Doing the rounds: Jacob Zuma + SA – More Good News

President Jacob Zuma

This is a copy of a new viral mail that’s doing the rounds at the moment – written by the joint CEO OF AdReach, Brad Fisher. 

It’s very much an a-la Alan Knott-Craig Jr.-type mail – trying very hard to stir up positivity in its readers about what is a very uncertain time in South Africa’s history.

I must admit that I don’t agree with everything in this mail.  Fisher makes some very bold and [sometimes] unsubstantiated claims.  Given the mere fact that Jacob Zuma never did have his day in court means that a lot of these claims will probably never become substantiated.

HOWEVER, that’s not to say that I don’t agree with the positive sentiment of the mail and what it’s meant to achieve.  On the contrary, I have a lot of faith in the future of SA and I’m optimistic that our new leaders will have the wisdom and foresight to govern SA properly.  I’m not one who’s going to join the droves of ex-pats running away to the far reaches of the world with their tails between their legs.

But, as with everything, time will tell.  I hope our new leaders don’t make me look like a moron for writing this.

Here’s the mail:

I have just been forwarded an article in the UK Daily Mail by PETER HITCHENS which is now unfortunately doing the rounds and no doubt doing damage to SA both at home and abroad. I have purposefully not attached the article as I believe it is ridiculously one sided and unfair on Jacob Zuma and I do not want to actively assist in its distribution. However it has prompted me to respond generally to a lot of the unfounded and distorted stuff that gets forwarded around on this topic. I have collated interesting facts on the topic from discussions I have had with various people more informed than myself (including a well renowned and highly respected South African beyond just SA who knows Jacob Zuma well).

We must be mindful that JZ was subjected to a malicious character assassination driven by his political opponents within his party, the NPA and the Media. Journalists need to write something about the elections in SA and often dig out literature off the net to make their case. In this case and many other articles it is clear that this journalist has selectively collated years of propaganda against the man. If a reporter spent sufficient time researching only negative articles about say Gordon Brown – without verifying the truth, they could also paint a frightening picture of the UK and their leader. Here are some positive points I have picked up about Jacob Zuma and SA in general:

He is a proud Zulu – with a strong sense of tradition. This does NOT mean he is intolerant of other cultures

1. He intervened and potentially saved thousands of lives in the run up to the first democratic election in SA (‘93/’94) in the most volatile areas in Natal and is thus recognised as a major contributor to stopping a civil war between ANC/Inkhata.
2. He is clever and humble enough to know he does not know it all and will surround himself with capable people. He has already dismissed the notion that he owes anyone favours and in fact has stated he only wants one term in office in any event. I believe we will be impressed by the top posts he appoints in his government.
3. He genuinely cares for the poor and understands that to deliver to these people he must have capable people in place. (recent example – he  is the only high level politician to vote in their rural area)
4. He established a bursary fund using funds that each cabinet member of the KZN Province was given to use on any project of their choice. He successfully used his allocation to help educate poor people in KZN. Today there are in excess of 1000 pupils being assisted at primary level and 10 at tertiary institutions through this initiative that he personally started and nurtured.
5. He is determined to deliver services to the poor as well as all South Africans such as cutting crime, better education, housing, health.
6. He will fire people that do not deliver – he believes he and his cabinet work for the people and if they can’t deliver they will be fired.
7. He is a strong man and has proved to be incredibly resilient. If anyone has the guts to tackle crime in SA it will be him. (got this from a senior Afrikaans cop) I believe that he understands the importance of this to SA and I thus think that our chances of reducing violent crime are better now than they have been for many years.
8. Jacob Zuma was NOT responsible for the tragic arms deal decision. He was not even in National Government when the decision was taken in 1999!! Yes It is possible (albeit not proved) that his senior party officials gave him some leftover scraps from the “incentives” from the arms company (R500 000) and yes he may well have been naïve enough to accept this. However, one must take into account that his whole life he had been given handouts from the ANC (like all other senior operatives during the struggle days and beyond). I am not condoning this (if it is the case) as he should have known better than to accept this. However this has been trumped up and distorted by his political adversaries and the media.  Clearly he was the scape-goat and it is evident that the state’s apparatus (including NPA/Scorpions) were ruthlessly used against him for political ends. We do not know the true reasons for him using all legal means at his disposal to avoid a trial but it is reasonable to accept that the whole situation is complicated and his actions do not necessarily mean that he is a dishonest man.
9. He was set up in the alleged rape case. This was the 5^th rape case this woman had been involved in and was clearly used by JZ opponents to set him. This was a most evil attempt to destroy the man – they could not have possibly thrown anything worse at him and he still suffers from the negative perception round this
10. He made a speech after his acquittal apologising to the youth for the irresponsible behaviour he demonstrated round having unprotected sex and unequivocally warned the youth that AIDS kills. The shower storey is typical of the press where they have often maliciously quoted him out of context. His enemies have ridden this to the hilt.
11. He is NOT a racist and has nothing against the whites – in fact is determined to create a more patriotic society for all South Africans.
12. The man dragged himself up from his bootstraps and attended night classes under the most difficult of circumstances.
13. He has the respect and support of the poor – a crucial fact necessary to guide SA over the next 5 years and hopefully do a better job of delivering to them.
14. He has several wives – so what this is what his culture permits (some would argue that he is a lucky man)

Jacob Zuma has been democratically elected and has the support of the people who are most impoverished and deserve a better life. Sure all citizens deserve basic rights like not living in fear of crime, but to achieve this in SA I believe the president needs our collective support. For the sake of our country we should give our new president the benefit of the doubt and be more positive and proactive.

 MORE GOOD NEWS

1. The election was free and fair. There were over 8000 polling stations with over R17m votes cast. There was no violence and no incidents to disturb voting. The ANC got 65.9 % of the vote and therefore do not have a two-thirds majority but have a solid platform to still implement their policies without trying to run things with more of a consensus approach. The DA got 16.68 of the vote and 51.4% of the Western Cape. COPE( Congress of the people) won 7.42% of the vote after only 132 days as a new party with mainly ex-ANC members. Cope is significant as they can grow their support over the next 5 years to become a larger opposition party. So we have more of a balance developing. We could not have hoped for a better result.
2. SA was regarded as safe enough to house the IPL (Indian premier league) even during a major election.
3. ESCOM is addressing its issues and Water Dept at least have acknowledged they must fix things
4. Our banks have stood up relatively well and we have thus far been less affected by the Worldwide economic slump
5. We are the Rugby World Champs, just about to win the Sevens International series and are ranked 1 in On Day Cricket. We overall were one up o Oz in the Summer Series – no mean feat.

At very least, we must recognise some of the good coming through in SA and not just keep propagating bad news, which just erodes confidence – one of the vital ingredients for growth and improvements in SA.

Regards

Brad Fisher
Joint CEO – Adreach Group of Companies
Tel: +27 11 327-7110
Fax: +27 11 327-7112
E-Mail: brad@adreach.co.za

A new breed of Afro-pessimists…

There is a very strong possibilty that the events of this week in South Africa could produce a whole new generation of Afro-pessimists and possibly lead to an increase in the emmigration rate over the next ten years if things don’t get better.

Afro-pessimists are people who, as the name suggests, are pessimistic about Africa in every way. Afro-pessimists are generally the first to pack up their bags and leave the country for supposed “greener pastures” in the UK, New Zealand or Australia, or are the people who begrudgingly stay in the country because they are making too much money to leave.

South Africa is falling apart

From the alleged racist shooting in Skielik, to the eight straight days of power cuts by state-owned power utility, Eskom, and mounting septisism about the country’s leaders’ ability to make decisions and lead the country effectively, it’s easy to see how the population can become disillusioned very quickly.

We have our defence minister arrested for exceeding the speed limit of 120km/h on the highway – doing 189km/h, the national police commisioner arrested for alleged corruption, and the almost-certain future president of the country up on charges of corruption.

Add rising fuel prices, sharp growth in interest rates, ever-increasing inflation rates, shortages of everyday items like petrol, milk, headache tablets, beer, carbinated drinks and an economy that’s not showing the same levels of growth as a few years ago – it’s recipe for growing negative sentiment.

It’s sad because there are many people doing a lot of good things in this country and, despite their best efforts, there are a handful of people and institutions that managed to mess things up on a grand scale for the rest of us.

And I, for one, am one of those people who chooses to be positive about SA. But this cocktail of challenges makes it difficult to maintain a positive opinion and it wears your tolerance down after a while.

There’s no quick solution to this problem that we have in SA. Like any “new” democracy, we’re going to have teething problems but how much are people willing to put up with? How much is it going to take before people begin leaving the country or, even worse, taking things into their own hands.

Many people will choose to remain positive, but there will be an increase in the global Afro-pessimist population and there will be further justification to those people who left over the last thirteen years as to why they left in the first place.