Comments on: Can Zuma live up to unity pledge?

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:32:03 +0000

“Zuma made great efforts to charm South Africans of all colours before the election, making a particular effort to woo Afrikaners.”
This was an important gesture from Mr Zuma, but it is now time to show leadership. To bring about unity is not an one man effort. Mr Zuma cannot allow that ANC leaders as the governing party continue with racist remarks towards opposition leaders or people who did not vote for the ANC.
Every person has the right to elect persons to represent them according to their own convictions. That is democracy. To have an election is not implying democracy.
Leadership is to serve all peoples of a nation with conviction under the law of the country, taking responsibility where necessary and not avoiding debate regarding real issues that work will help towards national unity.
I believe many of the electorate voted with conviction on the basis of the evidence before them, reflecting over the past 15 years and also the last two years in the country. Elected representatives of all parties now have the responsibility to respect the electorate for that and serve them. The other side of the coin is that the electorate must now work with those who are elected to bring about national unity in the country.
I would like to say to Mr Zuma, “you may have won the presidency, but you are not yet the nation’s president”.
A president of a nation should show real leadership and serve the people of the country as he is just like anyone else under (the) ultimate Authority.

By: Deane

Deane — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 07:02:53 +0000

This election was about delivery for the poor. As Jacob Zuma has pointed out, we cannot afford to change our economic policies and risk destroying economic growth and job creation. He has also accepted that previous ANC governments have failed the poor by squandering state resources through cronyism, incompetence, laziness and corruption by top level state functionaries. The empowerment of the poor and marginalised to enable them to aquire the skills needed to find jobs (or create their own) and bring them into the mainstream of the economy and social and political life is critical for the future of this country. The poorest of the poor are the landless people in the rural areas, so an energetic and effective land reform programme is essential for success.

By: Philippe Mandangi

Philippe Mandangi — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:40:00 +0000

The racial issue will not be eradicated in any part of the world, whatever effort is made. This does not mean that efforts should be made in fighting racism, it is a matter of putting the structure in place to enforce laws against racism. Zuma has been elected at a time that democracy has already settled and the priority today is to create jobs for South Africans to be able to support themselves. And some of those who know how to handle the economy are in the opposition, which contribution is not negligeable. So, the unity call has come and should do its meaning.

By: Bunya

Bunya — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:01:50 +0000

I think Mr Zuma is a very capable leader and there’s really no need for anyone to believe that he’s going to destroy the country. His only problem is his personal life which is so messed up. If he can keep his personal life clean andout of the media spotlight, his work will be made a lot easier.

By: Max

Max — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:30:43 +0000

The ANC is corrupt and unfortunately will not really do anything for the masses, who are just as bad off as they ever were. They keep voting for the ANC because of promises that the ANC makes, but cannot fulfill. Politically they do not see any other alternatives in spite of the broken promises. South Africa is no better today than it was when they took over. The only reason that the country survives is because of the economy driven by the white minority. Cities like Johannesburg are now slums … the smart people moved their businesses out of there. I suspect that the successful businesses survive through bribes and payoffs .. same as it was during the apartheid era. The alternative party, the Democratic Alliance has been successful in the Western Cape because the residents there are more educated and have realized that as long as the ANC stays in power nothing will change. We will see now if after this election what the ANC will do .. are they going to try shut the opposition down or are they going to allow free speech that may eventually result in their demise if they do not deliver on their promises of a better life for all, jobs for all, etc. etc.

By: Kabo

Kabo — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:58:16 +0000

I will first start by giving Mr Zuma a benefit of doubt by assuming that he and ANC are 100% commited towards national unity. History has shown that the greatest deviding factor or element is access to national resources. Equal access to these will to a large extent ease the tensions that otherwise polerise ethnic groups within countries.

The problem Zuma has is that the greatest resource that all and sundry depend on,LAND, is already owned by a few individuals who are not willing to part with it. If you take the case of Botswana, South Africa’s neighbour, as much as the country may have a few tribal differences, they have never realy become a political issue because almost everyone has a piece of land they can lay claim to. Infact before the collapse of the agriculture sector, the general population had very little interest in politics.

If Mr Zuma and ANC can find a PEACEFUL process of Land redistribution, he will attain a better process of wealth creation and citizen empowerment that will facilitate the National UNity that is otherwise and elusive concept