Some people are making me a scapegoat of everything – Zuma

In a video interview released on Thursday, former president Jacob Zuma warned Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, President Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC head of elections Fikile Mbalula against criticising him in public, saying their actions were not “healthy” for the ruling party.

In an interview with former Sunday Independent and Citizen editor Steve Motale in the wake of a long statement about the same topic released on Twitter on Tuesday, Zuma said that by criticising him publicly, these ANC leaders were indirectly criticising the entire ANC government, as the “nine wasted years” were ANC years.

“I’ve heard a number of people, not just ANC people, who’ve said things about the nine wasted years. Tito Mboweni has been very specific in Davos when he put the nine years as a big problem. If you take what Cyril Ramaphosa has been saying, it was the ANC government that was in charge, but he was direct in putting the blame on me. It’s not true, I would want my comrades to discontinue using the nine years in this manner because it’s not true and it’s not good for the ANC.

“What Tito said in Davos made me respond. Some people are making me a scapegoat of everything. I’m made to be the number one corrupt man,” Zuma told Africa News 24-7.

The former president said these public utterances were what “forced” him to “deal” with Mbalula on Twitter recently, but because he was a “disciplined” member of the ANC, he had ended the discussion on social media and told Mbalula to have the discussion with him in private.

“It must stop, because it is not healthy and making us argue about it in public.”

Zuma said Ramaphosa’s statement that he was “busy cleaning this mess” constituted “political dishonesty” because, in reality, the ANC had achieved much in those nine years.

“Forgetting what ANC has done is problematic and I have a problem with it,” he said.

Though he said he would not say anything bad about Ramaphosa, he said it was “not normal” for the president to say bad things about him after they had campaigned together in KwaZulu-Natal before the manifesto launch rally. Echoing his Twitter statement, he urged ANC leaders not to abuse his name when campaigning for the party, as that tactic had backfired in Gauteng when the ruling party lost major metros in the 2016 elections.

The former president also cleared the air on rumours that he was behind emerging political parties, saying he saw no need for him to join any political party as none of them would produce better policies than the ruling party.

“I’m a member of the ANC, not because it is a wonderful organisation but because I believe in its policies, principles and ideas. Parties that have emerged have to produce better policies than the ANC. Why should I form other parties? For what reason? I cannot be party to the mushrooming political parties. I’m not bitter. I’ll die in the ANC.”

When Motale asked Zuma how “difficult” it was for him to face the public in the wake of negative public statements being made about him and “tell the public to go and vote for the same party that said you are a problem?”

Zuma answered: “No. I don’t find it very difficult. I live among the people. I talk to the people. I campaign among them. The people understand me. And I think they understand me better, that they should vote for the ANC.”

He mentioned that there had been “murmurings” that people should not vote for the ANC after the way Zuma “was treated”, which he said he had been trying to correct, that “the ANC has committed no crime … if we as individuals commit mistakes, let us be dealt with as individuals”.

(Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde)

Also read: Zuma hits back at those in the ANC calling his terms ‘nine lost years’ 

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