SOUTH AFRICA THIS IS WHO OUR NEXT PRESIDENT SHOULD BE (HINT: NOT ZUMA)

As a first year computer science major would say, Hello World. And more importantly, Hello May (My birthday month eeep!). This month we've got something exciting coming to LBAS (Because having an acronym makes me feel like I made it in life). Every week I'm going to publish an opinion piece written by a reader/friend/fellow blogger. These posts are a way to gain insight from different people, and remind us that my voice isn't the only one you should listen to for your weekly, worldly news update (And also because I'm too lazy to come up with new stuff after that long weekend tbh). So sit back, relax and enjoy a different take on LIFE (This time not by Asha Singh *sigh*).

_____________________

Written by Mathew George

On April 12th 2017, (which was also the day before the US dropped the Mother Of All Bomb on a tunnel complex used by ISIS, in Afghanistan, just BTW) I posted this status on Facebook. Quite a simple and relatively straight forward question, right? That's what I thought, but seemingly enough, it's a tough question to answer simply based on the response I got, or should I rather say lack thereof.

For three long weeks after I posted this status, I waited. It felt like I was waiting for the new Game of Thrones season (24 July, where you at bro? Just. 82. More. Days.) In that time I had only gotten 1 response from a genuine President Zuma supporter (Do ANC supporters not use Facebook anymore? Is that racist too?) and truly, the answer really concerned me about why they support JZ.

Huh? Isn't that what the news is supposed to give us, information about what's going on in the world? I mean I get that this is just one person and their opinion, but since I didn't get any other responses, I'll have to take it. The reason this answer worries me is quite simple: It is one of the most contradictory and hypocritical statements I have ever read. Not to mention extremely self righteous (Almost as self-righteous as the comments Trump often makes on twitter, the most recent being the comments he made early morning on May 3rd, with regards to the Russia saga and Clinton)

It is quite evident that Zuma gains most of his support from rural areas - areas occupied by less privileged and less educated people. These people are not well informed about the state this country has fallen down to. According to ANC Youth League Collen Maine: "We are welcoming the junk status. When the economy rises again it will be held by us.". Do I even have to tell you all the things wrong with this statement?

This person also went on to say that they are well informed which is a direct attack on anti-Zuma supporters I feel because, out of the thousands that took to the streets in protest against Zuma, there must be a few of them that are quite well informed themselves. Here's the truth, my status was a genuinely neutral status, trying to capture some sort of an understanding as to why President Jacob Zuma still keeps his job. In my understanding of the working world, the rules are quite simple and straight forward: If you do a bad job, you won't be able to work at your job any longer. A teacher would not be able to teach anymore if his/her classes all failed all the time; A doctor would not be able to practice anymore if all his patients kept dying. So why is it that Zuma, a supposed leader, healer and hero to our country, is allowed to keep his job after 8 long years of not progressing his country and, in many cases, reversing the progression of past leaders.. His promise to make South Africa a better place is left unfulfilled as the unemployment and criminal rates have sky rocketed since his inauguration. It is, indeed, trying times for South Africans.

I understand that my writing may seem very anti-Zuma, but in actual fact, I am just trying to reveal the sad reality: people will keep supporting Zuma with no real reason; They will continue to defend him with arguments that are illegitimate.

I guess with that notion in mind, I'd want my next president to be a baby. At least that way everybody will know our president is innocent, doesn't do anything for our country other than whining and laughing, and just breaks everything he or she touches; and at the end of the day, everybody will still love our president just because...well, babies are so adorable!

NB. This has been edited with permission from the author.

_____________________________

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mathew George is a second year Medical Intern in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He spends most of his time playing Far Cry, watching funny YouTube videos in his special place, taking naps and fangirling over WWE. Also, his signature dish is his famous fish finger sandwiches (He won't disclose the recipe, don't bother asking).