JZ drops poll bomb
SIBONGAKONKE SHOBA | 09 January, 2014 07:09
![[Image: TTP12ZUMA17-16-12-2013-14-12-10-852-.jpg]]()
Speaking to hundreds of supporters in KaNyamazane, near Nelspruit, as part of the ANC's 102nd birthday celebrations, Zuma made it clear that he wanted to change the constitution - without specifying the changes.
"We want a huge majority this time because we want to change certain things that couldn't be changed with a small majority so that we move forward because there are certain hurdles. People talk about a constitution they have never seen. We saw that constitution," he said.
Zuma was not immediately available to explain his remarks after his speech.
When ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu was approached for clarity, he said: "I'm not the one who was making the speech. Ask him. It is unfair to us for you to ask us to decode someone else's speech."
Presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj referred all queries to the ANC.
Zuma's remarks are likely to spark controversy, especially in opposition circles in which , for a number of years, there have been suspicions that certain ANC leaders were not happy with some of the civil liberties guaranteed by the constitution and were frustrated by the power it gave the judiciary over the executive.
But political analyst Steven Friedman described talk of constitutional amendments as a "red-herring", saying it made a "fair amount of political sense but won't come to anything".
Friedman said there was little that could be changed in the constitution, and that the ANC had emerged from the 2004 general election with a two-thirds majority but had made no constitutional amendments.
"The president knows the ANC won't get a two-thirds majority. It is simply a way of saying to the party's constituency: 'Look, we tried to change things but we couldn't because you didn't give us a two-thirds majority'."
Buoyed by his warm reception from the crowd, Zuma appeared relaxed and confident of securing a second term as president despite calls for him to step down over the controversial R206-million "security upgrading" at his Nkandla private home.
Zuma said he wanted the party to win 90% of the vote in Mpumalanga so that he could go there to slaughter cattle for party supporters.
"If you get below 90%, I won't come back," he said.
However, critics have predicted that the ANC is likely, for the first time since 1994, to get less than 60% of the vote nationally and will suffer major losses in a number of provinces.
The party faces discontent even among its followers, some of whom have been incensed by the Nkandla scandal. Zuma's detractors have been calling for his resignation since snippets of public protector Thuli Madonsela's report on Nkandla were leaked to the media.
But a confident Zuma hit back at his critics yesterday, telling party supporters that the ANC would govern "forever and ever".
"Whether they like it or not, we'll continue to govern.
"They always say the ANC won't win. When they say that they are day-dreaming. Because when a person is dreaming while walking it means he's unstable."
Zuma has previously come under heavy criticism from religious leaders for claiming that the ANC will "rule until Jesus comes".
Zuma said the recent matric results were a sign that the ANC was "working hard" to improve the lives of South Africans.
"Did you see how well the matriculants performed? We identified weaknesses in the education system and built a foundation. It will never have weaknesses again. Others want to find fault. No, our 'freedom' kids are smart. It's a sign that we're working hard," he said.
In a veiled attack on the DA, which has called for an independent audit of the matric results, Zuma said those who questioned the outcomes were undermining blacks.
"Those who were saying black kids are not smart . I heard one white person calling for an audit because they [black pupils] can't perform so well. I said to myself that's an old mentality that black people are not smart. If they excel in their schoolwork we must check why and how they passed."
Zuma shifted his focus to smaller parties and urged the crowd not to ''waste'' their votes on them.
"Why vote for smaller parties because these people know very well they'll never win elections. Why vote for them because if you do you'll be throwing your vote away," he said in apparent reference to Mamphela Ramphele's Agang SA and Julius Malema's Economic Freedom Fighters.
Zuma and other ANC leaders are in Mpumalanga to mobilise party supporters to attend the ANC's election manifesto launch and anniversary celebrations at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday. - Additional reporting by Olebogeng Molatlhwa
SIBONGAKONKE SHOBA | 09 January, 2014 07:09
![[Image: TTP12ZUMA17-16-12-2013-14-12-10-852-.jpg]](http://www.timeslive.co.za/Feeds/ipad_images/2013/12/17/ttp12zuma17-16-12-2013-14-12-10-852-.jpg/ALTERNATES/crop_630x400/TTP12ZUMA17-16-12-2013-14-12-10-852-.jpg)
Speaking to hundreds of supporters in KaNyamazane, near Nelspruit, as part of the ANC's 102nd birthday celebrations, Zuma made it clear that he wanted to change the constitution - without specifying the changes.
"We want a huge majority this time because we want to change certain things that couldn't be changed with a small majority so that we move forward because there are certain hurdles. People talk about a constitution they have never seen. We saw that constitution," he said.
Zuma was not immediately available to explain his remarks after his speech.
When ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu was approached for clarity, he said: "I'm not the one who was making the speech. Ask him. It is unfair to us for you to ask us to decode someone else's speech."
Presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj referred all queries to the ANC.
Zuma's remarks are likely to spark controversy, especially in opposition circles in which , for a number of years, there have been suspicions that certain ANC leaders were not happy with some of the civil liberties guaranteed by the constitution and were frustrated by the power it gave the judiciary over the executive.
But political analyst Steven Friedman described talk of constitutional amendments as a "red-herring", saying it made a "fair amount of political sense but won't come to anything".
Friedman said there was little that could be changed in the constitution, and that the ANC had emerged from the 2004 general election with a two-thirds majority but had made no constitutional amendments.
"The president knows the ANC won't get a two-thirds majority. It is simply a way of saying to the party's constituency: 'Look, we tried to change things but we couldn't because you didn't give us a two-thirds majority'."
Buoyed by his warm reception from the crowd, Zuma appeared relaxed and confident of securing a second term as president despite calls for him to step down over the controversial R206-million "security upgrading" at his Nkandla private home.
Zuma said he wanted the party to win 90% of the vote in Mpumalanga so that he could go there to slaughter cattle for party supporters.
"If you get below 90%, I won't come back," he said.
However, critics have predicted that the ANC is likely, for the first time since 1994, to get less than 60% of the vote nationally and will suffer major losses in a number of provinces.
The party faces discontent even among its followers, some of whom have been incensed by the Nkandla scandal. Zuma's detractors have been calling for his resignation since snippets of public protector Thuli Madonsela's report on Nkandla were leaked to the media.
But a confident Zuma hit back at his critics yesterday, telling party supporters that the ANC would govern "forever and ever".
"Whether they like it or not, we'll continue to govern.
"They always say the ANC won't win. When they say that they are day-dreaming. Because when a person is dreaming while walking it means he's unstable."
Zuma has previously come under heavy criticism from religious leaders for claiming that the ANC will "rule until Jesus comes".
Zuma said the recent matric results were a sign that the ANC was "working hard" to improve the lives of South Africans.
"Did you see how well the matriculants performed? We identified weaknesses in the education system and built a foundation. It will never have weaknesses again. Others want to find fault. No, our 'freedom' kids are smart. It's a sign that we're working hard," he said.
In a veiled attack on the DA, which has called for an independent audit of the matric results, Zuma said those who questioned the outcomes were undermining blacks.
"Those who were saying black kids are not smart . I heard one white person calling for an audit because they [black pupils] can't perform so well. I said to myself that's an old mentality that black people are not smart. If they excel in their schoolwork we must check why and how they passed."
Zuma shifted his focus to smaller parties and urged the crowd not to ''waste'' their votes on them.
"Why vote for smaller parties because these people know very well they'll never win elections. Why vote for them because if you do you'll be throwing your vote away," he said in apparent reference to Mamphela Ramphele's Agang SA and Julius Malema's Economic Freedom Fighters.
Zuma and other ANC leaders are in Mpumalanga to mobilise party supporters to attend the ANC's election manifesto launch and anniversary celebrations at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday. - Additional reporting by Olebogeng Molatlhwa