Zuma’s years ‘were a disaster’ for South Africa – Mac Maharaj [VIDEO]

Anti-apartheid activist and the late former president Nelson Mandela’s friend, Mac Maharaj, described former president Jacob Zuma’s years in office as a “disaster” for South Africa.

Maharaj was reflecting and sharing his insights on what went wrong in the country 35 years after Mandela’s release from prison.

The former statesman’s release from prison marked a significant change in the political landscape of South Africa — transitioning from the brutal regime of apartheid to democracy.

Zuma to blame?

Maharaj told Newzroom Afrika that he reflected on where the country might have gone wrong.

“I’ve come to this discussion asking myself, for years now, where we committed major mistakes. The easiest part, looking back, is to put the blame on Zuma. I think his years were a disaster for the country.

“But I do not think we should waste our time dwelling on that because it was based on a corrupt state and capture by corrupt people, and it was a squandering of our resources and a destruction of the state that we were busy building,” Maharaj said.

Zuma defended his tenure as head of state, claiming the narrative that his nine years of presidency were a waste was “dishonesty” and “propaganda.”

Watch: Mac Maharaj reflect on the Zuma years

[WATCH] Mac Maharaj reflects on what could have gone wrong in the country 35 years after Mandela's release from prison: "…I ask myself where did we commit the mistakes? The easiest part is to put the blame on
[Jacob] Zuma. His years were a disaster for the country."… pic.twitter.com/ari6Ukv2w5

— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) February 11, 2025

ALSO READ: Zuma’s MK party in turmoil as members allegedly threaten each other with guns

Madiba’s administration

Maharaj said he also reflected on his time in government.

“For me, I have to criticise myself, and I look back, and I say that the ANC under Mandela came into government in 1994 with a three-pronged programme. The first of it was the reconstruction of our society and economy. The second one was to reconcile our people. The third one was to build a nation out of our diversity,” Maharaj said.

“Where I think we went wrong is Madiba was, I would say in quotes, a reluctant president, and he chose to devote his term to focusing on reconciliation and nation-building and also took a great interest in any possibilities of counter-revolution rearing its head in our country.

FW de Klerk

Maharaj said that while Madiba did not chair any clusters, he did attend every security and intelligence cluster meeting that FW de Klerk chaired

“The point I want to make here is that we separated these three legs, which were part, an integral part of one process, and we began to attend to them in separate silos so that people could not see the interconnection. And I think that is the start of our problem, Maharaj said.

Maharaj said the current level of political discourse in the country is very low and that it is imperative that young people enter the political landscape, “and I am happy to see that I am the dinosaur in today’s pane”.  

Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years in three different prisons: Robben Island, Victor Verster Prison, and Pollsmoor Prison in the Western Cape.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Ramaphosa says due processes followed to expel Zuma