Zuma exploited patronage very extensively

1 April 2016

Today is April Fool’s Day. Unfortunately, from 2009 South Africa has been living a make belief existence with a president massively exploiting the gullibility of the nation at every turn. With the free use of scarce state resources to extend patronage in every direction, Mr Zuma built a monstrous cabinet packed with innumerable lackeys.

The legislature was also substantially corrupted. ANC MPs in their numbers waited for the call to occupy a higher office. In order to jump the queue, sycophancy prevailed within the ranks of the expectant MPs. The plucking of Des van Rooyen from obscurity in the backbenches to occupy the most prominent position in cabinet showed that dreaming big fitted well with an over eager display of sycophancy. The more embroiled that Zuma became in Nkandlagate, the more exotic became the language of the ANC sycophants and the more daring and reckless their actions.  

ENCA, for example, has repeatedly shown Nathi Nhleko saying that his ridiculous exculpatory report on Nkandla “was correct”. Minister Thulas Nxesi has been as industrious also in protecting Zuma and failing to inform parliament that the state paid a substantial amount for air conditioners and building materials, amongst other things not related to security at all. The power of Zuma’s patronage was everywhere to see. Tongues were tied that should have been kept active. The Constitution was willingly trampled in the process. When ANC MPs were forced to choose between the Constitution and Zuma, they dumped the first in favour of the latter. Consequently, the trust with the nation was broken. Parliament has become a joke.   

Zuma used patronage extensively to undermine the Constitution and to dangle puppets in key positions in the criminal justice system.

As a result of Zuma’s patronage, ruling party MPs acted unconstitutionally in the face of dire and repeated warnings from opposition parties. Ruling party MPs were very willing to sell their souls to enjoy, or be in line for, the patronage that Mr Zuma was rapidly dishing out. Meanwhile, the national debt grew by leaps and bounds, the contingency funds diminished and the economy ground to a standstill as patronage expanded and depleted the treasury. If Zuma had had his way, he would have captured the National Treasury and handed it over to his friends for the final act of looting. He was stopped, not by the ANC, but by public outrage.

As for the ANC itself not being up for sale, who knows for sure? What is certain, however, is that many of its top members seem to have sold themselves as leaked information is revealing to us. Minister Bathabile Dlamini says she knows a thing or two about everyone in the ANC NEC having little skeletons which need to be kept in the cupboard and not allowed to spill out. Speaker Baleka Mbete. likewise, also knows a thing or two about the Travelgate scandal and free mining shares which she is extremely quiet about. Money has spoken loudest in the ANC caucus and money has had undivided attention from many ruling party MPs.

Congress of the People reiterates that Zuma exploited patronage to buy blind support from ruling party MPs and in the process has heaped a heavy financial burden on South African taxpayers.  Zuma must go so that the burden of the mountain of patronage that he created can end and state resources can once again be directed to urgent needs of the people.

The time for protests has indeed arrived. Those in politics who remain silent now will assume a large share of guilt of all that went wrong.

Issued by Dennis Bloem, COPE Spokesperson, 1 April 2016