If Jacob Zuma did not have stupid advisors, they would have forced him to read an important book before he became president of South Africa in 2009: How to Run a Country by Marcus Tullius Cicero.
Here is the advice Zuma would have gleaned from Cicero’s book: “The most important thing for public officials to avoid is even the suspicion of greed and personal gain.”
We moderns tend to believe that our political problems are new, and that ancients have little to teach us.
Yet, the political problems that confront us today also confronted Cicero when he was head of the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC.
In addition to their salaries, presidents and ministers are given free houses, free cars and free food in order to render them invulnerable to corruption by wealthy people who tempt them with fancy things.
The problem with greed is that it is insatiable. A stupid leader who has not read Cicero’s book wants more than what the state gives him for free.
As president, Jacob Zuma has a state mansion in Pretoria, a villa in Cape Town and another in Durban. Yet, the man continued to splash out R246-million on building an imposing rural palace in Nkandla.
Had Zuma read Cicero, he would have learnt that “there is no greater vice than greed, especially among those governing our country. For to use public office for personal gain is not only immoral, but also criminal and just plain wicked”.
Zuma got himself into trouble simply because he is ignorant and greedy. The greatest lesson South Africans must learn is that ignorant leaders are dangerous.
When they have messed up, ignorant leaders continue to defy legitimate institutions that have the authority to take corrective action. This is how Zuma treated the Public Protector.
In his treatise on politics, Greek philosopher Aristotle observes that “in a constitutional state the good citizen knows both how to rule and how to obey”.
A bad citizen, and indeed a terrible leader, Zuma knows neither how to rule nor how to obey. He has ruined our country, destroyed institutions of governance, and has allowed his stomach to take charge of his life.
It is a curse for a country to be led by someone like Zuma. The judgement handed down by the Constitutional Court yesterday is therefore a blessing to a country that has for far too long been saddled with such a dodgy president.
We must thank the judges for delivering a judgement that makes it possible for our country to rid itself of the curse at the helm of our state. The judgement is unambiguous: the president has failed to uphold the constitution.
The ANC has no choice but to fire Zuma and replace him with a dignified leader who can restore the confidence of all South Africans and that of the international community. We have been a laughing stock for far too long.
Should the ANC not act, South Africans will be left with no option but to organise, in their millions, and take to the street – every day until Zuma the monster is gone.
It is high time that South Africans demonstrate that, unlike Zimbabweans, they shall never allow their country to be ruined by one man. South Africa comes first, and Zuma last.
If the ANC does not act, there shall be serious consequences for both country and party.
The semblance of government legitimacy that is left will evaporate in less than a week, and henceforth the public will look upon state institutions with disdain. In all likelihood, there will be no order in parliament for as long as the ANC continues to protect Zuma.
The greatest beneficiary of the ensuing chaos would be the EFF, since the public would view the red brigade as the only saviour following the total discrediting of the ANC.
Such loss of confidence in the ANC would, without doubt, manifest itself in the results of the upcoming local government elections, where the electorate would resolve to teach the ANC a lesson.
In short, the ANC has no choice – fire Zuma now, or face the real prospect of disorder in society, or being kicked out of power by a fed-up electorate.
Prince Mashele is a enior research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Governance and Innovation, University of Pretoria
OPINION: Fire Zuma now, ANC – or feel it in the election
Here is the advice Zuma would have gleaned from Cicero’s book: “The most important thing for public officials to avoid is even the suspicion of greed and personal gain.”
We moderns tend to believe that our political problems are new, and that ancients have little to teach us.
Yet, the political problems that confront us today also confronted Cicero when he was head of the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC.
In addition to their salaries, presidents and ministers are given free houses, free cars and free food in order to render them invulnerable to corruption by wealthy people who tempt them with fancy things.
The problem with greed is that it is insatiable. A stupid leader who has not read Cicero’s book wants more than what the state gives him for free.
As president, Jacob Zuma has a state mansion in Pretoria, a villa in Cape Town and another in Durban. Yet, the man continued to splash out R246-million on building an imposing rural palace in Nkandla.
Had Zuma read Cicero, he would have learnt that “there is no greater vice than greed, especially among those governing our country. For to use public office for personal gain is not only immoral, but also criminal and just plain wicked”.
Zuma got himself into trouble simply because he is ignorant and greedy. The greatest lesson South Africans must learn is that ignorant leaders are dangerous.
When they have messed up, ignorant leaders continue to defy legitimate institutions that have the authority to take corrective action. This is how Zuma treated the Public Protector.
In his treatise on politics, Greek philosopher Aristotle observes that “in a constitutional state the good citizen knows both how to rule and how to obey”.
A bad citizen, and indeed a terrible leader, Zuma knows neither how to rule nor how to obey. He has ruined our country, destroyed institutions of governance, and has allowed his stomach to take charge of his life.
It is a curse for a country to be led by someone like Zuma. The judgement handed down by the Constitutional Court yesterday is therefore a blessing to a country that has for far too long been saddled with such a dodgy president.
We must thank the judges for delivering a judgement that makes it possible for our country to rid itself of the curse at the helm of our state. The judgement is unambiguous: the president has failed to uphold the constitution.
The ANC has no choice but to fire Zuma and replace him with a dignified leader who can restore the confidence of all South Africans and that of the international community. We have been a laughing stock for far too long.
Should the ANC not act, South Africans will be left with no option but to organise, in their millions, and take to the street – every day until Zuma the monster is gone.
It is high time that South Africans demonstrate that, unlike Zimbabweans, they shall never allow their country to be ruined by one man. South Africa comes first, and Zuma last.
If the ANC does not act, there shall be serious consequences for both country and party.
The semblance of government legitimacy that is left will evaporate in less than a week, and henceforth the public will look upon state institutions with disdain. In all likelihood, there will be no order in parliament for as long as the ANC continues to protect Zuma.
The greatest beneficiary of the ensuing chaos would be the EFF, since the public would view the red brigade as the only saviour following the total discrediting of the ANC.
Such loss of confidence in the ANC would, without doubt, manifest itself in the results of the upcoming local government elections, where the electorate would resolve to teach the ANC a lesson.
In short, the ANC has no choice – fire Zuma now, or face the real prospect of disorder in society, or being kicked out of power by a fed-up electorate.
Prince Mashele is a enior research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Governance and Innovation, University of Pretoria
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