Unwarranted gratitude to JZ

“THANK you”: these are the two most important words in human relations.

These two words articulate a sense of gratitude and appreciation in response to some act of kindness, heroism or nobility.

Upon the resignation of the former president of the country, Jacob Zuma, the ANC felt it appropriate to thank him for “his outstanding contribution”. Addressing the media after Zuma’s resignation, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte remarked that “Zuma leaves a legacy in many critical areas” and was propoor. The secretary-general, Ace Magashule, went to the extent of saying Zuma had done nothing wrong.

Tying itself into a further knot, the ANC went on to list what it regards as Zuma’s record of delivery in government, which includes the conceptualisation and delivery of the National Development Plan. Such is the desperation of the ANC to defend their own that they fail to recognise that conceptualisation does not equate to implementation, as captured in the adage that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”.

Since its launch in 2012, the NDP has been gathering dust, owing mainly to the diversion of government focus occasioned by Zuma’s toxic influence.

The roll-out of an antiretroviral programme is also listed as one of Zuma’s achievements in government. Such an assertion is not borne out by fact, as the antiretroviral breakthrough came through the valiant efforts of civil society such as the Treatment Action Campaign. More than anything, Zuma took the struggle against HIV/Aids backwards through his sexual escapades and shower comments.

On land reform, it took Zuma a full term and almost two years into his second term to start pronouncing on the land question. He used the genuine hunger for land and redress to sow racial divisions among the South African population. This was at about the same time he started peddling the Bell Pottinger-sponsored narrative of radical economic transformation and white monopoly capital.

During his State Of the Nation address, President Cyril Ramaphosa took the gratitude note an octave higher by thanking Zuma for his “service”, to boos from opposition members and guests. The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Task Team, not surprisingly, joined this chorus of gratitude and praised Zuma for being a courageous leader who helped poor South Africans. How he helped them is anyone’s guess.

Not to be left out, the then finance minister, during his 2018 Budget presentation, also thanked Zuma for his “leadership during the Budget process”. As the chief architect of state capture through his facilitation of the naturalisation of the Guptas while he was Home Affairs minister, Gigaba can be expected to sing the praises of his former boss.

However, the reality is that Zuma brought South Africa to the brink of an economic precipice through his outsourcing of his executive functions to his Gupta friends.

Based on the above, it becomes clear that the expression of gratitude to Zuma is misplaced and undeserved. Rather than placating Zuma with unwarranted gratitude, the ANC should concern itself with undoing his cataclysmic legacy.

A good start would be to apologise to South Africans for the poor judgement that led to the election of a flawed individual such as Zuma to the highest office in the land.

The two most appropriate words to utter to Zuma would be: “Good riddance”.

The reality is that he brought SA to the brink of economic ruin

Klipspruit, Soweto