Zuma damaged South Africa

JOHANNESBURG – Former president FW de Klerk says there is an element of truth that life and public services were better under the apartheid government.


De Klerk, who was speaking on eNCA’s The First Citizen program says this assertion is solely based, not on race and colour, but on the nine years during the Jacob Zuma presidency.


The former president (1989 - 1994) described the Zuma administration

(2009 - 2018) as “nine lost years” which have damaged the country.


“... because of bad appointments made in the nine lost years, inter alia, of cadres, instead of people with the right experience, with the right training into management posts.


“People were appointed because of their connections instead of because of their knowledge and their experience. I think this has harmed service delivery tremendously.”


De Klerk said he believed the opportunity to build a truly non-racial and just society was wasted during the Zuma years.


He advised the current government to accept the challenges it faces, improve the quality of education and training, grow the economy, build investor confidence and rise above racism.


De Klerk, who was the last apartheid government president, maintains that his hands are clean and that he is wrongly blamed.


“My hands are clean and my conscience is clear,” he said. “I have never been part of a policy that says kill people.”