I+am+ready+to+rule,+Zuma,+Naidu,+Mbhele,+Mkhabela,+S+Times



=I’m ready to rule=


 * Buddy Naidu, Wally Mbhele and Mpumelelo Mkhabela, Sunday Times, 25 November 2007**

//Zuma punts his policies://


 * //Death penalty needs consideration//
 * //Criminals treated ‘too leniently’//
 * //HIV must be ‘depoliticised’//
 * //Government should not be run ‘through patronage’//

ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma on Friday made a bold declaration when he told a group of mainly black businessmen that he is "fit" and "ready" to govern South Africa.

Zuma made the statement as ANC presidential nominations showed him taking an early lead in the party’s succession race with the majority of party branches across the country nominating him ahead of President Thabo Mbeki.

By yesterday afternoon Zuma had already scooped a landslide victory in Mpumalanga, winning a resounding 84% of the votes.

He was also expected to win KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Gauteng and Limpopo while battling Mbeki neck-and-neck for the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape.

Mbeki had won the North West province.

Speaking at a private function for black businessmen at the Hilton hotel in Sandton, Zuma — responding to a question from a banker — said he was “fit to govern”. Ironically, this is the title of a book recently written about Mbeki.

He was speaking two days after Mbeki — who, in ameeting meeting with ANC parliamentary caucus members — urged ANC MPs in Cape Town not to vote for a “criminal and a rapist”.

The statement has been interpreted by ANC parliamentarians to refer to Zuma.

Zuma was last year accused of rape by an HIV positive woman. He was however acquitted by the Johanneburg High Court. He is though still confronted by the prospect of being arrested and charged by the National Prosecuting Authority for corruption relating to the arms deal.

Several MPs said they were shocked by Mbeki’s statements during the caucus meeting.

With the Limpopo in mind, MPs said they interpreted Mbeki’s statement as a direct attack on Zuma and many of them did not respond to Mbeki.

Mbeki told ANC parliamentarians that as ANC members prepared for the Limpopo conference, they should guard against allowing the party to be taken over by rapists and criminals.

On Friday, responding to a question about his fitness to hold the country’s highest office, Zuma said: “The day I joined the ANC at age 17, I was ready to do any task. And I was chosen (in various capacities) because I was fit to do any task. If I am asked I will be ready for the task.”

The meeting was organised by among others, business tycoons Sello Rasethaba and Sandile Zungu.

In a no-holds-barred briefing, Zuma, for the first time, articulated his policy views on a range of issues.

Among other things, Zuma told his Sandton audience that:


 * South Africa was too soft on crime and that the police were not being paid enough. He said SA needed a Ministry of Law and Order instead of Safety and Security as “we are not safe” in SA.
 * That criminals and even prisoners were treated far too leniently. “Criminals must feel they are prisoners. They are comfortable in jail.”
 * Government had politicised the issue of HIV/Aids instead of dealing with the problem.
 * Corruption was a “sickness of society” and that government should not be run through patronage.

Earlier on Friday, Zuma told a crowd in Cape Town’s Mitchell’s Plain that he would consider bringing back the death penalty if a referendum was held to gauge the views of all South Africans.

He told the Sandton meeting there was no split within the ANC and indirectly took several jibes at Mbeki — even joking that he was currently serving a third term.

He said the question of leaders overstaying their welcome was one that festered for a long time.

“The issue (of how many terms one served) was raised in Mafikeng (at the ANC’s national conference in 1997 when Nelson Mandela handed over the presidency of the party to Mbeki).

“We didn”t take a decision about it. Mandela did a wonderful thing by stepping down. But we didn’t think there was a problem then. If it is left unattended to, it will cause unnecessary problems,” he said.

He said the ANC “believes in collective leadership and not in a leader”.

Zuma insinuated that government and, specifically Mbeki, had not done enough about crime.

“On this issue we ought not to differ. We ought to be united. We need to put in place more laws that are not liberal and user-friendly for criminals.”

He said government messed up by politicising the issue of HIV/Aids. "I feel we could have done more.”

Zuma said crime, health and education were “critical social areas that need full attention ... It’s a question of what you emphasise and prioritise.”

"You cannot maintain political stability and economic growth without educated citizens.”

Zuma also referred to dissatisfaction within the ANC ranks “as the rights of individuals were being undermined .... (this) also coincided as the President finishes his third term. ”

Speaking about the leadership race, he said: “We (as a party) have been in competition historically ...” He said when the ANC “came out of the underground”, the party’s deputy presidency was contested “heavily between Mbeki and Chris Hani)”

He told his audience to rest assured because the ANC will be united “like never” before irrespective of who becomes the next party leader after the Limpopo conference.

Zuma said he believes that “it is a sickness of society to run an administration through patronage. “You cannot run a country by using friends around you. You run a country with friends.

“I wish in the not-too-distant future we can be in a position to deal with these matters (patronage) head on ... It (patronage) is corruption."

“I believe criminals — particularly those who kill people and rape people — for them to exercise their right — I have a problem with this.”

The law must be the law and criminals must be dealt with. If the police is involved in crime then their punishment must be doubled. ”


 * From: http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=635642**

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