Sibusiso Samantungwa
Blame it on either the African National Congress (ANC) or CR17 Campaign donors for giving us a useless president that is Cyril Ramaphosa. The president might enjoy support in the corners of media, elite corridors and bought ANC National Executive Committee (ANC) members, but he certainly does not enjoy the same support that all his predecessors enjoyed within all quarters of society. He is the worst leader that the country has come to witness since the advent of democracy.
In the midst of a crisis, he decided to misuse the platform given to him by more than 10 million voters of the ANC to launch an attack on the Zulu people. It was indeed disingenuous and stupid of him to drag the Zulu people’s name through the mud to appease his handlers. I, for one, will not tolerate such insult.
He must desist from uttering words that seek to divide our country. Indeed, the protests started in KwaZulu-Natal after former president Jacob Zuma was jailed. Hence, we saw widespread protests that turned violent, then escalated to other provinces such as Gauteng and some parts of North West and Mpumalanga.
To use the tribal narrative and try to evade providing leadership where it is needed, he has continued to demonstrate his myopic and naive way of handling a crisis. We certainly won’t buy into that nonsense. President Ramaphosa must always rise above each occasion when called upon – especially during difficult times. We, as a country, cannot be held ransom by a clueless person such as Ramaphosa and continues to address the nation without any concise plan that seeks to address challenges faced by many people.
These violent protests may have been triggered by Zuma's incarceration, but there are deep-seated problems of a government that has provided no direction to its citizens since he assumed office. Clad in Ramaphoria crusade, he then delivered a resounding speech in 2018 and he inspired many but that was short-lived.
President Ramaphosa has over the past three years demonstrated that he is not interested in leading South Africa to a better future. The poor have suffered immensely under his leadership and the continued looting in his government has resulted in many people taking charge of their lives.
The acts of criminality and looters that we have seen in the past few days are a replica of what the top leadership has been doing. If Ramaphosa wants to deploy the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), he must first set them on looters he continues to protect in his administration.
People cannot be fooled and told that these looters are Zulus, who are you to say such a demeaning statement in the wake of the high-rising unemployment rate, hunger, and poverty among young people.
President Zuma may be on the wrong side of the law but he never branded violent protests and destruction of public property of Vuwani as a tribal war between Venda and Tsonga people. He sent a team of ministers to assess the situation and find solutions, something you clearly do not want to implore but instead you declared a war on civilians.
Perhaps I must remind you that many among the looters are hungry; they have no food as you have closed the country and lots of them are without employment. Your selective reasoning won’t help you to defuse the situation. However, true leadership will provide necessary solutions to avert this situation from escalating beyond this point.
* Sibusiso Samantungwa is an ANCYL and ANC member from Mzala Nxumalo Region in KwaZulu-Natal.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
The Star