Zuma outcome evokes mixed emotions
Before the motion of no-confidence was set to take place in Parliament against President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday, August 8, many South Africans were filled with a sense of hope for the country’s future.
Michelle Pienaar of the George Herald reported that even Facebook was buzzing about the fact that Zuma, who has been the president for eight years, was facing his eighth motion on the eighth day of the eighth month.
Pienaar also wrote that a total of 13 buses filled with excited DA members from the Southern Cape set off to Cape Town on Tuesday morning to join the anti-Zuma march in support of the motion in Parliament.
The failure of the vote, however, has brought many mixed emotions to citizens in general, including Knysna residents.
Hastings Mlenga, who sells African crafts near Woodmill Lane, said this failure was to be expected. “South Africa is the same as every other African country, the men in power do as they please. It also wouldn’t really help if Zuma had stepped down now because, (1) there is no suitable candidate to follow him in my opinion, and (2), he has f ***** the country up so badly already, the next person wouldn’t be able to just fall in and fix it. We should be patient till the next election and elect someone with a plan for the future,” he said.
Johan Bezuidenhout said he only heard about the motion over the radio on Monday, and completely missed it on Tuesday. “When I heard about it I hoped it would work, but now we can only hope for the best,” he said.
For Yahya Rautenbach, a musician, the failure of the motion proved his opinion that everything about politics should be changed as he thinks current politics is outdated.
“It’s all just a power play from politicians seeking out and trying to gain more power. Morals and ethics are actually the issue here, the rest is just nonsense,” he said.
Nicolette Fredericks said she was extremely disappointed about the motion failing. “I really don’t want him as our president. In the days before this government we never had trouble like this,” she said.
Other residents are either disappointed, or not interested at all.
The more elderly residents this journalist spoke to either had no comment or said they expected this to happen. One elderly lady who did not want to be photographed or identified said she knew this would happen and that the whole debacle was just nonsense.
A group of youths said that they weren’t even interested in politics and didn’t seem to care about the failed motion at all.