Zuma needs to do what’s best for SA
MONDAY’S Daily News Editorial “Nkandla: a no-blame game” really highlights how the Zuma presidency has become engulfed in a private homestead which is totally beyond any average politician’s budget or comprehension.
For starters, it will be interesting to note the living areas of the current state-owned presidential residences, Dube (King’s) House, Genadendal and Mahlamba Ndlopfu.
In all probability if all three state residences are combined, Zuma’s palace floor area will probably be in excess of the above. Then what was the president observing during his visits to his homestead?
How was the floor area determined and did Zuma have no knowledge of the improvements, specifications and finishes and will he testify to it under oath on an affidavit. Not bad for one “who has sleepless nights” regarding poverty.
Strange as it may seem, apartheid-era prime minister BJ Vorster (who had his private residence at Oubos near Plettenberg Bay) had to resign simply because he knew of unauthorised expenditure regarding The Citizen newspaper and refused to act.
Incidentally, as minister of justice (in the apartheid era) during the Sobukwe and Rivonia trials, he had no personal VIP bodyguard. “I was still Minister of Justice, when I never had a bodyguard” pg 256, Vorster The Man (1977).
His biography excludes the info scandal, which engulfed his presidency, but this is an honest reflection of Afrikaner politics and a politician who, it can be argued, had a similar background to that of many of the current ministers including a jail sentence for political activities and a poor childhood.
Vorster addressed his colleagues as “comrades” (pg 101). “Comrades, please disperse and go back to your bungalows,” and was a pro-Nazi sympathiser (or anti-Britain) during his involvement during the Ossewa Brandwag (which had similar undertones to MK).
It is really sad that Zuma’s house has been a major source of controversial coverage and even during the arms deal, he apparently had his friends to finance his residence.
Ultimately Zuma must understand, his ascendancy to the No 1 job was on an anti-Mbeki ticket and he held the promise of a more responsive and attentive presidency.
It is no surprise that many, if not all, South Africans share a common resentment and the booing of Zuma was a minuscule reflection of this.
For the sake of the country, the Presidency and the ANC, President Zuma needs to be frank and honest and decide to do what is best for the country, which is obvious. MUHAMMAD I OMAR
Durban North HAS the passing of Madiba put the final nail in the coffin for the ailing ANC?
The liberation party, responsible for the Freedom Charter and the liberty and equality of South Africans, has since been tarnished and plagued by infighting, fragmentation, cronyism, corruption, textbook sagas, the Marikana tragedy, the threat of Numsa withdrawing from the tripartite alliance and the Nkandla debacle.
Once-loyal members of the party have become disillusioned.
The disdainful booing of President Jacob Zuma at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in Johannesburg, where Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu castigated the protesters, was a classic example of the crumbling liberation party’s waning support of Zuma’s leadership.
The proverbial saying is that a fish will rot from its head first, but does this analogy hold true for the ANC?
Is its “head” so rotten that it will lead to the ANC’s demise?
Surely, if that is true, then Madiba’s long walk to freedom was in vain.
We shall mourn the loss of a great leader, but must not lose faith. We must continue to hold fast to his invaluable legacy and life lessons.
The wounds of the recalling of former president Thabo Mbeki remain fresh in our minds. Zuma’s subsequent manipulative election to the presidency in his quest for power at all costs came to pass regardless of the alleged corruption charges levelled against him.
But once-loyal ANC supporters must not be underestimated.
Already there has been a mass exodus of young academic supporters lured to AgangSA and the Economic Freedom Fighters.
The ANC finds itself in the intensive care unit, and its life support mechanisms are under serious threat.
The DA has capitalised on the ANC’s waning support and exponentially increased its support base by enticing a growing number of black supporters, demystifying the myth that it is a purely white party looking after the needs of its white supporters.
The DA has a proven track record to manage well, and the Western Cape is a case in point to prove this fact.
Sadly, the lacklustre leadership by the ANC-led government may have already caused our beloved Madiba to turn in his grave, and the ANC’s national executive committee will have to take a firm decision in respect of Zuma remaining at its helm.
If not, with the rats abandoning ship, there are telltale signs that the ANC is sinking and that no rearrangement of the deckchairs will save it from a watery grave. MARK KLEINSCHMIDT
Kenwyn