1. President Jacob Zuma’s child outside wedlock

The SACC is deeply saddened by the now confirmed reports that our President, Mr Jacob Zuma has fathered a child with a woman to whom he is not married. The SACC delayed its comment on the matter for at least two reasons. We have waited for the President to take the nation into his confidence on this matter. Secondly, we have taken the time in the interim to lift President Jacob Zuma, his family and the nation in prayer. We have taken note of both his two statements on the matter.

While we did not find his first statement very helpful, we were encouraged by his second statement which contains an apology. In this statement, President Zuma acknowledges the pain caused by his action, professes understanding for the negative reactions of many South Africans, affirms the importance of family as an institution and further asserts his belief in the values of personal responsibility, dignity and self-respect.

The SACC fully acknowledges and welcomes the apology of President Zuma. In humility and without seeking to judge or condemn, the SACC wishes to encourage President Zuma to go further than his statement of apology. To that end we shall continue to hold him up in prayer. The act of fathering a child outside wedlock undermines the family institution, amongst other things, whose importance the President has acknowledged. Engaging in unprotected sex outside of the marriage pact goes against the values –to which the President subscribes – of personal responsibility, dignity, and respect for self and for others. We urge the President to round off his heartfelt and most welcome apology with a commitment to do everything within his powers, with God’s help, to exclude this kind of behavior in the future.

We call upon all people of faith, within the ANC and all political parties, to join us in, accepting President Zuma’s apology and in praying for him, his family and for this country at this time.

2. Comments on the State of the Nation Address

The SACC awaited the Presidents’ address on the state of nation with eagerness and expresses its warmth on some of the good intentions announced by the President in his address. These include:

• The celebration of twenty years since former President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was released from prison. We salute the first President of a Democratic South Africa – Mr Nelson Mandela. We also salute all those who worked closely with him, especially the late Oliver Tambo and many other stalwarts. The NEC joins the President, Mr Jacob Zuma in acknowledging the role and contribution made by former President FW de Klerk who made the historic announcement to release former President Nelson Mandela and other political leaders including the unbanning of political parties. May Mandela’s dream of full liberation and freedom for all never die in this and other nations of the world.
• The SACC welcomes the announcement that the child support grant will be extended to children aged 15 to 18 years in the next three years. The SACC also receives with warmth the promise to intervene in the area of education and the planned independently moderated examinations in grades 3, 6 and 9 levels in our schools.
• We are also happy that there is an undertaking to improve our health system with the intention to make the lives of millions of our people better and enable them to lead healthier lives.
• The SACC, expresses its joy at the plans announced by the President to make the lives of many of our people in this country better by the promise to allocate over 6 000 hectares of land for low-income and affordable housing, and the targets for skills development.
• We are however cautious about some of the economic plans: We are concerned that there appears to be no intention or plan to discuss and alter the fundamental structures of our economy that remains unresolved fifteen years after democracy.
• While we welcome the move towards a performance and outcomes driven governance, we remain worried at the apparent lack of a coherent vision of the society we wish to become. Furthermore, the best performance contracts and the best plans and intentions in the world still need visionary leadership and a strong political will to be implemented and seen through. We urge President Zuma to provide that kind of leadership and to show the political will necessary for these noble aims to be reached.

3. Anticipating the Budget Speech

• The’ jobs bloodbath’ and the growing gap between the rich and the poor continue to be the main economic challenges facing this country. The SACC is looking forward to a budget that will speak to the harsh economic realities experienced by the poor in South Africa. The economic crisis in our country predates the current economic meltdown from which we are about to turn as the President stated in his state of the nation address.
• We are afraid that the inability to contain electricity hikes, coupled with leadership challenges in many of our government’s parastatals, might deal the last blow on the poorest of the poor. We therefore urge Minister Gordhan to put the poor at the centre of his budget speech.

For more information please contact:
Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, SACC President (082 925 5232) or
Mr Eddie Makue, SACC General Secretary (082 853 9781)