ARTICLE: WILL “REVOLUTIONARY MORALITY” HAMPER CORRUPTION AND STATE CAPTURE?
It is finally clear after the NEC of the ANC’s 8 January statement (which was, as usual, delivered by the current president) that there will be a new ANC president on 8 January, 2018. It is also clear that the groups within the NEC had to reach a compromise on the declaration, but that the group concerned about Zuma’s leadership and negative example was slightly on the winning side.
A closer reading of the entire written speech (which was not delivered in full, due to the weather conditions) shows that this is a carefully balanced statement covering a wide range of issues. But it also covers issues that Zuma (or his supporters) would not have included. One of these is the assurance that the nuclear programme will only be implemented at a pace and cost that the country can afford – the first time that something like this has been said publicly. The other issue is corruption (and with that factionalism, with money as undertone). Two other recent statements also referred to this.
The deadline for President Zuma to appoint the commission of inquiry as per the Madonsela State Capture Report, came and went quietly at the end of November. Hours before the deadline, the President submitted a court application to review the Madonsela Report and its recommendations. With such an action, the recommendations are temporarily suspended. He and his legal advisors apparently don’t take any chances.
The previous Public Protector’s report on state capture has been released and the political impact of the report and its findings have already been felt, and will be for some time. What happens after the Commission of Inquiry (the Commission) publishes its report, findings and recommendations? What influence will these have on the Zuma presidency and his successors?
The renaming of streets and places must be handled with the greatest sensitivity. All South Africans should feel that they and their cultures are fully represented in street and place names. The Constitution declares that South Africa belongs to us all, united in our diversity.
There should be no doubt about origins, intentions and consequences of the Expropriation Bill that President Zuma is about to sign into law.
The hapless Judge Mabel Jansen’s recently exposed comments on social media that black South Africans have a culture of rape were crass and offensive. Jansen commented inter alia that she had “yet to meet a black girl who was not raped by the age of 12” and that in black culture “a woman is there to pleasure them. Period. It is seen as an absolute right and a woman’s consent is not required.”