Sizwe Dhlomo weighs in on xenophobia, Ramaphosa's tenure & what he think SA needs

Weighing in on the recent xenophobic attacks that have sparked outrage in SA, TV personality Sizwe Dhlomo says people need to be careful how they phrase things.

In an interview on MacG's YouTube podcast, Dhlomo said: "I am not saying there isn't looting but there are other things such as opportunistic crimes."

He said the big issue in the country is inequality.

“If you got rid of inequality, you'd get rid of a lot of problems in SA."

Post-apartheid leadership

Dhlomo noted that apartheid was the bedrock and foundation of all issues in the country, adding that the issue in the now post-apartheid and post-colonialism SA is leadership.

"If we take it from the 1990s, the people that got into power weren't ready to lead the country. They were ready to lead us into a revolution and being liberated but not ready to govern.

"Those guys spent most of their years in jail, what did they know about leadership?" he asked.

He said past leaders thought they were doing what was best for the country at the time and that is evident in the kind of deals they struck.

"However, we can't blame them because we have got nothing but to be thankful. Our duty as the newer and younger generation is to take the fight forward."

Ramaphosa's tenure

Speaking on President Cyril Ramaphosa's tenure, Dhlomo said it was "shambles".

He said the most disappointing thing was that it was "largely due to his own doing".

"From what I've observed I think he means well. I generally think that he wants to change the world but based on how things have played out ... just because you want something doesn't mean you're in the best position to get that thing," he said.

Dhlomo said what he found surprising about Ramaphosa is how he seems "far removed from the problems of the general South African".

"Cyril wasn't born a billionaire, he still has a sister who lives in Xawela [a village in Giyani] so he can't be too far removed from the problems of a general South African to a point where he doesn't understand them so that very surprising to me," he said.

What SA needs

He said right now the country needs a president who will lead for those who "don't have" more than those who "have".

"I need a leader who is going to lead people like me and make sure that those who don't have end up having a better life."

Asked who he thinks has what it takes, he said EFF leader Julius Malema "speaks the right game".

"But intrinsically, I do not think that Julius is that person. You have to know him personally to know what I mean," he added.