Zuma’s race rants alarming

AT ELECTION time it is generally accepted that the turf on which contestants compete will get dirtier as mud is thrown from all directions, but President Jacob Zuma’s racially tinged rants on the campaign trail are highly alarming and lack imagination.

The ANC has always claimed that the opposition parties lack what it takes to win over a majority of voters because they only point out the perceived negatives about the ruling party.

Instead of articulating their own vision and trying to win voters on merit, the opposition would repeatedly disparage the ruling party, failing to come up with alternative solutions.

In the run-up to the August 3 local government elections, parties are telling voters what they stand for. Job creation, zero tolerance of corruption and measures to improve service delivery for their constituents are the top priorities for the candidates trying to woo voters.

In the final push to convince undecided voters, it remains to be seen if the president’s racetinged rants will prove to be more divisive or a strategy that will win votes for the ANC.

Zuma’s hammering of the opposition may galvanise some die-hard supporters but lacks the message that the unconverted and young voters may want to hear.

His messages appeal to the hate and fear among voters but strike a blow to SA’s campaign of racial integration. They have a polarising effect instead of offering hope.

It is also a lost opportunity for the president to say what the ruling party aims to deliver and to reinforce the messages in its radio and TV campaigns that the party is the one that brought SA freedom.