The last week or so has been a massive case of ‘egg on face’ for beleaguered president JZ, with the rape protest during his IEC speech the cherry on top (HERE).

Of course everyone has their opinion on what has brought about the dramatic drop in votes for the ruling party, but it looks like Zuma himself may have nailed it back in 2012.

This below from BusinessTech:

The term ‘clever blacks’ was coined back in 2012, when Zuma insulted urban blacks “who become too clever”, saying: “They become the most eloquent in criticising themselves about their own traditions and everything.”

The term ‘clever blacks’ hasn’t been forgotten, and it was renowned political commentator Justice Malala who penned a column citing the demographic as one of the reasons for the ANC’s failings at the polls.

“Last week, the “clever blacks” had their revenge on Zuma, delivering the heaviest electoral loss to Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress since democracy dawned in 1994 while setting up a mighty contest for national elections in 2019,” Malala wrote…

The analyst said that the ANC ran a negative and racist campaign aimed at the DA, to mask its own failings. “Campaigning in Nelson Mandela Bay, Zuma called the DA ‘snakes, the children of the National party’ and repeatedly referred to its young black leader as a puppet of whites,” Malala said.

“Urban South Africans did not buy this scaremongering. As the memories of the Mandela years and the liberation struggle have faded, and the ANC’s internal troubles have spilled out into the open, so too has unquestioning faith in the country’s liberation party and its veterans such as Zuma.

“The legitimacy conferred upon them by the struggle is no longer a mask for their failings in a country that is now scarred by stories of rampant political corruption, crime and poverty.”

I guess eventually your chickens come home to roost in your R246 million house, and having long ago lost touch (and stopped caring) about what the people want JZ’s days at the helm of the ANC are numbered.

One thing is for sure, next year’s ANC conference won’t be for the faint-hearted.

[source:businesstech]