Message to the South African opposition parties

While members of the South African ruling party (the ANC and Alliance) are reportedly living in opulence, the majority of South Africans live in abject poverty. The Times Live reports that a study found that among children under the age of ten, two out three are poor. The rising number of service delivery protests around the country paint a picture of dissatisfaction with the government’s failure to deliver proper services and alleviate poverty.

There has never been a better opportunity for opposition (political) parties in South Africa to step up their game than the present. Of course at the rate at which the ANC and their alliance partners are going at one another’s throats, this opportunity will get better until sanity prevails within the ruling party.

Opposition parties, in particular those who are predominantly Black and progressive, should hit the streets and talk to the poor and the downtrodden people of South Africa. These people are in the majority.

Their message to the people of South Africa should highlight the following
. That the poor are not to blame for the situation they find themselves in; and the power to change their social and economic milieu is in their hands.
· That the poor have as much right to opportunities of wealth as anybody else.
· That the poor deserve better, should get better treatment and can be treated as they deserve (better).
· That nobody, with or without struggle credentials, is better than the next by virtue of his connections to somebody or a group of people deemed important.
· That the government is their servant and not the other way around.
· That the government serves at their mercy and they reserve the right and most importantly the power to change the status quo.
· That they are not helpless and can remove the government from power.
· That they should not be afraid to let the government know this; in fact they should threaten them with removal from power.
· The message of the opposition to the poor should be to educate them about the power at their disposal – the VOTE.
· That their willingness to unite in sit-ins, strikes, work stayaway and support for sanctions (even punitive no matter the negative consequences) brought the most powerful and brutal system of government to their senses and knees; this power they still possess and can use it effectively.
· That it is their lives and livelihood that is the subject of politics and not the betterment of politicians.
· That they as the opposition are willing and ready to lead to fight against neo-oppression, subjugation and deception.

But most importantly, the opposition should avoid shooting themselves in their feet by attacking the current ruling party (or parties – for no one knows which faction of the ruling party really runs the party, let alone the country).

Attacking the ruling elite will dilute the important message and reduce this very important assignment to mudslinging. It could also be a catalyst for the ruling party to unite against what they would perceive to be a common enemy. In short, it would scuttle the attempts to liberate our people mentally and socio-economically

Rise up opposition and save our country from madness and further poverty. The ground is fertile.

Open letter to Duduzane Zuma

Dear Duduzane

Allow me to respond to the “In defence of my father- Duduzane Zuma” article that appeared in Politicsweb.co.za dated February 5, 2010.

With due respect, the whole outcry is not about your father not being a loving and caring father. It is not about your father’s right to practice his culture and certainly not about the right thing your father did after screwing up – if you’ll forgive the appropriate pun.

Your father’s cheating on his wives sends a wrong message to the impressionable people of our country who look up to him for guidance; especially because he claims to be the guardian of moral regeneration.

Your father betrayed a trust of a friend by going after his daughter without his knowledge - let alone consent. Trust is a family and cultural value we AmaZulu hold very dear, and it should be one of the essential tenets of leadership.

Your father displays hypocritical tendencies that further erode the trust bestowed upon him as a leader and an elder. He told people to stick to one sexual partner, yet he has unprotected sex with a woman who is not his wife. This is in spite of the fact that your father already has three wives and a fiancé.

Your father as the head of State, should be the custodian of law and order, yet he could have perpetrated a fraud by stating on official documents that he was married to Sonono. I don’t have to tell you what the consequences of this latter action could be especially as the Department of Home Affairs is battling the rise of fraudulently acquired documents.

Your father is the President of a very important country in Africa and we, the citizens of this country, have a right to voice our disappointment at actions that make us the laughing stock of the world.

You see, Duduzane, it is neither the people nor the media that created all this ‘juicy’ or ‘smelly’ (take your pick) mess in the first place. It was your father’s gross irresponsibility, which he has invariably admitted to by paying inhlawulo. A person does not pay inhlawulo for doing an honourable deed. On the contrary, a person pays a fine or inhlawulo for doing what society or the nation deem as abominable.

I do not have to tell you that the actions of your father, whether favourable or otherwise, may have a direct or indirect cost to the South African taxpayers, of which I am one.

Continue loving your father, it is an honourable thing to do; but shift your blame some else where it belongs.

Help me understand my South African President

Now that the President Jacob Zuma has spoken on the matter of his love child (the one we are reading about in the media, just in case there are others we don’t know about), I think we may safely move on to other things that affect the State of the South African nation. What I got out of all this is that a majority of South Africans is rightfully disappointed although there is a difference of opinion whether this matter is public or private. There are those who feel somewhat indifferent and they believe that whatever the President is doing in his private (or public) life should not affect the way we view his performance as the President of the country. This point I am prepared to note.

Moving forward and looking at the President’s performance thus far and what we have to expect in his State of the Nation address, I want to refer to his latest interview with Carina Kamel of the CNBC, the transcript of which is to be found in this link:

I have to admit that as a person who does not think highly of Zuma’s presidential capabilities, this position may sometimes cloud my objective assessment of the man. So I will need help, especially from those who think otherwise.

Quite honestly I don’t think Zuma answered any of Carina’s questions satisfactorily. I think Carina, just like me, does not understand, even after the interview, where Zuma stands on all the issues s/he raised; especially the issues that formed part of the agenda of that very Davos summit.

Guys and gals, please help me understand:
· Does Zuma think the rise of the emerging China economy may be just that China’s economy is overheating? What impact does Zuma think China will have on African countries especially South Africa?
· Does Zuma think the rescue/stimulus packages of the USA and Europe has been money well spent?
· Now that we did not create 500,000 jobs Zuma promised, does he have a realistic future target? Does he have a plan to meet that goal if there is a target?
· How is Zuma going to spend the R700 billion he keeps mentioning?
· What did Zuma say was South Africa’s input in Davos as part of rethinking global governance?
· Does Zuma think our labour laws need to be rethought? And if so, what needs to happen?
· What about nationalization? Zuma says it has not been discussed by the ruling party. Minister Shabangu says it will not happen in her lifetime (and she is not dying soon, she says). The ANC Youth League says the Minister is being disingenuous, nationalization of mines will happen soon; they have discussed it internally as a party, and they have produced a policy document to that effect. Who is telling the truth?
· What did Zuma say is South Africa’s economic plan after the World Cup – something that will attract investments?

I am soliciting this help from those who understand Zuma and can interpret what he says and means. I am not one of those. I just take him at his word, which in this case is incoherent.