Durban - President Jacob Zuma’s whirlwind campaign to explain the crisis facing the ANC to ordinary members in KwaZulu-Natal, is an attempt to shift the blame from himself and to externalise the party’s problems.
That is the view of a local political analyst following a weekend when Zuma addressed thousands of party supporters in Pietermaritzburg on Friday and in KwaDukuza on Saturday during a meeting termed the “cadres forum”.
The visit to the province is the second in nearly as many weeks. He recently visited Edumbe after the ANC gained control there for the first time in the recent local government elections.
Many showed up at the meetings this weekend wearing T-shirts with the “hands off my president” logo.
“In the last two public appearances, it’s clear that he is trying to take the focus away from himself and paint himself as a victim and trying to buy sympathy from supporters,” said political analyst Protas Madlala.
“This is not going to work because even the most ordinary people in the street are questioning that this time,” said Madlala.
Zuma was in his element as he appealed to his supporters. He delivered his entire address in Zulu and for English translations he “consulted” those seated next to him, because he was “not educated”.
The visits, he said, were meant to be frank discussions about the real causes of problems facing the party. But he could not speak frankly owing to the presence of the media, he said.
Zuma highlighted many problems which he said were central to the ANC’s turmoil. He said the party faced something that most liberation movements faced after 20 years in power, and assured party members it would pass.
He said unnamed foreign countries were funding locals to destabilise the country because they were unhappy that the country was a member of Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
Chief among the problems, he said, was that the government did not control the economy and was open to being manipulated by those with money.
He said there were three pillars that secured the country and held it together - political power, economic power and security of the state.
He said so far, the government only held political power, while economic power was controlled by someone else.
“If you go to all the countries across the world, the people there hold the economic power. If you go to Britain, the British have the power, if you go even to African countries, the people there hold the power. It’s only here where the people hold no economic power.”
He said because of this economic imbalance, his government came under attack, as those with money were using it to manipulate the people.
“Do you still remember the firing of then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene?
“You make a decision and they (those with money) were so unhappy saying change this, and it became clear that if the decisions were not changed they would actually burn the country,” he said in Pietermaritzburg.
ANC provincial chairman Sihle Zikalala took issue with rumours that some in the party were unhappy with support for another KZN candidate to take over from Zuma.
“When we elected Mandela we did not say Tambo was from the Eastern Cape, and when we elected Mbeki to take over from Mandela, we did not say Mandela was from the Eastern Cape, that was not a consideration,” he said.
Madlala said the Zuma name would be a problem for Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, if she were nominated.
“People are tired of anything linked to the Zuma name. There might be no blemish on Dlamini-Zuma, but people do not want anything from that dynasty.”
The Mercury