Act wisely

FOR A minute or two in probably one of the hardest weeks of his life since the arrival of democracy in South Africa, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was made to feel appreciated.

Seated at the funeral service of Struggle veteran Ahmed Kathrada on Wednesday, Gordhan was asked to stand by Neeshan Balton, the executive director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. Then Balton said: “No matter what position you hold, you have upheld the values of Kathrada.”

The crowd of mourners rose and applauded him, and after he took his seat, Gordhan could be seen wiping away tears. Politics can be a cruel occupation. Gordhan, by all accounts a decent person and a well-respected minister of finance, is what is known in political parlance as a “dead man walking”.

PRESIDENT JACOB Zuma wants to sack him because he and Gordhan have not been on speaking terms for months. Their relationship has broken down irretrievably.

Given these facts, can Zuma be blamed for wanting to appoint a new minister of finance?

Those who vote for the ANC do so for a good reason. For all the criticism that can be aimed at the party, especially its tardiness in keeping its election promises, it still – eventually – tends to deliver what families living in some of the most rundown communities need: taps, houses, transport – simple things.

The ANC understands its electorate, no one more so than Zuma. And that is why Zuma, the devil of the urban areas, becomes the sweet deliverer of the poorest rural outposts.

Of course, in the world of globalisation, a president’s reputation, especially in a developing country, can provoke the ire of ratings agencies. And this can have a detrimental effect on a country’s economy.

We hope that those involved in the leadership battles of the ANC realise that how they campaign and what they decide on will affect everyone in the country.

Is it too much for us to ask them to act wisely, and with restraint?