Good citizens cannot ignore havoc wrought by SA's wrecking ball

20 March 2016 - 02:01 By Barney Mthombothi
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now

Some people who should know better have been putting it about - in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary - that not all of our current problems can be laid at the door of President Jacob Zuma. We should stop this obsession with Zuma, they say.

Such people have decided, on their own, to be Zuma's useful idiots. They've turned on his critics instead of concentrating on the havoc their hero has wreaked in six short years.

Any right-thinking person cannot but be "obsessed" with the needless damage this man, abetted by his party, is doing to the country. To do nothing or remain silent is akin to a dereliction of duty.

There is ample evidence throughout the ages to show that leadership not only matters, but can change the course of history.

Nearer home, nothing illustrates the central role played by leadership in deciding the fates of nations more than the divergent routes taken in 1994 by South Africa and Rwanda. While South Africa joyously celebrated following the first all-race elections that marked the end of apartheid, the tiny East African country was plunged into a civil war in which almost a million people were hacked to death.

story_article_left1

Leadership made all the difference. South Africa at that critical hour happened to be blessed with a leadership willing to reach across political and racial divides for a peaceful settlement, while Rwanda's leadership exploited political divisions - with dire consequences.

If in 2000, for instance, the US Supreme Court had not prematurely anointed George W Bush as president, thereby cheating Al Gore of victory, the US would never have invaded Iraq - which means the Middle East would never have descended into the mess it is in, with a marauding Islamic State beheading innocent victims just for the fun of it. And it is highly unlikely that the US would have gone into a recession, plunging the world economy into a financial crisis which Ben Bernanke now says was worse than the Great Depression. The world is still clumsily trying to feel its way out of the economic ditch in which every living soul was almost buried.

And, of course, without Adolf Hitler, it is doubtful whether the Holocaust would have happened. It is also sobering to remember that there were many apologists for Hitler even while he was slaughtering millions of Jews.

South Africans are right to obsess about Zuma's wrongdoings, or those of any of their leaders. To be apathetic or to not give a damn about what's happening in one's country - especially when leaders steal and plunder with gay abandon - is to abdicate one's responsibility as a citizen.

Leaders are elected to make sure we live in a safe environment, that schools and hospitals are built and resourced, jobs created and trains run on time. They are also expected to be the living embodiment of our values, aspirations and better natures. They are the custodians of the spirit and character of the society in which we live.

But Zuma has not only stolen from us, he has merrily vandalised everything dear to us. He is the godfather of much that has gone wrong in our society.

If the ANC leaders meeting this weekend were to suddenly grow backbones and decided to get rid of Zuma, the nation would obviously applaud.

Were that to happen, Nomgcobo Jiba and her cohorts would be out of the National Prosecuting Authority. Tom Moyane would leave the South African Revenue Service. Hawks head Berning Ntlemeza would be out of a job and charged with perjury.

story_article_right2

We'd get to know what's in the "spy tapes" and all the corruption charges against Zuma would likely rightfully be reinstated. The Nkandla saga would get the attention it deserves and all the culprits, including Zuma, would be brought to book. The Guptas would be on the first flight to India or political asylum elsewhere, leaving their appointees in the cabinet isolated and dispirited.

Sycophants dotted all over the civil service would see the writing on the wall and would straighten up and fly right or get out.

Sentiment towards the country would change for the better and Pravin Gordhan, at last unencumbered by Zuma's duplicity, would get down to nursing the economy back to health.

It's an enticing prospect, overly optimistic and obviously tongue-in-cheek. But it goes to show what a wrecking ball Zuma has been.

Setting the Hawks on Gordhan at a time of such economic peril, for instance, is treasonous.

Zuma has always been the dung beetle atop a fine mess. In Polokwane he not only defeated Thabo Mbeki, but also succeeded in remaking the ANC in his own image.

The national executive committee, which ultimately decides his fate, is crawling with his acolytes. Don't expect them to sanction their leader.

Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

I will be happy to be proved wrong.

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now