Complete the struggle – Zuma

Embattled ex-president goes on offensive, blaming colonialism and pushing for land expropriation

IN SIX months’ time former president Jacob Zuma will yet again head to court for his corruption trial. But until then, Zuma has called on all black people irrespective of their political party affiliation to unite in order to “complete their struggle for liberation and transformation”, including land expropriation.

Addressing hundreds of his supporters outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court after his case was postponed, Zuma said that defeating apartheid did not mean freedom as there was still colonialism to be fought.

“I know that when I say this, there are those who are going to accuse me of racism. From who was the land taken away? Wasn’t it stolen from black people? Who is without land in South Africa? Is it not a black person?

“There is nothing wrong about telling the truth, that as black people, who are a majority, we are subjected to poverty as we are not in charge of the economy,” he said.

He made a brief appearance in court before Judge Isaac Madondo postponed the case to May 20 in order to give the prosecuting team time to file a responding affidavit opposing Zuma’s application for the permanent stay of prosecution.

His co-accused, French arms company Thales, also applied for the case to be struck off the roll.

Among Zuma’s supporters in court were former North West premier and ANC provincial secretary Supra Mahumapelo, Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association leader Carl Niehaus, former Cosatu president S’dumo Dlamini and former communications minister Faith Muthambi.

Zuma gave supporters a history of how the continent was colonised.

“Europeans met in Germany and conspired to move to Africa to subdivide the continent among themselves, and they call the pieces of land colonies. They took everything, including our political power, economic power and land.

“There are companies that are exporting the African economy under company law. They just take gold, diamonds and everything from underground, and you can never stop them because of the laws that were passed without us,” he said.

He said freedom fighters made a mistake by only “decolonising politics, they left other things still colonised”.

Despite arms deal-related corruption charges against him, which his supporters attribute to the party’s internal “witch-hunt” against him, Zuma said he would continue to vote for the ANC.

“Never stop voting for the ANC because it is the one thing that led the liberation struggle in this country.

“Do you see how I speak about the ANC? Then there are people who are saying I am not a good ANC leader,” he said.

Zuma said the ANC should make sure to win a two-thirds majority during next year’s general elections.

“Therefore the ANC should be more strong than before. We should know who are our friends among political parties.

“If we can’t win the two-thirds majority, we should approach those friendly parties to help us get this two-thirds, because there are things that we still have to change,” he said.

He specifically spoke to Black First Land First leader Andile Mngxitama, urging that he work with the ANC after the elections.

BRENTON GEACH THE government is spending more than R8 billion annually on the school feeding scheme, but regardless of its intended policy of using spending to overcome the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality, this appears not to be happening. School feeding at Windermere high school in Kensington; here Thandokazi Msali, a Grade 8 pupil enjoys her meal. |