It is high time now that we call a spade with it name: President JG Zuma is indeed a liability not only to the country but to the ANC too

The spade is a spade not a big spoon. President JG Zuma said in the Provincial Congress of the ANC in KZN and I quote, “I am not a liability and I will prove that”. I have personally expected that the President will prove that he is not a liability not only by denying such in public but through proper leadership and informed decisions.

But little did I know that my hopes were vested in a hopeless mind. I am not sure whether it was by coincidence or by design that immediately after his utterances the elected chairperson in that congress (whether democratically or otherwise) decided not to shake the hand of the National Chairperson of the SACP (Cde Senzeni Zokwana).

On the same note what seems to be the majority of delegates and ANC members displayed a huge dissatisfaction on the processes and outcomes of the KZN Congress. These members upon realising that their concerns apparently did not receive enough attention decided to take it to the street. Again President Zuma decided to say nothing about such action.

Saying something doesn’t mean that he was supposed to rerun the Congress but at least as a head of the organization to call those members to come inside the HOUSE (the Liberation Movement) and engage there. This was sacrosanct particularly because we are on the eve of Local Government Elections (LGE).

Again President Zuma decided to keep quiet when his colleague {untanga} (ANCYL President) called for the demonstration to be made at Cde Blade Nzimande’s home during the students protests across the country, insinuating that Nzimande is refusing with Free Education.

The same happened when the thuggish leadership of the ANCYL in KZN decided to insult the Young Communist League of South Africa calling us Lizards and in a further onslaught on the SACP declaring the Party a useless organization that does not bring any value to the ANC.

TILL Cde President you or your subordinates never bothered to call your political spear into order. By the way there is nothing different between the current leadership of the ANCYL and the one you disbanded; in fact it is a continuation of the same soapie with different actors.

The little I say about Hlaudi’s companion at least at matric level (ANCYL President) the better precisely because his struggles are a subject of Cde Angie (Minister of Basic Education) not Nzimande. When I was in grade seven I knew little if anything at all around tertiary education.

We expected that the President was going to prove that he is indeed not a liability by condemning the ANCYL pronouncements and further call them into Disciplinary Committee as he did with Julius Malema.

The recall of the Finance Minister was a last slap to the electorate. If truth can be told this was the one man whom despite Cadre deployment had serious credentials in relation to the area of deployment.

This was also the man with serious experience and expertise who have served under the former Finance Ministers who were never recalled. This was the first “Black Finance Minister” since democratic dispensation which meant a conquest of the Black populace.

What does this decision says about the ability of a black man to be really in charge of even posts that are known to be posts of the White people? Is there anything wrong that has been done by the former Minister Nene? If there is any please President share with us because we are interested in knowing the truth behind his recall.

We are fully aware that the next stop will be Cde Blade Nzimande as you are awaiting for students protests beginning of the year 2016. I am saying this precisely because as a member of the Young Communist League of South Africa I’ve been observing that you don’t value Cde Nzimande.

His gains since the establishment of this Department of Higher Education and Training are remarkable but you decided to downsize that by stealing attention on the #Feesmustfallcampaign.

To me what you did was a publicity stunt rather than an intervention and amongst them all was to portray Nzimande as a useless man who wants no Free Education for poor South African students.

You further kept quiet when your less-informed ANCYL called for free education for all when we all know that free education was always meant for poor not the rich. Imagine if you were to be exempted from paying school fees yet we know that you are swimming in serious money!

If what I am saying is not true you would have quickly call Nzimande and discuss with him first regarding the intervention on 0% fee increment for 2016 before his negotiation on the 6% cap. It was not going to be you who make an announcement of the state intervention but Minister Nzimande if the agenda was not to discredit him.

By the way the same thing happened when there was a crisis in Walter Sisulu University when you sent the late Minister Chabane to intervene. The last blow was your ability to accept the meeting request by South African Universities Vice Chancellors without checking as to whether they have met with a person they are accountable to.

This too raised a question of the rationale on your appointing Nzimande. Was it not a political bribery of the left so that they can be used to pickpocket and milk the state whilst hoping on the left leaders to deliver to the working class promises?

I remember the time when the entire nation was in your side when former President Thabo Mbeki ill-treated you. We all supported you because we believed that you were victimised for a particular political agenda which was witnessed in Polokwane. His posture was that of exploiting women leaders for his future settlement, hence, the call for a women candidate to succeed him. Which is why you were further replaced by a woman.

The very same call in your exit is now made which raises number of question about your leadership. Under you democratic processes have been eroded and replaced by anarchism in your name and you never attempted to at least deny that. Many people are doing wrong things under your name and you never stressed about that. If you are not aware what is happening now is worse than what happened under Thabo Mbeki.  

If President Zuma you were credible enough you would have fired Muthambi for appointing a man without Matric certificate (Hlaudi). You would have also fired her again when she assured the public that she will be tapping on our tax money to challenge the judgment on Hlaudi. After firing the minister you would have asked Hlaudi to provide the certificate. You have further failed to act against your “girlfriend” Duduzile Myeni at South African Airways (SAA). 

“If we have chosen the position in life in which we can most of all work for mankind, no burdens can bow us down, because they are sacrifices for the benefit of all; then we shall experience no petty, limited, selfish joy, but our happiness will belong to millions, our deeds will live on quietly but perpetually at work, and over our ashes will be shed the hot tears of noble people” Marx, Letter to His Father (1837).

I am citing this quote precisely because I want  to touch the little button of conscience left to some of our leaders in the Congress Movement who seem to have forgotten the mission of the struggle. Many today whom we use to be proud of during the struggle against apartheid have taken a detour to the real course. We no longer are all interested in working for humankind but now at the centre of the agenda is self-enrichment and bling. 

As Karl Max declared history calls those men the greatest who have ennobled themselves by working for the common good; experience acclaims as happiest the man who has made the greatest number of people happy, the million dollar question is, how many of us can pass this test.

The question we should be asking (obviously divorcing ourselves from the political scoring and grandstanding of the Dead Alliance {DA}) is, how much public money was spent on the legal process of Hlaudi and how much is still to be spent having had a bubble by Minister of Communication on an attempt to appeal the judgment?

I wish there can be a person who can either deny or confirm the allegations by Minister Muthambi that she cannot fire Hlaudi because UBABA (referring to President Zuma) loves him so much. If such allegations happen to be true than it will mean that individual interest has superseded those of the country and its citizen.

If it is true that Hlaudi does not have matric certificate lets allow him to go back to school and acquire one as we all did. If such doesn’t happen what attitude are we bringing to the younger generation that is undergoing a process of getting to that level? Can it be the case that education is no longer a need since it seems to be the case that you can earn yourself such a fat salary without matric?

The Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA) took a very informed decision which is to MAKE EDUCATION FASHIONABLE. The noble resolution of the Young Reds cannot be realised if we keep quiet and fold our hands when some people are milking state resources because of their political tires without proper required documents. I am therefore challenging young people of this country to save the last fading dignity we still have before it is too late.

SAA is a state owned enterprise – owned by us as the people of South Africa. By the look of things there has been some seriously mismanaged, to the point that apparently is penniless and unable to meet its financial commitments. In essence we are the owners of SAA, hence, whatever that is taking place within our entity it is of our great concern. It is so devastating that despite larger position of our money has been spent in bailing out SAA but the decline is still at its best. This is not a spaza-shop or some money making scheme for connected few; we should always be alerted of challenges as the owners.

The SAA under the stewardship of Dudu Myeni is apparently facing a serious financial crisis. How did we get there? Is it really a financial matter or a leadership question? Let us say for argument sake it a matter of finances, can that translate to the fact that public money wasn’t spent in bailing out this state parastatal? Are we saying people were no longer boarding with SAA? I doubt that answers to such questions can be positive.

If the above question can be answered I doubt that a source of the problem can be finances but rather a leadership question. Clearly most of state parastatals seem to be having challenges but we hope that the wisdom of the old man will at some point prevail. If things were normal we would be by now referring to leaders of these parastatals as former leaders but since we are in an abnormal situation where rules on the book do not apply rather anyone who attempt to go by the book loses the bread. We will not be surprised if we wake up tomorrow on the news of SAA bailout by the very same government who cannot bailout the education system of its country. 

Lastly political favouritism seem to be so dominant to the current political state of our country. Minister Nene has be recalled reasons unknown to the public yet Malusi Gigaba who has costed us billions is still the minister of Home Affairs. The National Commissioner has been suspended owing to the Marikana massacre yet the then minister of police Nathi Mthethwa was never implicated yet he was a minister at that time.

People are faking qualifications and are never punished for that. Auditor General always make recommendation in relation to corruption which has milked the state billions but there are no consequences for thieves. We hope one day that sanity will prevail….

Isaac Luthuli is a Deputy National Secretary of the Young Communist League of South Africa and he is writing on his personal capacity.