Jacob Zuma, how good a president has he been?

On March 19th, the Sowetan newspaper published an article by Prince Mashele titled "The worst shall govern". This article specifically takes a close look at Mr Jacob Zuma as well as the party he leads. According to Mshele the qualities in which the past leaders of the ANC possesd have drastically dropped, since Mr Jacob Zuma has been placed as president. Right from the beginning with Dr. John Dube in the year 1912, to Thabo Mbeki, the leaders of the ANC have had common qualities that stood out in more ways than one. for instance, they all had some form of formal education, just to mention a few the South African Online History staes the following

• Dr J.T Dube : A South African essayist, Philospher, Educator,Politician, Publisher and Editor
• J.T Gumede : A Teacher, Politician and Journalist
• DR Pixley ka Isaka Seme : A Lwayer and Journalist
• Chief A.Luthuli : A Teacher
• Dr A.B Xuma : A Teacher and Medical doctor

and unlike all the others, Zuma carries with him only informal education. Mashele goes on to stating that even though some these former leaders were not that popular, they by no doubt also possesd intellectual credentials with them, which once again Zuma does not have. With all former ANC leaders came ethics and morality, and through Mashele's analysis, both ethics and morality are not found in Zuma. Yes he is not expected to be  perfect, but his definitely not on poin.

Just like Prince we all would like a well respected president, someone we trust can do all that is expected of them. But even so, does this particular person need to be formally educated and a person of intellectual credentials? As for ethics and morality, can we really nail Zuma down for that? If yes does this confirm Mashele's analysis of him? What makes a president?

Tender irregularities: A game played by many

Making a mistake once, simply means being cautious the second time arround, but it seems our government keeps falling into the same trap time and time again. After our president Mr Jacob Zuma had announced in the State of the Nation's address that fighting corruption will become a priority to the government, Mail & Gaurdian reported that Lucky Montana, the Group CEO of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) had been accused of tender irregularities that accumulated to more than 1billion. It is certainly disturbing to keep hearing that members of the government as well as govrnmental organisations are getting involved in such deals for their own benifits, while so much work still needs to be done all around the country, such as

• Developing proper school buildings in some rural ereas
• Building and maintaining proper raods for Gauteng and other places
• Providing proper sanitation in some places such as parts of the Eastern Cape

The question is, since such cases keep occuring, what is it that the government is doing to stop them. This morning on Morning Live, the president stated that it is impossible to fight corruption all in one go, it will take time. That may be true, but this is certainly not a problem that only accured yesterday. The public has waited, and is still waiting! Could it be that we are expecting too much too soon, or is the govrnment dragging their feet in calling their own people into order?

Gear up for toll gates court case

While our government gears up to go to court and fight the implementation of E-tolling on the roads of Gauteng, the society drowns in anger, asking if this was well thought of by our government. Most people are evidently against all this, considering the strike that took place on the 7th of March, simply because for most families this will be another added cost which people say they cannot afford. With the recent announcement that E-tolling fees will be linked to inflation by BusinessReport, many motorist are yet to be shocked on the costs.

iOL reports say on average motorist are to spend about about R7 121 in the year 2012, and possibly an average of about R8 308 in the year 2016, is the government really asking too much from us? Yet again has the government educated the society enough about this new system or could it be that we are simply complaining, withought having thought about the benifits, after all this is meant to give us better maintained roads, or has the government really gone over board?