DURBAN - ACCORDING to former president Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane Zuma, the country needs a “spiritual revolution” to restore respect in society and change rules of engagement to reset and address deep-rooted challenges facing the country.
He was speaking during Independent Media’s Editor’s round-table and argued that if things remained the same, the country would experience more civil unrest.
Speaking on the violent protests and looting which erupted in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng, Zuma distanced himself from those alleging he incited violence after his father’s arrest.
“I am not pushing the poverty-stricken people to loot and destroy the much-needed property and infrastructure.
“It’s the poorest suffering in the periphery, they are the isolated people who we must listen to when they speak.
“Poverty is fuelling the genuine concerns people have raised and we simply cannot have an exciting economy when the majority of the people are suffering.”
He argued that peace could not be expected to reign when things were not done correctly and when leaders were divorced from the real issues affecting the nation.
Asserting his position in what has been referred to as “ethnic mobilisation” protests, he said that in his observation, more needed to be done to unravel the cause for unrest rather than reducing it to an ethnic matter as it had the potential to spread to other provinces beyond Gauteng and KZN.
“This is a matter of systemic issues which have always existed.
“What are we going to say when it spread to other provinces?
“Our people are suffering hence they use protests as an opportunity to loot and it is wrong to do this because it destroys our communities and distracts service delivery.”
Zuma mentioned that almost every government institution had collapsed and the rebuilding process must begin so that the same people it was meant to benefit may rightfully receive the intended services.
“We need to rebuild the defence force, the police service, and all other institutions and strengthen our democracy.
“This includes rebuilding the economy and distribute wealth accordingly so we may avoid unnecessary violence among the people.”
Speaking about his father’s imprisonment, he hoped there could be a political solution to address what triggered the public outcry and ensure that the Constitution was not abused to punish Zuma.
He felt the matter could have been handled better than it was by the leadership of this country.
“Unsubstantiated and false statements have been made against some of us and everyone is quick to act surprised forgetting the real issues people are questioning.”
He said he would use his time to encourage people to protest peacefully and avoid violence and that he would do so through public engagements and other platforms including talking directly to the people on the ground.
Daily News