Kathrada Foundation welcomes Zuma’s resignation
JOBURG – Kathrada foundation hails Zuma's resignation as a public victory.
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation has welcomed the decision by Jacob Zuma to resign as South Africa’s president.
Neeshan Balton, the foundation’s executive director, said that Zuma’s resignation is one that will elicit a sigh of relief from all South Africans.
“For the first time in almost a decade, South Africans can rejoice that the sun has set on the Zuma era. Despite it having taken a long time for the voices of ordinary people to be heard, we can finally celebrate that the president, who had become a symbol of the erosion of state integrity, has left office,” said Balton.
He indicated that Zuma’s resignation is due to the cumulative efforts of civil society, business, labour, the religious sector, opposition parties, members within the ruling party, journalists, whistle-blowers, honest public servants, the judiciary and ordinary people.
“On this occasion, I wish that Ahmed Kathrada could have been with us to know that his letter, written almost two years ago, calling on Zuma to step down, had eventually struck a chord.
“I think that he would have been saddened that it had taken so long for Zuma to ‘submit to the will of the people’, but also proud of the work done by individuals across all sectors of society, putting pressure on the ANC to take the decision to recall him, leading to his resignation.”
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However, Balton cautioned that while Zuma’s recall indicates a victory for the people, the fight against state capture is ongoing.
“We’ve removed someone who had presided over a systemic process of state capture that has crept into all tiers of government. Tomorrow, there will still be public officials stealing from state coffers; there will still be individuals who wield undue influence over politicians; there will still be groups willing to defend the state capture project, and there will still be an economy and society wrecked by poor governance.
“It is going to take years of hard work from all sectors of society to reverse state capture and build a state based on integrity, accountability and transparency.”
He stressed the important role the African National Congress has in ensuring that corruption is tackled.
“We also want the truth – South Africans deserve to know the full extent of the damage done to the country under the Zuma administration, and we hope that the various commissions and inquiries underway into state capture and state-owned entities can reveal such,” Balton said.
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The foundation hopes that law enforcement agencies continue to investigate and prosecute all those who facilitated state capture and has called for serious ramifications for the corrupt to serve as a deterrent to others.
“The foundation will continue supporting efforts aimed at dismantling state capture and building a country based on the values of our Constitution. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the vision of Kathrada and his generation is not trampled underfoot by those who only seek to serve their own interests.
“It is our hope that as this new era dawns in our country, and South Africans will remain vigilant in defending our hard-won democracy against state capture.”
