SA salvation now out of ANC hands

President Jacob Zuma doesn’t care about the people or the country or even the ANC.

That much is apparent from his latest cabinet reshuffle which appears intended to strengthen his hold on the party and state and also ensure that his preferred successor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, emerges triumphant at the ANC elective conference in December

Any suggestion that he cares about the welfare of the people would have been erased by the latest reshuffle, in which he left never-do-wells such as Faith Muthambi and Bathabile Dlamini, in their posts. It was not about performance.

Clearly with an eye on the conference, Zuma shored up his position in Mpumalanga by elevating an obscure provincial party loyalist, Bongani Bongo to the post of state security minister. This masterstroke should keep the provincial governor, David Mabuza, in the Zuma camp, which means in the Dlamini-Zuma column.

Come December, Mpumalanga, which has suddenly and magically become the second largest ANC region in terms of the number of voting delegates, can be relied upon to vote for Dlamini-Zuma. A win for her is almost certain to keep Zuma in charge of the country, and crucially, able to dispense taxpayer-funded patronage to family and cronies, until the end of his term in 2019.

It seems it’s all over bar the shouting for the Dlamini-Zuma camp and it will take a miracle for her main rival, Cyril Ramaphosa, to win the party presidency.

The appointment of Zuma loyalist David Mahlobo to the energy ministry appears intended to achieve another goal; the finalisation of the nuclear build project with the Russians, even if the country is left bankrupt in the process. What is to be done?

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said Zuma had not consulted the party leadership but merely informed it about the cabinet reshuffle. This means Zuma has gone rogue and become master of the ANC, not its servant. The party exists to serve Zuma and can no longer claim to be a principled leader of society.

Since the ANC has failed to prevent our country from being usurped by an individual, it follows that our salvation can only be found outside the party. It is now up to every South African and civil society to save our country.