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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Feb 10 2012 22:06 | LAST UPDATED Feb 10 2012 22:06 |
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So the president finally took the long road to Balfour in Mpumalanga to see what the people are on about. He needs to be applauded for the way he went about it -- not a single soul in the not-so-sleepy town knew about it. And his intention to catch government off guard worked well -- Steven Spielberg could not have scripted it better. He arrived at the office of the mayor, Lefty Tsotsetsi, where he was met by the mayor’s shocked PA and the sound of breaking porcelain as she dropped her lunch plate. The mayor was missing in action, he allegedly knocked off early. When the flustered mayor arrived, it was obvious that the conversation between the two men was going to be a difficult one. For a man who could not go out to see the protesters last week because of “scheduling constraints”, Zuma quickly made a plan this week to visit Balfour. Of course, he could not promise the people much, budgeting constraints are not as easy to turn around as scheduling constraints. But he can show that he is serious about issues such as lazy civil servants and opt for that handy African National Congress policy of redeployment and relieve the mayor of his duties. Or recall him. This will solve little in the way of giving everyone access to everything, but it will be a significant gesture. And in his quest to be the feel-good president, Zuma will have to live up the gestures, because he will have painfully little else to give.  CONTINUES BELOW TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
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