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IT IS hard to say what is most irritating about President Jacob Zuma.
Is it his kleptocratic supporters in government and the ANC, or his overpowering ungratefulness to South African voters who have kept him in power?
The latter point is the one that infuriates me most, because by the looks of things, the most important of Zuma’s promises in the run-up to the country’s fifth democratic election may not be achieved in the short term.
And he is aware of this.
However, his profound ingratitude towards those who voted for him emerges when one considers the fact that he has failed to tell them that, given the way things are going economically, his promise of job creation, among other things, may fall flat on its face.
This shows that his utterances before the election were just aimed at garnering more votes for his party and nothing else. This is something he has come to master with perfect precision as he gradually developed from a respected freedom fighter to a "politician". There is evidence for this.
During the run-up to the May 7 election this year, Zuma promised South Africans, who cared to listen, that the ANC is going to create about six million jobs. At the time, Zuma said the ANC will do this by expanding its "already significant public employment programme".
But South Africa, some experts believe, is facing a recession or it is in recession mode already. Recession often triggers job losses. Job losses mean that the government’s tax base will be reduced. This means there will be little or no money for the “expanded public employment programme".
This could be one of those failed government programmes.
So, the poor people who voted for the ANC with the hope that they will soon get jobs and improve their standard of living have again been dealt a serious blow.
In addition, Zuma’s voters have not been told that things in South Africa are set to be worse than before the May 7 election and that this could make it hard for him to meet all the promises he made before the polls.
Last week, it emerged that the country’s economy had contracted for the first time since the global economic downturn of five years ago.
This has raised the spectre of a recession in Africa's most developed economy, which used to be the continent’s economic powerhouse before it was toppled by Nigeria this year.
Statistics SA last week said the South African economy contracted by 0.6% in the first quarter, a dazzling setback in the middle of a prompt economic growth explosion in most parts of Africa.
The South African economy has fought hard to improve since the 2009 global economic crunch and the likelihood of a new recession – two successive quarters of negative growth - is not being ruled out, some believe.
The grim state of affairs for South Africa’s future does not seem to end there.
The worst could yet come, given the fact that Lonmin could be forced to retrench workers once the almost-five-month-old strike is over, it emerged this week.
Lonmin is among the world’s top three platinum producers – including Impala Platinum and Anglo American Platinum - that have been hit by the strike, which started late in January this year.
South Africa is currently in the grip of another wage strike by sugar workers.
In addition, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA’s 200 000 members are thinking of going on strike and the construction sector workers are also mulling the idea of a wage strike.
If the ongoing strikes are not resolved and the pending ones avoided, the South African economy could be in for a further battering.
But I suppose Zuma will continue to live it up, while ordinary South Africans, who were duped into voting for him, face a gloomy future.
As long as Zuma remembers: ingratitude hurts the one who is the victim of it...
- Fin24
*Mzwandile Jacks is an independent journalist. Opinions expressed are his own.
Is it his kleptocratic supporters in government and the ANC, or his overpowering ungratefulness to South African voters who have kept him in power?
The latter point is the one that infuriates me most, because by the looks of things, the most important of Zuma’s promises in the run-up to the country’s fifth democratic election may not be achieved in the short term.
And he is aware of this.
However, his profound ingratitude towards those who voted for him emerges when one considers the fact that he has failed to tell them that, given the way things are going economically, his promise of job creation, among other things, may fall flat on its face.
This shows that his utterances before the election were just aimed at garnering more votes for his party and nothing else. This is something he has come to master with perfect precision as he gradually developed from a respected freedom fighter to a "politician". There is evidence for this.
During the run-up to the May 7 election this year, Zuma promised South Africans, who cared to listen, that the ANC is going to create about six million jobs. At the time, Zuma said the ANC will do this by expanding its "already significant public employment programme".
But South Africa, some experts believe, is facing a recession or it is in recession mode already. Recession often triggers job losses. Job losses mean that the government’s tax base will be reduced. This means there will be little or no money for the “expanded public employment programme".
This could be one of those failed government programmes.
So, the poor people who voted for the ANC with the hope that they will soon get jobs and improve their standard of living have again been dealt a serious blow.
In addition, Zuma’s voters have not been told that things in South Africa are set to be worse than before the May 7 election and that this could make it hard for him to meet all the promises he made before the polls.
Last week, it emerged that the country’s economy had contracted for the first time since the global economic downturn of five years ago.
This has raised the spectre of a recession in Africa's most developed economy, which used to be the continent’s economic powerhouse before it was toppled by Nigeria this year.
Statistics SA last week said the South African economy contracted by 0.6% in the first quarter, a dazzling setback in the middle of a prompt economic growth explosion in most parts of Africa.
The South African economy has fought hard to improve since the 2009 global economic crunch and the likelihood of a new recession – two successive quarters of negative growth - is not being ruled out, some believe.
The grim state of affairs for South Africa’s future does not seem to end there.
The worst could yet come, given the fact that Lonmin could be forced to retrench workers once the almost-five-month-old strike is over, it emerged this week.
Lonmin is among the world’s top three platinum producers – including Impala Platinum and Anglo American Platinum - that have been hit by the strike, which started late in January this year.
South Africa is currently in the grip of another wage strike by sugar workers.
In addition, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA’s 200 000 members are thinking of going on strike and the construction sector workers are also mulling the idea of a wage strike.
If the ongoing strikes are not resolved and the pending ones avoided, the South African economy could be in for a further battering.
But I suppose Zuma will continue to live it up, while ordinary South Africans, who were duped into voting for him, face a gloomy future.
As long as Zuma remembers: ingratitude hurts the one who is the victim of it...
- Fin24
*Mzwandile Jacks is an independent journalist. Opinions expressed are his own.
