Wouldn’t it be grand if our former looter-in-chief, who masqueraded as president from time to time, would just go quietly into the night?

I’m not sure he will ever see the inside of a jail cell, even though his legal woes are ongoing, but Jacob Zuma is a man who will do anything to cling to power.

He almost declared a state of emergency when the ANC forced him out of the door back in February, and he remains willing to do whatever it takes to continue the plundering.

Political commentator Justice Malala has written a brilliant (and terrifying) article on Times LIVE, and it’s essential reading for those who seek to understand what’s happening with the ANC at present.

Over to you, Justice:

This weekend the ANC’s Limpopo conference came under threat as disgruntled members went to court to try to stop proceedings. Last week it emerged that Gauteng regional conferences were being cancelled – or maybe not, depending on who was in charge in the party on the day. Eastern Cape ANC leadership may be recalled and the structure collapsed. What’s going on?

The seeming collapse of the ANC at the moment is nothing but the continuation of the Nasrec War. The so-called Zuma faction is fighting on all fronts to continue the looting, patronage networks and impunity of the past 10 years.

Ramaphosa is a smart man. He surely understands that the plan that is unfolding has one goal and one goal only: to destabilise the ANC so much that the organisation he now leads cannot function. At this point, some sort of “veteran’s leadership” or a national general council (scheduled for just two years away) is held and he is blamed for the party’s electoral misfortunes.

The aim, ultimately, is to do what Zuma was contemplating in those days in February: cling to power at all costs, push back against the anti-corruption impetus of the new ANC leadership, and unseat Ramaphosa.

That whole anti-corruption movement is bad news when you’re the poster boy for cronyism, nepotism and state looting, and the next step might just be creating a tearaway faction that puts the very existence of the ANC in jeopardy:

Now we hear that the Zuma grouping is starting a new political party, tentatively called the African Transformation Congress.

This new party is a cog in that greater plan to continue looting and evade the law. The ATC in KZN will cleave the ANC in two. Remember that electoral loyalties are fluid in KZN – the IFP used to be a powerhouse in that province, running the place while the ANC shouted from the opposition benches. Now it’s a shadow of its former self.

The weakening of the ruling party will be blamed on Ramaphosa. And so, if its showing in the province is below 50% of the vote, the ANC will be forced into a coalition. The Ramaphosa ANC will find itself painted into a corner and will have to make a pact with the devil that is the ATC. What will the details of that pact be? Will there be some kind of amnesty for Zuma and others?

The Zuma fight-back in the ANC is on with full force. Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be nasty.

That’s right – it’s going to get nastier than it currently is, and if there is one man who doesn’t mind plumbing the depths of moral depravity, it’s Jacob Zuma.

As someone in the comments section pointed out, ATC may as well stand for Assorted Thieves Club.

Otherwise, you well?

[source:timeslive]