People’s hero now a villain

AAKASH Bramdeo, the Sunday Tribune editor, is of the view that we should not write off the ANC.

Its dramatic slide in the local elections could just have been a blip and it could bounce back with a vengeance. But the writing is on the wall. Or should we say, it’s on the Zuma poster?

His poster was put up high on the light pole, above all the others, with the hope that the new face of Jacob Zuma would brighten the prospects for the ANC in the local elections.

But little did the ANC realise that the more the voters saw the face of Zuma the more it reminded them of a corrupt president. The people’s hero had become the nation’s villian.

While the ANC will console itself that it is still the dominant party nationally, winning the most wards and municipalities, it must be worrying for the leadership that the victory came at a considerable cost to the party.

It was mauled by the DA and EFF, suffering its worst loss since sweeping to power so convincingly in 1995-1996 in the local government elections.

From 64.8 percent in the euphoric days of South Africa’s first democratic election, its support has now plunged to 54 percent.

Never did it dream it would lose Tshwane (Pretoria). Perhaps the biggest blow came when it lost Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth), the heart of the liberation movement.

Once it boasted absolute majorities in the municipalities, now it has to form coalitions with its enemies to run Joburg, Ekurhuleni and Rustenburg.

Then there was the humiliation of Nkandla. The R260 milllion mansion did little to enhance Zuma’s image. It only showed the great divide between a selfish and extravagant president and the poor, rural community.

And they expressed their deep resentment at the polls by giving the town back to the IFP. A setback for the ANC and a big slap in the face for Zuma. It would surely have wiped out his grin. Nkandla had come back to haunt him.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said the ANC would do a lot of introspection to find out what went wrong.

It had an opportunity to act against its recalcitrant leader who had abused his oath of office but it did not. Now it has paid the price. Zuma is the ANC’s albatross.

Any changes the ANC makes will only delay the inevitable.

The ANC’s star is fading. It peaked in 1996 and has nothing more to offer the country. It has nowhere to go but down. T MARKANDAN

Silverglen