JZ must ‘stop playing victim’

WHILE the ANC refuses to be dragged into the latest saga involving former president Jacob Zuma and his 23-page letter, Cosatu says the former president should stop playing victim.

“Cosatu is not interested in this rewriting of history. We do not want to discuss issues of people who suffer from a persecution complex or a victim mentality. We are busy struggling to save the jobs of the real victims, workers who are losing jobs and salaries from many SOEs (state-owned enterprises) where Comrade Zuma’s friends, the Gupta family, left their corrupt fingerprints,” Cosatu’s spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla, said yesterday.

His comments follow a letter that was leaked in which Zuma accused the governing party of leaving him out to dry. The letter forms part of his speaking notes that he used during his recent meeting with the ANC’s Top Six.

Reacting to Zuma’s comments,, Pamla said: “A little bit of introspection on his part will go a long way to answering some of his questions.”

Those Zuma says sold him out include President Cyril Ramaphosa,, for cutting his funding for his corruption trial, as well as Inkosi Mandla Mandela for allegedly going to Qatar to plead with Zuma’s foreign associates to distance themselves from him.

“Notably, Mr President, you decided to let me deal with the personal costs order without your support. It cannot be suggested that you did not know that your decision would prejudice me.” He said Inkosi Mandela’s behaviour was aimed at strangling him.

Independent Media approached Inkosi Mandela for comment, but he had not responded by the time of publication.

ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said they had already met Zuma and publicly communicated the outcome of his meeting with the Top Six.

“There is no need to interrogate the matter again,” Mabe said when Independent Media asked him whether the party would probe who leaked the letter and with what intent.