Fri, 11 Aug 2017 10:16:21 +0000
By Annie Zulu and Flavior Kanungo
SOUTH Africans should let Jacob Zuma complete his term of office after surviving a vote-of-no confidence spearheaded by opposition leaders Julius Malema and Mmusi Maimane.
National Revolution Party (NRP) president Cozmo Mumba says South Africans should let Mr Zuma complete his term after going through and surviving his eighth vote-of-no-confidence.
Dr Mumba also implored South Africans not to tolerate Malema and Maimane’s “abusive” rantings against President Zuma.
And Dr Mumba has called on Africans to respect, defend and support their leaders.
He observed that the trend of publicly insulting Heads of State by the opposition was becoming common on the continent.
He said it was high time that Africans stood up for their leaders and ensure that they were given the respect they deserved.
Dr Mumba indicated that respect for the Heads of State in any situation was not a matter of choice but an obligation that must be respected by all regardless of political affiliations.
“We must respect and support our leaders, once we put people in office we must respect them. But as Africans we have lost it, we allow anyone to say anything about our Heads of State, which is not right. Being in the opposition or a critic is no licence to issue abusive, intemperate and slanderous statements on the President, it’s just not okay.
“Criticism is allowed when our leaders err, but let’s do it with respect and in a more mature manner. Leaders ought to be respected no matter what.
“The opposition in Africa should always remember that as they are aspiring for an office, when they insult people in leadership, when they come into office, people will insult them, it will backfire,” he said.
Dr Mumba also stressed that the abusive language used on South African President Jacob Zuma by the Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema and Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane during Tuesday’s vote of no confidence was unacceptable.
He said President Zuma deserved some respect as he was still President of South Africa.
He said that the two opposition leaders’ behaviour was likely to bring confusion in the country if allowed to continue.
Dr Mumba urged South Africans to condemn such behaviour.
“President Zuma needs to be respected because he is still President of South Africa until his tenure of office ends, the opposition should just give checks and balances and allow him to rule until his tenure of office ends.
“What Mmusi Maimane and Julius Malema are doing is unacceptable and must not be allowed to continue, because they will bring confusion in South Africa,” he said.
