Johannesburg – Thuli Madonsela’s report on the Nkandla scandal is turning into a constitutional crisis. As Trevor Manuel has argued, the ANC’s strident criticism of Madonsela is turning into an attack on our democratic architecture.
Manuel’s position on economic questions has been seen as seriously problematic by many. But no one ever said Manuel was not a democrat. When a figure like Manuel warns, as he has recently done, that the ruling party is moving away from democratic values we all have to stand up and listen.
Images of the president being booed are doing irreparable harm to the ANC’s image. The consequences of the Marikana massacre are still unfolding, but it is clear this massacre marked a turning point in the ruling party’s moral authority. But it has been Nkandla, more than anything else, that has damaged Zuma’s standing.
