ANC failed to make sense since 2017, powerful people chased away the Guptas – Zuma

Former President Jacob Zuma said the African National Congress (ANC) has failed to make any sense since the party’s elective conference at Nasrec and that some powerful people were responsible for chasing away the Gupta brothers from South Africa.

Zuma addressed supporters from his Nkandla homestead, which was also streamed live on Twitter.

During the ANC Nasrec elective conference in 2017, Zuma was left stunned after Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma lost to Cyril Ramaphosa.

Zuma said the ANC has made decisions that does not benefit black people.

He accused white people of sowing division within the black community and elevating their spies to positions of power in the ANC.

“We have elected people and sent them to Parliament to go and represent us. If you listen to Parliament seriously, is there any debate that talks about us there? How we the poor, the majority must be helped. Nothing.”

“We have been deviated from what we need to do and unfortunately this is what I was saying earlier that unfortunately we all just sit. Instead, we are being made to fight among ourselves and there are people who are brought to perpetuate that so that there is no unity,” Zuma said.

Zuma said during the last election, while campaigning, he consulted with pastors on unity.

“Black unity is critical for our future and the future of this country. But people don’t listen and people are going to say ‘that man is mad, that man is corrupt’.”

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About being criticised in the media and social media, Zuma said the media is an “instrument of those who have everything to do whatever they want”.

“Through media they can destroy you. Through media they can build you to become a big person, because they’ve got the means to do so.”

Zuma said The New Age newspaper and ANN7 television channel was attacked by propagandists.  

“The New Age was reporting different to the mainstream media… It did not end there. A channel was established, ANN7, which reported different. Where are they today? Dead, killed by the powerful because the media is under those who control everything. That’s a problem.”

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Zuma said this came partly from the ANC.

“It was partly from some ANC members who were trying to counter the propaganda, because the major propaganda has been anti-ANC propaganda. And because there were attempts to do so, you ended with the people who established that being so criticised that they were chased out of the country in order to remove the opposing views in terms of how you report in South Africa.”

“So, it is part of oppression, it part of the powerful being above everything else. Who owns the media in South Africa? When you get there, you’ll realise, it is owned by those who have all the money. What can you do if you don’t have the money? You will remain an underdog forever,” Zuma said.

Despite criticising the ANC, Zuma said he will remain in the party and fight for the realisation of its policies.