When I think of President Jacob Zuma I think of a chameleon who – unlike a leopard – can change his colours to suit his environment and to confuse his enemies and even his friends. Over the past year President Zuma has shown different aspects of his personality to the nation. Sometimes he has been very good, sometimes mediocre and, alas, sometimes he has acted like a leader who does not respect the law or the Constitution at all and thinks that he is above the law.
The speeches were mostly good to brilliant. When reading from a prepared text (prepared by whom?) he has often hit all the right notes. From his inauguration speech to his major speech on HIV, the President impressed with the subtle framing of issues and the clear direction proposed to tackle the problems. Our President clearly has some good people around him advising him and unlike That Other Guy, he actually sometimes listen to them.
When confronted with troubles on the home front, with Kortbroek Malema’s shenanigans or spats between various ministers or members of the alliance, he has often dithered and looked like a man too scared or too intellectually weak to lead. Sitting on the fence and saying nothing in ten different ways can only work for a while when one is supposed to be the leader of the most powerful party in the country and the President of the nation. At some point his enemies are going to decide that he is a weak man, out of his depth intellectually, and then they will pounce. (And I am not talking of Helen Zille, here, I am talking about his enemies within his own party and within the alliance.)
But it was when the President was called upon to make decisions that could affect his own personal fortunes, that he has shown his truly dark side. On more than one occasion he has failed dismally and has acted like a man with no regard for the Constitution and the law. Thus he purported to appoint Menzi Simelane as head of the National Prosecuting Authority despite the fact that Mr Simelane is not a fit and proper person as required by the law. This he obviously did because Mr Simelane had indicated that he would take instructions from the executive when leading the NPA.
It is very difficult not to conclude that the appointment of Simelane was Zuma’s insurance policy to prevent any further legal troubles. If the DA application to have the decision to drop charges against the President reviewed, is successful, Simelane will make sure the President is not prosecuted. By purporting to appoint Simelane, our President did not act in the interest of the country but in his own naked self-interest and in doing so he acted unlawfully and besmirched the office of the Presidency
When leaders fail to follow the law and act in their own self-interest in an unlawful manner, they show dictatorial tendencies, which could become worse and worse if this is not checked by ordinary citizens who will become the eventual victims of dictatorial behavior. We all know the score: Today the illegal appointment of a friend who will protect you, tomorrow the torturing of a few enemies who want your job and next year mass murder, a la Stalin, Hitler or Amin.
Not all men with despotic tendencies turn out this way – and maybe President Zuma will “only” act in this manner when his personal – as opposed to political – self interest is at stake, but the truth is, we just don’t know. If I was one of President Zuma’s political opponents within the alliance I would be very worried indeed because I would not be at all sure that unlawful tactics would not be used to eliminate me politically. It is for the ANC itself and for civil society to check this kind of lawlessness before it can get out of hand.
Which brings us to the unlawful release of Schabir Shaik and the failure of the President to ensure that his Minister refers the matter to the parole appeal board. We all know Shaik is not ill. We all know his release was unlawful. We all know he was released to protect the President because Shaik was the man who was convicted of bribing Zuma and he has to be kept happy. If he starts talking and tells all he knows, well, the President might be ruined because Shaik might tell us just how and when he bribed our President and how they concocted stories to hide these bribes from the Scorpions.
No wonder Shaik seems untouchable. He has the dirt on the President and must be kept happy – even if it means breaking the law by releasing Shaik unlawfully from prison.
Only time will tell how our President will evolve. Will he grow a backbone and become a real leader, not a smiling bumbling servant of the last person he happened to have spoken to? Will he develop a taste for unlawful behavior if he gets away with the scandalous Simelane appointment to further his personal and political ambitions and deal with his enemies? Will his genial and kind side win out and will he become a nice uncle-like leader whom we all learn to trust?
My guess is, as a chameleon, he will do all these things, sometimes at the same time. The contradictions will continue to pile up and the rumblings in the alliance will increase until one day when all the sycophants will decide to jump ship and dump their Dear Leader just like they dumped President Mbeki. Surely, its only a matter of time?
PS: I am now on holiday so will not be posting much over the next two weeks. Hope all readers enjoy the holidays.
I have been advocating this to all my varsity friends who support the ANC and they all just brush me aside. Zuma knows how to keep everyone happy by making promises but on being honest, he fails dismally. It is only a matter of time before the Mbeki in him comes out and we all know where that road is going to take us.
Hi Prof: It is time that you read Nelson Mandela’s long road to freedom and start understanding what a leader is. Read about how the chief at that time dealt with matters and how his leadership was shown.
Can you and those who agree with you on the “keeping of everyone happy” statement like Student with a cause show us a politician who does not do that? Obama received the Noble Peace Prize while increasing the number of soldiers in Afghanistan. He promised peace and the withdrawal of troops six months before. He has promised everything to all. Zille has also done the same, hers is even worse. She promised the population of the Western Cape that if the electorate voted for her she would do everything possible to remove the poor from poverty and solve the inequalities of the past and then promised the white electorate that nothing would change in the Western Cape, and we wonder why this province is regarded the most racist province in SA. Why do you Prof not look at the unconstitutional racist agenda of the DA in the Western Cape? Or is it that since you work and live there you enjoy the benefits you get by being the colour you are in that province and therefore will not condemn what benefits you?
Anyway have a blessed Happy Christmas and I hope you are having your holiday in Gauteng.
@ Thomas:
“… look at the unconstitutional racist agenda of the DA in the Western Cape?”
I am not a very big fan of the DA, but please, enlighten us to what exactly it is that they are doing that are ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘racist’?
I am so amazed that people (and there are a few on this blog) can slate one another with such personal, toxic remarks and then wish one another ‘ a blessed Happy Christmas’!!??
Rather call the season something else…
I think we should acknowledge that Jacob Zuma’s political skills are exceptional. How many people could rise to the Presidency against the obstacles he faced? Precious few.
I tend to disagree with Pierre on his opinion of JZ’s skill as a leader. John Maxwell defines leadership as influence – nothing more and nothing less. By that definition alone he is, at the very least, a very competent leader.
I suggest there has been nothing wishy-washy about his leadership. Much like some don’t understand a draw in cricket is a result, some people might not understand that not acting can be a conscious decision – not indecision. He’s either been decisive or not acted at all, at least not in the public eye. This isn’t weakness; having the patience to wait for a situation to develop until the right moment to act demonstrates considerable strength.
JZ’s sense of strategy and timing is immaculate. His charisma is irresistable. He is even prepared to make unpopular decisions when the need arises (the appointment of Simelane as case in point). He really is a formidable leader.
There is only one thing that prevents Jacob Zuma from becoming an iconic leader that I think we could all cheer – he’s a compromised man. He has navigated his way out of the frying pan into a guilded cage.
The mistakes (in the arms deal in particular) by a party finding its way as a fledgling government is wreaking a heavy toll on our future.
Thomas is right
The DA has a racist agenda in the Western Cape.
Anyone can see that by comparing the WC to Gauteng,
Poor black people are treated horribly in the Western Cape.
By contrast, poor black people are treated like royalty in Jhb, which is ANC controlled.
I notice that poor black people in Jhb are always consulted, before being forcibly removed.
Thank God the DA does not rule Gauteng!
Zuma is a man without honour. He probably always has been. The good thing is that he is predictably honourless and is very open about that. The real shame lies in the masses that turn a blind eye to this most prominent of attributes. It is conceivable that people actually think it a desirable attribute to have. In a functioning democracy we can safely assume that Zuma and his merry band of tax-pits are representations of the nation. No use expecting Zuma to be better, he is nothing more than a manifestation of the nature of a nation. It is for this very reason that I believe a democracy cannot be run without proper training. It is analogous to putting any monkey behind the controls of a passenger jet. The machine might be working fine, but the inevitable destruction is going to be spectacular.
Well, Zuma is Zuma he will always remain what he was conceived to be. A fortunate bad apple that found itself by design lodged inside a coccoon full of healthy and promising apples. In its privelege position the bad apple is slowly contaminating the rest of the bag, in this metaphor the entire ANC and its alliance partners. Unfortunately when the rot settles in the whole bag will be hard to save. Its often harder to eradicate an entrenched rot. Ask our fellow brothers and sisters north of our border.
The only thing we might hope for is to have it noticed earlier and then be addressed without losing our breath to curb its devastation. Sadly, I do not think we would be able to. We either love him to bits and as such have succumbed to his charm that even in our most animated criticism and disapproval we still find something good to admire him for. Why? because he has discovered our collective gullibility as a nation. You see he knows what we hated about the other guy. So he out performs him.
In his oration yesterday of the late Minister of Health he was in his element. In his green and black mood inspired by the ANC’s women’s league he striked a cord with those listening. He did not disappoint his intended audience inside the church. He re-established Manto’s saintly demeanor (that was lost along the way) in memory of their fallen heroine. Actually he went further and declared that the current policy on HIV/AIDS and the massive roll-out of the ARV’s was the minister’s brain child which the government has embraced and still continues to. Does he really believe what he is saying to all and sundry? Well he should know he headed the AIDS unit while still serving as deputy president of the Republic.
Still, I am a bit confused because in an interview with Christiaan Amanpour of CNN he implied that the views expressed by the other guy were his personal views not that of the ANC. The Prof and the rest have equated the minister’s views directly with those uttered by the other guy as well as linking these views to the HIV/AIDS strategy of government then and current (it seems). In Polokwane the same strategy was endorsed [of prevention, nutrition and treatment], including it seems the GEAR strategy which incidentally both, amongst others, were attributed to the fall of the other guy.
When the Sunday Times splurged the minister’s health records in public we did not even hear a whimper from him and his allies at the time. It took the other guy and some misdirected individuals to come to her rescue. You could argue like Mantashe did that they were supportive of her in silence. Like we have to be silent about blantant violations of the rule of law happening under his watch. There’s a pattern here (though insignificant) that suggests the man is either a typical politician or a chameleon as suggested. Me, I am inclined to think he is neither, but by virtue of the position he occupiers yes he is a typical politician and by thinking that he is smarter than most yes he could be a chameleon.
However if he continues in the same vein and path of jingoistic manoeuvres he will drag all of us with him in the abyss, whether blindly or consciously aware. If you dont believe me ask the African block what happened to their collective and G77 position on climate change in Copenhagen? Their stories will keep you preoccupied for the next two weeks that you would be more exhausted on your return from taking a deserved break than you are feeling today!
Aluta continua!
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder says:
December 22, 2009 at 20:59 pm
Thomas is right
The DA has a racist agenda in the Western Cape.
Anyone can see that by comparing the WC to Gauteng,
Poor black people are treated horribly in the Western Cape.
By contrast, poor black people are treated like royalty in Jhb, which is ANC controlled.
I notice that poor black people in Jhb are always consulted, before being forcibly removed.
Thank God the DA does not rule Gauteng!
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Hey Dworky,
Stop harassing the DA and its WC governance – the people their made their decision. Come 2014 they probably will support the DA in bigger numbers. The ANC has only itself to blame for its pathetic performance in that province – if I were in the WC I would not support the ANC there.
Poor people are treated badly everywhere in the world, otherwise there would not be poor. Neither the WC, Gauteng nor race is unique in the way poor are treated.
On the upside, without the suffering of the poor we would not have had Mother Teresa, hey maybe not even the Peace prize – and we all know that we are better off for those in particular.
“No wonder Shaik seems untouchable”.
Not only is he untouchable, he is powerful, more powerful than President Zuma, more powerful than the entire criminal justice system.
President Zuma is more scared of Shaik than embarrassed by the consequences of the in-your-face decisions over this man.
The ANC and its powerful leaders were unafraid of the apartheid regime with all its military might and most were unafraid of torture and even death.
The ANC and its leaders are afraid of Shaik, very afraid.
I wonder what it is that this man has that makes him not only powerful but fearsome!
Charles has made the most important observation: “The good thing is that he is predictably honourless and is very open about that.” If someone tells you who he is, believe him. Through his actions re Shaik, Simelane & others, JZ has shown that piece by piece the laws and rules that should protect the populace from the likes of our uncles Bob and Idi will be undermined – by the Salami tactic. Hold your breath for the imminent arrival of the Grosser Mercedes.
As to the lack of outrage and the surprising popularity of Mr Zuma – I guess the populace is judging him by the standards with which they treat others, and not the standard by which they would like to be treated
Hey Maggs,
Also, remember good old Mo Shaik and were he is now. The Shaiks’ either have or will soon have more dirt on the ANC elite than J. Egar Hoover had on American Presidents, lot more technologies to use these days.
COME ON PROF!!!! How come you didn’t read Mandela’s Bible, or is it that you are AA-Prof? Even the “Little Tank Engine” can “understand” what a leader has to do!!! Look at what Obama, Bush before and Blair did. Why can’t we do the same? We are historically entitled to do it too….Results??? What are you talking about??
[...] It is very difficult not to conclude that the appointment of Simelane was Zuma’s insurance policy to prevent any further legal troubles. If the DA application to have the decision to drop charges against the President reviewed, is successful, Simelane will make sure the President is not prosecuted. By purporting to appoint Simelane, our President did not act in the interest of the country but in his own naked self-interest and in doing so he acted unlawfully and besmirched the office of the Presidency via constitutionallyspeaking.co.za [...]
@ Maggs
I regret that you have bought into the mythology that the ANC is author of its own misfortune in the WC.
True, there was unfortunate intra-party sniping.
But that aside: How can we expect the ANC to keeping winning in any area that does not have a clear African majority? As Cmd Malema has reminded us coloureds, whites and indians will never be reliable allies in the struggle to transform this country. It is because the racist white liberals were able to seduce the coloureds with their sneaky “Swart Gevaar” that the Botox Queen now runs the show!
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder says:
December 23, 2009 at 21:58 pm
“As Cmd Malema has reminded us coloureds, whites and indians will never be reliable allies in the struggle to transform this country”.
Hey Dworky, stop being a White Messiah.
Malema does not need the permission of a White Messiah to think.
He will think when he wants to.
Other times he will not – and it’s his absolute right not to!
Dean says:
December 23, 2009 at 20:04 pm
Hey Maggs,
Also, remember good old Mo Shaik and were he is now. The Shaiks’ either have or will soon have more dirt on the ANC elite than J. Egar Hoover had on American Presidents, lot more technologies to use these days.
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Whatever it is, it sure seems that President Zuma is likely to pardon Shaik.
It may even be a “gesture of goodwill” together with some “intolerables” – de Kok and the Hani killers.
That may be a new year gift to a democratic South Africa to celebrate our respect for the rule of law and our constitutional democracy.
All that so the untouchables may walk free.
@ Maggs
Normally, you are right.
Here, you cynicism saddens.
Have you perchance been recruited by racist white liberals?
Hey Dworky,
When Shaik said “Bring on Mbeki and his boys” or thereabouts, I thought he was being his arrogant self.
If he is pardoned, that takes an entirely different context – almost that he had the ability to turn our entire system on its head once JZ took high office.
Of course a pardon, if granted will be accompanied by all kinds of euphemisms, but the bottom line is that our President, our nation and our entire criminal justice system, is subservient to this man.
The ANC is the most powerful political organisation in South Africa, in all of Africa and maybe in all of the developing world, even large parts of the developed world.
It is often said that nobody is more powerful than the ANC – this pardon will disprove that. Shaik will have been established as more powerful than and above the ANC.
Hey Dworky – how’s this for good PR.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20091226223310236C838808
It’s not difficult to create an impression of being a good politician when the media all love you — or rather, are told to love you. Zuma has had a history of getting places through bootlicking and bombast. However, the essence of this matter in the past was that there were other people to do the actual work. Now, unfortunately, there are none except for the people whom Zuma has chosen, or rather who have been chosen for him, and they are not up to the task of governance.
As a result Zuma has to fall back on telling lies — his imaginary 500 000 jobs, his mythical 200 000 extra AIDS deaths, and his fantasised 43% cut in carbon dioxide emissions. Of course, Professor de Vos is essentially incapable of understanding matters like this, or perhaps views jobs, death and the destruction of the biosphere as trivial compared with the political victories or defeats of those legal and corporate toadies whom he most admires or detests. But most South Africans are rather worried about such matters.
Above all, if you are dependent on lying, you are also dependent on the press and the pundits for covering up your lies, which makes you vulnerable. Meanwhile, if you have appointed incompetents (Gordhan, Davies) and crooks (Nzimande, Hogan, Ndebele) to run the government, you will not be able to generate accomplishments which can enable you to sidestep the media, as Mbeki could for almost a decade.
This is basically the problem; however much Prof. De Vos drools over Zuma, Zuma’s actual performance will decline continually until he becomes a liability to the ruling class, at which point he will be dumped. But by then he will have done immense damage. The secret is to stop devoting all your attention to drivelling, and instead pay attention to what is really happening. But that is a difficult thing, and indeed, these days, rather unpatriotic.
I’ve been reluctant to post in response Prof re Zuma, and have thought for days about it. Fear of retribution, (thnk NIA, dis-ease and unmentionable ramifications for speaking out. Self censorship for fear of retribution…) however, here goes.
Zuma is an enigma. (An enigma is a type of riddle generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that requires ingenuity and careful thinking for its solution – Wikipedia). Its also many other things.
Zuma is, and with all the baggage he carries, South Africa today, and this as I have commented before, is where we find ourselves. Zuma represents how we are being daily swept along by an aply described tsunami to God only knows where. Malema, the inevitable and dangerous court jester, (think Rasputin) is also South Africa today, and unfortunately our tomorrow. Are we to lie down like kittens with our bellies exposed when under such threat?
Tomorrow’s hope, today’s hope for all the people, whether they know it or not, is justice and equality under the law via the foundations of Democracy, the Constitution and Bill of Rights. It is the only life line available. We must grasp and support it with our last breath, those of us who know its vital importance.
The SADC tribunal has recently made important decisions regarding Zimbabwe. They admit that they have no power to enforce their decisions. It is not up to the courts however to enforce decisions, not their role, nor should we expect that from them. It is up to Government and its various arms of security to do so as expressions and actions of Democratic rule. When Government does not do so, then we do not have Democracy or the rule of law.
Without enforcement for the rule of law by Government, without acceptance by Government that high Court decisons are the final word, I repeat, we do not have Democracy.
Are we a Democracy?
My prayer for 2010 is courage.