Your time is up, Mr Zuma

ANC president Jacob Zuma is setting a bad precedent by trying to cling to power, as well as playing the ethnic card by trying to keep KwaZulu-Natal in the leadership of the ANC. By suggesting that there should be no winner-takes-all approach to the leadership contest he is paving the way for his former wife, in case she loses to whoever wins the ANC presidency. He wants protection from her as he faces charges of corruption.

This man’s time is up — he must not try to dictate who should succeed him. He must just vacate the presidency the same way his predecessors did. Zuma’s shenanigans should teach the ANC that a person who faces criminal charges should not stand for the lowest public office, let alone the presidency.

In the run-up to the policy conference, some ANC leaders could be heard saying that Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane overstepped her mandate by recommending that the Constitution be amended to change the mandate of the South African Reserve Bank, which is privately owned but enjoys constitutional protection. Yet this issue was debated at the policy conference, which shows that the ownership of the Bank is relevant.

The ANC must nationalise or alter the mandate of the Bank, as France did in 1936 and Britain in 1946. The central banks of these two countries were nationalised, yet they remain independent. SA’s Reserve Bank is the only central bank in the world that is privately owned and has constitutionally entrenched mandate. Why shouldn’t it be accountable to the people and Constitution of SA?

Sam Ditshego Kagiso