The similarities are indeed striking, and too numerous to list.| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Subsaharan |
| The Unraveling of Jacob Zuma |
| 2015-12-29 |
| As Jacob Zuma retreats to his rural home in the green hills of KwaZulu-Natal for the holidays, a growing number of South Africans, including some of his own comrades in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), are wishing he would just stay there for good. The populist Zuma has never been loved by urban, middle class — and in particular, white — South Africans, but for the first time since he took office in 2009 thousands of them took to the streets to showcase their discontent. In Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Pretoria, anti-Zuma demonstrators marched on Dec. 16 as part of a campaign dubbed #ZumaMustFall on social media. Potentially more significant than the protests is the growing dissent Zuma’s missteps have engendered within the party. A number of ANC veterans have broken ranks to publicly criticize Zuma in recent weeks. Some of these party loyalists had been willing to look the other way on previous excesses, like the house in Nkandla (which recently received a controversial $16 million taxpayer-funded upgrade) but the feeling was that Zuma had “crossed a line” by firing Nhlanhla Nene, a respected finance minister who had pushed back against gross overspending, appointing an unknown backbencher in his place. Days later, and clearly under pressure, Zuma reversed course and announced that Pravin Gordhan, who had previously served as finance minister in 2009-2014, would be returning to the post. But the damage was already done: The episode had sunk the rand, South Africa’s currency, to record lows, shaking investors’ faith in the economy — and the ANC’s faith in Zuma. While Zuma has always had a reputation for nepotism, members of his own party increasingly view him as reckless, the kind of leader who would play musical chairs with a crucial government position without regard for the consequences. And South Africa can ill afford economic turmoil: GDP is expected to expand just 1.4 percent in 2015 and official unemployment stands at around 25 percent (the real number is closer to 35 percent when discouraged jobseekers, who have simply given up looking for work, are taken into account). Meanwhile, South African farmers are grappling with one of the worst draughts in years, and food prices are expected to rise next year as a result. But the problem is bigger than just Zuma. Zwelinzima Vavi, a former general secretary of Cosatu, the powerful trade union federation allied with the ANC, argues that “corrupt hyenas” close to the president within the party bear some of the blame. Local elections, due to be held in 2016, will be a major test for Zuma’s leadership of the ANC. Political analysts say the party could even fall below 50 percent support in several major cities, including the capital of Pretoria. Even so, the party that has led South Africa since the end of apartheid is not going anywhere. “The ANC is not about to lose power, and Jacob Zuma is aware of that fact, which is why he acts with such brazenness,” said Prince Mashele, who runs the Pretoria-based Center for Politics and Research. “We should not be naïve.” |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #1 The similarities are indeed striking, and too numerous to list. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-12-29 03:55 |