Zuma's exit dilemma: A state pension or the dangerous Gupta honeypot?
President Jacob Zuma and Ajay Gupta — PICTURE: SUPPLIED As former and current senior members of the ANC plot to get rid of him, President Jacob Zuma has some quick calculating to do. Does he negotiate an exit that allows him to resign and thus hold on to his R2.8-million annual salary for life, plus staff and security? Or does he hold on for dear life and chase the prize he has slowly been building around his family’s business ties with the Gupta family?Thabo Mbeki chose wisely when he was pushed out by the ANC in 2008. He resigned gracefully with his benefits intact and he has been able with those resources to carve out an intellectually and politically stimulating retirement for himself. Zuma would find the Mbeki option much more challenging. He is not widely admired as a statesman and he has a large family to support. His instinct, right until the last possible moment, will be to stick with the Gupta option.That option is complex and treacherous, partly because the building block...
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