By Zukile Majova
Political Editor
Jacob Zuma, the man who has been the ugly face of corruption and state capture in South Africa, is asking South Africans to give him money to contest the elections.
This time around Zuma is promising to put your money to good use. Not a cent will be abused, he says.
Zuma has yet to account for how more than R1-trillion of taxpayers’ money was mismanaged during his so-called “nine wasted years” as president of South Africa.
In a recent video, Nxamalala is calling on South Africans to help his new party, uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK), build a war chest to contest the 29 May general elections.
“We ask everyone [to contribute] who is a South African, who feels South Africa must change and be a South Africa that we can be proud of.
“And we are therefore asking and requesting everyone, whatever amount you could put into this effort, it would be highly appreciated,” said Zuma.
Msholozi said MK wanted to be funded by ordinary people.
“We want to utilise the finances that come from the people. We have no intention of getting any wrong money as it appears that this has become some [normal] practice.
“We want genuine contributions to be made to this genuine political party,” Zuma said.
For the past two decades, the former president has been running different crowd-funding campaigns in which he appeals to the public to fund his legal fees.
In the mid-2000s, when Zuma was fired from his position as deputy president and later charged with raping the daughter of his friend, he used the Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust to appeal for donations.
Zuma supporters who believed he was a victim of powerful ANC leaders trying to frustrate his political career also donated money so that Zuma could fight his fraud and corruption trial.
The state attorney says Zuma’s legal fees were funded by the state and is in the process of recouping R29-million from the former president.
Other crowd-funding schemes involving Zuma include his famous Christmas jamboree for the youth in Nkandla, his hometown, which has in the past given bursaries to local youths in universities and colleges.
Pictured above: Former president Jacob Zuma.
Source: File
