President Jacob Zuma dismissed critics who accuse him of being out of touch with the people and brushed aside one of his most vocal opponents, saying populist rival Julius Malema had no influence and was “just talk”.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with the European Union, shortly after a deal was struck to end a six-week strike at South Africa’s Marikana platinum mine, Zuma laughed when asked how he responds to those who say he has lost touch with the roots of the ANC and its voters. “They are actually wrong,” he said in an interview at his hotel in Brussels late yesterday. “I am with the people on a continuous basis in huge meetings. Those people are really just telling what they think without looking at the facts. I am very much in touch with the people.”
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