ANCYL Jacob Zuma Ramaphosa ANCYL

Photo: @MYANC / Twitter

Jacob Zuma makes sly criticisms of Ramaphosa during ANCYL address

Yeah, these two really aren’t on the same page at the moment. Jacob Zuma landed a couple of sucker punches on Cyril Ramaphosa during his ANCYL address.

ANCYL Jacob Zuma Ramaphosa ANCYL

Photo: @MYANC / Twitter

So much for all that “unity” we’ve been hearing about. Although Jacob Zuma denied that factionalism was engulfing the ruling party, that didn’t stop the former president from digging out his successor Cyril Ramaphosa during an address at the University of Johannesburg’s Auckland Park Campus for the ANC’s Youth League (ANCYL).

In traditional Msholozi fashion, he turned up to the event two hours late. When proceedings finally got going, he was somewhat perturbed by the heavy media presence. As City Press highlighted, Zuma said he planned to be “quite critical” of the party, but apparently reigned it in through fear of being “misquoted”.

Jacob Zuma takes a dig at Cyril Ramaphosa

However, there was nothing holding him back when he got onto the subject of the current regime. Jacob Zuma lashed out at the people who suggest Nelson Mandela “sold out”, and instead blamed the current regime for not following through with their promises. The irony was lost on the man who had practically given SA on a plate to the Guptas:

“Some people when they are nice, happy or whatever, you hear them sometimes accusing former president Nelson Mandela of selling out. Mandela did not sell out, we are the ones selling out. The youth league of Mandela and co realised that the ANC was not moving in the right direction.”

“Previous Youth Leagues would only to support a candidate who undertook to implement a program of action which was in line with emancipating deprived South Africans… Not one [who is more concerned about] how the policies agreed upon in party conferences would affect investor confidence.”

Jacob Zuma

Has the president stayed true to the Nasrec resolutions?

Zuma’s swipe – a direct dig at Cyril Ramaphosa’s foreign investment drive – criticised the current president for dragging his heels on the policy resolutions agreed to during the 2017 Nasrec conference. He implored the ANCYL to support a president who adheres to the party’s policies.

More than 18 months on – and 16 months since Cyril became president – movement has been static on land expropriation and the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank. However, the redistribution of land does seem to be getting out of second gear, and the Ramaphosa Administration has followed through on the “free higher education” promise.