The great South African age of inanity
Jacob Zuma has orchestrated the complete collapse of intellectualism and critical thinking in the party and SA’s institutions
A week ago, ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu offered up to the Sunday Times the following observation: "We must stop doing wrong things in Parliament, otherwise we can’t as the ANC continue calling ourselves the leader of society." He was referring to the national caucus decision to support the police minister’s report on Nkandla that effectively whitewashed the affair. It is a seemingly innocuous statement and, no doubt, will serve as the source of some encouragement for those who believe the ANC can turn itself around. But it is remarkable for other reasons. We are 22 years into our democratic experiment. For the chief whip of the majority party to arrive at the conclusion that, "we must stop doing wrong things", constitutes an intent so obvious, so fundamentally inane in its simplicity, that it strikes you not because it is good or right, but because it had to be articulated at all. We must be good. Not bad. We must follow the law, not break it. We must help, not hinder; love not h...
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