Duduzane Zuma: ‘I’m here to do my job’ as he rejects succession talk

Duduzane Zuma, newly appointed first deputy president of the MK Party, has dismissed suggestions that his elevation is part of a succession plan for his father, former president Jacob Zuma, saying he is focused on party work and national progress.

At BizNews conference: ‘I’m here to do my job’

Speaking at the BizNews conference, Duduzane Zuma rejected talk of legacy and succession.

“People want to talk about succession, they want to talk about a legacy project. I’m here to do my job, that’s it,”

He added:

“I’m here to do exactly what it is that you’re thinking, to create a better country. I’m here to move the country forward. I’m here to make sure that everyone’s rights are respected and everyone has fair opportunity.”

MK Party positioning and support

Zuma said his appointment followed a party leadership reshuffle earlier this month in which his father appointed him first deputy president. He argued the MK Party had established itself as a meaningful political force and could no longer be discounted.

“The MK is here. It is an entity. I know people like skirting around the conversation and discounting MK as a player, but the MK is a player. That’s something that you need to get used to,” he said, crediting the party’s rise to the support it had attracted at the polls and in everyday discussions.

Policy priorities and long‑term view

Zuma outlined a vision that he said moves beyond short electoral cycles toward sustained economic development. He said MK’s approach included meritocracy, free markets, opportunities, industrialisation and safety and security, while also addressing the needs of poorer South Africans.

“We need to join hands. We need to be absolutely certain on how this country is going to move. We need to take a much longer term view because every three to five years, we are looking at local government elections. Every five years, we’re looking at national elections,” he said, adding that the party must not ignore the majority.

On policy debates that worry business and minority communities, Zuma urged engagement rather than dismissal, naming land expropriation, free education and nationalising the Reserve Bank as positions to be discussed.

“I want us to look at this from the other perspective, as big business, as the white minority in this country, as well as the Indian and coloured minority, meet us halfway. That’s the only request that I’ll make,”

He said MK sought to work with different groups while protecting minority rights.

Unity, diaspora skills and development plans

Zuma called for common ground between political leaders, business and ordinary people, saying too many conversations were happening in isolation.

“No one’s speaking about the masses. We speak about the masses as voting capital, and that’s it, but their needs are not being seen to,”

he said.

On human capital, Zuma said South Africa needed to attract expertise from citizens living abroad.

“We have a country to build. It needs to be inclusive… For the people that are living outside in the world, we will make the conditions better for everybody. We need those expertise back in this country.”

He also set out an initial development plan focused on Durban with expansion to other provinces and metros.

“We will be building the city, starting off with Durban, and then moving out into other provinces and other metros,”

he said.

Comments on Jacob Zuma, the GNU and the IEC

Duduzane Zuma paid tribute to his father’s continuing influence, saying Jacob Zuma had helped contain social and political tensions.

“The one thing that I will say is we should thank our lucky stars for that gentleman for one reason and one reason only. He’s held back a lot of revolt in this country, pre-’94, post-’94, but especially where we find ourselves now,”

He said his father continued to guide people who looked to him for leadership.

“He’s spoken them through it, he’s guided them through it, and he’s here to do it once again. We should hope he’ll be here for a much longer time,”

Duduzane Zuma said.

Zuma also criticised the formation of the government of national unity, linking it to what he described as an issue at the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

“The GNU wouldn’t have been there in many cases if we didn’t have the issue we had at the IEC,”

He said MK was continuing to fight for free and fair elections.

“The IEC is a battle that we’re fighting. All we want is free and fair elections. We also want the results to be respected and for them to be free and fair,”

he said.

On governing experience

Duduzane Zuma noted that the MK Party had not yet been in government and said he therefore had no governing record to point to.

“We have not been in government yet, so I do not have any wonderful, happy stories,”

he said.

Reporting: Hope Ntanzi, IOL.