Yesterday saw Jacob Zuma field questions in parliament, honourable members pressing for Jacob Zuma to expand on some of the past few weeks’ controversies.

Front and centre was the statement Zuma made two weeks back about the ANC coming before the state. A quick refresher:

“I argued one time with someone who said the country comes first and I said as much as I understand that, I think my organisation, the ANC, comes first,” he reportedly told delegates at the [ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial elective] conference.

So how did he respond to questions in parliament then? Below from IOL:

“I am an ANC president, in addition to being president of the state, elected by the ANC members,” Zuma said..

“They are making a muddle-up of issues, my dear friends. It is the elections of the ANC of me as a president that led to me to come to this House. I was elected first by the ANC as a president and then given a task to lead a campaign as the ANC president before I was the state president,” he said…

“Don’t conflate the two things. When I speak to the ANC members I speak to the ANC members. When I speak to the country I speak to the country and I made the distinction between the two.”

He went on to add that the ANC not only pre-dated democracy but was the party that made it a reality.

“Who came first, was it the democratic country, or was it the ANC? Who came first, who came first, who came first?

To be fair he has something of a point there, but he loses the right to use reason to his advantage when he claims ignorance on issues like Nkandla and this new jet fiasco. Then there’s meeting with gang members when trying to secure votes – more on that HERE.

Another habit of his, laughing uproariously when confronted with dissenting voices, was again showcased yesterday…

It’s all in the interest of good health of course – skip to the two-minute mark in this video below to see JZ confirm this:

That voice in the back that cries out ‘while you laugh South Africa cries’ – now there’s someone who has been paying attention.

[source:iol]