May 1 to 8 2009

Zuma needs our support

Well, the elections have come and gone.

Jacob Zuma was made to go through hell itself if he dared becoming president. Dark forces were at work in government, deciding JZ was not to become president. They were assisted by the law-enforcement agency charged with fighting serious crimes (Scorpions). These forces teamed up with the willing media and together waged a systematic and unprecedented war to destroy Zuma. Never before in the history of this country was there such a relentless campaign to destroy one man. If the country was destroyed in the process, so be it.

In the midst of all this we silent observers were supposed to sit back and believe this farce.

On April 22 2009 the people of South Africa spoke. They saw through it all and voted for the man who was made to walk on fire yet retained his composure through it all. This is now the time to forgive and forget. As Zuma and his team take control of the ship of state, let us all support them and offer them good wishes.

Zuma will make an excellent president. Let us expect the best from him and his team and remember that we are all in this ship together. These are trying times and the new government will need all the support it can get. If Zuma succeeds, we all succeed.

We look forward to the inauguration of our new president. It will be a magnificent and fulfilling sight. Bring me my champagne! — Kribbs Naidu, Durban

It is understandable for the ANC to celebrate its victory but it is utterly crass, at a time of worldwide recession and when so many of those who voted for the ANC are destitute, to plan to spend R75-million on the inauguration. Even as the ANC’s success started to become clear, bottles of Moët et Chandon champagne were opened at ANC headquarters – a choice of tipple that is absurdly extravagant and flies in the face of the much-vaunted ‘Proudly South African” campaign. What are the wine farmers, who make some superb sparkling wines, to make of this? Never mind the flaunting of a lifestyle totally unattainable by almost all the party’s electorate?

Another worryingly excessive aspect is that our president-to-be has fathered 17 children. The continued viability of our existence on this vulnerable planet depends in part on the restriction of population growth. Too late for Zuma to set a good example, but perhaps he should see to it that the ruling party, at least in public, attempts to identify with the real problems of utter poverty besetting the majority of South Africans. – Margot Beard, Grahamstown

Jacob Zuma took time out of his busy schedule to attend several churches and join other Christians in their regular worship. I trust your newspaper will be diligent in recording his attendances when he gives God his thanks for answering his prayers? Such coverage might go some way towards addressing the concerns of those who thought his piety uncharacteristic and his attendances possibly opportunistic. — Jim Cathels

Sorry, Ferial, you got it wrong in ‘Take a bow” (April 24). You claim that the ‘South African democratic project is entrenched” and that South Africans now ‘believe in democracy and trust in electoral politics”.

Yes, we are maturing as a democracy, and our ‘elections institution” is developing some muscle, but in an environment of zero stakes, it’s a bit premature to think we have arrived. Had the race been much closer, I’m quite sure our politicians would have interfered with this independent institution, as they have done to other supposedly independent institutions when the stakes were higher.

In a way, though, I am grateful for the hegemony of the ruling party, as this is hopefully giving our democracy the ‘END” (early childhood development) space it needs to grow some of our institutions into the democracy-guaranteeing building blocks they are envisaged to be in that humanity-affirming document we call our Constitution. – Marc Johnson, Blairgowrie

The media’s job is to be watchful

Never did I expect to read a lecture in media ethics by Ranjeni Munusamy (‘From accused No 1 to Mr President”, April 24). How can she attack the Sunday Independent for its false story on President Kgalema Motlanthe’s lovers when she herself was rightfully humiliated by her conduct in the Bulelani Ncguka spy saga?

She writes: ‘It is tragic that the media has not told the Jacob Zuma story — aside from the criminal cases against him and the battles in the ANC.” What could be of greater public interest than the possible criminal conduct of its future leader, or the power struggles within the ruling party? These conflicts have an impact on the liberation movement’s moral authority and its ability to provide long-promised services and governance to the people whose interests it claims to represent. That is why the media cares and writes about Zuma.

Judging by Jessie Duarte’s recent tirade at a journalist from The Times, I am sure the South African media have a challenging time ahead of them. Not because, as Munusamy suggests, they have cultivated an ‘adversarial” relationship with government, but because government (that is, the ruling party) has grown comfortable. Comfortable, arrogant politicians are dangerous because they fight to preserve these comfortable positions and they can only succeed at the expense of democracy.

This is why journalists must be ever-vigilant. Yes, the Motlanthe story was an embarrassment and a lesson in journalism — chasing well-researched, important stories will lead to good journalism, chasing scoops won’t. Munusamy, of all people, knows this.

But we are not all in the employ of politicians and it is our job to be ­critical of those in power so that even the most vulnerable in our society may know what their leaders are doing with the power vested in them. 

Now that the majority has voted for Zuma as president, the media have even more reason to be watchful — we must make sure he does not betray that trust. If he chooses to interpret this approach as ‘adversarial”, so be it. I interpret it as healthy journalism within a healthy democratic society. — Annelie Maré, Stellenbosch

Zuma sycophants lose all capacity to think logically and independently when considering the charges that were laid against him. They remind one of the Borg — remember Star Trek? Ranjeni Munusamy says that the media have slandered Zuma and have ‘surrendered their pages … to construct the criminal charges” against him. What drivel! One needs no media reports to find Zuma suspect. Schabir Shaik was convicted of bribing Zuma, upheld on appeal. There are really only two conclusions to be drawn: one, either JZ took bribes in return for favours (corruption), or two, he is hopelessly inept and naive financially, unable to tend to his own affairs, possibly subject to unwitting manipulation. Either way, he doesn’t look too good. The media have constructed nothing; the facts are in the public domain. Nothing has changed in this regard. But the Borg will assimilate us; resistance is futile. — Doug Downie, Grahamstown

Can the new SA govt help us?

I congratulate you on your splendid coverage of the elections in South Africa. Some of us north of the Limpopo river marvel at the way democracy was at play and that, despite some hiccups, the process was generally declared free and fair.

I hope you will also continue to have a bird’s-eye-view about developments in Zimbabwe, for it seemed to me that the change most people anticipated after the coming to life of the inclusive government is slow in coming.

People were hopeful that the coming of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations into the fold was going to usher in an improved way of living but, alas, the situation has remained stagnant.

I have no doubt that the parties to the Global Political Agreement, which gave birth to the inclusive government, are sincere in their attempts to pull the country out of its economic abyss. The problem is that while their plans are grandiose, the resources to execute the plans are meagre.

While still in opposition, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai told supporters there were donors waiting with funds as soon as he assumed power. But his promise was hollow. The money is yet to come. The scrapping of the Zimbabwean dollar has slightly improved the situation, but while most shops are full, there isn’t enough cash (US dollars or South African rands) to buy the goods.

Is it too early to start interrogating Tsvangirai on when the promised funds are going to come? Is it wrong to say that maybe Tsvangirai was not wise to call for sanctions and then expect the same people to somersault and pour in funds after the agreement?

Yes, the political situation has changed, but the status of most Zimbabweans is still dire. All we see are ministers in their flashy Mercs attending this or that workshop. Change is slow in coming. We hope the Jacob Zuma administration will come up with a pragmatic programme to deal with the Zimbabwean issue. We want our brothers and sisters in South Africa to come home. — Lovemore Mataire, Harare, Zimbabwe

More showerhead!

It’s nearly a week after voting finished and the first post-election Zapiro cartoon has yet to appear. Hmmm …

No doubt Zapiro is under a lot of pressure to drop Jacob Zuma’s showerhead. Let me add my voice to what is hopefully that of many on why you should retain the ­implement, and perhaps increase its size!

The showerhead is a symbol of all that is wrong about this fatally flawed soon-to-be-president.

It acts as a powerful cry against the rewriting of history currently under way.

It is also a statement of intent that the many progressive democrats in the country refuse to be taken in or intimidated by the lies and spin of Zuma and his cronies.

A post-election reappearance of the aforementioned fitting will trigger a predictable explosion of outrage. Good! Let’s flush the autocrats out into the open with their cries of ‘insulting the dignity of the president”. What can be clearly seen can be argued against rationally, rather than this creeping encroachment on democracy and the Constitution by stealth.

So more power to you, Zapiro, and stand firm! —Philip Cole

It would be nice if your cartoonist Zapiro drew a cartoon depicting all political opposition ‘holy cows” eating humble pie, fed to them by Zuma and the ANC. This could also show their poll percentages in pie portions. – Boni M

IFP is not ethnic

The latest line the so-called liberal media have adopted is that the IFP is in denial about the effect that ANC president Jacob Zuma’s Zuluness would have on the electorate in KwaZulu-Natal (‘IFP on the skids”, April 17). The truth is that the IFP has consistently rejected ethno-nationalism. We believe that the values the IFP stands for — freedom, solidarity and unity in diversity — transcend ethnicity. The ANC never misses an opportunity to accuse the IFP of playing the ethnic card, but has gone out of its way to emphasise Zuma’s Zulu ethnicity. — Reverend Musa Zondi, IFP secretary general

M&G notes: The IFP won 41.9% of the vote in KZN in 1999, 34.8% in 2004, and 22% in 2009.

In brief

Congratulations to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for a job well done — the queues were well handled and representatives were helpful. At our polling station (Gillitts, KwaZulu-Natal) the staff were still all smiles after 15 hours of hard work.– Edward Mitchell

During the election the IEC failed us. There were long queues. In Braamfontein it took more than five hours to get inside the polling station. Inside, there were only four voting booths. The room was small and there were bottlenecks. — Songezo Mcapukisi

Helen Zille was the only ‘celeb” to stand in a queue to vote. That speaks volumes for her attitude. — WL Mason, Johannesburg

Does Helen Zille speak Xhosa as fluently as she speaks Afrikaans? Perhaps she can add Zulu to her languages so she can communicate with Jacob Zuma. — Luise Jouber

Towards the end of World War II the Allies stopped making attempts on Hitler’s life. They realised that he had become his own worst enemy, and was worth more to them alive than dead. I suspect this is the case with Jesse Duarte (and Jacob Zuma). If not given enough rope to hang themselves, they’ll make the rope themselves. — Pieter Fourie