GAUTENG: Former President Kgalema Motlanthe says he tried reasoning with President Jacob Zuma during his term in office on how to conduct himself, but he would not listen.
Motlanthe, on Wednesday, reflected on his previous term in office as Zuma's deputy.
He was speaking at a webinar hosted by the Centre for Development and Enterprise.
"I became President ahead of President Zuma. So, he is my successor. So when I served as his deputy, I could always say to him, look, Mr President, you know, as a president, no president does things the way you do them. So I could talk to him in those terms."
According to Motlanthe, he chaired most of the Cabinet committee meetings, and he (Zuma) would often be in and out of those meetings.
"So I could actually talk to him properly about these things and say to him, this is not how we do it. But you know he wouldn't listen. Part of his skill is that he would never argue with you about what you were saying, but he would (later) go and act the way he wanted to act."
He added: "Short of removing President Zuma (from office) and electing a different leader, there is very little that could have been done because he had the authority as the head of state to appoint and remove ministers. So you could say whatever you wanted to say, it would not cut it as long as he was President.“
“I mean, the discussions were always candid and based on trying to do right, but of course, with his authority, he would still go and do what his benefactors wanted him to do."
Motlanthe also detailed how he believed the State Capture infiltrated state-owned institutions.
He recalled a formal discussion in which he explained that in one of the NEC meetings, Fikile Mbalula spoke about how he was aware of the capture because he allegedly received a congratulatory message from one of the Gupta brothers on his new appointment as a minister before he could be formally appointed.
“So, it was during the NEC discussion that every issue that these people have undue influence on the workings of government was discussed," said Motlanthe.
He added that at the time, the heads of the intelligence had also been relieved of their responsibility after they had tried to investigate the Guptas family and their associates.
“The concern was there even at that time. But the reality is that the NEC itself had already been captured at that time. Not by the Guptas. It was a different type of capture if you like because the number of Cabinet ministers as well as deputy Cabinet ministers was increased to 72. That was the largest there had ever been."
He said for the corruption to manifest, the “ANC had to be captured first, and that's how the NEC was captured. That then made it easier for the State to be captured."
On the future of the ANC, Motlanthe highlighted that while the ruling party is within its right to embark upon efforts to renew itself, South Africans, however, should not be bound by these efforts and should move on and that the ANC will eventually catch up.
“I think the results of the elections in 2016 and last year (2021) indicate that we are in a period or a state of flux which must result in a realignment of political forces. I don't think the current political parties represent the future. I think the kind of formations that are going to take this country forward are still going to come and will be fashioned by realignment of forces."
noni.mokati@inl.co.za