EDITORIAL: The too-heavy price SA paid for Zuma
The Zuma years stripped away the romantic notion that the ANC is still a ‘struggle party’ with leaders fired up by noble ideals
Back in July 2008, a full nine months before he was sworn in as president of SA, Jacob Zuma put his cards on the table in an interview with Independent Newspapers. "I would prefer to leave after one term ... if it was me deciding, if the ANC had made me president of the country, [I would prefer one term]," he said. It was the sort of freewheeling discussion that burnished Zuma’s reputation as an accessible leader, in contrast to the icy and aloof Thabo Mbeki who, unbeknown to him at the time, was in the last weeks of his presidency. At the time, Zuma spoke of how it was the ANC leadership, not the president, who should call the shots. "Once you allow that tendency [of centralising power], you are in danger that the people will not be able to defend their democracy [or] defend their power. I’ve been warning we should be wary of this, it is a dangerous thing," he said. Well, yes. What a difference a decade makes. The irony is that this week Zuma could not be torn away from his office ...
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