Unlike Wednesday’s stilted and stiff reading of a prepared speech, President Jacob Zuma used Thursday’s hour-long reply to play to his advantages: affable, conversational, with a dose of pastoral lecturing and a return to some favourite topics, from radical socio-economic transformation and land to majoritarian democracy. The interesting stuff happened largely off-script.

The opposition parliamentary benches were a swathe of empty seats, with only the IFP, National Freedom Party (NFP) and Freedom Front Plus present to listen to Zuma’s reply.

The empty seats were noted by Zuma, who last year had ignored them, and turned into one of many digs, primarily at the DA. “They don’t want to hear the response to the debate. That tells you they are not listening. They are hooked and trapped by their own propaganda world,” he said. They can’t argue. They can only hurl insults…”

While Zuma remained silent on Maimane’s debate contribution, he did reply to two others. DA MP Sej Motau, in his absence, was told South Africa was not a failed state. “You have to free yourself from your party’s propaganda and honestly track the progress South Africa is making. You would feel proud… if you left the propaganda world and came to truthful world.”

It was IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s “distress” that the president talked radical economic transformation during his State of the Nation Address (SONA), while his deputy this week warned of plunder of state resources, that gave Zuma the gap.

As he broke it down for Shenge (Buthelezi’s praise name), at one stage also calling it “robust economic transformation”, Zuma also addressed sceptics on the ANC benches.

Yes, radical socio-economic transformation “is late being implemented”; it should have happened in 2013, immediately after the Mangaung 2012 ANC national conference, which resolved on this. Radical socio-economic transformation was reiterated in the 2017 January 8th statement, which traditionally sets the tone for the political year, and the ANC lekgotla.

Read between the lines: radical socio-economic transformation is official ANC policy. Finish and klaar.

Again, as during his SONA2017, Zuma quoted the ANC lekgotla’s definition: “Fundamental change in the structure, systems, institutions and patterns of ownership, management and control of the economy in favour of all South Africans, especially the poor, the majority of whom are African and female…”

Patterns of ownership. “We can’t even talk about we are owning anything. The ownership of the economy is still in the same hands… The economy is still in favour of the minority,” said Zuma, adding later: “We either accept this and do nothing, but then we have no freedom… This is just a straightforward line, truth.”

The majority of poor are black and female. “What a gospel truth you have… Justified. Blessed. The truth, the only truth with regard to the SA economy,” said Zuma. “The question of us not having jobs is in fact a man-made problem in SA, it’s not a natural problem… If you take land and everything, it’s not a problem from above.”

The president then told Buthelezi he would come visit to further help the IFP. And he also offered to join forces with DA MP David Maynier.

“I heard others call him DJ. I’m just sorry he’s not here because he’s my friend. Let us form a singing group: I can sing, he can dance.” What followed was not a performance, but a dismissal of the DA MP’s critique of the 9-point plan to say it was “our instrument that we are using to achieve radical socio-economic transformation”.

On Thursday Freedom Front Plus got the answer it had demanded a day earlier on why Zuma hated white people, but also an invitation for a chat.

“I’ve got whites, who are my comrades, who I trust. I’ve been commanded by the whites in the war for freedom… I am a democrat in the true sense of the word,” said Zuma, who started his reply to FF+ leader and MP Pieter Groenewald: “I’ll never be racist. But that does not mean I must not correct wrong.”

It was about land and dispossession. “There is the reality in SA that between us there are those who robbed the others of their own possessions and made it theres and left others to be poor.”

Zuma emphasised this must be corrected – within the Constitution and the laws, which might be changed if discussions led to that point. “What do I want whites to do? Let us sit down and solve this problem, let us find amicable solutions.”

Like Buthelezi, Groenewald was quick to the mic with a point of order: “I accept the invitation. We can talk.”

“Absolutely. Agreed, Honourable Groenewald,” came the response.

And so Zuma charmed at least some of the opposition parties, which on previous occasions, like the pending vote of no confidence, have joined forces.

The hour-long presidential reply did not end without touching on parliamentary decorum in the House as he did on the same occasion last year, and a couple of times in between. Zuma’s appearances take place in an at best terse atmosphere in a National Assembly that has seen plenty of chaos, not only through verbal sparring, but also evictions of EFF MPs.

“Our behaviour in Parliament has been taken to the extreme. I think this Parliament must help itself. Have the rules, implement the rules…” Zuma said, adding later: “When you act within the rules of democracy it’s always wonderful.”

The president acknowledged there were those MPs who would not support his budget, Vote 1, but that was democracy.

“The question is: Is it the majority that supports, or the minority?” said Zuma. “Democracy’s main element is the majority that talks, and wins the debate.” DM

Photo: President Jacob Zuma with Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa during the Presidency Budget Vote in the National Assembly, Parliament, Cape Town. (Photo: GCIS)