Jacob Zuma will be back in parliament by the end of the year. With his new MK Party, he has effectively split the ANC’s voter base, especially in KZN.
He still has significant support, if not nationally, then certainly in his home province, where he commands at least customary respect.
Considering the ongoing voter apathy we’ve experienced from one election to the next, the MK Party is likely to get enough votes to have representatives in parliament.
And considering that Zuma is their top candidate, his MP seat is practically a certainty.
Interestingly, his former youth league has now distanced itself from him, going as far as blaming the ANC’s waning support on Zuma’s presidency.
At a rally last weekend, the league’s Collen Malatji is quoted as saying: “The first mistake we made, we gave a Grade-2 dropout a country to lead for 10 years.”
This is a massive departure from previous youth league statements to the effect of not needing a university degree to lead the country.
Malatji, however, promised that the Zuma thing will never happen again and they will elect and appoint people who were fit for positions.
It’s a statement that also implies an admission that they had in fact previously, knowingly appointed people unfit for positions.
Be that as it may, parliamentary sittings over the next five years are going to be tense, if not explosive, considering that the opposition benches will seat someone with intimate knowledge of both the ruling party and government’s machinations.
And if he is in any way bitter, he could use his speaking times and parliamentary privilege to spill some of those secret beans.
The 29th of May is going to be very interesting, least of all because it will be 30 years and one month after we first cast our democratic vote.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za