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LUCAS NTYINTYANE | Zuma is political turncoat as his speeches show

He talks about poverty and forgets to mention corruption

Former president Jacob Zuma addresses delegates at the 54th ANC National Conference.
Former president Jacob Zuma addresses delegates at the 54th ANC National Conference.
Image: Masi Losi

Former president Jacob Zuma never fails to disappoint. How low can he go? His speech on Human Rights Day as KZN Sanco chair raises more questions than answers. It is a mirror of his character and that of his party rather than on the ANC-created problems the country is facing. 

How did the ANC elect him to be the president? In his March 21 speech as KZN Sanco chair, Zuma crossed the line with his lies. He said public holidays like Human Rights Day shouldnt be celebrated while there was still poverty, clearly contradicting himself about the symbolism of Human Rights Day in a modern democracy.

Lets go back to his March 21 2017 speech in King Williams Town, Eastern Cape, when he was still president of SA. Emphasising the importance of the day, he said: We mark Human Rights Day each year for important reasons. We remember the past so as to learn from it.

March 21, previously unofficially known as Sharpeville Day, is not a celebration but a remembrance of lives lost to free us. We are not remembering the past to say poverty has been eradicated.

By his own admission in his 2017 speech, Zuma said we also use this day to take stock of progress in the promotion of human rights. In 2014 in Sharpeville and 2016 at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, he made a similar point but also asked the community to support government is it could not do everything on its own.

He went on to state the progress made by the government in providing housing, health, education, job creation and crime fighting. Why is he then contradicting himself in 2023? Is he, in other words, saying he lied in the past about the progress in improving peoples lives?

Zuma has selective amnesia. He talks about poverty and forgets to mention corruption as one of the contributing factors to the citizens misery. Who blessed us with the Guptas? Who gave us Nkandla palace? His role in creating poverty must never be forgotten. You cant complete a sentence on corruption without mentioning Zuma and the ANC. 

I am hugely disappointed in Zuma and those around him. He is a former president for Christs sake. He sat on the same presidential chair and office as the legendary Nelson Mandela. Didnt he learn anything from Mandela?

Former presidents and leaders such as Barack Obama of the US and Angela Merkel in Germany are seen as fountains of wisdom by their nations. In times of crisis their people can look up to them for guidance and reassurance. Zuma is none of the above.

Instead his presence brings chaos and hatred. He lies and lies to suit his own twisted agenda. When his supporters burned down the country in his name during the July 2021 riots he kept quiet. A case of cutting your nose to spite your face.

Unfortunately jobs and lives lost then will never be recovered. Zuma does not care. He sees people as pawns in his Manchurian political games. Look at what he is doing in Sanco. Is he so desperate for relevance, forcing himself to a structure whose national leadership has rejected him? How low can he go?

Dr Ntyintyane is a Sowetan reader

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