Undettered by reports implicating Deputy President Jacob Zuma in corruption following the sentencing of his former financial adviser Schabir Shaik, thousands of Eastern Cape residents braved chilly weather to meet him yesterday.

A day after Shaik was sentenced to an effective 15 years in jail and his businesses were heavily fined, Zuma was met with songs of praise, dances and ululations.

People walked for kilometres hoping to get an opportunity to raise their concerns directly with the second- most powerful politician in the land.

Zuma was in Eastern Cape on a two-day imbizo aimed at getting opinions on government’s failures and successes from citizens.

Hundreds pushed their way to the front to get a better sight of him in East London, Mdantsane, Keiskammahoek and Nyokaneni.

At Keiskammahoek, he visited a dairy farm where he inspected government infrastructure donated to assist 39 farmers.

At Nyokaneni, near Alice, hundreds of people scrambled to get to the microphone in a marquee to raise their concerns about service delivery.

Residents told of their trust and belief in Zuma’s ability to deal with local and provincial government officials who were failing to provide them with basic services such as electricity, clean water, clinics and road infrastructure.

Zuma is on government’s first tour since last year’s national and provincial elections to conduct public meetings with voters. Local government elections are scheduled for December.

Yesterday, Zuma lambasted the media at his first imbizo engagement with business, labour and religious leaders at the city hall in East London.

He said the media had tried and convicted him for corruption and fraud outside a court of law.

The deputy president accused the media of violating his constitutionally entrenched right to a fair and just trial. “That chance was never given to me. The judgment was for someone else.”

“They (the media) have forgotten the basic principle of presuming an individual innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “I believe there has been a lot of unfairness by our media in this country.”

Zuma said the media expected everybody to respect its space and freedom of expression.

However, he said, SA would be a better place if the media also treaded carefully and respected other people’s rights.

“The media have used this case for political reasons. Every time they talked about the case, they talked about the problem of politics.”

He also updated Eastern Cape leaders of the South African Council of Churches on the effectiveness of the Moral Regeneration Movement.

Zuma called on religious leaders to provide leadership by initiating programmes that would stimulate debate within their congregations about issues that affected morality.

Church leaders complained about local government’s uncaring attitude, saying they were indiscriminately issuing liquor licences to everyone that applied.

This, the church leaders argued, had led to a proliferation of shebeens, liquor stores and taverns in their communities.

“We feel overwhelmed by this lack of foresight by our municipal leaders, who do not even have capacity to monitor these businesses and to ensure that our school children are not sold alcohol,” an Mdantsane priest said.

Business and labour leaders complained about unemployment and the “China problem” — the flooding of local markets with cheap Chinese imports to the detriment of local clothing manufacturers and the textile industry.

The deputy president called for calm and understanding.

He said that government was engaging the Chinese government at World Trade Organisation meetings.

Zuma said government was encouraging Chinese businesses to establish manufacturing centres in SA — which would help SA to take advantage of bilateral agreements it has with Europe and the US.

Zuma was accompanied by Eastern Cape premier Nosimo Balindlela, Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

With acknowledgements to Hopewell Radebe and the Business Day.