Duduzane Zuma: MK will not tolerate ‘incompetence’ as leadership changes continue

Duduzane Zuma, the first deputy president of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, said the party will not tolerate “incompetence” as it continues to make changes to its national leadership structures.

Comments made during Eastern Cape visit

Duduzane was speaking in the Eastern Cape on Monday while top leaders of the party, including his father, visited the AmaMpodomise royal kingdom. He told Newzroom Afrika:

“We are not going to tolerate incompetence; we are not going to tolerate people who are not going to get us to a point where we are delivering services to our people. So when we speak about the changes, it’s less turmoil, less dissidence in the party. It’s just us basically saying if you are not up to the task, please remember, and that goes for all rank and file; we want the best of the best for this party.”

Leadership changes and party appointments

The party has faced criticism for frequently changing its national leadership, and has not held an elective conference, leaving most appointments to its founder, Jacob Zuma. Duduzane said the changes are designed to improve the party’s ability to deliver services and to remove those “not up to the task.”

Supporters and public confidence

Duduzane said the personnel changes have not weakened the party. He told Newzroom Afrika:

“The changes speak for themselves, and this is what makes more people engage and have more confidence in our party because what we are saying is for those who are not able, those who are not capable or willing to stand up to the task, the next better man will be welcomed.”

Questions raised about Duduzane’s political experience

Political analyst Ntsikelelo Breakfast questioned Duduzane’s readiness to lead the party as its first deputy president. Breakfast told The Citizen:

“The guy speaks well; he can speak and express himself, but politics is a different kettle of fish. To have an understanding of politics takes a long time; it takes assimilation or internalisation of class consciousness. I have never heard him expressing a particular view coherently that is political in nature.”

Breakfast also warned that the party’s ongoing leadership and structural changes could affect its performance at the polls later this year, and said:

“The appointment of Zuma’s son is the last straw because it demonstrates that this is a family business.”