WITH 20 years of democracy celebrations drawing closer, political analyst and journalist Max du Preez has launched his new book – A Rumour of Spring – as a guide for citizens to understand the political situation and what the future might hold.
Speaking at a breakfast at Centurion Mall on Wednesday, Du Preez, also a columnist in the Pretoria News, discussed his book and his intention to point out what the major problems in the country were and to examine Jacob Zuma’s presidency along with the legacies of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki.
“There is uncertainty about politics under South Africans. There is a lot of noise and people are confused and scared,” said Du Preez of the need for a simple guide to the political situation.
The book discusses the state of the ruling party and the opposition.
Of next year’s elections, Du Preez said they would be the most important since 1994 as they would determine Zuma’s future in the ANC.
“There is major dissatisfaction with Zuma both in the party and in the country,” he said.
Du Preez also delves into the Marikana massacre and how it changed people’s faith in the ruling party.
“South Africa has hit a wobble at the age of 20. I describe the wobble and dispel the myths,” Du Preez said.
The author believes the book is balanced between his own opinion and solutions as provided in the National Development Plan, which he strongly supports.
In the book, Du Preez says he explains to the voters what the problems are.
From there the voter will ask the right questions and expect solutions.
“We have reached the end of a cycle that started in Polokwane in 2007. We went downhill from there and now the tide is turning,” he said.
The main problems Du Preez discusses are South Africa’s poor education system and the poor leadership of the ANC under Zuma.
“The latter is not hard to solve. We can vote them out,” Du Preez said, adding the education system would take generations to fix.
“It’s catastrophic, tragic and a scandal,” he said of the state of education.
Du Preez described the Marikana massacre as a big symbolic event which showed an “unemotional, selfish and corrupt ANC”.
“The ANC will feel the shock waves of this even after the election,” Du Preez said.
Other issues Du Preez tackles are crime and policing, land reform and the justice system to which he offers alternative solutions and ideas.
He ends with an analogy of water scarcity in Mumbai in India.
Because there was no water, a new dam was built but a young researcher found the dam was unnecessary and all that had to be done was to fix the leaking pipes and taps in the city.
“We need to fix our leaking taps and pipes then there will be no need for grand projects.” - Pretoria News