The Soapbox | Where South Africans Speak Out

BY RHODA KADALIE

I have always said that Jacob Zuma would surprise the nation, despite his shortcomings. With all the state institutions against him, he rose victorious and the celebratory inauguration was a testimony to his indefatigable spirit to fight against a system he knew to be partial in whom, it targets. His inaugural speech was a clear commitment about upholding the constitution, respecting dissent, and free speech. He also pledged reconciliation and a cabinet that will be held accountable to the people.

I was still basking in the glory of this rain-soaked event, when Julius Malema declared Helen Zille, “a racist girl”, the enemy. When leading members of the ruling party declare its political competitors, the enemy, it does not bode well for political contestation and opposition, and they do themselves a great disservice when their party has so clearly charted a different path to Mbeki’s regime.

Regrettably, Helen Zille, our new premier, has fallen, hook line and sinker for the bait the incorrigible Malema and comrades threw at her. Having achieved international status as the world’s greatest mayor, it is unthinkable that she would respond to idiots like Malema and the MK veterans, and set the ruling party and the opposition on a collision course worse than Tony Leon had ever achieved. The atmosphere is further poisoned by her appointment of an all-male cabinet. When challenged about this, she claimed that competence rather than affirmative action bean-counting was the motive.

As much as I agree with Helen that race and gender not trump competence, in her instance, the story is much more complex.

Firstly, her choices were constrained by the gender, race, and track record composition of the members of her legislature. Secondly, like every political party, Helen had to reward those who made her extra million voters, her success. That is politics plain and simple. Thirdly, Helen should have told the public less stridently, about this, and that she had recruited black women before the elections already to make themselves available for the party. I was one of those approached.

The Premier should be careful not to stoop to the level of the Malemas of politics. She knows and has had experience of how the ANC tried to topple her when she became Mayor. The game now is the same, if not more vicious. That the MK war veterans threatened to make the province ungovernable; that Cosatu threatened to oppose her appointments at the Equality Court; that the Gender Commission threatened to challenge the Premier, all indicate to what lengths they would go to unravel a duly legitimately constituted government.

Helen Zille, unlike Jacob Zuma, cannot create ministries and split deputy posts to create jobs to loyalists, friends, and women. That is clear. But Helen should not justify her appointments on the grounds of competence, as though there are not enough competent black women around. A more serious issue for me was the response of Yvette Abrahams, a Gender Commissioner, to Julius Malema & Co’s libelous claims, that Helen Zille slept with the men in her cabinet and that they were her concubines. Yvette equivocated and would not condemn Malema outright for his base sexist utterances, proving again, that ye who pays the piper calls the tune. Instead Helen Zille became the villain.

The job of the Gender Commission is to take on the sexist defamatory utterances of Malema & Co against the Premier and show the public that they have balls. Maybe this is too much to ask from a Commission with BOOBS!

Rhoda Kadalie is a human rights activist based in Cape Town.