Seize the moment

Dear President,

Let me start by congratulating you on your emphatic victory in last month's election race for the ANC presidency. Without breaking much of a sweat, you thrashed your challenger - Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe - by 2000 votes, putting to rest all doubts about your popularity within the governing party.

With such an overwhelming majority backing you, I believe it is safe to assume that you are guaranteed to have your stay at the Union Buildings extended to 2019 if your party wins next year's general election.

I have heard it said, Mr President, that your Mangaung victory was more than a triumph over Motlanthe and others in your party who wanted a leadership change.

It was a victory over the "hostile" media establishment and the rest of this country's commentariat which, with a few exceptions, is said to have taken an increasingly anti-Jacob Zuma stance in the run-up to the national conference.

It would be folly to deny the existence of an anti-Zuma sentiment on many public platforms and in society at large. Some of it does boil down to outright prejudice and even hatred.

And yes, Mr President, the vast majority of commentators were critical of your track record in the government and questioned your ability to transform the ANC into the modern party of government it needs to be if it hopes to lead this country to prosperity and lasting political stability.

I dare say that most of the criticism was not motivated by hatred, prejudice or disrespect for you and the office you occupy. It came from people who genuinely believe that this country and its government can do much better in tackling the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and growing inequality.

They had watched in horror when, instead of being preoccupied with resolving these problems, both your party and the government seemed to lurch from crisis to crisis.

Many of these crises had nothing to do with governance but were a result of internal ANC political machinations.

With your party's 1.2million membership having given you a resounding endorsement, and the majority of the electorate likely to return the ANC to office next year, a great opportunity for a fresh start is being presented to you.

You dare not squander it, Mr President.

Much was made last year of Cosatu's call for a "Lula Moment" - a reference to the impressive successes of the Brazilian government during president Lula da Silva's second term in reducing inequality and stimulating economic growth.

The reasoning of most of the trade union federation's delegates to its congress in September was that, in your second term, you, too, could emulate Lula and bring about radical change for the better - especially for the poor.

But emulating Lula's successes is not easy - akulula (as they say in your language).

He had many economic and political factors in his favour that simply do not exist in the current global economic environment.

That, however, does not mean there is nothing you can do to bring about qualitative change.

Since the start of the global economic crisis in 2008, the ANC and its government have constantly appealed for some serious belt-tightening by citizens.

This call, unfortunately, has not always been accompanied by serious austerity on the side of the government.

Instead, we have seen ministers splurging on top-of-the-range sedans and SUVs, living it up at excessively expensive hotels and government departments throwing lavish parties at the taxpayers' expense.

As I write this, your very name is embroiled in controversy relating to claims that over R200-million of public funds is being spent on upgrading your private residence in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal.

All of this happens while many residents of Lindelani - an informal settlement less than 25 minutes' drive from Durban's Kings Park stadium (where the ANC will hold its 101st birthday celebrations this weekend) are without a decent sanitation system.

Must they wait until a deadly cholera outbreak hits the area before the government intervenes?

At the conclusion of the ANC's policy conference in June, you promised that the ANC will "shift into a new gear" after Mangaung.

One hopes this new "gear" didn't refer only to taking stern action against those of your members who cross the disciplinary line but extended to include radically changing the way in which both your party and the government have been carrying themselves in recent years.

Perhaps, given the fact that 2012 was the year of the 100th anniversary of the ANC, it is understandable that much of last year was dominated by festivities.

But this is a new year, Mr President. Let it be characterised by more serious work and less play.