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SECOND TRANSITION: Blade Nzimande, Gwede Mantashe and others at the Goodman Gallery in Rosebank. They gathered in protest against Brett Murray's The Spear, which, until it was defaced last Tuesday was on display there. It showed President Jacob Zuma with genitals showing. PHOTo: MOHAU MOFOKENG

 The president's brigade is now driving SA's second transition 

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Since the public outrage over Murray's controversial painting The Spear, led mainly by the ANC, many a commentator has accused the ruling party of being thin-skinned and unable to take any political blows to the chin.

Many have advised how the ANC leadership should have kept quiet about the painting, thereby showing their level of statesmanship. The issue would eventually have died down, they argued.

But proceedings at the ANC's Tuesday march to the Goodman Gallery painted a different picture. What transpired at the march has actually shown how Zuma and his supporters in the ANC leadership made a meal out of the situation.

In fact, by taking The Spear issue to the streets and "allowing the power of the people to fight the liberal offensive against the ANC" (as ANC general secretary Gwede Mantashe said during the march), the Zuma brigade have turned the tables in favour of his campaign for re-election in Mangaung.

So while some commentators were talking about how The Spear was dividing the nation, the Zuma brigade was seemingly making hay out of the situation.

Many of the speakers at Tuesday's march, including Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini, SACP secretary-general Blade Nzimande and Mantashe (all known Zuma supporters), project the ANC leader as a victim of a liberal campaign against him as an individual and as a representative of the "still undermined" black people.

By elevating The Spear painting to being an attack on black people, the Zuma brigade seeks to give the impression that their fight is not for his political future in the ANC but rather about confronting the continued marginalisation of black people.

In so doing Zuma's supporters have actually upped the ANC leadership contest a notch higher than Polokwane 2007.

Of course the modus operandi is the same. In 2007 Zuma was an alleged victim of the abuse of state power by the government of the day under former president Thabo Mbeki. Both the corruption and rape charges against Zuma were painted as machinations by those in power to ensure that he did not ascend to Mahlamba'Ndlopfu.

Voting Zuma into power became the "spear" with which Zuma and his supporters had pierced the veil of resistance to having him become the country's first citizen.

Murray's work is now shown as being used to pierce Zuma's dignity and that of blacks.

The Zuma brigade now seeks to convince those in whose hands the president's future lies that the painting is being used to show him as an unworthy leader "simply because he is black and following his Zulu culture to the letter".

So anyone who opposes Zuma's re-election in Mangaung should be painted with this same brush.

If he or she is black, such an individual will be confirming the fact he-she is a lackey of the liberal onslaught largely driven by the likes of the Democratic Alliance in particular and whites in general who still cannot accept the fact that a black party is in power.

The essence of this strategy was captured in the words of ANC national executive member Ngoako Ramatlhodi who, before reading the memorandum presented to the Goodman Gallery management, shouted: "This is the beginning of the second transition!"

As far as Zuma's supporters wanted South Africa to believe, Polokwane was the beginning of the first transition.

And thanks to Murray, once again the Zuma brigade has moved into the driving seat of the second transition.

As for the South African public, the nagging question should be: "what's in it for us?"

First we were told about the bright future that post-Polokwane leadership would deliver to us.

But it all turned out to be a mirage in which (according to the ANC's renewal document to be discussed at the ruling party's policy conference in June), the party continues to be dogged by "a shift from transformative politics to palace politics wherein internal strife and factional battles over power and resources define the political life of the movement".

Judging from the line-up at Tuesday's march, the second transition will largely be led by the selfsame members of the 2007 Polokwane brigade.

Why should South Africans believe this time that this leadership will lead them to an oasis?

Comments

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Thu May 23 17:03:04 SAST 2013 ::

May 31, 2012

BUDDYC

Sowetan, i disagree. This because the ANC did not even manage to draw a large number that they expected to draw. About 5000 people showed up while the ANC wanted 15000. For a big party like ANC, that was a disgrace.

Secondly i think this will be hunting zuma come December. Opposition from within will be using this as advantage as they will argue that ANC deserve a better respectable leader and they will combine this with the fact that the party declined in votes since zuma took over. The media might be trying to boost zuma re-election.

I will also question voting delegates' intellectual capacity if they make zuma win in Mangaung. zuma might be causing the party to lose a lot. He might be laughed by even fellow African leaders and that will embarass him worse. This man has got nothing to show that he is capable of doing right. THE DECLINE IN VOTES SAYS IT ALL.
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Jun 5, 2012

Seele

I agree with you Ido, Murray have done graet favour for JZ , Look who is marching to the gallery, when DA march they are wrong this is the country we are living in , Mndlulu he is policeman he must understand it very well, he should had taken redeployment withboth hands until the investigation is completed, it shows that he is trying to hide something.
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Jun 21, 2012

Pitbull123

The "Spear" painting did not help Zuma at all instead it has shown how easy it is for the ANC to criticize others while it does not accept criticism itself. (The Ruel Khoza comment was not taken light).
They failed at court and they went to the street, we the vast majority of the electorate we are watching them and with Mangaung around the corner believe you me when I say there will be a lot of surprises.
After 18 years in Government we still have students in June who don't have textbooks, people are toyi toying on a daily basis at different places for different and similar demands, why is our Government waiting for people to toyi toyi before helping them. Our people get so frustrated that they end up burning building and throwing stones at law enforcing officers. The Government is failing everybody except the SACP because they have swelled the ranks of Government. They are our failing Government's praise singers.
The youth unemployment (Educated and un-educated) is a powder keg waiting to explode and unfortunately it is going to sooner than later.
Service delivery protests daily, its a disgrace for a Government that was elected by the people and failing to service the electorete. People are sick and tired with the ANC.
Right now I have heard a lot of people suggesting that at local government they will vote the DA and at provincia land national they will vote the ANC. Their reasons are that all DA run municipalities are delivering to the people on the ground as opposed to the ANC. This is sad though real.
Anyway Aluta Continua!!!
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