Booing shows Zuma is liability to ANC
THE ANC makes it very easy to criticise them.
Their hell bent attitude on protecting Jacob Zuma is unbelievable considering the flaws that Zuma has as a leader. A president cannot be booed twice in a very short space of time and continue positioning himself as the leader the country needs.
To do so is to simply disrespect voters’ clear expression of their dissatisfaction with a leader.
Last week, the nation witnessed another booing of the first citizen, which brought the memories of the Zuma booing at Nelson Mandela’s memorial. The people’s patience with this president is wearing thin.
As expected, someone always comes to Zuma’s defence and we hardly hear the president defending himself. This time, it was none other than Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula.
Mbalula lambasted those who booed Zuma as he walked onto the pitch at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening.
“These wolves hidden in the sheep skin were not victorious in their booing,” Mbalula began . . .“because they are hooligans, cowards of non-description.”
The former ANC Youth League leader did not stop there.
According to the Sowetan, Mbalula said “All of their plans, infused in Satanism at best, will never succeed in the future because their plans are nothing else but filled with evil . . .
“They will be defeated because Zuma will not diminish because of the booing.
“He is a tsunami, more than a hurricane,” Mbalula said.
Bra Fix should stick to lashing the Bafana Bafana team, which lost 5-0 to Brazil, not the citizens expressing their democratic right.
Frankly, the minister’s argument that people must engage JZ on ideas rather than booing is undermining at best.
The public knows that talking to Zuma directly is impossible.
And if one is lucky, it will take months if not years.
The only opportunity the public has to express their dissatisfaction is when the first citizen makes a public appearance. And with all the bodyguards, how are citizens supposed to engage JZ on ideas?
Chances of having a conversation are slim to none.
Had they tried to engage JZ on their dissatisfaction, they would have been told: “Comrade, this is not the place to engage such matters” and referred to someone who will refer them to someone else.
People are not fools.
They also cannot be blamed for voicing their frustration at inappropriate times as that is the only opportunity to be heard.
To align the people’s freedom of expression with Satanism, evil and is hooliganism is simply condescending to voters.
Shouldn’t the ANC and its leaders be begging us for our votes?
It is always interesting to watch ANC leaders tell voters that they are wrong in expressing their discontent rather than reflecting on how the leadership is failing its people.
Not once have we heard from JZ or Mbalula what the frustrations are that would warrant consecutive boos of a president.
The answer will point to one direction; Zuma must step down gracefully.
Currently, Zuma is the biggest liability of the ANC and certainly the biggest liability of the country.
The booing is simply putting the simplicity of the message that Zuma must go in one word.
Let the people shout: “Boo”.