South Africa: A Promise Betrayed

SOUTH AFRICA

A Promise, Betrayed

The imminent fall of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe has raised serious questions about the future of Jacob Zuma, the president of neighboring South Africa.

Both men have presided over corruption and economic decline, and both have lost the confidence of the ruling parties that played key roles in ending the white supremacist regimes that were legacies of British rule on the continent.

Next month, there will be a pivotal moment. The African National Congress will elect a new party leader.

Already, there are calls for Zuma to step down as head of state rather than finish the last two years of his term, party whip Jackson Mthembu told Reuters. That would give the party stalwarts time to reorganize and distance themselves from the president’s perfidy, argued Mthembu.

“You can’t keep him there,” he said.

Those striking comments came amid the buzz surrounding a recent book, “The President’s Keepers,” by investigative journalist Jacques Pauw. The text argues Zuma is more a racketeer than a politician, running a government where bribery and self-dealing have become de rigueur.

Echoing the events leading to Mugabe’s troubles, the damage to Zuma was largely self-inflicted. State security officials attempted to recall the book, while tax authorities threatened a lawsuit against the author. Zuma’s arrogance and stupidity – believing he could suppress the book and that nobody would notice – piqued the public’s interest.

“The book flew off the shelves, selling out by the weekend,” wroteQuartz.

These things have consequences. The South African economy, a vital hub in the region, is tanking. Investors are fleeing the country, reported the Maverick, a respected online newspaper. Debt is skyrocketing. Unemployment is reaching 28 percent. The public utility, Eskom, is on the brink of insolvency, likely necessitating a bailout.

In a compelling news feature, The New York Times described how South Africa’s economy under Zuma has failed to uplift those ground down under Apartheid: the poor blacks living in the country’s sprawling slums.

Meanwhile, the British bank HSBC recently closed accounts belonging to the Gupta clan, a rich family accused of “state capture,” or bribing politicians like Zuma to do their bidding, Bloomberg reported. British regulators are investigating whether the bank facilitated money laundering linked to the Guptas.

The contrast between poor ordinary folks and corrupt leaders is becoming untenable.

“There’s still a very strong, kind of powerful thing around him to try and protect Jacob Zuma, but he’s certainly losing followers by the day,” journalist Kim Cloete told PRI. “I think his time is running out.”

The question, however, is what Zuma might do with the time he has left.