019 elections with the belief that they will form a coalition government. With the new ANC leadership moving at a slow pace to recall the president they have taken advantage of the situation and are now calling for his impeachment and for parliament to be dissolved for elections to be held.

But the question is: are they ready to run South Africa, since some of them are struggling to run the metros they co-govern? Are they going to survive the political landscape post-Zuma, since their topic was Zuma? Some smaller opposition parties will die a natural death when President Zuma is no longer their rallying point.

Lesego Raymond Shabangu

Soshanguve