Zuma takes the reins

Jacob Zuma did not put a foot wrong in his first speech to the nation as President.

He started out by recalling the political approach of Nelson Mandela: “Madiba taught us the importance of forgiveness, reconciliation and humility”.

Zuma said he wanted the values of “friendship, co-operation, harmony, unity and faster change” to once more be prioritised.

“The next five years will depend on us as public representatives to serve with dignity and respect and to maintain the decorum of Parliament which is the face of our democracy.
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Signalling a departure from the taciturn politics of former President Thabo Mbeki, he pledged a government that would be “more hands on, more accessible” and a “new chapter of relations between the government and opposition”.

He said he wanted to work with the opposition on “matters of national interest” and to “move away from the approach which turns every issue into contestation between parties.”

“We need to get away from being over-defensive and not view all criticism from the opposition in a negative light,” he said.

In a speech which notably avoided any mention of Mbeki, who fired him ostensibly for his involvement with convicted fraudster, Schabir Shaik, Zuma made light of his dismissal, saying “I left rather unceremoniously on the 14th June 2005 without an opportunity to say goodbye to all of my friends.”

“It was quite a moving moment for me to be sworn in again as a member of Parliament.”

Zuma said his Cabinet would be sworn in by May 11 “so we can get down to business”.

He said he had consulted the ANC’s “top five” leaders about the Cabinet adding that “We mean business when we talk about faster change”.

Zuma said his administration’s priorities would be education, health, land reform, fighting crime and creating jobs. “We are determined to leave an indelible mark in these five areas.”

He said the government’s most urgent task would be to ameliorate the effects of the global financial crisis.

From The Times