A strategic move

THE RECENT noise around Model C schools being anti-ANC by the former chairperson of the AU, Mrs Zuma, is attention seeking.

That so many important people responded to her off-the-cuff remarks suggest that there are many highly paid people with nothing to do but take offence.

What is obvious is that Mrs Zuma is in play for election to the ANC leadership. She will then be in a position to protect the interest of the Zuma clan and ensure the patronage stays in KwaZulu-Natal.

To achieve this, Mrs Zuma needs media coverage on a huge scale and the best way to achieve that is to make inciting statements that upset rich whites and inspire poor blacks.

Her speech was strategic as it achieved her goal of gaining attention.

Mrs Zuma does not need to supply evidence of anti-ANC activity at Model C schools as this is not the goal. Her objective of drawing the irritation of mostly whites makes her notable to the regular person who sees the manicured lawn of Model C schools.

The internal battle for the ANC leadership must and will be fought in the mass media because ANC branches across the nation cannot be reached as profoundly except via traditional media coverage.

The irony is that few people have any idea what a remarkable failure Mrs Zuma was as chairperson of the AU. She played practically no role in the campaign to prevent illegal migration to Europe, preventing wars across Africa or the Ebola virus that scared millions.

Then again, in the ANC, ability to do a good job does not mean much as your career is mostly reliant on your ability to survive.

For the record, since I survived lazy teachers, no facilities, and gangsters during my school tenure, I send my kids to Model C schools. In exchange, my family makes sacrifices and we have never been farther than Elgin for a holiday. Councillor Yagyah Adams Cape Muslim Congress