Dr Zamani Saul – A premier for the people

In the Northern Cape – the poorest province, with a staggering unemployment rate of 29.8% – civil servants are fighting a losing battle to persuade Premier Dr Zamani Saul to mount his photograph in government buildings, purchase a new vehicle, fly business class or stay in the official residence.

Saul, a modest visionary leader on a belt-tightening crusade, wants none of that. Unlike other public representatives who enjoy the trappings of public office: opulence, luxury and patronage – the athletic Saul, who has first-hand experience of growing up in poverty, has reason “to live a normal life”. He said: “Growing up I experienced poverty, hence I put people first in whatever I do.

“When I was young, I stayed in an informal settlement of Kitskraal and my mother, Nodayephi, used to daily walk us to school and back – a stretch of seven kilometres. A strong woman, my mother was a farm labourer at the age of nine, has never seen a classroom – carrying a hammer and nails, she built the shack we lived in herself.”

The only prominent photographs on the walls of the Kimberley government building housing the premier’s office are of President Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC founding secretary-general Sol Plaatje – a break from tradition.

“My reasoning is ideological. I firmly believe I should not be put on a pedestal, because I was elected to this position by the poor masses to serve them and not to be celebrated. Such things as official photographs and red carpets are symbols of power-drunk autocrats.

“I belong to a different generation of leadership. Having my photograph in buildings would mean I am a premier by default and the people who elected me do not know who I am.”

Saul – a breath of fresh air compared to his predecessor, Sylvia Lucas, who lived a lavish lifestyle in a sea of poverty – believes in simplicity. “I would love to fly business class, but the reality is the province’s financial position. I inherited the vehicle I use from my predecessor, and would not want to endorse a proposal from civil servants who attempted to push for a new vehicle to be purchased for me.

“People should be careful about the trappings of power. They told me that the car, which had clocked over 150km, should be changed in line with government guidelines. When I asked what was wrong with it, nobody could give me an answer,” said Saul.

“In the interest of saving lives, I had to attend to the matter of an ambulance with more kilometres [on the clock] than my vehicle. When I told officials that nobody buys me a new car, but we buy ambulances to save lives, I was branded a populist. I bought 60 ambulances to cover such rural areas as Strydenburg and today I derive joy from such a decision. This move saved a child who suffered from fits … because that child could have died due to lack of ambulances.”

The fifth premier of the Northern Cape, Saul has been the ANC provincial chair since 2017. This was after serving as deputy secretary and later secretary of the governing party.

He completed Grade 12 at Umso High School in Colesberg, obtained a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the University of the Free State, a Master of Laws degree and a Doctorate of Laws degree in Public Law and Jurisprudence from the University of the Western Cape.

While a first-year student at UWC, Saul stayed in the university library hall for six weeks because there was no accommodation for him on campus, surviving on popcorn and water.

“I used to attend lectures carrying my luggage. A child of a single parent, I have experienced the ravages of poverty at home. With her meagre wages of R30 per month, my mother would send me R21 through the post office.

“I would buy a packet of popcorn and eat it for three days, drinking lots of water. It was the cheapest meal I could afford, hence I no longer eat popcorn because it evokes memories,” said Saul.

Presiding over one of the poorest provinces in the country with a population of 1.27 million people – 40% of whom survive on state social grants – Saul has big plans. He said: “With limited resources, we managed to achieve certain things here due to making sacrifices – in line with the vision of a government for the people.

“Every public servant here will tell you about the objective of turning the poverty and drought-stricken rural Northern Cape into a 21st century province, because we are the only part of South Africa that is still in the 20th century.

“Modernising the province with digitalisation and advancement in technology is uppermost, especially when looking at the state of our hospitals, where patients’ files are processed manually. Ninety-five percent of cases in casualty do not get files on time because it takes three to four hours to make a file before a patient sees a doctor.

“We are also addressing connectivity because our public libraries have no free Wi-Fi. We are working with Vodacom to create 200 Wi-Fi hotspots – strengthening capacity for reliable broadband in rural areas.”

When the hard-working premier is not in meetings, he is likely to be keeping fit on a treadmill at home in Hillcrest where he lives with wife Tapsy and their children.

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