One summer evening in November 2008 a group of a few hundred artists gathered at Johannesburg’s Monte Casino to meet with ANC president Jacob Zuma.
Julius Malema, then the newly elected leader of the ANC Youth League, was given the honour to introduce the president to the acquiescent crowd.
When the usual sloganeering and salutations were out of the way, Malema began by telling the gathering that Zuma was a man of the people.
Although Malema said a whole lot more, there was one comment that stood out that night.
Comparing Zuma to Thabo Mbeki – who had been recalled some two months earlier – Malema said: “Zuma is one of us... He is not sophisticated like that other one ... to him economics means bread on the table.”
The jibe was well received by the adoring crowd, who cheered and clapped in tandem. Mbeki had always been accused of being an aloof snob – what with an economics degree from Sussex.
But therein lay the problem. The simple man has proved to be the ANC’s undoing. His failure to understand economics and other intricacies of governance have seen the ANC suffer its biggest electoral loss since the dawn of democracy.
Zuma is the one who fired a finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, causing the rand to tumble faster than an avalanche on Mount Everest, and arrogantly retorted that “the rand was falling all along”.
Now the ANC has to face the reality that they stand to govern in only four of the country’s eight metros. The City of Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay are in opposition hands, while Tshwane and the City of Joburg will likely end up under the leadership of a coalition between the DA and the EFF.
Not only did the ANC lose Cape Town to the DA, as was expected, but the party’s support continues to wane in that metro. It managed 24.3% in this election – declining from 32.8% in 2011. The DA’s support on the other hand continues to grow.
Coming down from the comfortable 60s in the previous election to a mere 41% in Nelson Mandela Bay will be a bitter pill to swallow for the ANC.
Tshwane and Johannesburg are no ordinary metros either. Not only is Tshwane the executive seat of government but Johannesburg is the country’s economic hub.
With those gone, what support is left for the ANC? The rural poor?
What modern party can rule the country merely on the mandate of the rural poor? What with the ANC styling itself as “the leader of society”?
But even the rural vote is no longer guaranteed for the ANC as Zuma has proved to be the complete opposite of the “people’s person” that he was being sold as.
In his own backyard, Nkandla, Zuma has lived under IFP rule for most of the time since the dawn of democracy. With a president on their doorstep, the residents of Nkandla have continuously rejected Zuma and his party. Even in this Wednesday’s local government election, the IFP was given the vote of confidence by the people of Nkandla to govern the rural municipality for the next five years.
If he cannot convince his own neighbours to vote for his party, why would the ANC think Zuma is capable of convincing anyone else?
To further understand Zuma’s erosive nature, the IFP (and this is a good thing for a vibrant democracy) has made a stunning comeback in KwaZulu-Natal – garnering almost 19%, up from 15.8% in 2011.
In Nkandla particularly, the voters had left Mangosuthu Buthelezi’a party to join Zanele Magwaza’s National Freedom Party (NFP). But when the NFP, as a result of its internal ructions, failed to register in these elections, the voters chose the IFP rather than voting for Zuma’s party.
In 2011, the ANC-NFP coalition ruled Nkandla for a short while before the coalition collapsed, giving the IFP – which had obtained 46% in that election – an opportunity to bounce back and lead the municipality.
This time around, the IFP was given a clear mandate by the community of Nkandla and won the municipality by an impressive 54%.
This suggests that, contrary to popular belief, the people of Nkandla are equally disgusted by the unbridled corruption that has thrived under Zuma’s presidency. They too are tired of the incessant stories about Zuma’s dodgy relationship with the Gupta family, the erosion of governance in key state parastatals, abuse of power by the Hlaudi Motsoenengs of this world and contempt for the country’s constitution by Zuma.
The ANC deserves no sympathy, they have brought this on themselves. They elected a flawed leader knowing fully well that he did not represent the best interests of the party.
Malema, who once sang Zuma’s praises, is ready to go into bed with the DA to dislodge the ANC from power in the three contested metros – Nelson Mandela Bay, Tshwane and Joburg.
Malema, like Zwelinzima Vavi, Blade Nzimande and others, was discarded by Zuma when he got into power. Loyalty is a word that does not exist in Zuma’s vocabulary.
The outcome of this election was not just a denunciation of the ANC by the black middle-class voters, but also the rejection of Zuma and all that he represents.
Going forward, the ANC will realise that “dabbing” alone is not enough to atone for Zuma’s sins and his mismanagement of the country.
But credit must also be given to DA leader Mmusi Maimane who managed grow his party from 23% in 2011 to 26% this year’s local government election.
The ANC under Zuma has lost all credibility and his continued stay can only harm the party further. After such a poor showing in this election, December 2017 is a long way off until the next ANC national conference.
If anyone deserves a recall it is him.
If the ANC cares about its future it will ask Zuma to step down or fire him. For the ANC to survive it needs new leadership as soon as possible. It needs a leadership that is young, in line with local and global trends, and one that is seen to be against corruption and maladministration.
It needs a leadership that can make South Africans believe once again that tomorrow will be better than today.
With the SA Reserve Bank projecting a 0% economic growth this year, it cannot get any worse for Zuma. The economy has lost more jobs than it has created, under his watch.
With Zuma in charge, there is now even less bread on the table for the poor - if one excludes social grants.
Ailing ANC has to recall false ‘people’s president’
Julius Malema, then the newly elected leader of the ANC Youth League, was given the honour to introduce the president to the acquiescent crowd.
When the usual sloganeering and salutations were out of the way, Malema began by telling the gathering that Zuma was a man of the people.
Although Malema said a whole lot more, there was one comment that stood out that night.
Comparing Zuma to Thabo Mbeki – who had been recalled some two months earlier – Malema said: “Zuma is one of us... He is not sophisticated like that other one ... to him economics means bread on the table.”
The jibe was well received by the adoring crowd, who cheered and clapped in tandem. Mbeki had always been accused of being an aloof snob – what with an economics degree from Sussex.
But therein lay the problem. The simple man has proved to be the ANC’s undoing. His failure to understand economics and other intricacies of governance have seen the ANC suffer its biggest electoral loss since the dawn of democracy.
Zuma is the one who fired a finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, causing the rand to tumble faster than an avalanche on Mount Everest, and arrogantly retorted that “the rand was falling all along”.
Now the ANC has to face the reality that they stand to govern in only four of the country’s eight metros. The City of Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay are in opposition hands, while Tshwane and the City of Joburg will likely end up under the leadership of a coalition between the DA and the EFF.
Not only did the ANC lose Cape Town to the DA, as was expected, but the party’s support continues to wane in that metro. It managed 24.3% in this election – declining from 32.8% in 2011. The DA’s support on the other hand continues to grow.
Coming down from the comfortable 60s in the previous election to a mere 41% in Nelson Mandela Bay will be a bitter pill to swallow for the ANC.
Tshwane and Johannesburg are no ordinary metros either. Not only is Tshwane the executive seat of government but Johannesburg is the country’s economic hub.
With those gone, what support is left for the ANC? The rural poor?
What modern party can rule the country merely on the mandate of the rural poor? What with the ANC styling itself as “the leader of society”?
But even the rural vote is no longer guaranteed for the ANC as Zuma has proved to be the complete opposite of the “people’s person” that he was being sold as.
In his own backyard, Nkandla, Zuma has lived under IFP rule for most of the time since the dawn of democracy. With a president on their doorstep, the residents of Nkandla have continuously rejected Zuma and his party. Even in this Wednesday’s local government election, the IFP was given the vote of confidence by the people of Nkandla to govern the rural municipality for the next five years.
If he cannot convince his own neighbours to vote for his party, why would the ANC think Zuma is capable of convincing anyone else?
To further understand Zuma’s erosive nature, the IFP (and this is a good thing for a vibrant democracy) has made a stunning comeback in KwaZulu-Natal – garnering almost 19%, up from 15.8% in 2011.
In Nkandla particularly, the voters had left Mangosuthu Buthelezi’a party to join Zanele Magwaza’s National Freedom Party (NFP). But when the NFP, as a result of its internal ructions, failed to register in these elections, the voters chose the IFP rather than voting for Zuma’s party.
In 2011, the ANC-NFP coalition ruled Nkandla for a short while before the coalition collapsed, giving the IFP – which had obtained 46% in that election – an opportunity to bounce back and lead the municipality.
This time around, the IFP was given a clear mandate by the community of Nkandla and won the municipality by an impressive 54%.
This suggests that, contrary to popular belief, the people of Nkandla are equally disgusted by the unbridled corruption that has thrived under Zuma’s presidency. They too are tired of the incessant stories about Zuma’s dodgy relationship with the Gupta family, the erosion of governance in key state parastatals, abuse of power by the Hlaudi Motsoenengs of this world and contempt for the country’s constitution by Zuma.
The ANC deserves no sympathy, they have brought this on themselves. They elected a flawed leader knowing fully well that he did not represent the best interests of the party.
Malema, who once sang Zuma’s praises, is ready to go into bed with the DA to dislodge the ANC from power in the three contested metros – Nelson Mandela Bay, Tshwane and Joburg.
Malema, like Zwelinzima Vavi, Blade Nzimande and others, was discarded by Zuma when he got into power. Loyalty is a word that does not exist in Zuma’s vocabulary.
The outcome of this election was not just a denunciation of the ANC by the black middle-class voters, but also the rejection of Zuma and all that he represents.
Going forward, the ANC will realise that “dabbing” alone is not enough to atone for Zuma’s sins and his mismanagement of the country.
But credit must also be given to DA leader Mmusi Maimane who managed grow his party from 23% in 2011 to 26% this year’s local government election.
The ANC under Zuma has lost all credibility and his continued stay can only harm the party further. After such a poor showing in this election, December 2017 is a long way off until the next ANC national conference.
If anyone deserves a recall it is him.
If the ANC cares about its future it will ask Zuma to step down or fire him. For the ANC to survive it needs new leadership as soon as possible. It needs a leadership that is young, in line with local and global trends, and one that is seen to be against corruption and maladministration.
It needs a leadership that can make South Africans believe once again that tomorrow will be better than today.
With the SA Reserve Bank projecting a 0% economic growth this year, it cannot get any worse for Zuma. The economy has lost more jobs than it has created, under his watch.
With Zuma in charge, there is now even less bread on the table for the poor - if one excludes social grants.
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