'It's a fundamental misreading to put SA's malaise down to Zuma,' says Helen Zille

DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille has weighed in on claims former president Jacob Zuma wrecked SA during his tenure in office. 

At the weekend, Zille weighed in on the debate about Zuma from a 2014 opinion piece.

According to Zille, cadre deployment in the ANC started under former president Nelson Mandela and Zuma used it to “complete state capture”. 

“It is a fundamental misreading to put SA's malaise down to Zuma,” she said. 

“Cadre deployment started under Nelson Mandela, driven with aggressive BEE under [former president] Thabo Mbeki. Zuma used it to complete state capture. All a continuum of the national democratic revolution.”

Previously, Zille said state capture was “not a Zuma thing”.

She said President Cyril Ramaphosa's promise in the ANC's January 8 statement to end state capture is a joke.

“One of the most significant aspects to emerge from the ANC's deployment committee minutes is they reveal that 'state capture' was not a 'Zuma thing'. State capture, through the ANC's deployment committee, remains in full swing under the presidency of Cyril Ramaphosa.

“That is why I laughed out loud when I heard our president promise an end to state capture in the ANC's January 8 statement. He has no idea what the concept is,” she said.

Zille said if Ramaphosa was serious about ending state capture, he would disband the ANC's deployment committee and ensure that judges are appointed from the ranks of the country's most senior legal experts on the basis of their expertise.

“So don't be fooled when the president says he wants to end state capture. It is flourishing under his tenure.

“While [Jacob] Zuma was president, Ramaphosa chaired the deployment committee. Under Ramaphosa's presidency this job belongs to his deputy, David Mabuza. There is a long way to go in the battle against state capture.”