Zuma wants ‘certain hurdles’ in constitution changed
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma yesterday called on his party supporters to ensure the ANC won more than twothirds of the votes in the upcoming general election, as this would help him introduce amendments to the country’s constitution.
Addressing hundreds of ANC loyalists in Kanyamazane, outside Nelspruit, as part of the ANC’s 102nd birthday celebrations, Zuma made it clear he wanted changes to the constitution. He would not, however, say what in the country’s founding document he wanted changed.
“We want a huge majority this time because we want to change certain things that couldn’t be changed with a small majority so that we move forward because there are certain hurdles,” Zuma told hundreds gathered outside KaNyamazane stadium.
He was not available to explain his remarks after his address.
When ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu was approached for clarity on Zuma’s remarks, he said: “I am not the one who was making the speech. Ask him. It is unfair for you to ask us to decode someone else’s speech”.
The president’s remarks are likely to spark controversy especially in opposition circles where, for a number of years, there have been suspicions certain leaders of the ANC were not happy with some of the civil lib- erties contained in the constitution, and frustrated by the power it gave to the judiciary over the executive.
Buoyed by the warm reception from the crowd, Zuma appeared relaxed and confident of securing a second term as president despite calls for him to step down over the controversial R206-million security upgrade at his private residence in Nkandla.
Assuring the audience the ANC would win the elections, Zuma said he wanted the party to win 90% of the votes in Mpumalanga so that he could return to the area and slaughter cattle for party supporters. “If you get below 90% I won’t come back,” he said.
However critics have predicted that the ANC is likely to, for the first time since 1994, get less than 60% of the votes at national level and suffer major losses in several provinces.
The party faces discontent even among its own followers who are not happy about the Nkandla scandal.
Zuma’s detractors have been calling for his resignation since snippets of public protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on Nkandla were leaked to the media. But a confident Zuma hit back at his critics yesterday, telling party supporters that the ANC would govern “for ever and ever”.
“Whether they like it or not we’ll continue to govern.
“They always say the ANC won’t win this time. When they say that they are daydreaming. Because when a person is dreaming while walking it means he’s unstable.”
Zuma has previously come under heavy criticism by religious leaders for claiming that the ANC will “rule until Jesus comes”.
Zuma said the recent matric results were a sign that the ANC was “working hard” at improving the lives of South Africans.
In a veiled attack on the DA, which has called for an independent audit of the matric results, Zuma said those who questioned the outcomes were undermining black people.
“That’s an old mentality that black people are not smart. If they excel in their school-work we must check why and how they passed.”