Jacob Zuma has warned there would be no jobs for friends in his new Cabinet, as criticism within the ANC mounted against some of the newly chosen premiers.

“There will be no favours and there are no friends. Those not put in government must not cry,” Zuma told a rally at Zwide in the Eastern Cape on Sunday.

The ANC president said being a friend of his was not a guarantee to a government job, The Star newspaper reported.

Zuma, whose ruling party failed to secure a two thirds majority in the April general elections, said he would not tolerate incompetence.

“Those who are chosen must not feel they are above the rest.” Zuma, who is expected to name his Cabinet within the next few days, last week announced the nominated premiers to each province, notably choosing Gauteng’s housing MEC, Nomvula Mokonyane, over the widely expected choice, the current premier, Paul Mashatile.

The ANC Youth League has called on the party to reconsider its decision and appoint Mashatile, who took over from Mbhazima Shilowa, a co-founder of ANC breakaway party Cope.

The ANC in the Northern Cape has also complained about its provincial chairman, John Block, being sidelined in favour of Bo-Karoo mayor Hazel Jenkins.

But Zuma said the ANC leadership in each province had put forward three candidates for premiers and that the national executive committee was free to choose from them.

“Provinces should understand that whoever is appointed must be supported by the structures, so I don’t understand who in the provinces are now making a noise about their first preference.

“If three names are submitted and we choose one, we are allowed to choose any one of them,” said Zuma, who will be inaugurated on Saturday. – Sapa

http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=992668

I think Zuma will do well as a President,he's got the right attitude.

JZ says delays are not acceptable
South Africa’s president-in-waiting Jacob Zuma will inherit a still-simmering crisis in neighbouring Zimbabwe, where analysts said he’s unlikely to tread as softly as his predecessor Thabo Mbeki.




Mbeki brokered the power-sharing deal that brought Zimbabwe’s long-time President Robert Mugabe together with his erstwhile rival Morgan Tsvangirai, who became prime minister in a unity government in February.

Under the joint administration, Zimbabwe has halted its spectacular economic collapse, abandoning its worthless currency and eased price controls, which has brought food back onto store shelves.

But with unemployment at 94percent and more than half the population surviving on international food aid, the country remains mired in a humanitarian crisis that shows few signs of easing.

Squabbling within the unity government is rife, most dramatically between Finance Minister Tendai Biti, one of Tsvangirai’s top aides, and central bank chief Gideon Gono, who presided over years of world-record hyperinflation.

“South Africa was instrumental in the negotiations for the power-sharing government and they will support it” despite the problems, said Joseph Kurebga, a Harare-based political analyst.

But South Africa’s stake in the success of the government goes well beyond diplomacy.

Up to three million Zimbabweans have fled to South Africa in the hope of earning a living, while a cholera epidemic that erupted last year quickly seeped across the border into South Africa.

Mbeki dealt with challenges through his so-called “quiet diplomacy” that avoided calling out Zimbabwe on its failures. Zuma is unlikely to prove so gentle, analysts said.

“They are going to maintain this idea of constructive engagement with the leadership in Zimbabwe, trying to get them to come together around the table and resolve whatever issue might arise,” said Siphamandla Zondi, researcher at the Institute for Global Dialogue.

“But I don’t think that they are going to have patience with the Zimbabwean players should they not move along as expected.”

Zuma has proven himself a capable negotiator, credited with curbing political attacks between his own ANC and the Zulu-dominated IFP in the 1990s.

As the crisis unfolded in Zimbabwe last year, Zuma didn’t hesitate to speak out, saying he believed Zimbabweans were demanding change and that delays in the violence-plagued elections were “unacceptable”. – Sapa-AFP