Jacob Zuma: “You Have Less Rights Because You Are A Minority”

Jacob_Zuma,_2009_World_Economic_Forum_on_Africa-10

President Zuma, answering a question from from DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko yesterday in front of the National Assembly, said ”[y]ou have more rights because you’re a majority; you have less rights because you’re a minority. That’s how democracy works.”

The opposition parliamentarians had a collective hernia before one shouted, quite fairly, at our democratically elected president “You don’t understand democracy!”

To put this rather strange remark in context; Mazibuko had asked if the President would consider changes to the labour relations regime, which pegs the union representation threshold at 51%. News24 reported that:

She said this had led to the situation where AMCU (the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union) was not a recognised union at Lonmin’s platinum mine, and therefore excluded from wage negotiations.

But JZ responded by suggesting that in a democracy the majority prevailed. Maybe his mind was on elections and counting votes, where the majority does win. He went on:

We operate within regulated society… Between workers and employers there have been negotiations and agreements, and those agreements must be respected.

In a democratic situation, it is the majority that prevail. I can’t change the rules because you want to make a particular point. You can’t then say, smaller unions must then be compared to the bigger unions in the same way.

The president’s point was that workers who did not join the majority union could not expect the same privileges. He finished with this wonderful clanger which we will repeat because a statement like this from a president is just too good a comedic moment:

You have more rights because you’re a majority; you have less rights because you’re a minority. That’s how democracy works.

We are all aware that is not how a democracy works. We have set up a pretty good one along with an amazing constitution and Bill of Rights, which are designed so that the very opposite is true. Zuma, not giving up, suggested that it was the other parliamentarians who did not understand democracy saying it was “a question of accepting the rules of democracy, and operating within them”. I think we can all agree that all the nation wants is for our government to start operating – more often – within the rules.

[Source: News24]

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Twa

I do not see how Zuma is wrong here. I am not a supporter of democracy for that very same reason.I mean we cannot deny the fact that the majority chooses who will run the country , we cannot deny the Khoisan languages are not official languages etc..Our constitution merely guards against discrimination directed at minorities but it does not suddenly give the same powers and ultimately the same rights as the majority.Even a five year old can tell you we cannot all get what we want at the same time , and in democracy the majority gets what it wants (in theory , in actuality the political party the majority voted for gets its way). Unfortunately a small union will not get its way as much as a bigger union , no one is going to do what a few people want in lieu of their demands lets be reasonable.
asmartass

For crying in a bucket ….this man is an idiot …and to think that you voted for this muppet …I don’t know who is more of an idiot the people who voted for the muppet party …or the idiots running the muppet party ….
PsiCoRe

We have wage laws that cover minimum salaries and expected benefits for employees. You don’t need to be in a Union to benefit from being a citizen. The Unions are not there to change the law or operate as its own government or protection racket. The only reason they should exist is to drive for necessary change and ensure their employees have proper legal representation should their employers not adhere to the law. Neither Zuma nor the unions understand the purpose of a union. The unions are also a bunch of idiots. I would not be pushing for better wages, particularly to miners who statically are not educated in managing finances. I would be pushing for more benefits to housing both at the mines and for their families who most likely live far away. Better medical cover, particularly for them and also cover their families to take away the worry should they get sick, since as I said, they live far away. Free education for their children, so they aren’t forced to become mineworkers or farmers when they grow up. Gradual investment in the company they’re working for, so we can keep more money into the country and provide miners with a decent retirement. This takes away a lot of financial worries and leaves a lot more money available to spend on what they want. It makes for happier workers who can focus on their dangerous job. These unions don’t care about the wellbeing of their employees and only work on a political agenda, government needs to take away some of the tight political stranglehold that unions have on the country and look at trying to change how the unions operate so that they are more beneficial to the people.
http://www.facebook.com/pierre.v.eck Pierre van Eck

Guess he is applying his home principles … where his wives are by far the majority!

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