thinking aloud

Who will lead the ANC in Gauteng?

2010-04-06T15:40:00.000+02:00

No matter how hard ANC insiders would like to deny it, many of us know that leadership battles are really about power, access and control of taxpayers money. Thus one would expect that the battle to lead the ANC in Gauteng Province, the richest province in South Africa, will be a fiercely contested one. Soon the members of the ANC in Gauteng will decide who their leader will be, this person will wield power for the next term and will enjoy power and influence (read money) that no other individual in this province will ever dream of.

At this present moment, there are two prominent comrades who are eyeing this position. The first is the current feisty premier Nomvula Mokonyane and the second is Paul Mashatile, the infamous "Alex Mafia" leader who is better known for his flashy lifestyle. He currently serves as a deputy minister of Arts and Culture ministry. The issue that seems to be a great worry is that Nomvula, the preffered candidate by top leadership of the ANC does not have the grass-roots pulling power that Paul enjoys. Nomvula was appointed premier by the Zuma machinery despite the fact that Paul was the caretaker premier after Shilowa left the ANC for COPE.

Paul was later to be demoted to a deputy minister position in a "dead" ministry. Clearly the signs were all over for his demise, but Paul is street-wise, and that is the problem. He has entrenched himself in the branches of Gauteng, paid his way to be a favourite while Nomvula, a much capable leader, remains moderately favoured at branch level. The most certain way to sway ANC leadership votes your way is to ensure that the "runners" are on your side, the runners are the ANC Youth League. Despite the fact that Paul tied his fortunes with the Mbeki regime, then later with Tokyo Sexwale at Polokwane and later became a Zuma man, he has managed to survive the chop that befell all the non-Zuma people after Polokwane. The reason seems to be his power and financial influence that emanates from the string of private business interests as well as the GSSC. The GSSC was Paul's bank while he was the MEC for Economic affairs and later on as premier (for a lettle while).

He has somehow managed to get the ANC youth league on his side, he has been seen attending parties with the powerful youthful group within the ANC currently that comprises Julius Malema, Zizi Kodwa and Fikile Mbalula. What surprises is that the same ANC Youth League has argued against the "two centers of power" but they seem to be willing to make an exception this time around and have Nomvula as premier (Senior in government) and Paul as chairman of the ANC (Senior in the ANC). That effectively would mean that Nomvula would have to report to Paul when it comes to ANC matters.

The usual slander that characterises all ANC elections has begun. Recently it was reported that that Nomvula has a stack of traffic fines totalling more than R17 000 which she has not paid after an unofficial lifestyle audit was done on her by a newspaper. She was furious obviously but on a radio interview did indicate that "everyone" knows who is behind this slander. Off we knew that she was talking about Paul. She then claimed that she does not play those games. But LO and Behold: a new scadal broke that relates to Mashatile (he has a litany that have already been published).

In this new piece of propaganda warfare it is alleged that he played a role in a huge financial scandal that involves payments of about R50million rands in relation to a TV deal with CNBC. This project was seen to be Thabo Mbeki's pet project. One can see the link; this is all about re-connecting Paul with Mbeki, a swear word in the post-Polokwane ANC and thus paint him as a non-Zuma man. The trouble is that Paul has survived so many financial scandals, this one is just another one that may just go unnoticed. That will be a blow to the Nomvula camp, it also does not help that the scandal broke at a time when the nation is glued to their screens worrying about the murder of Eugene Terre'blanche.

At the end of it all, it is all about money, NOT service delivery to citizens, NOT exemplary leadership...FILTHY LUCRE!

"ET is gone home", what about us?

2010-04-06T13:52:00.000+02:00

While the rest of the world was celebrating Easter holidays, South Africans were unexpectedly flashed with the news that Eugene "ET" Terre'blanche, a leader of a small rightwing Afrikaaner extremist grouping in had been brutally hacked to death by two young black farmworkers. The announcement came late on Saturday night. South African airwaves, social media sites and private conversations have since been littered with this story. On Sunday morning I switched on to CNN and BBC International to see if this story was being carried internationally, and indeed it was.

All government spin machinery was in full swing, even the President had to interrupt his Easter holidays to calm the nation, you got a sense that something significant had just taken place. It was reported that a 16 year old (later revised to 15) and a 21 year old workers employed at the Terre'Blance farm had a dispute with the AWB leader over R300 (some channels said R600) that he owed them. The squabble ended up with the pair attacking him with a panga and stick, killing him in his bedroom. What was striking was that the young pair then informed the police about their deed and handed themselves over. Thus there was very little room for speculation about who killed ET.

South Africa has been forced to revisit the legacy of the man called ET, which I will not go into in this blog (visit the link earlier). The bottom line is that; ET was a rebel without a sensible cause. Many sensible white Afrikaners in South Africa considered him a buffoon for his stance, however there is still a small group that still look up to him as a leader. Most of the talking point was around the song that Julius Malema, the radical leader of the ANC Youth League, had sung a few weeks earlier at the University Of Johannesburg. The song called "Ayesaba Magwala" (the cowards are scared), has a line that says "aw dubul' ibhunu [shoot the boer] 'a magwala [the cowards are scared] dubula dubula [shoot shoot]". Some have argued that this song is linked to the ET's death or the song has created a context in which this murder occured. This off course is far from the truth in my opinion.

Up until we hear from the alleged killers, it is a matter of speculation whether Malema and the song influenced them. The irony of this whole situation is that President Jacob Zuma's signature song, "Awulethu Mshini Wam", is not very far from Julius' song. It is a struggle song that calls for the machine gun, to do what exactly? To shoot the bloody enemy off course, the same cowards that Malema is threatening to shoot. It will be very interesting to see how the case develops and whether references are made to this song.

What is clear however is the reality that these songs are offensive to a lot of South Africans, black and white, who are still committed to reconciliation. The ANC argues that these songs are part of our heritage, that is fair enough, however the question that we need to ask is whether this aspect of our heritage needs to be rehashed at the expense of offending and ultimately reversing the gains of the negotiated settlement.

Now that ET is dead, now that the struggle songs have been brought back to the fore, what is South Africa going to do? Will we all dig in and hold on to our polar views despite of the divisive nature of our views? Was reconciliation in SA perhaps a farce? Shall we rise above these glitches and seek for a better country? Are we ready to painfully deal with this situation for the sake of the future?

What is wrong with SA soccer?

2010-04-01T15:17:00.000+02:00

Many people have asked the question:"What the bloody hell is wrong with South African soccer?". It has never been a doubt in my mind that a big chunk of what is rotten about SA soccer can be located right at the top. The leadership of SA soccer is filled with men who just have the best interest of the sport nowhere near their hearts. The sad thing is that they have deluded themselves that they actually give a damn. Perhaps the fact that they have been associated with the "modernisation" of the sport gives them the misguided belief that they have the right to mess it up. But no one owns this sport, it can survive without them.

It is not very difficult to deduce who has been at the central engine of South African soccer. There is only one man (off course he has his supporters and foot soldiers) who is the central figure of South Africa, the embodiment of its inefficiency and the personification of its useless state. He is affectionately known as the Iron Duke in some circles, one editor calls him "the one with a missing tooth", some derogatorily refer to him as Dr. Khoza or Brigadier. Khoza, most of us know simply know him as Irvin Khoza.

You will not be able to analyse the problems of SA soccer without his name popping up. He is the the perennial leader, he is to SAFA what Issa Hayatou is to CAF. Do not get me wrong, Khoza does not want to see SA soccer dead, NO, in a funny way he wants it to work, as long as it remains his own fiefdom. In South Africa soccer team bosses are involved directly in the day-to-day administration of the PSL. This factor alone presents many challenges. Dr. Khoza has held multiple positions in both SAFA and the PSL, he has walked away with millions of rands in self-compesation over the years and he is intent on holding on to that privilege.

The recent news that he is conspiring to dethrone the new SAFA leadership rests within this context. Even though he pulled out of elections last year which saw Mr. Nematandani taking over and also saw Danny Jordaan pulling out of the race, all of us know that he is temporarily laying low only to pounce after the World Cup. Khoza is not alone in this pursuit to "own" South African soccer.

Kaizer Motaung, ranks as another big problem. The fact that he is more discreet than Khoza in his ambition does not make him less of a culprit. He is a known powerful ally of Khoza. They both own the biggest soccer clubs in SA namely Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. They are known to share sponsors and always vote together in major SAFA and PSL decisions. Motaung is a real soccer legend while Khoza never really played the sport, but both have a long history of soccer administration in this country, but they have no right to destroy it.

Under their leadership and dominance, SA soccer is languishing at the bottom when it comes to FIFA rankings. The league dishes out mediocre soccer while the national team is an African disgrace. However, money keeps coming in millions, pointing to some level of good financial management, but it makes no difference when the quality of football is so poor in this country. It is about time that these men exit soccer leadership and focus on their declining teams that were once very great. Perhaps in that way the football product will improve in quality while more competent and forward looking administrators take charge to hopefully lead this country to new heights.

The business of soccer is not to generate huge incomes that simply find their way into the pockets of administrators. Soccer lovers deserve competitive and entertaining soccer on the pitch. They deserve quality players who are trained from their early years at state of the art facilities. We need competitive school soccer and varsity soccer leagues, we deserve a league that is not a yawn to watch, we deserve beautiful soccer, not this nonsense that we see every weekend! Get rid of the current useless guard, not superficially; I say dislodge the mafia that is running down our soccer where it has firmly entrenched itself: the high echelons of the PSL and at SAFA.

The folly of criminalising liberation songs

2010-03-30T15:13:00.000+02:00

It strikes me as a stupid move. The South Gauteng High Court Acting Judge Leon Halgryn ruled last week that the use of the words “dubula ibhunu (shoot the boer)” was unconstitutional and unlawful. The judge gave no further elaboration as to why he believes so. This ruling was a result of an urgent application lodged by a member of an anti-crime organisation.

Apparently some members squabbled about whether they should put the words on a banner, it was then decided that they should approach the court to make a ruling.After the judge made a ruling that the song in unconstitutional and unlawful, political parties from the opposition quickly jumped for joy because finally there was a ruling against Julius Malema who brought this song back from the past.

I think the judge needs to elaborate further, without a detailed justification the public remains in the dark about his logic. The other worrying factor is whether banning struggle songs achieves anything? I do not support the song being sung in this new South Africa that we live in, it is offensive. However how do we begin to police the public if they do decide to sing this song? How do we link the killing of whites to the song i.e. is the public being incited and can we link factually the incidences of the killings to the song? Will this ruling also affect the usage of the phrase in other contexts?

I just think we are being lazy as South Africans. We are failing to engage each other and taking the easy route of suing each other. The ruling party also needs to start thinking hard about the project of reconciliation and nation building. Who benefits when certain sections of the community are so clearly offended by songs that hold historical significance to the movement? Is it still relevant for this songs to be sung when the goal has been reached or is there a belief that the system still needs to be fought?

If so, are the old songs still a way to fight the current challenges? As a private citizen i sincerely hope that sanity will reign, certain songs and slogans should be rested, they have reached their expiry date and they do not need to be revived simply to offend others. It is a tough approach but one that can only be reached through mature rational thinking.I see no point singing songs from the past, whose aim is of the past, whose significance is found in the past. Can we move on please comrades?

Menzi Simelane, a leader South Africa does not need

2010-03-30T13:27:00.000+02:00

It is now very clear to all of us that the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Adv. Menzi Simelane, represents exactly what a young democracy like South Africa DOES NOT need. His appointment seemed bizarre from the start. Those of us who believe that the ANC has the ability to rise and take this country to a higher level, were somewhat gobsmacked at his appointment. Clearly there was a much better equipped man in the Zuma team who could have been deployed to that position, at least I thought.

After having been exposed as a man of little principle by Cde. Ginwala and Adv.Wim Tengrove, it was never good judgement to appoint him to head the NDPP. But it happenned nevertheless. When a leader moves into a position with public sentiment overwhelmingly against him, you would expect such a leader to get into a reputational damage control mode. But not Cde. Simelane!

A few months into the job, he was accused of gagging his officials, prosecutors nogal to talk to the media. One could perhaps forgive this move as an organ that he runs, the NDPP, requires some level of control regarding communication with the media. But then he suprisingly dropped a bombshell by dropping the case of the Asset Forfeiture Unit against Fana "Styles" Hlongwane.

Hlongwane has a dark cloud hanging over his head as he is seen as the man who received all the Arms Deal corruption money. It is believed by some that the reason he had to be let off the hook is that some of the money paid to him found its way to either the ANC or some powerful figures within the ANC.Today Hlongwane lives a flamboyant life, with stories making rounds that he has actually become Jozi's own Hugh Heffner. Clearly Cde. Simelane does not think it strange that this former civil servant has become a billionaire overnight.

The latest questionable saga that Cde. Simelane has plunged the NDPP in is regarding the demotion of some senior prosecutors. Some of the prosecutors he strangely demoted are seen to be suffering the consequences of losing favour with Simelane. It is alleged that chief prosecutor Andre Lamprecht has been demoted to an ordinary prosecutor because he refused to obey Simelane's instruction not to oppose bail for hip-hop musician Molemo "Jub Jub" Maarohanye. "Juj jub" is currently out on bail for the death of 4 Soweto pupils who were hit by his speeding car that was apparently in a street race with a friend. This same "Jub jub" has been visited by the powerful ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema while still in prison.Another prosecutor who was demoted is reportedly one of the prosecutors that was involved in one of the many Jacob Zuma cases.

It is clear that Adv. Simelane does not intend to improve his reputation in any way, he is intent to act in the most questionable of ways. If he continues to act in this way, the already weak NDPP will definitely be the biggest reputational liability the President Zuma will court in his presidency. The brazenness with which Simelane goes about smacks of a man who has little regard for the country and its constitution.He does not inspire this nation that he is a true custodian of its future. Msholozi, Nxamala, my president, please remove this man before it is too late.

Is South Africa's future in safe hands?

2010-03-26T12:16:00.000+02:00

Most South Africans are very patriotic, they love their country, they defend it and they become very emotional when negative things are said about it. They will tell anyone about the beauty of Table Mountain, Cape point and the City of Cape Town. They will boast about the warm beaches of Kwazulu-Natal, the breath-taking views of the iconic Moses Mabhida stadium. They will tell you about the world class Kruger National park, the magnificent weather, the stable democracy, their well-managed and growing economy. A lot of South Africans are indeed a proud bunch.

However, talk to South Africans about the state of their nation, you start seeing cracks in the facade, the smiles are suddenly interrupted. Probe a little further, you will realise that beneath the shell of optimism, South Africans are worried. They are concerned that their politicians are regularly on the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. From the highest office in the land, there is a consistent innuendo of inconsistency. A scandal breaks after another; apologies come at the same fast rate, at times arrogant denials come at an even greater pace. If the state of political leadership was a sole barometer of the state of this nation, South Africa would be nearing very worrying levels.

It has taken the democratic South Africa 15 years to achieve all it has achieved; history tells us that it will take a much shorter period to wipe out the gains if the concerns are not heeded. If politicians continue to portray an image of invincibility and arrogance at the current rate, soon this country will become yet another African horror story. If the principles of freedom as enshrined in that wonderful constitution are not respected and protected by those in power, this country will barely limp to its 30th birthday. Leaders need to realise that it is not in the big "sins" that the state of this nations will be dealt a visible blow; it is in the small continuous little acts.

It is when leaders make little public statements that divide rather than unite the nation. It when leaders are constantly under suspicion in their personal affairs and financial affairs, especially if taxpayer’s money is involved. It is when leaders seem to get away with little acts of bad judgement, when well-connected law breakers are seen to be using their politician friends to circumvent the law. It is when questionable characters ascend to power, take strategic public positions that the glue that binds a nation weathers away. These little sins gnaw away on the moral fibre of a nation, its hopes and its future.

The leadership of this country has their work cut out. They need to stop the slide into hopelessness. They need to re-invigorate hope and confidence in the public. It is not too late, South Africans have the capacity to turn things around mentally and focus on the positive. I certainly still remain positive. After all, this is the only country I can call home.

Seven months of hibernation.

2010-03-24T11:02:00.000+02:00

It has been a long seven months of NO blogging. A lot happened in this time hence there was just no time to write. In this period a lot took place; new job, new born baby, new hobbies (guitar) and a lot of soul searching (Yes I also have those moments..."Who am I in the universe").

Fatherhood has been the most rewarding of all my pre-occupations and it remains by far the only pursuit which has provided me with a sense of satisfaction and hope. A lot of work is still needed in the other aspects of my life. My passion for reading never really suffered as much as the writing passion. Between a list of religious books that I am currently reading (primarily for my Masterguide training), I still managed to indulge in some of the most wonderful books (mostly during December holidays) like Black Diamond by Zakes Mda, The Democratic Moment by Xolela Mangcu, Native Nostalgia by Jacob Dlamini, Famished Road by Ben Okri, Outliers by Malcom Gladwell. Oh what an enthralling journey.

Enough about myself, let us talk about ThinkingAloud now. Even though I did not blog for such a long time, I did manage to share some thoughts with friends on Facebook. The discussions on Facebook are very interesting in that you interact with people you already know (mostly) and their views vary from being personal to insanely subjective or just polite. The status updates tend to also be very short and sometimes without any deep analysis. Therefore the discussions can veer off the topic very quickly but nevertheless the FB discussions remain very informative.

What I missed about blogging is the fact that one can expect a lot of varied responses from all over the world and "faceless" readers. The views expressed are generally point blank honest. But blogging requires time and thought, much more than it is required on Facebook. Twitter just did not work for me. I use Twitter simply to read the links that other people post, I hardly ever tweet myself. I also do have followers on Twitter that are mostly expecting work related tweets, not my midnight ramblings about SA politics. What is also interesting is that a lot of the blog feedback is private i.e. people who want to engage but not necessarily publish their interaction to the whole world. This happens does happen on FB as well.

So does this blog signal the return of ThinkingAloud (yet again)? Let us take it one day at a time. I certainly would like to write more frequently and I would like to bring back ThinkingAloud to it infamous heights. So between changing nappies at night I will attempt to sneak in a blog or three each week. But don't hold me to it, stuff happens.

Where has Dr.Xolela Mangcu gone?

2009-08-17T16:22:00.001+02:00

I was talking to a friend a few days ago, we were both wondering what could have possibly happened to Dr. X? His columns on Business Day and The Weekender were not published and there was no indication whether he is on leave or not? Has he perhaps been “recalled”?

Controversial as he is, I enjoy the man’s articles. I agree with half of them, the rest are simply non-edifying, especially when he starts writing about himself, perhaps I am a bit of a conservative African Christian boy who has been brainwashed to eschew self-praise.

But Xolela does exactly what a columnist should do, keep it edgy and offensive while backing it up with some substance. I guess what draws me to his columns is the controversy that he creates (endorsing Tokyo Sexwale and the revelations that Tokyo handed him substantial money prior to the endorsement is sure controversial) and maybe his unapologetic support for Jacob Zuma (whom he initially did not like at the beginning but changed sides perhaps when Tokyo did the somersault at “Polokwane”).

Perhaps also the fact that he takes himself so seriously creates a in me a funny sense of adoration (amusement is probably more appropriate). He is black and in your face, he is definitely a conspicuous consumer who lives large. I do not approve of this nonsensical lifestyle but hey, Dr. Xolela is not bound by my conservatism.

All in all, Xolela is actually interesting, I can’t wait to read his TheWeekender ramblings, he has an offensive sense of humour that few columnists have (perhaps him and David Bullard actually share more in common than they actually would like to admit). Now the Editors of both BusinessDay and TheWeekender: “I know that the good doctor has been a subject of tabloids for his private life recently (none of my concern quite frankly), but you can’t make him the one from Ginsberg disappear without a trace like this, where is Xolela?

Zuma’s teachable moment

2009-08-06T12:03:00.001+02:00

Published by News24

The gesture by the Zuma government to rethink government spending particularly with regards to minister's car allowance is a positive development. It signals a new age of a responsive government that is perhaps willing and ready to accept criticism and re-adjust to the concerns of its people.

Collins Chabane, minister in the presidency has revealed that a ministerial task team will be setup to relook at government spending in the context of the economic recession.

Perhaps the government has woken up to the fact that it is these momentous errors of judgement by its leaders that serve as fuel to events such as the recent community uprisings at local level. The recent luxury car splashing by senior ministers has surely been South Africa's own "teachable" moment.

However, the government need not stop at this gesture; a much more serious rethink of its service delivery arm, the local municipality administration is needed. The local government is the point of severe weakness that certainly gives president Zuma sleepless nights.
When the political appointees of the ANC fail to deliver even the most basic of services to their communities, it smacks of a ruling party that is simply unable to govern, an ANC government that faces 20 years of dismal service delivery to its electorate.

It thus remains to be seen whether minister Chabane and Manuel will be able to provide the strategic input that president Zuma's administration seriously needs. The ridiculous car allowance scheme that authorises ministers to buy cars valued at up to 70% of their annual salaries should definitely be scrapped; however the true mark of real progress will be shown by effecting the necessary far reaching changes within the local government's broken machinery.

The citizens of this country deserve technocrats at the lowest level of government that are simply able to get on with the job at hand. If it means that the Zuma administration has to reach outside of the pool of "cadres" and appoint able and qualified people, then this should be done without any delay. If not, an implosion of unimaginable proportions awaits us.

Can this new administration rise above its current challenges and limitations? Will the "alliance partners" be able to put the country ahead of self-interest? It all remains to be seen. I certainly believe this country has the capacity to do the impossible; it just depends on the willingness of those in power to do the right thing.

The “ruling party” mentality promotes WaBenzi

2009-08-06T11:57:00.001+02:00

It was Dr. Maphela Ramphele who noted that the ANC needs to transform its “ruling party” mentality to the more accountable “governing party” paradigm. She noted that failure to embrace this identity shift stands between a prosperous and dismal political future for this country.

Rulers believe that they own state resources. Rulers do not hesitate treat state coffers like their family budget. Public opinion and discontent means nothing to them. The rulers waste no time to lord it over the masses, the ruler is above the law!

The ruler has to have the biggest mansion in town, his children have to throw the biggest parties in town, the ruler believes that his credit card is unlimited and his cars have to be the biggest luxury cars in his fleet. The rule has it very clear in his mind that the public, his servants, must foot the bill. All rulers have to look important after all.

It is when rulers are in charge that Africa usually falls apart. In Kenya they have a name for these rulers, they call them WaBenzi. This apt term literally means the “people of the Benz”, colloquially referring to the ruling elite’s penchant for expensive “Mercedes Benz” cars. WaBenzi have a belief that their status as rulers entitles them to these expensive machines, the many nights of campaigning for votes is surely reason enough to look important.

Their obscenely expensive cars will then be fitted with blue lights; what is the point of driving these cars if you are going to get stuck in traffic like the servants? As rulers they are entitled to compete with the police and emergency services on the yellow lane and through traffic lights.

As the SABC grapples with issues of survival, the WaBenzi in charge buys 2 expensive cars. As schools churn out high failure rates, the WaBenzi in charge buys 2 expensive cars. While the chief ruler laments this conditions, and says the right things about re-evaluating the laws the protects this spirit of WaBenzi, the minister in charge of science and technology also rushes to claim her spot in the WaBenzi elite.

The rulers in charge of policing also cannot be outdone, while bullets fly at shopping malls, it is their turn to join the car dealership queues! The crowning act of the WaBenzi clan should be in the forgotten province of the Free State, where the chief induna of the WaBenzi has “equipped” his lekgotla with several Mercedes Benz S600 cars.

One day the peasants shall revolt.

Another winter of shame in South Africa

2009-07-22T17:33:00.000+02:00

Published on News24

I hate winter in South Africa! In the last winter, South Africa covered itself in shame. Foreign Africans ran for dear life, the barbarians that reside in the south had decided that they had no place at the southern tip of Africa. It was a winter of shame, the whole world watched as we mauled them like animals, stole from them and set them alight. The winter mornings of that year were dominated by hatred and confusion, how quickly had the children of Mandela turned into monsters, unbelief!

Politicians cried third force, the head of the state equivocated, what had just happened was just too much to bear. However, the emotional outpour grew in leaps and bounds as some were touched and quickened to action, signalling hope. Some South Africans sought to project another image, a brighter side of the rainbow. Surely, we are a better people than that they said. Temporary shelters were erected, food parcels were dispatched. The winter sunset drew down the curtain to this episode. But South Africans had indeed discovered their darker selves, but we sought to move on, never again!

Just over a year later, another winter season has come upon us; the demon of hatred has once again reared its ugly head. Once again, the barbarians have returned to their favourite pastime, lynching the foreigners. As the cold winter season blows its chilly winds, South Africans have shot to the international headlines, Xenophobia attacks have flared up in South African townships. This time, the new guy in charge is firmer, he steers away from the third force rhetoric; he condemns the new attacks without reservation. However, like his predecessor he fails to tackles the evil source that gives life to the demonic monster, poor services delivery or should we say failed service delivery.

It is another dark winter season, but South Africa is getting used to it. This is our forte, we will simply brush it under the carpet yet again; we will quickly forget that it has come to life in two consecutive winters. You see, talking about the failing service delivery could unravel some inconvenient truths about the failures of those who rule, it could threaten the livelihood of those elites that continue to flourish, and it could force us to look into the mirror, it is too much a thought to bear. We will rather not confront the reality that those that we have overwhelmingly voted into power for the past decade and half are perhaps the ones lie at the centre of our self-hatred. Let sleeping dog lie! A nation on cowards I say.

But we have a short collective vision; surely winter is bound to come again! We forget that at the next winter, we will be the centre of the universe; the game of billions will be played in this part of Africa! When the monster rears its ugly head again, it will be the chilliest winters of all. Perhaps then South Africa will be forced to talk to itself; maybe the damaging service delivery protests will achieve their maximum impact, the world will be at our gates! I wish those in power had an ear, all those protesting are simply begging to be heard. Beware, they will not be shy to embarrass the rest of the country if that is what it takes to be heard, to see change they have been promised. Winter is a terrible time in South Africa.

The Dinokeng scenarios at Wits by Dr. Mamphela Ramphela

2009-07-10T17:10:00.000+02:00

I sadly missed the lecture by the world renowned economist and public intellectual Joseph Stiglitz at Wits. I wish I could have been there, it was an unavoidable tragedy of life I guess! Who knows whether I will ever be able to see the man alive, anyway…

So I was fortunate enough to listen to Dr. Mamphela Ramphela expounding on the Dinokeng Scenarios. For the uninitiated, the Dinokeng Scenarios are a set of possible scenarios that predict the future of South Africa by 2020. It is a work of team of that comprises 35 leaders from civil society and government, political parties, business, public administration, trade unions, religious groups, academia and the media. The initiative is being sponsored by Old Mutual and Nedbank

I had the privilege of talking to one of the dedicated organisers of this initiative; Bra. Ish Mkhabela, just before the presentation started. He passionately explained to me how they have been hard at work, identifying this diverse group of notable individuals who could add value to the scenario planning process that brought about what is now known as the Dinokeng Scenarios.

Dinokeng is the name of the town where the team met to develop their scenarios, it is a Sotho word that means “a place of rivers”, an apt metaphor of the process which could signify a meeting of rivers of thoughts.

The team was brought together by six convenors, all of whom are actively engaged in our national issues according to the website. They are Dr Mamphela Ramphele, who chairs the convenor group, Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, Mr Bob Head, Ms Graça Machel, Dr Vincent Maphai and Mr Rick Menell.

In a nutshell, Dr. Ramphele outlined the three possible future scenarios that South Africa could possibly find itself in by 2020;
1. Walk Apart : (Doom and Gloom - in this scenario, by 2020 we will have a corrupt and ineffective state with a distrusting and self protective citizenry that is disengaged)
2. Walk Behind ( Not So Lekker – in this scenario we have an interventionist and directive state with a compliant and dependent while still disengaged. In this scenario the party “rules” as opposed to “governing”.)
3. Walk together (Ideal state – in this scenario we have a collaborative and enabling state which has a vibrant and engaged citizenry)

My impression is that these scenarios are both powerful and a perfect start to initiate an honest debate within South Africa concerning its current state. South Africa is currently in the “Walk Apart” scenario; despite what the ANC would have us believe, we have a collapsing state machinery which has been unable to deliver on its mandate to the public. We have a citizenry that is led by party activists who determine policy. Sections of the population feel left out of the political process and politicians are not accountable.

However I do worry about the fact that the Dinokeng Scenario process could end at this point without it being internalised by all South Africans. I also fear that it may be construed to be elitist if it does not reach far enough. The composition of the team should be enlarged to include more community based leaders which in my opinion will be instrumental to the wider acceptance of the ideas. I am aware of the difficulty of getting everyone involved from the onset; however we should never fail to try.

This document is by no means an authoritative manual about the state of South Africa, I regard it as a very honest shot at it. I therefore embrace it, its observations ring true and I am sure the leaders of this country are being made aware that the citizenry is still optimistic, it wants to be involved, and it is currently not happy with the current state of affairs.

A brief encounter with William Mervyn Gumede

2009-07-10T17:08:00.000+02:00

William Gumede is the famous writer of the contentious but yet riveting book called “Thabo Mbeki and the battle for the soul of the ANC”. There is no doubt in my mind that he is one of the best political writers and public commentators we have in South Africa.

I personally got to hear about him when his book shot into the public limelight, after his book allegedly upset the former president Thabo Mbeki. He gave a scathing analysis of Thabo Mbeki and his role in the current ANC. He was called names and there were allegations that he left the country in a hurry as some people really did not like the way he “attacked” Thabo Mbeki.

He subsequently published a second edition of the same book with some corrections, which I never got to read. He kept a low profile to the South African public during the time he was overseas, however I kept following some of the articles he published at various influential publications online.

The SA public got to see the awkwardly bearded Gumede on our TV channels during the national elections. He was spot on as usual, what was different though is that some of us heard him speak for the first time, having encountered him as a writer all the time. It suffices to say that his accent is…well, very unique, funny would be the word. I am giggling as I write this line.

I was however privileged to have a brief chat with the man as we both made our way out of the Auditorium at the Wits Business School after having listened to a wonderful scenario planning presentation entitled Dinokeng Scenarios by Dr.Mamphela Ramphela.

I took the opportunity to ask him about his forthcoming book entitled “The Democracy Gap – Africa’s Wasted Years”. I was under the impression that it was already available in South African bookshops. He explained to me that the book will only be in South Africa in about 3 months time as there are delays which are related to the fact that it is being published by American publishers. He was very friendly and approachable, but I still got smile at that accent after our cordial talk. It sounded much better in real life than on TV. I can’t wait for the book; he is simply brilliant as political commentator and a writer, and the title is very provocative.

Dr.Paul Ngobeni has been fired by UCT

2009-06-24T15:40:00.000+02:00

I was not completely shocked but nevertheles suprised that UCT has parted ways with Dr. Paul Ngobeni. This is a man who is currently in the headlines for being part of the Zuma Brains Trust, a group of well known "thinkers" who supported the cause of Jacob Zuma during his difficult legal battles.

He is also in the headlines recently for advocating for the appointment of the embattled Cape Judge President, John Hlophe to be appointed to the constitutional court. He is feisty man, who fights for his point of view. I was suprised that UCT appointed him into their law faculty given his reputation in the US where he studied and practised law. He apparently had 7 judgements of misconduct to his name while in the US and there are mentions about his fugitive status, which i cannot really vouch for except that i can say...check this out.

Now I must admit that I enjoy listening to Paul Ngobeni. He makes some good points and he scratches hard, sometimes where it hurts the most. I was however suspicious of his surfacing from the US to suddenly being the number one supporter of JZ, it looked very self-serving and self-promoting, making the right noises, populist noises at the time. But he won the day, his side won, JZ is now the president of this country. When it comes his stance John Hlophe case I am completely against his views. Forcing Judge Hlophe to the highest court in the land simply to spite racists can never be good for the judiciary.

Ngobeni has already accused the principal of UCT of hypocrisy and some of his old colleagues of being a racist gang. Now we know that UCT and many other such institutions are not perfect, but one has to be careful who is crying foul and why. Paul Ngobeni is the type that digs up conspiracy theories that require a lot of concentration before one can agree. He is interesting but shoots from the hip when you least expect it. He brands people racist too quickly for my liking, men such as these make me very suspicious.

But I tell you one thing, whenever this guy is on radio, i can't help but tune in. He is well spoken and real fun, seriously. However on TV he looks funny, his face is detached or lost at times, overweight, looks very subdued until he speaks. He is here to stay, I am sure there are a lot of politicians who will be clamouring for Paul Ngobeni to be on their side.

Confederations Cup 2009 spectacle

2009-06-24T13:12:00.000+02:00

You would swear I have gone into hibernation, funny enough this time around I have not been. All my free time after work has been spent largely on soccer! Yes, you guessed it, the bug has bitten, my hopeless romance with the beautiful game has seen me running all over Gauteng to see the world stars of soccre. They are all here, and I have the privilege of seeing them in flesh and blood. It is simply amazing!

On the opening day of the Confederation Cup I was at Ellis Park, I witnessed as Bafana took on Iraq, sitting next to me was my wife and two of our close friends. What a beautiful atmosphere. Unfortunately it was a game of missed chances but man, what an electrifying atmosphere, it was the only place to be on this planet at that moment. Our national coach got it all wrong I argue, why such a defensive stratergy against a team that is not known to be such a force. Water under the bridge, we blew it BUT you can't take away the joy of those Vuvuzela blowing soccer mad South Africans on that day.

The second game that Sunday in Rustenburg was a different ball game. The mighty Torres scored a quick hattrick as Spain utterly destroyed New Zealand by five goals. What a spectacle. I watched this game on TV.

Then on Monday I was at home watching the most electrifying perfomance of the day, Brazil narrowly beating the reigning African Kings, Egypt by 4 goals to 3 in Bloemfontein. What an atmosphere. After the game i did not know who those soccer fanatics were supporting, Egypt or Brazil! It was a feast of goals, noise and excitement, I wished this game was the opening game. I fell in love with the Pharaohs that night. Zidan was a marvel to watch.The beautiful game won the day.

In the evening i was at the stadiums again watching Italy humbling the US. It was not the most electrifying display by the Azzuri, who I went to see specifically. What a schorcer from Rossi and what beautiful trickery by Pirlo.

On Wednesday i took a break and watched from home. Not such a great game between Spain and Iraq, but a much improved Iraq nevertheless. The European kings extended their unbeaten run.

Then later that night it was the do-or-die game between South Africa and New Zealand. Bafana needed a win to keep their hope alive and the boys delivered a sweet 2-0 victory. This game was in Bloemfontein and the crowds loved it as ussual in that part of South Africa. They are the most passionate soccer fans this country has. Its marvelous watching them, the world is yet to see a better display of fans supporting their team.

On Thursday I was back at it...2 games, 2 cities, all in one day. First it was the USA vs. Brazil game in Pretoria. This was always going to be an easy game for Brazil. I just had to see the legends with my naked eyes. Dunga the coach, Robinho, Kaka, Fabiano...oh the list goes on. They delivered some good moments, we all simply loved it.

Then we had to rush out of the stadium, we had to cross over to Joburg to see the critical Italy vs. Egypt game. The Azzuri needed it, Carnavaro was brought in to add to the urgency. Unbelievable line of stars, right infront of us! The Egyptians rewarded all of us who hoped for an African delight. 1-0 the beat the Italians, the legendary Gatusso even dropped his pants for a while to the amusement of those watching. You would bet that there were actually so many Bantu Egyptians...our Arab brothers were at home, they lost Zidan to a hamstring pull on that night, an event that proved fatal later on. I rank this day as my best Confed Cup day, my soccer appetite was done fairly just.

The Saturday was the final day for Group A, it was either the battle for the second spot...It was either Bafana or Iraq joining Spain in the semis. Bafana lost to Spain predictably, but not after a good fight. Spain shattered the Brazilian record of the longest unbeaten streak as well as number of wins on that night. But it was no plain sailing, Villa missed a penalty, saved by the dependable Khune of Bafana. But he came back a minute later to stamp his authority as the Spanish goal king. Villa also managed to shatter the corner flag in a frenzy of celebration. I thought he would get a yellow card for that, but no cigar for me.

Iraq faltered on the night, they drew against New Zealand, handing them their first Confed point ever. I was amazed at how the All Whites, who were dressed in black that night relished the moment. It almost did not make sense until the commentator explained the significance of that draw for the New Zealanders. The significance of the draw was even bigger for South Africans...it handed us a ticket to the semis. We loved it, even though we knew that we were most likely going to meet Brazil in the semis. But no one cared on that day.

The Sunday was perhaps the most dramatic of the day. It started off with the reports that the Egyptian team was robbed in their hotel rooms. Then a tabloid broke the story that actually, the African kings actually invited a few prostitutes from the famous Oxford road (infamous for prostitutes) down the road from their exclusive hotel. Their performance on the night was dismal, they looked lost without Zidan and they got a hiding (3-0) from the unfancied USA. Then an even greater surprise happened when Brazil beat Italy 3-0 as well in the biggest game of the tournament so far. A huge miracle had happened, the USA lept ahead of both Italy and Egypt to join Brazil as group B's semi finalist. The US had similar goal difference with Italy but scored more goals than Italy. The dark horses of the tournament pulled off a miracle.

Tonight we will be watching the first of the semis, USA vs. Spain, it is no question that Spain will win this game, but this competition has sprung surprises already. On Thursday night we get to watch Bafana try their luck against Brazil. I have no presumptions here, Brazil will most likely win, but hey...Bafana has the supporters all behind them. Maybe, just maybe...

Please Mr. President, just take charge!

2009-06-24T12:57:00.000+02:00

Published by News24

It has been said that Polokwane served to re-unite the ANC; it would seem we have all been duped! The many voices that emanate from the post-Polokwane ANC tell a different story. We have a picture of opposing self-interests that will soon paralyse the whole alliance and ultimately the government.
Take the recent multiple union-led strike actions for instance. Are these the same fellows who warned us of a tsunami called Jacob Zuma that was going to reclaim the ANC from the evil clutches of an aloof leader who was out of touch with aspirations of the masses?

The messiah has been ushered but now the same unions are still up in arms? Is this still an alliance? Before Polokwane, the taxi industry felt neglected, they needed a new leader who would listen to their "cries". Today we have that leader, they are still weeping, this time demanding to be handed over the BRT system which they resisted, all for free! Is this the change they wanted? How about formalising your business and paying taxes like the rest of us for starters?
Take our communist friends, they have a senior leader within the transport department, but they can't seem to "engage" the taxi bosses, just like in the previous order. This same communist comrades, have a general secretary who moonlights as a government minister. Talk about efficiency.

The alliance has "swelled the ranks" of the ANC, they are in charge, but the same issues are still there, perhaps even worse. In this order, ministers have to explain themselves to the chiefs in Luthuli House. Who is in charge here? Is this a future model of the post-Polokwane order? How visionary?

Perhaps the myth has been shattered; leadership by collective consensus cannot work if the "collective" is divided. What this country needs is an effective democracy that is not held ransom by opportunistic and superficial alliances. This flawed coalition has resulted in a tame leader who has to daily navigate the minefield of suitors "who put him there" and be constantly polite even when decisive leadership is expected from him.

It should be appreciated that the arrogance of the past leadership is now a thing of the past, but the decisiveness that it came with is needed now more than ever. No use feeding the people old slogans about ruling until Messiah comes again, what they need is leadership that can take control and give direction.

Unlike the many naysayers, I shall not rush to write off the new order and its leadership, I am a hopeless patriot. I am behind the new leadership, but folding arms when sectarian ambitions hijack it is not my civic duty. This is all I ask; Take charge Mr. President, you are a president of the people, lead us. If you don't, history will remember you as a toothless leader who failed to lead his country and its people. You have a chance to create a long lasting legacy that is bigger than myopically appeasing small pockets of puppet masters with unrealistic demands. You have the mandate, just get on with it and do your job.

The plight of Zama-Zama(s)

2009-06-08T14:24:00.000+02:00

Published by News24

They say that the way we treat the worst amongst us says a lot about the collective morality of a nation. The extent of how civilised we are is exposed in the difficult moments that unexpectedly visit us. The death of over 80 illegal gold miners, also known as "Zama-zama" (s) in Welkom is one such incident.Here is a sad tale of the quest for survival, men who chose to risk their lives to eke out an existence, in an illegal fashion.

They could have chosen to stand at the corners of our streets and hijack motorists, or perhaps break into our houses and steal our hard earned possessions. Instead they chose the path of high risk and high returns, risking their lives and committing a crime. No amount of poverty can be an excuse for crime, and what these men did was criminal.

However, when so many human beings die in tragic circumstances like they did, what should we do in response? Do we turn around and say good riddance or do we have to ask questions about why skilled men choose to live underground for weeks and months on end in order to earn a living? Should we simply relegate them to the rubbish bins of history or should we stop and relook their plight? How about retraining these men for other industries?

How about allowing them to own small scale mines that are not profitable for bigger mines?I personally think tragedies like this can be avoided. These men were turned criminals because we did not try hard to prevent their situation. They could have been absorbed elsewhere into the productive sector of the economy had proper systems been in place. What do we expect when skilled miners are being retrenched in thousands?

Any self-respecting man, husband and father will be tempted to enter in dubious activities to fend for his children and loved ones. We need to put talk into action and not let these men to self-destruct like this. Very soon the ministry of police is going to train a number of unemployed youths to be crime fighters. What then becomes of these "trained crime-busters" when they are not needed anymore or retrenched? They become professional criminals or "youth militia" in the hands of corrupt politicians one day. Let us come off our moral high horses and ask ourselves the difficult questions. We owe it to ourselves and the future generations of this country.

The Mandela burial broadcasting rights saga

2009-06-01T15:45:00.000+02:00

Published by News24

If you have been reading various media reports you would have learnt that Mandela's grandson, Mandla Mandela, yes the one who reportedly once hauled the old man to an ANC rally that blew COPE out the water in the last elections, has decided to sell the broadcasting rights of Mandela's burial for R3m to the SABC.

It has also been reported that Mandla Mandela has denied these reports. Frankly, I would not be suprised if they turn out to be true.Many people have decided to castigate Mandla from all angles. I can't help see things differently. What do we expect the Mandela family to do? Wait until he is dead and then go into a frantic bidding process for the rights?

I have read that some people have been using cultural and traditional African principles regarding burying people who are still alive and so forth. I think a whole lot of people are in serious denial here.Nelson Mandela's funeral is going to be a huge event, such is the stature of the man. In this media driven world there will undoubtedly be huge interest for broadcasting rights, such is the world we live in.

It is thus not only prudent and foresighted for Mandela's family to think about this eventuality. Why should they be in denial about this fact of life? Mandla Mandela has been accused of other things which I will not even begin to defend, some of which turned out to be false. He was hauled over the coals for apparently dragging an old and frail Madiba to an Eastern Cape rally, he was vindicated when Mandela again made an appearance in solidarity with the ANC in the last elections.

For his efforts he has been rewarded with an MP seat by the ANC.Now some of us may not like this meteoric rise of Mandla. I don't like it too, I have seen mavericks like this crashing the same way they climbed the ladder, but let us not confuse matters here. We may not like Mandla because he has been alleged to have physically abused his wife, he has also been alleged to be trying to force a distant relative out of another "Mandela" house in Soweto which he plans to cash in on, BUT when he has the foresight to plan the affairs of his grandfather and avoid a potentially embarrassing last minute media war we should not confuse our dislike of the man with simple issues.

Financial advisors always encourage us to sort out our WILLS before we die, and when the Mandela family does that it becomes a problem. Lets get over ourselves and let the Mandela family do their own planning in their own way.

The Blade Nzimande stoning in Khutsong gives me hope!

2009-06-01T13:37:00.000+02:00

There is a township of Khutsong in the Merafong municipality somewhere in South Africa. I say somewhere because for the last few years this township has been embroiled in a violent battle to be moved from the North West province back to Gauteng. It is a cross border municipality and it has never been in the news for anything besides that.

The people of Khutsong hated the Mbeki regime which moved them from the relatively richer province of Gauteng to the poorer province of the North-West. Violent protest that carried on for months on end took place. Mbeki ministers that happenned to be responsible for this area of governance were pelted with stones everytime they went to Khutsong to deliver the message that they have to move to the North West. Sydney Mufamadi was shown the door and may other ministers were sent packing in a similar fashion.

You would have thought that this municipality would reject the ANC, but alas they did not. When the last local government elections took place, the residents of Khutsong "boycotted" the elections. They chose to camp around polling stations, playing street football in a bid to scare off anyone who might have wanted to vote. The few votes that managed to be cast put the ANC back in power, the pleasures of democracy.

Then came the last national elections, one would have thought that this time around the people of Khutsong would vote against the ANC. No, they instead decided to vote in large numbers for the ANC!Why you wonder...you see COPE, the new "logical alternative" was never going to be voted for in that part of the country because the Mbeki ministers, Terror Lekota in particular, was one of those who was escorted by the police out of the violent uprising of the community.

So the trade union COSATU, took the center stage, they occupied the void that was created by the political parties. They listened to the people and fought for their rights. They earned their trust and when it came to the polls, they pointed the voters back to the ANC, the "only party that gave them freedom". However another twist just took place over the weekend, the close allies of COSATU, the Communist party, led by the popular general secratary, Dr. Blade Nzimande, was sent packing followed by stones and a police escort out of the township! He was there to celebrate the 87th annivassary of the Young Communist League.

I giggled when I saw this unfolding because Blade would have never imagined this to ever happen to him, he is after all the personification of th masses, the communist hero. He has recently been re-appointed to the powerful position of secretary general and is now the minister of higher education and training in the Zuma cabinet, how could he be treated like Lekota and Mufamadi, the Mbeki servants?

Newspaper reports claim that it was because Blade was accompanied by a guy named Paul Ncwane, a former organiser of the Merafong Demarcation Forum, who is hated widely in the community for his support of the incorporation of the Merafong municipality into the North West province. I wonder how Blade felt, to treated in this fashion by the masses? It must have surely hurt. Soon it will be members of COSAS chasing him with stones for failing to fire Prof. Barney Pityana from the UNISA leadership.

Hopefully the comrades are learning, in the townships of South Africa, there is a different type of "the masses". They are impatient and they do not buy face (to steal from local lingo). This simply means they dont care who you are, Zuma himself was pelted with stones during the Xenophobic attacks in Gauteng when he tried to stop the rioting. I do not support the violence of my people, but if there is anything that gives me hope about the possibility of any one individual lording it over the masses in this country, it is the defiance of the people of this country.

They may not vote sensibly as most would wish, they seem to be voting the same party that is failing them, but they know what they want and who they want if from. I take solace in the fact that the people are sending a strong message to the leaders that they are not afraid of them, the will take them off positions of power and treat them like common enemies if they do not stand for what they expect. It is twisted in a way, but I have learnt to always respect the wisdom of the collective, the communities of South Africa, even when it baffles me many a times.

Boesak spilling the beans on old comrades!

2009-06-01T13:16:00.000+02:00

I am absolutely delighted that Dr. Alan Boesak's tell-all book is finally coming out. Entitled "Running with Horses – Reflections of an Accidental Politician", it already promises to be a rivetting read. In has been reported already that the outspoken cleric has already implicated one of the most respected figures in SA politics, Trevor Manuel, for being a beneficiary the fund he was apparently jailed for abusing.

Off course Trevor has already sought legal advice. We know that Boesak is now a high ranking member of COPE and everything he says about the ANC, his former party, will be of great political interest. The book will be released on June 12. Can't wait!

What "IF" Helen Zille does indeed have boyfriends and concubines?

2009-05-20T11:08:00.000+02:00

We were recently treated to a despicable triangular horror spat between the ANC Youth League, the MK Veterans Association and Helen Zille of the DA. It was an ugly war of words overloaded with accusations and counter-accusation that not only sounded bizarre but seemed downright counter-productive. This was a debate that should have rather been used to explain further and defend the DA’s philosophy on matters of racial quotas and women empowerment, but instead the three parties turned it into an orgy that spiralled down to the gutters!

In her now infamous quotation Zille said: “Zuma is a self-confessed womaniser with deeply sexist views, who put all his wives at risk by having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman”. Not to be outdone, the ANCYL raised the bar and spewed the following (not only once but twice by the way): “Zille has appointed an all male Cabinet of useless people, majority of whom are her boyfriends and concubines so that she can continue to sleep around with them, yet she claims to have the moral authority to question our President."

The two parties refused to take any advice and continued the verbal insults albeit at a much lower intensity. What caught my attention then was the unannounced entry of the MK veterans into the fray. It was not really the promise of anarchy that unsettled me like most, it was the part of their statement that suggested that the only reason Zille appointed an all-male cabinet was "to satisfy her sexual desires and keep her power corridors isolated from other women who would pose undesired sexual competition".

Imagine the horror when I read that Helen Zille is now making serious allegations that she knows of an ANC motivated spy network that has been spying on her and her cabinet. The report quotes her: “I have knowledge of the structure and I know what it looks like, as well as who is involved".

Many should find it weird that amidst all the possible innuendoes that politicians can pick on, they chose to follow this potentially dangerous line of sexual misconduct mudslinging? Is it possible that the erratic Youth League is stubbornly refusing to budge from their allegations because they already know something about Helen’s sexual escapades? Is the MKVA simply dreaming up their line of thinking or are they perhaps privy to some voice tapes or even worse visuals of Helen misbehaving?

What will South Africa do IF our last political paragon of morality and correctness could be found to have indulged in the same fetish that she has been accusing Jacob Zuma of? Will we all rally again on “principle” and ask her to step down for her moral misdemeanours? What would such a revelation mean for the morale as well as the moral sensibilities of country’s citizens? Before we talk about the legality of spying activities and leaking of tapes (an unresolved issue regarding the Zuma saga by the way), will we disown and out-rightly reject our very own “Koeki Loekie”?

I fear for the future, this country can ill-afford such a demoralising event should it unravel!

Minister Ndebele comes to his senses finally

2009-05-19T16:34:00.000+02:00

It has been reported that Minister S'bu Ndebele has decided to return all the gifts he received from the Vukuzakhe contractors. I must say that it was a very exemplary and responsible leadership that he showed, and he deserves to be congratulated for it. The minister received a lot of criticism from various sectors of the population as well as the ANC ally, COSATU. This is indeed a breath of fresh air.

It has also reported that the gifts not only included the R1.1 million Mercedes-Benz S500 and two cattle, he also received a Plasma screen TV as well as some winery equipment. Minister Ndebele deserves to be congratulated for having a big heart.

What does worry is the fact the office of the president did say that it was legally okay for him to take the gifts as long as he declared them properly. For a presidency that got into office on an anti-corruption card one would have expected the office of Jacob Zuma to have acted in a much harsher approach in upholding the spirit and the letter of the law. Additionally, it is very interesting that COSATU says that "nothing is given for nothing". They refused when this logic was applied in relation to Jacob Zuma and Shabir Shaik, choosing to rather punt the line that Zuma is "innocent until proven guilty". Hypocrisy comes to mind, but the trade union should be commended for standing up against corruption this time at least.

Be that as it may, big up to Minister Ndebele. You shall not be called "Wabenzi" any longer. Now focus on doing actual work rather than putting off silly fires.

Minister Ndebele gets a R1m gift car...and a few cattle!

2009-05-18T09:28:00.000+02:00

I was busy thinking a piece about about the newly elected South African ministers, I was going to focus a lot about the ones I really think will outshine and really deliver. In that list I had S'bu Ndebele as one of the ministers who comes to his job after what many regarded as a strong delivery track record at provincial level. But then I saw a headline that really shocked me at first, and then I just burst out laughing after a while...you gotta laugh at some of these things.

As I was driving through Sunnyside I saw a vendor selling a copy of the Pretoria News and the main headline was "Minister gets R1m gift car". I stopped and quickly bought a copy at a red robot, then I saw the smaller headline "Furore as Ndebele accepts Mercedes-Benz", and then the front page picture said it all, a smiling minister hugging his wife, all smiles, heads peeping through the sun-roof of their brand new Silver Mercedes Benz S500. I was shocked, surely not my man, surely not S'bu, my "delivery-minister" candidate.

The weirdest thing about the picture for me was that there were what looked liked journalists and photographers around the car! Then I happened to tune into Metro FM at the same time and that is when i laughed, laughter of sadness if such a thing exists. A caller called in and said, "if you wanna do something wrong, do it right!". I figured out that the discussion was about the same story, the minister, according to the caller, knew what he was doing was wrong, so he figured, let us do it in public and make it look above board (do it right)! I laughed at this logic, politicians, South African politicians, i give up!

Hardly a week after being sworn in, Minister "Wabenzi" Ndebele in public accepted "gifts" from a group of "emerging" contractors who benefited from the government's initiative called Vukuzakhe (Zulu for wake up and build yourself up) in KZN. Now I am not against any empowerment of small businesses, in fact if Vukuzakhe is really what it is on paper then I think it was a successful programme. It has reportedly empowered about 29 140 contractors in the province to a tune of R10 billion between 19998 and 2008. Under the provincial ministry of transport, headed by Ndebele, about R400 million of the R10 billion was spent on about 1500 "emerging" contractors.

According to "Wabenzi" Ndebele, he does not understand what the fuss is all about around being showered with gift worth over a R1 million rands, a R1.1million rand luxury car and a couple of cattle by the beneficiaries of his ministry!!It was supposed to be a farewell gift which was planned before he became a minister last week and he assured us that he was going to declare it to Parliament and the President! So the minister does not see the fuss of being awarded such a gift from people who benefited from my tax money, coming largely from a sector that fell under his provincial ministry which so happens to be his new national ministry...what a sincere honour! And we still have problems that Zuma received a few "honours" from Shabir Shaik?

Thoughts on Zuma’s new cabinet changes – Part 2

2009-05-13T15:07:00.000+02:00

Continued from Part 1

The Department of Water affairs and Forestry becomes the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs. This is completely ceremonial. I do not believe changing names will provide focus; the mandate is the important thing here. The ceremonial changing of names does not bring change!
A new Department of Economic Development has been established to focus on economic policymaking. The implementation functions will remain with the Department of Trade and Industry. Now here we see Jacob Zuma making a real strategic change. This new ministry is essentially taking away the economic development policy from the Finance Ministry, just like what COSATU and SACP have been demanding. Whether this is a good change or not remains on whether the ministry delivers. We are also going to see conflicts if for instance the Finance Minister develops a budget that conflicts with the strategic goals of the country as set by the policy head. Expect lots of turf war, I am watching this development.
A new department of Tourism has been created. Why oh why? Jobs for pals I say. There are many functions that are crucial in a country like South Africa, but we do not need a whole new ministry for each one. Yes Tourism is going to be a centre of attraction with the Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup. But creating a whole new ministry???
Agriculture becomes Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. This is just another name change and just more grandstanding. Hopefully the people in charge start doing their work.
The Department of Provincial and Local Government becomes Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. This is a classical Zuma name change. The man has sold himself as a traditionalist and he had to live up to the promise. When I first saw the name I had absolutely no clue what the people in charge of this department are going to be doing daily, perhaps talking to all the kings and chiefs, making sure they get their allowance? Imagine my surprise when I found out that this is the same department that deals with Provincial and Local Government issues. Why the name change, another one of those I guess.
A new Ministry has been created for Women, Youth, Children and People with Disability, to emphasise the need for equity and access to development opportunities for the vulnerable groups in our society. If there is a department that really does not make any sense to me it must be this one. I cant wait for the new regime in 5 years time to completely remove it, I am convinced that it is just a political statement to satisfy special interest groups. The old Department of Social Development could have done this function.

My overall impression of the above changes is that many were simply introduced to simply “do what had to be done”, repay friends. These changes now mean that we have 34 ministries as opposed to 28. It means more jobs for cadres and quite frankly not neccessarily more focus on delivery. The taxpayer will now have to fork out about R1 billion to effect these changes over the next 5 years. Granted, the R1 billion would be a small price to pay if we would get delivery in return, but the track record of the ANC government when it comes to delivery over the last 15 years leaves me very worried about whether this R1 billion is worth spending on this bloated cabinet. Nevertheless, we wait to see if this is indeed a cabinet of "delivery and no corruption".

Thoughts on Zuma’s new cabinet changes – Part 1

2009-05-13T14:59:00.000+02:00

On Sunday 10th May 2009, the brand new president of South Africa, President Zuma announced his cabinet. This was a much anticipated first big assignment of the new government, one that would set a tone for the Zuma administration going forward.

The president announced major changes:

A National Planning Commission has been created. According to the ANC publication, “following an extensive research on international models on how governments in other parts of the world plan and monitor performance, a National Planning Commission responsible for strategic planning for the country to ensure one National Plan to which all spheres of government would adhere has been established and is based in The Presidency.” This is a welcome move, if the new minister in charge of this department gets it right, we will start seeing coherence of strategy. A minister in the presidency will be appointed.
A monitoring and evaluation competency in The Presidency has also been created. Its function will be to monitor and evaluate the performance of government in all three spheres. I am not opposed to the idea of monitoring, but why on earth did we need two ministries to plan and monitor? Could this have not been rolled up into one ministry? Another minister in the presidency is going to appointed, I have to pay his salary as a taxpayer.
The Department of Minerals and Energy will now be split into two separate departments of Mining and of Energy, each with a Minister. I do not have protestations or praises for this move. Whether this works or not will depend largely on the people in charge.
The Department of Education will be split into separate Ministries, one for Basic Education and the other for Higher Education and Training. This is a logical split and long overdue. Well done to President Zuma for this move.
The Department of Housing will be called the Department of Human Settlements to take on a more holistic focus. Why on earth change the old name. “Human settlements” simply obfuscates the meaning and the function of the ministry. This name just does not work if you ask me, why on earth was it even necessary. Word is the president needs to live his own signature through things like departmental names, this is a perfect example.
There will be a new department of Rural Development and Land Affairs, which are part of our key priorities for the next five years. This is a welcome move in terms of focus, but I honestly do not think we needed a whole new ministry for this. This was a function that could have been fulfilled by the old ministry of agriculture, what would have worked would have been to fire the minister and replaced her with somebody who could deliver rural development promise.

See Part 2 for the rest of the changes

Two centres of power, a threat to provincial government politics? Part 2

2009-05-13T14:52:00.000+02:00

The National Executive stated that the reason they had to make the choices of the premiers was to balance the competing needs; at first glance they seem to have struck a perfect mathematical balance, 50% of gender balance and 50% percent of chairperson-premier balance. However the big question remains; Will the centre hold? Is the “two centres of power” only a national leadership threat that does not apply at provincial level?

The NEC should be commended for coming out strong with a compromise BUT they have a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode. The compromise may just not work. Politics and power are evil cousins that are conjoined at the hip. Just like Ace Magashule who was shunned by repeatedly by Thabo Mbeki after winning provincial elections created havoc for the Mbeki appointed that left the Free State premiers, expect the same phenomenon to rear its ugly head.

Expect this phenomenon to be very prominent in the Northern Cape as well as the Eastern Cape. In Gauteng the ANC is keeping watch on Paul Mashatile, who has been appointed a national deputy minister of arts and culture, a serious demotion for a man who was a premier for about 7 months after Shilowa defected to COPE. It is a well known fact that provincial chairpersons are very powerful as they command the respect of all senior leaders at provincial; they are the people’s leaders, as opposed to appointed premiers.

There is no saying if Mashatile harbours any negative sentiments that could potentially destabilise his deputy’s premiership, the path of revolt. However the man has tasted power before, he is aware that he is more popular than Nomvula at provincial level, and he may just be tempted to flex his muscles which could inevitably put him on a collision course with the feisty Nomvula. He has time in his hands as the deputy minister of a relatively quiet ministry.

To illustrate what the premier-chairperson acrimony can do; one just has to look at the Free State province. When Magashule was snubbed twice by Mbeki he created a Mafia-like structure which effectively took control of the government’s money in the Free State province. Government tenders as well as important state and para-statal appointments were channelled through the “Ace Mafia”.

He had his ear on the ground about any local tender and town council appointments. All the municipality managers (very financially lucrative posts) had to be blessed by Ace Magashule, which also meant they had to pay back the Ace Mafia. This led to extremely incompetent but well connected comrades being appointed to technocratic post. This paralysed the province but kept Ace very powerful in the province, effectively making him more powerful than the two successive premiers who knew that they wielded no genuine political influence over party politics.

Ace is now a filthy rich man; his cronies are also much enriched. The same can be said about John Block in the Northern Cape Province. The Eastern Cape province is certainly set on this path after both the Chairperson and his Deputy were snubbed. Kiviet has serious problem awaiting her, not that the provinces dire situation is less of a challenge. The same threat applies to Modiselle and Jenkins. They move in to rule over provinces where they are not popular with their constituencies. I hope and pray that I am very wrong.

Two centres of power, a threat to provincial government politics? Part 1

2009-05-13T11:43:00.000+02:00

Soon after securing victory at the national polls the ANC released a list of premiers for the eight provinces that it had won. Hellen Zille, the official leader of the opposition secured victory in the Western Cape Province. The list is shown below:

Eastern Cape: Ms. Noxolo Kiviet
Free State: Mr. Ace Magashule
Gauteng: Ms. Nomvula Mokonyane
KwaZulu-Natal: Mr. Zweli Mkhize
Limpopo: Mr. Cass Mathale
Mpumalanga: Mr. D Mabuza
Northern Cape: Ms. Hazel Jenkins
North West: Ms. M Modiselle
Western Cape: Ms. Helen Zille

The most notable thing on the list is that there are now 5 women from a possible nine. The ANC elected 4 women in its 8 provinces, thus meeting its 50-50 gender representation, a conference resolution of the ANC. However it is also very interesting that one of the thorny issues that was hotly debated in the run-up to the Polokwane conference, “Two Centres Of Power”, was sacrificed to achieve the 50-50 gender balance.

One would remember that the alliance partners as well as the ANC Youth League president at the time, Fikile Mbalula vociferously raised a concern that the ANC should completely reject the 3rd term bid of president Mbeki as it would lead to a situation where there is a president at Luthuli House who is not a president of the country. Some Mbeki supporters argued that this issue was neither here nor there as the same situation arose when Mandela stepped down as the president of the country but remained the president of the ANC, leaving Mbeki as the president of the country for some time.

After the Zuma faction won the presidency, it was quickly pointed out that Zuma would be the automatic choice for state president, an affirmation that the ANC was serious about avoiding two centres of power. However a quick comparison of the 8 ANC elected provincial chairpersons versus the 8 appointed premiers reveals a different trend altogether.

Fifty percent (50%) of the premiers are not chairpersons of the respective provinces. Does it mean that the threat of two centres of power has vanished all of a sudden? Was it ever an issue or was the issue even back then simply one of competing factions (Zuma vs. Mbeki)?

I personally believe that politicians use legitimate tools to advance their ambitions. I believe that the 50-50 gender parity was in this instance used by the new Zuma core to exclude some premiers just like Mbeki did in the past. It is politics and the shunned premiers will know this too, it is now anybody’s guess whether they will wait their turn (5 years) for better luck or will they simply take the route of revolt?

A new era beckons

2009-05-08T11:04:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow all South Africans will be watching as their new state president will be inaugurated. Jacob Zuma has certainly captured the imagination of this country and it is indeed about time that he assumes the role of president, it is the wish of over 65% of the voters of this country.

I am personally excited, change is always a good thing. This country deserves a breath of fresh air and political stability. The toxic internal strife of the ruling party has re-politicised the country, the incoming president will have to work harder than the past presidents to meet the higher than normal expectations of his own electorate and detractors alike.

It has not been an easy journey for president-elect, he has come through this tumultuous period victorious, and he has a lot of scars to show for it. It is up to him to be great or simply go down the path of vengeance. I have no doubt that he is not the vindictive type, i have no doubt that he realises the folly of revenge, he has not given me any reason to doubt him in this regard.

The petty ones will be watching for the less important details like which of his three wives will be walking the red carpet with him, which of his 19 kids will be prominent, will he dance etc. I really could not care at this point. Let the celebrations come and go, on Sunday the president has to reveal his cabinet, that is of more importance. After the noises are over, he has unemployment, failing education system, growing poverty, paralysed local government, rampant crime and many other such big challenges to tackle.

He has a wider pool of expertise to draw from unlike the previous president and he has much more goodwill from the various leaders of society. JZ has this wonderful instinct to at least stop and listen, on Monday he will be relying on that skill to make a dent on all those big issues. He also has a more vibrant opposition in DA and COPE, if he manages their opposing voices and sits down with them he will indeed succeed as president.

No doubt the man has marched on to victory on the back of some people that have now resuscitated their political careers and would like to be thrust into prominence. One such is Winnie Mandela, South Africa is now stuck with this once pathetic MP and government official whose mouth is bigger than her work ethic. A more ceremonial position in cabinet for her will be in order. There have been rumours that JZ might offer IFP's Buthelezi a cabinet post in an effort to heal the ANC-IFP rifts that have resurfaced, the man is old and unable to make anything work, he failed as a minister of Home Affairs before, but it looks like we may be stuck with him for the next five years.

However there are more positives, the mooted new ministry or unit for performance monitoring is welcome, hopefully it does what it is there for. A new concerted effort to improve education is also welcome. We are also definitely going to watch how Zuma cooperates with the trade unions and the communists, whom Mbeki snubbed to his own peril. I also think we will also be watching how an non-intellectual president operates. Will he be a lot more hands-off leader or a a hands-on manager? The way JZ conducts himself seems to suggest the former but it is his call to make, he is after all the president.

I am optimistic that he will be wise enough to appoint the right people for the job and lead the country instead of trying to manage it like his predecessor. Zuma may not be my personal preference for the job, but I accept him as my president and will be on his side against those who seek to shoot him down unfairly, however I will be watching his every step like a hawk, he deserves a sincere critical and honest feedback, not a choir of praise singers.

Congratulations Nxamalala. Lead the country with wisdom. I have your back covered, my President.

Will COPE survive the brewing Lekota crisis – Part 2?

2009-05-07T13:04:00.000+02:00

COPE seemed to survive the minor glitch of funny elections that first produced Lynda Odendaal as one of the top leaders despite her obscure political track record and later on Dandala as its leader in parliament. They survived Lekota’s blunders on Affirmative Action and AIDS.

But recently controversy erupted when it was reported that Lekota would go to parliament and take up one of the 30 seats of the 400 that COPE won. The party had initially taken a principled stance that they would separate the party from state if they were elected in power. Thus Terror’s alleged move was interpreted in many quarters as another sign that the leadership crisis was still very much bubbling under the surface. Even more embarrassing were rumours that financial considerations were part of Lekota’s motivation to want to go into parliament. It is an open secret that COPE does not have money to maintain Lekota while all MPs earn a salary from the state.

Later on it was reported that Terror was forced to retract that statement in public, and was effectively forced out of parliament by his own party. The report went further on to indicate that the new party still does not have a clear way about how Lekota and Dandala would cooperate as one leads COPE in government and one at the party headquarters. We also do not know the guarantees that were given to Lekota to stay put out in the “cold”. His statement claims that he has decided to focus on preparing the country for 2011 local government elections. Question is whether this never crossed his mind when he decided to want a parliament seat.

All we can do is to simply allow time to tell us whether Lekota will play ball with the party leadership or whether he will keep embarrassing the party and ultimately erode the small gains that COPE has made so far.

Will COPE survive the brewing Lekota crisis – Part 1?

2009-05-07T12:54:00.000+02:00

They say crisis can either make or break you. Leadership crisis in South African politics in the past has been spectacularly true to this saying. Take the PAC for instance, a recent history of leadership crisis has completely decimated this once mighty paragon of SA politics. The IFP is currently in denial about its leadership crisis, and it is almost guaranteed that it will be wiped off the political landscape in the next few years.

But take the ANC for example. At the elective conference Polokwane it was clear that there was a leadership crisis that had to be dealt with. The party faced a potentially divisive moment when there were two clear factions vying for power. First there were denials but later on the ANC dealt with its crisis. The party came out of Polokwane decisive about its new leadership and the matter was resolved. A new leadership was elected; it was a bitter battle, but doubtlessly the party came out with one voice.

Let us look at COPE. The party went into its first national conference with a few doubts about who would lead the party. Lekota was the face of the break away party, Shilowa added much needed leadership credibility to ShiKota (before it was officially named COPE) at the time while Mluleki George was used and discarded very promptly. However it became clear that there was a powerful voice within the party that somehow cast doubt about the leadership qualities of Lekota.

A backroom session ensued, and like the secret but public election of the Pope, a “consensus” was reached, smoke came out of the chambers, “WE HAVE A PRESIDENT”…and two deputies, one completely unknown to the attendees of the conference, Lynda Odendaal, and that was pretty much the last time the public ever saw her. Thus began the leadership crisis in my opinion within COPE.

The leadership came out of a secret process that pretended to be public; legitimacy was forever going to be a question. It was then promised that there would be a proper elective conference later to properly elect the party leadership, a fact I will revisit later.

There was even more furious speculation about how Dandala, a virtual unknown, came from nowhere to take over COPE leadership in parliament. Anthony Butler of UCT provided 3 reasons why Dandala was chosen over Lekota and Shilowa:

A need to appoint an Mbeki front in the party which he is rumoured to be the “spiritual father” of. It is mooted that Thabo Mbeki or his “spirit” is the “invisible hand” that controls levers of power within the movement. The party’s association with people like Saki Macozoma, Wiseman Nkuhlu, Charlotte Lobe, Bulelani Ngcuka, Prof. Barney Pityana and many other Mbeki favourites does little to dispel this suspicion.
The Xhosa ethnic influence. This is definitely the most rebuffed of the accusations by COPEers but it does not help that Dandala happens to be Xhosa and an apparent confidant of Mbeki. The fact that at the party's launch, the Eastern Cape province and the Western Cape, which are very Xhosa in their makeup were seen to be the centre of COPE’s support. This Xhosa-Nostra rumour was an accusation that was levelled against Mbeki by his detractors while at the helm of the ANC. It seems to be following COPE as well.
Dandala is a baggage-less leader who will be good for coalition politics. Remember at its launch there was a strong belief that COPE would win a few provinces and dislodge the DA as the official opposition. It then somehow made sense to choose a leader that would not alienate other parties, something which Lekota is capable of.

Other reasons cited were that Dandala was a compromise candidate as the party was being torn between the choice of Lekota and his deputy, Shilowa. There were complaints and threats at the session to elect leader in parliament as members contested and fought for their desired candidates. COPE looked to be in crisis mode when some members threatened to leave the party if their man was not installed, but the new baby survived. A compromise was reached and both Terror Lekota and Mvume Dandala remained as two faces of one party. A confusing trend in SA politics, some critisised COPE and taunted them with the question: "Who is your leader?". But some saw this as a positive step for democracy.

Fire the doctors and then what?

2009-04-28T13:33:00.002+02:00

I was amazed to learn that the government has decided to fire the striking doctors at some public hospitals. Everyone has a right to strike, however the strike should be above board (legally) before anyone goes into it. Now our doctors have decided to ignore the warning from government to go back to work until all the necessary steps have been followed. But here is the problem; the government has taken ages to listen to doctors and they have simply run out of patience.

I sympathise with public doctors, they have had a terrible enough run under Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, their grievances have not been attended to and their work conditions are just getting worse with time. I recently read a pamphlet published the striking doctors, after having read it I had all the sympathy for them and quite frankly I have no cooking clue how the government plans to replace the doctors that are being fired when we have such a huge shortage in the public sector.

I have taken the liberty to transcribe the pamphlet, read and weep, this is a cry for leadership, not a reason to fire people:

16 April 2009
Minister of Health
Director General

Re: Public Service Doctor Sit-In

We are here today to air our dissatisfaction about the deliberate and callous way the implementation of the occupational specific dispensation (OSD) has been handled. We are further frustrated by our dismal working conditions.

Doctors and Health workers are expected to provide life saving services with barely any equipment while millions are returned to treasury.

The World Health Organisation recommends that one doctor should see no more thatn ten patients a day. However in South Africa, some doctors are seeing more than hundred patients per day. In some South African hospitals, doctors are expected to multitask (e.g. give anaesthesia and operate) and at the same time work inhumane hours (> 24hrs continuous). This results in unethical practises which we are compelled to perform in the public sector.

The occupational specific dispensation is supposed to address the pitiable salary, public service doctors are receiving for their important and invaluable services. The OSD for doctors was supposed to be implemented by 1st July 2008 . However nearly one year later, we have not even received a draft proposal regarding it. The government does not seem to be concerned about our plight.

This has resulted in mass exodus of doctors from the public sector to the private sector and overseas which is in turn affecting service delivery in our country.

We are burnt out and this hampers service delivery. This is further crippled by not enough posts. The restrictions of filling posts without reasonable explanation (sic). Service delivery and unacceptable workload (sic).

We are hereby demanding:

Doctor’s salaries should be at international and other professional standards.
OSD negotiations to commence immediately at B/Chambers
Implementation be back-dated at 1st July 2008 should be honoured
Immediate filling of posts
Working conditions + safe and well resourced environment for doctors and patients.

NB: Points 1-3 should get a response by this coming Sunday, 19th April 2009 at 12h00 noon. Failing which a permanent strike will be embarked upon.

The embarrassing behaviour of ANC supporter on Freedom day

2009-04-27T21:53:00.001+02:00

Yet again I was embarrassed to call myself South African! And you could have guessed it; it had to be another round of raucous behaviour of some ANC supporters. This time directed at the outgoing caretaker president, Kgalema Motlanthe. It was reported that there was chaos at the Durban stadium during the Freedom Day (27 April 2009) celebrations as the crowds threw objects and disrupted his speech.

Initially the reports were that the crowds got rowdy as they struggled to hear the president speak, but on second thought, it was clear the intoxicated masses perhaps got bored listening to a speech, and perhaps wanted some song and dance, they are now accustomed to it.

Yes I know I will be accused of dragging JZ into this matter, but let us be straightforward, this is not the first time Kgalema Motlanthe has been handled terribly by pro-JZ supporters, it is becoming clear that none but JZ can keep them calm. It was a sad day to see the president Motlanthe being heckled and shouted off stage in such a disrespectful manner. Is this what it has come down to? Is this the new culture of the ANC? I hope JZ will see through this and react accordingly.

I am scared, Kgalema must be sad, after serving his movement so loyally, taking over the presidency, managing a potentially tumultuous transition from Mbeki to Zuma with such elegance and ultimately handing it back smoothly to JZ, all the rowdy ANC victors can do is to treat him so badly! I hope JZ and the new incoming administration are taking notes, the drunken stupor that has been induced since Polokwane has to be calmed down or else, common decency is on its way out.

It was Kgalema who calmed the hecklers at Polokwane as they shouted against Lekota and Mbeki, today he is at the receiving end of an act he has been warning the ANC about, we all do well to replay Kgalema’s warning at the time: “One day you will be running the ANC and there will be nobody to respect you because you will have planted this culture of defiance.“ It is clear his warning fell onto deaf ears. This time Zweli Mkhize had to beg the crowds to quieten down. It must have been heartbreaking for President. Kgalema.

Hogan’s apology should worry all of us

2009-04-24T13:38:00.000+02:00

It was all celebrations in the media when the new minister of Health broke ranks with her party (ANC) over the terrible handling of the Dalai Lama saga. The government had just refused to grant the Tibetan leader a Visa to come be a guest of the South African Football Association in a publicity stunt for the 2010 World Cup. The reasons cited were that his involvement would draw attention from the World Cup to his political agenda against China. Later on a few senior ANC people stated that it was a simple business decision that was meant not to anger Beijing in this tough economic times.

She boldly stood up then and said: “Just the very fact that this government has refused entry to the Dalai Lama is an example of a government who is dismissive of human rights,”. She continued to say; “I believe [the government] needs to apologise to the citizens of this country, because it is in your name that this great man who has struggled for the rights of his country…has been denied access,”.

Well apparently Minister Hogan has retracted those words and has since apologized. This after she was lambasted by government for breaking protocol with her rather “unfortunate statements”. Themba Maseko, a government spokesperson who lambasted her earlier issued a statement that she apologized.

Apparently one of the reasons Mbeki was removed from power was because of the way he could not tolerate dissent. A deputy minister in the health ministry (coincidentally), Madlala-Routledge, was effectively fired for breaking rank on the handling of the AIDS issue by the government then under Mbeki. Today, the same thing happens to a minister of health under Zuma control. Same difference! It is turning out that it is the culture of the ANC to stifle debate and dissent. But perhaps we should wait a little bit longer.

It is noteworthy that the minister herself has not publicly denounced her initial statements. I would really like to see her on TV, just to see the same level of conviction in her eyes as she recants…”I was wrong, this government is NOT dismissive of human rights, it was right that the Dalai Lama was denied a Visa, and I fully support the government”. Somehow I doubt if she will ever say such. Some called her a “dead minister walking”, signaling that she was going to lose her job over the comments. Whatever reason made her to recant remains a mystery until she speaks for herself, but in my books unfortunately minister Barbara Hogan has failed to stand up and be counted. You let me down on this one. And I am very concerned about the way you were bulldozed into apologising by your party!

Let us all give JZ a fair chance

2009-04-23T08:52:00.000+02:00

It is just about sealed. What has been generally expected has become reality. Jacob Zuma will become the 3rd democratically elected president of South Africa in a few days. What was however not so certain was how big his victory was going to be. Some (including myself) had hoped for a reduced majority, but Msholozi has done it again, exceeded all expectations and majestically shattered the opposition and negative sentiment.

You have to smile and say, indeed this is a legend in the making. The mudslinging should be over, those who still doubt how popular and influential JZ is now have all the proof. He is an overwhelming favourite and the ANC is a giant of SA politics, a behemoth and a champion of the majority.

This off course does not change the fact that the "chattering" classes as some classify his detractors, will not stop challenging and criticising him. I for one intend to remain patriotic and critical as ever, but in the next few weeks it is Msholozi's show. I remember the day Thabo Mbeki was elected as president and he cut all the celebrations short and instructed everyone to go back to work, this will not be the case, JZ and his supporters are going to celebrate all over, and we will all watch as JZ shows us all manner of new dance moves, this Zulu warrior knows how to work a crowd.

Here is my simple plea to everyone, let us give the man a fair chance. Let him settle into office, let us not hold him to a higher standard than we did to Mandela and Mbeki. Let the man work his magic and convert all his promises into action. He has given himself 5 years to deliver a better life for all, he has promised to fire incompetent ministers and officials, he has promised to work with opposition parties, he has promised to deal with the scourge of crime, he has promised to uphold the judiciary. Let JZ reign and let him please be given a fair chance.

Confessions of an ANC cadre – “I am rich”

2009-04-17T10:32:00.002+02:00

Human beings are a funny lot. South Africans even more amusing! We don’t like the truth, in fact truth infuriates us! The ANC in Gauteng has an MEC for Health, his name is Brian Hlongwa, and the guy is rich. So rich is Brian that he felt the need to clarify to a wondering public that he, Mr. Money, is actually doing the people of Gauteng a favour by serving them.

He has bought himself a mansion at the upmarket suburb of Bryanston, for a mere R7,2 million, what is the fuss? It is reported that he earns under R1 million rand for his voluntary service as an MEC, he has over 10 companies under his belt, entrepreneur par excellence! The opposition politicians were miffed, radio talk shows are up in arms, the people of South Africa are irate; “Why is he showing off?”

The only sin Brian committed was that he just verbalised his inner feelings in public, that is it, a slip of a tongue. Otherwise, the facts have not and will not change; it pays to be an ANC cadre in government. Ask Paul Mashatile, who incidentally had to call Brian Hlongwa to order, he knows how financially rewarding it is to serve the movement and oh the masses.

Let us break the denialism South Africa, we are more perceptive than that. We have always known about the gravy train. It is a badly kept secret that many ANC MECs, Councillors, Ministers and officials are cashing in from their status. They run multiple private companies operating as BEE companies, their lives are flashy, they throw parties in upmarket suburbs, and they are living it up! Recently they had to be asked to tone it down when attending ANC gatherings. It is therefore why it is so important to always back a winning horse in any elective conference. It could mean the difference between a sad township life and an opulent suburb lifestyle. Who struggled to be poor anyway?

Is Brian arrogant, is he pompous? No, Brian is just an ANC cadre; he is just a little bit less guarded about these matters. He will indeed get a slap on the wrist for being overzealous no doubt, but rest assured that his party will be re-elected into power come next week, the poor masses will endorse his leadership. His “entrepreneurial” spirit will continue, his self-less service in the health ministry will continue. What is new about that?

An open letter to Fikile Mbalula

2009-04-16T12:48:00.003+02:00

Dear Mr. Fikile Mbalula,

It is with grave concern that I write this letter to you. The letter that you sent to Thabo Mbeki through the media a few days ago made one really wonder about some of the accusations that you level against your former president. I am no apologist of his, neither am I your foe, I am just a concerned South African, with dreams of a better homeland that we all deserve.

Would you care to take a few minutes and explain the a few things to me? When Thabo Mbeki, whom you vilify about many ills that occurred under his reign, went about desecrating the legacy of Mandela, what did you do as the ANC?

What did the National Executive Committee of the ANC do when the “rule of law” was trampled as you state in your letter? Did you march, did we see national protests?

You make a stunning admission in your letter against your former president: “It is therefore my considered view that you left the state apparatus in absolute disarray and the state machinery completely paralysed.” Is this an admission that the ANC government under Mbeki has plunged this country into disarray? Do you now admit that the state machinery is in a state of paralysis? What did the NEC and the ANC do about this when it was taking place? Did you take “the nation into your confidence” as you lament against Mbeki?

Frankly I find it an insult to the collective intelligence of the South African society that you want us to believe that Thabo Mbeki practised politics of patronage, protecting his “cabal” while you stood and watched for almost a decade, and yet you did nothing about it as the ruling party. I find it offensive that the poor performance and service delivery especially at local government level and many state organs can be the work of one man, what did the ANC as the elected party do?

I therefore reach this conclusion that since the masses voted the ANC into power, and the ANC “deployed” Thabo Mbeki into the presidency, it is only proper and fair that the ANC takes the blame for the state of paralysis that you observe the country to be in. You have failed to lead the country as a party. You have shown a sheer lack of capacity to deliver what you promised to your voters.

Today this country is a net-importer of food, SAA is in shambles, Landbank is near collapse, our national borders are porous, and all this under the watchful eye of the ANC and its leadership. To turn around and blame it all on one man is rather rich, cowardly and pure spin. The spirit of patronage and “the cabal” is part and parcel of the makeup of a party that could not rid itself of the disease. Cronyism is the game the party plays, this is no problem to be reduced to one man; “It is the character of the movement”. Isn't it Fikile?

Fikile Mbalula’s letter confirms very important facts

2009-04-15T08:18:00.001+02:00

ANC leaders have this interesting habit of writing letters to each other. The letters are generally intended to be read by the public, they are usually explosive and fun to read, the recent letter by Fikile Mbalula addressed to Thabo Mbeki is no exception. The one thing that strikes you with this letter is that it is written in plain English, signifying that perhaps in the new post-Polokwane order, we will nevermore be subjected to big words and generally boring letters that used to emanate from Thabo Mbeki.

In this letter Mbalula, who is the Head of Organising and Campaigns and a current member of the NEC and NWC lambastes and scolds Mbeki for having betrayed the legacy of Mandela and those who came before him. The letter goes on to regurgitate the all too familiar charges against Mbeki:

Mbeki is directly responsible for the conspiracy against Zuma
He advanced politics of patronage during his reign
Mbeki failed to heed to Mandela’s caution to “protect” the movement
Mbeki and his cabal broke laws of the country to try to steal power (about 15 examples are listed here)
Mbeki (and NOT the ANC i presume) is responsible for all this mess we are in!

For me here is the most instructive portion of the letter: “It is therefore my considered view that you left the state apparatus in absolute disarray and the state machinery completely paralysed”.

Is this an admission by the ANC through the personal views of its NEC member that the state machinery in disarray? Is Mr. Mbalula publicly confessing that the ANC has systematically driven service delivery into a state of paralysis thus betraying the masses that voted it overwhelmingly? I think he just did, unless my prejudiced sense has overpowered me. Now, all those who are still in denial about the fact that South Africans have been subjected to extremely poor service level quality over the last 15 years under the ANC only need to re-read this letter.

The letter to me does not bring anything significantly new to the table except the fact that Mbeki has been bad for the ANC and the ANC has in turn been bad for the country. The bitter internal strife seems to have subsided, Zuma is on cloud nine, rightly so, what are South Africans supposed to be doing? I know what most are doing; wallowing in self pity over the betrayal of Mbeki which has given us Zuma, some are celebrating that now that Mbeki is gone, they will also get a chance to become part of the new elite, none of these states of mind will help reverse the paralytic state of the state machinery. A new cabal is in waiting, wake up South Africa.

The ANC knows that it will never suffer any major losses despite the fact that they get an “F” for service delivery, South Africans are not too demanding when it comes to matters of quality and excellence. We will again hand over our trust to the ruling party, naively hoping that Zuma will “take the voices of the people into the new government”.

I am sorry to burst the bubble, a new cabal is preparing to take over, they have no reason to be worried about possible losses and punishment for failing to deliver, they will simply continue in the same path of patronage and cronyism. If my vote could sway the results, I would vote for a more reduced, humbled, responsive and efficient ANC. I would like to see a more balanced parliament that is fiercely contested, an ANC without a 2/3rds majority, but then again my dreams are just that; DREAMS.

AZAPO and PAC provide no logical political alternative for now

2009-04-14T14:54:00.002+02:00

Sunnyside in Pretoria is a hype of activity, there is a feeling when one walks its streets that there is youthful vigour of a kind. Young people, old people and immigrants from all corners of Africa and South Africa hustle for dear life, prostitution is rife in this part of Pretoria in the night, crime is rampant but Sunnyside remains a place where many meet to have a drink or two.

There are colleges and private schools in this part of town, you see young and aspirant guitarists with their tools stylishly hanging on their shoulders and university students who attend at the nearby University of Pretoria going about, in search of a better life. Like Hillbrow in Johannesburg, Sunnyside can be dangerous but it is full of zest for life.

As I drove through one of the main streets in Sunnyside, I noticed two election posters bearing the faces of Mosibudi Mangena of AZAPO (Azanian People's Organisation) as well as one of Letlapa Mphahlele of the PAC (Pan Africanist Congress). These two men collectively represent the ideological philosophies championed by legends like Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko, Onkgopotse Tiro and many others. Between the two of them, these two parties share 4 out of 400 seats in the national assembly, with Azapo having 1 of the 4 seats.

These two leaders, purportedly the modern custodians of the lofty principles of African nationalism, socialism, and continental unity founded on the teachings of Marcus Garvey, Kwame Nkrumah, W.E.B DuBois and others have simply vapourised into political irrelevance. Perhaps they should stop disgracing their history. One would not even recognise the voice of Mosibudi Mangena were it to be aired on radio, Mphahlele can easily be mistaken for just a passer-by to Sunnysiders. The truth is internal divisions and clear organisational inability to galvanise the masses by articulating clearly what they seek to add to South African life has dimmed these once shining stars of the liberation. Very few in Sunnyside would even know what they really stand for.

The more vibrant ANC has not only overtaken them but has also sought to erase the national memory of stalwarts like Biko and Sobukwe, the ANC has nothing to benefit from handing a lifeline to these dying giants. On a more individual capacity, Mangena has been effectively using his position as Minister of Science and Technology very effectively from 2004 - 2008. He will be remembered much more favourably than his PAC brothers.

Perhaps it is time these two parties go back to the drawing board and ask themselves very tough questions about their relevance in today’s South African society and its politics. The people of Sunnyside most likely have not even recognised those posters. Many Azanians will read this piece, hurl stones at me for being ignorant, but I know they will appreciate the coverage, even blog coverage, they need it.

Snuki Zikalala on the firing line...AGAIN!

2009-04-09T12:31:00.001+02:00

The highly controversial Bulgarian doctor of journalism from Sofia University and also the managing director of news and current affairs at the SABC, Dr. Snuki Zikala is once again under fire. It has been reported that his contract is due to expire at the end of April 2009 and the vultures are out to eat him alive.

This time the vultures are his own party, the ANC and its alliances as well as a litany of human rights and media activists. You will remember that Snuki Zikala was at some point a very strong Mbeki man, who even at aome point allegedly instituted a blacklist of commentators who were not to be allowed to speak at any SABC platforms. He has also been quoted as having said about the Zimbwabwe crisis in support of Mbeki and silent diplomacy: "There is food, it's just very expensive". He apparently even bragged about the fact that while in Zimbwabwe at one on the exclusive hotels he was able to order a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label and mineral water and accordingly didn't understand what everyone was on about.

More recently you will remember that Snuki Zikalala was suspended by Dali Mpofu, Group CEO of the SABC, who in turn was suspended by the SABC Board for that action. Snuki was then reinstated but now, the ANC wants him out. In one of the rare moments where I actually agree with the ANC and its alliances, here is my plea to the guys in power at Luthuli...JUST FIRE SNUKI ! YES FIRE HIM WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT. The man is a danger to civilisation. And then afterwards fire the whole of the SABC board and appoint a competent team of management that can restore that important organ of the state. But then again, we probably differ on that very last point :-)

Farewell to Dr. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri

2009-04-09T07:03:00.001+02:00

South Africa was not necessarily moved that much by the passing away of the Minister of Communications, Dr. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri. It is not that this country is insensitive to death, especially the death of serving politician. She unfortunately happened to pass away on the 06 April 2009 from natural causes, the day that the National Prosecuting Authority decided to drop all charges against Jacob Zuma. It is thus no wonder that not too many people got to hear about her death. The media had its hand full, completely Zumafied!

There is another reason why the 71 year old fromer teacher and lecturer's quiet passing away did not make many headlines. Despite her incredible personal achievements, Dr. Matsepe-Casaburri did not exactly set the SA political scene alight,delivery, if you know what I mean. Let us first start with her amazing achievements:

She was one of the dignified struggle heroes who enriched herself with a sound educational background that set her apart from her contemporaries. She was born in Kroonstad in the Free State (my home province and the home to legenda like Mr. Terror Lekota and Dr. Pallo Jordan!!).She obtained her a Bachelor of Arts degree from the then iconic Fort Hare University like many of the political heroes of the SADC region. She then went ahead to complete a Masters degree at First University in the US which culminated with a PhD in Sociology at the prestigious Rutgers University in the US where she also lectured.

She then went on to become a “Lady of South African firsts”. She became:

The first woman to be appointed to the board of the CSIR
The first black person and woman to become chairperson of SENTECH
The first female and black chairperson of the board of the South African Broadcasting Corporation from 1993 1997.
The first black person and female to become a premier of a province (my dear Free State)
She was once a president of the country, caretaker, just after Mbeki was fired

One should always be careful of speaking ill of the dead but let us be frank; in many of the above roles, Dr. Matsepe-Casaburri left a trail of 'mess ups' and very little glory. As a premier of the Free State, she was disliked for having absolutely done nothing of note. No wonder she only served only 2 years. As the custodian of telecommunication in SA for many years, South Africa today has one of the highest costs of communication in the world.

Under her eyes, ICASA, communications regulator in South Africa, has been the possibly the worst regulator that has failed to alleviate the problem of high communication costs and low levels of penetration in the country. This has surely cost this country billions in lost opportunity for business. Under her “watchful eye” the monopoly of Telkom, the worst national telecommunications provider in the universe, grew stronger and worse. Today Telkom faces a number of problems that perhaps privatisation may just be the only hope. If you speak to many of the Telecoms experts in South Africa, the name Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri evokes very strong and sometimes very wild emotions.

All in all, the legacy of Dr. Matsepe-Casaburri is a hotly contested one depending on who you speak to, but let us not forget that she was a patriot and served this country until her death. Sincere condolences “mme Ivy” (mother Ivy - as some call her in the Free State).

ThinkingAloud is back!

2009-04-07T15:38:00.002+02:00

I have been away over for over a month now, I apologise for the sudden departure. It was unplanned, unceremonious and too sudden. I missed this space, and I missed interacting with you. I am happy to be back, and I am just amazed at how quickly South Africa has changed since February 2009 (the time of my last entry)!

At the beginning of March I entered into a new space in my life and the change was full of many surprises. First it was a new project (work related), pre-PhD studies at UJ (what was I thinking!!), journalism/writing studies at SA Writers’ College (enjoyable), church studies (Masterguide program – the best thing I have ever signed up for), guitar lessons (very tough) and several other smaller ventures which I will tell you about as the year progresses.

Everything somehow happened to start and climax in the month of March and clearly several other things fell through the cracks. ThinkingAloud has been the most severely affected. I apologise for deserting you and neglecting this platform.

The storm has calmed for now and I have been persuaded and coerced in various ways by friend and readers to start writing. I promise to give some kind of a notice in advance if I ever plan to disappear again! I will try to write more frequent (2-3 times a week) and shorter entries. I will also still add an ad-hoc long article (reflective) once or twice in a month.

PS: Some ThinkingAloud posts will be published at News24 blogspace (http://mynewsblogs.24.com/thinkingaloud). This move will not affect the readers of this blog as all the articles will always be first published here.

Is COPE the party, is Dandala the man?

2009-02-26T06:31:00.001+02:00

The ANC breakaway, Congress of the people, has unveiled its secret weapon, Rev. Hamilton Mvumelwano Dandala as its presidential candidate. The handsome and passionate clergyman, Dr.Mvume Dandala as he is known, has accepted the nomination to lead COPE in government after the 2009 election. Before he accepted the nomination, he was the general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churched basd in Nairobi, Kenya.

Dr. Dandala, an anti-apartheid activist and a Cambridge University graduate seems to me to have been thrust into a bitter leadership battle between the Lekota and Shilowa camp. Both leaders have denied the rifts but there is no denying such an obvious division. Lekota, COPE’s president and Shilowa, his deputy contested the presidential candidacy and the report that came out of the meeting was that Shilowa was ahead of his president when he decided to pull out of the race and threw his weight behind the virtually unknown Dandala.

This does look very exemplary of Shilowa but one cannot help but wonder how Dandala managed to emerge victorious on the back of Shilowa’s canny move. There are suggestions out in the media that Mvume is a very close associate of Mbeki’s. There has always been allegations that Mbeki is behind the formation of COPE, and we did see all his fierce supporters defecting from the ANC into COPE after Lekota served the divorce papers to the ANC.

There is also a very well known fact that the Eastern Cape (EC) is the ideological home of COPE. This after all is the home on Thabo Mbeki and when he was dumped at Polokwane the EC region was split between pro-Zuma and pro-Mbeki remnants. The pro-Mbeki faction largely defected to COPE. COPE has a sizable chunk of its membership emanating from that region and this was always going to be evident in its future leadership makeup. So the rumours that there were always noises of dissatisfaction about the ethnicity of both Lekota and Shilowa who are both not-Xhosa and non-EC should not be dismissed lightly.

Thus the elevation of an Eastern Cape Mbeki ally leaves me worried about how quickly COPE descended into the boring ANC-style ethnic divisions. What irks me even more is the obvious Mbeki deification and veneration that comes out of the COPE inner circles. Any party that is blind to Mbeki’s flawed leadership style and tendencies makes me angry. This is a man who single handed-ly destroyed and closed the culture of open debate in the ANC, leading to the Polokwane disaster. This is a man who sought to go against the wishes of his own party to lead it for the third time. Why would this Mbeki, who protected Jackie Selebi and Manto Tshabalala, leading the gross mismanagement of security, crime and AIDS be allowed to influence a “new party” secretly?

Mbeki had his time, he did a lot to modernise the country’s economic system, he brought back African renaissance discussion back into national discourse, but he needs to stay away and allow better minds to fix the things he could not fix in over 10 years while he was in power under Mandela and his own presidency. COPE will miss its moment if it continues to be influence, and Dandala has a heck of a lot to do in less than 2 months to prove that he is better than Shilowa (who I believe should be the leader of COPE). It will not be difficult to outdo Lekota and he needs to bury the Mbeki link for good for him to earn my respect.

The Mandela’s support for the ANC is justified

2009-02-24T07:26:00.001+02:00

Last week’s Sunday Times broke a story about how the ANC’s Fikile Mbalula, the ex-Youth League president and the current ANC’s chief electioneer effectively colluded with Mandela’s grandson to abduct Nelson Mandela and parade him next to Jacob Zuma, in an effort to win more votes for the ANC.

My first reaction to the story was shock, shock at the fact that the story was somehow implying that that Mbalula and Mandla Mandela had lost all sense of human decency, to kidnap South Africa’s most valued asset, risk its life through hastily arranged logistics, for the sake of creating an impression that the old man approves of Jacob Zuma. I was also shocked at the implicit suggestion that Nelson Mandela has somehow gone senile and incapable of making decisions on his own.

The Sunday Times got hold of somebody from the Nelson Mandela foundation who confirmed that proper logistical arrangements were not made and Mandela’s life was placed at unnecessary risk. The ANC came out with all guns blazing against this allegation, claiming that Mandela is not the property of the foundation and that he still supports the ANC. They emphasised that they would never put Mandela’s life at risk for any reason or cause.

We the observers are left to make up our minds about who is in the wrong, but before you make up your mind I would like to make a few observations of my own. Firstly, I do not believe that Mandela is senile, yes he is old but he looks like a man still in control of his senses. Secondly, the ANC has indirectly admitted as much that they did not follow all the procedures necessary to get Mandela out in the public space. The truth thus lies in the middle:

The ANC clearly avoided obtaining the permission of the foundation because they knew they were most likely going to be turned down. It is not the current ANC’s strength to be above board as we know, and the desperation of the ambitious Mbalula to impress his Luthuli bosses got the better of him and he found a willing accomplice in Mandla Mandela. Watch out for Mandla’s growing business empire post 2009 elections.
Mandela feebly made a speech on the podium which we saw on TV, and he urged people to support the ANC, he did not look coerced to me, thus I believe it was voluntary and genuine.
I reject the suggestion that he was there against his wishes, Mandela still supports the ANC despite its weaknesses and I do not understand why people seem to be outraged at this. The ANC made him, he dedicated his entire life to the ANC and I do not see why at such an advanced age he should alter his loyalties. Mandela supported the ANC during its dark days of the Mandela Football Club revelations, Peter Mokaba’s “Kill-the-Boer” days, Mbeki’s arrogance and tyranny. I do not see why under Zuma’s post-Polokwane delirium he should divorce the ANC!

What we should learn from Mandela is that his legacy stands no less than it ever was. He divorced Winnie, distanced himself from black OR white domination, spoke against Mbeki’s AIDS denialism and urged Zuma’s ANC to be above reproach. He does not endorse individuals; Zuma included, but embraces his party, the ANC and its principles. That is how history will remember him.

What should we make of Mandela’s apparent support for Zuma’s ANC?

2009-02-18T14:38:00.001+02:00

It was a great moment that even the ANC could not believe when it happened. There have been rumours and suspicions, largely held by the opposition that the icon of the ANC, Nelson Mandela was not so supportive of the new ANC under Jacob Zuma. Despite him sending a letter, read by his daughter at an ANC election rally earlier this year, there was still speculation that the old man was perhaps distancing himself.

So when Nelson Mandela, flanked by his grandson Mandla and daughter Makaziwe made a rare surprise visit to the people of Idutywa in the Eastern Cape last Sunday who were going to listen to Jacob Zuma at a political rally on a rainy day, it was joy for Zuma and his men. This was proof that Mandela endorses the ANC and Zuma. The 20 000 strong crowd loved it, when the old man was helped to his feet to mutter words of gratitude, the crowds loved it. Jacob Zuma could not let go of the old man’s hand, Zuma was captured whispering into the old man’s almost deaf ears repeatedly; perhaps to extract some blessings from Jacob of the Old Testament. I do not blame Zuma for doing that, he needs the love, he needs the affirmation, and perhaps the halo around Madiba could miraculously fall on him and positively affect his own tattered image!

When Mandela faintly said “Long live the ANC”, a moment that the many in the media were speculating about had finally come. But did this moment have the anticipated effect? Will it sway voter support in favour of the ANC? Was Mandela’s apparent endorsement of the current ANC a direct endorsement of Zuma or the ANC (the party)? Was Mandela endorsing the obvious corruption that we have been witnessing the ANC? Did the saintly Mandela compromise his legacy?

The ousted Thabo Mbeki has in many ways refused to throw his weight behind the ANC election campaign, much to the delight of the opposition, especially the newly formed ANC breakaway, COPE. This action by Mbeki has been interpreted as an indirect endorsement of COPE, which boasts many an Mbeki die-hards in its top structures. Thus Mandela’s rare appearance, interpreted in this context also means a tacit approval and endorsement of the ANC.

Will it sway voters in the way of the ANC, oh yes I believe it will. There were those who had been disillusioned by the ANC, and may have perhaps decided not to vote at all as a sign of their disapproval. This category of voters will perhaps be energised to go vote for the ANC. However, those who have taken a step to go vote for the opposition will not be swayed by Mandela’s latest move. Their reasons for having left the ANC are still there!

It is my contention that even if Barack Obama campaigned for the ANC, his canvassing aura will not change the fact that the same reasons that made people to leave the ANC are still too obvious to ignore, he would fail to win them back. Thus if the anticipated effect of Mandela’s endorsement were to destroy COPE by winning back ANC’s disenfranchised, then I am sorry, even Mandela cannot do that at this point. Perhaps if he came out much earlier, things would have been different.

Was Mandela endorsing Zuma? This is where I differ with a lot of other people. NO, I believe that Mandela’s move was more of an endorsement of his party; the ANC more than an affirmation of its current leadership. However tight Zuma grasped Madiba’s hand, his personal problems have given COPE and the DA a reason to undermine the ANC and he has single-handedly cost the ANC a lot of votes. I argue further that the post-Polokwane ANC failed dismally to unite the ANC and Mandela will never be able to help them at all. No matter how hard people might want to destroy Mandela’s legacy (and I am no proponent of the Mandela gospel), his showing support for his party will not taint it at all. The fact that it is now a corrupt party does not take away the fact that his entire life has been lived for the ANC, and he owes all he has (including his legacy) to the ANC. He has proven that he has the balls to stand up against the ANC leadership during Mbeki’s tenure when he went in public to endorse the TAC and its HIV positive gay leader, Zachie Achmat on the HIV issue.

We know that he was attacked, hounded and harassed by Mbeki and his lieutenants, led by Terror Lekota, COPE’s current president, and Mandela stood his ground until they saw the light. I have no evidence to doubt the fact that he disapproves of the corruption and Zuma’s phobia for court appearances as he, while he was a sitting president appeared in court to defend his name and legacy. However, in an election climate, there is no need for him to turn against the ANC. Mandela understands his role as an elder within his ailing movement, to build it and not to destroy it. On the same score, I understand why Mbeki would not endorse the ANC publicly after he was humiliated by Zuma’s ANC.

Mandela is not being exploited by his party, neither is he being commodified as some have suggested, he is simply asserting his right to stand up for a party that has made him. That party happens to have problems, terrible problem that have led to its weakening, but why should Mandela dessert them now? The man is 90 years old and it will not benefit him to shift loyalties just to humour the opposition. The ANC at its core still believes that they have a mandate to fulfil, some of us doubt whether they are capable to deliver after the wasted 15 years, and that will influence who we will cast our vote in favour of. Let us all go to vote and choose the leaders we want, not by virtue of simply sharing a stage with a good man.

Niehaus is a reflection of who we have become as a nation

2009-02-16T12:55:00.001+02:00

Also published on News24

The Carl Niehaus situation has brought us to that juncture once again. That place where we all hate to be; but one that we know too well to be very familiar. It hurts to be reminded that ours is a nation of corruption of too many forms, a sickness that has come to define us. In the Niehaus situation we get to look in the mirror once again, to see that shattered image of ourselves. It will not help to look away, because the picture being reflected will not change.

We look in the mirror and a lot of questions bubble deep in our subconscious; how many more fake doctoral, masters and other academic degrees are being falsely claimed by South Africans all over? How many more parliamentarians are still being corrupted by personal greed and conspicuous consumption, to attain lifestyles they cannot maintain, how many more South African businessmen and businesswomen are forging signatures, embezzling state funds, leaving beyond their means and using their public positions to obtain and extend favours to private business.

It is a sick picture that unfortunately cannot be wished away. Some have argued that we are not unique in this position; many other countries are in the same quagmire they retort. However that only buys one temporary relief, for as soon as we wish away the Niehaus situation that is afflicting this nation, you soon hear more breaking news of South Africans loading state aeroplanes with drugs with corrupt intentions of smuggling them into foreign lands. There used to be times when South Africans moralised about how these “Nigerians” are bringing drugs into our country, on the contrary, it is us South Africans who distribute and export this vice all over the world.

The country’s image has never been so murky; it is an albatross that every South African hangs in shame on their necks. There are some who also would simply like to attach this smelling stigma solely to politicians; they are the worst amongst us they argue. But look around, see that CEO with a brown envelope full of promises, sliding it under a newspaper at a coffee shop towards the politician? See that businessman with inflated prices on his tender document to “thank” the politician or the public servant with. What about the slush fund that many reputable private businesses keep for their sales executives in case they need to “close the deal” quicker? See that professor who added an extra degree on his CV, that fake drivers license your neighbours daughter carries, that teacher who books sick leave when they are completely healthy, yes, that is who we have become as a nation.

Should we then have sympathy for the Niehaus diseased? Should we let them get away because they tend to hang quivering lips of guilt and red eyes of shame when discovered. NO, they must be disciplined as a sign of our collective resolve to rediscover our better selves. However, pretending that they are “not us”; that they exist only at special places like Luthuli House where only those of their ilk reside and flourish is akin to performing that famous ostrich manoeuvre of burying its head under the desert sand to save its body from harm.

Too much power coupled with arrogance has corrupted our politicians, business has been allowed to corrupt politicians and public servants and get away with it for far too long, private citizenry has lowered its ethical bar, we have an ailing country.

In April 22, we all have another chance to either accept or reject what we have become.

Pambazuka has published "Thinking Aloud"

2009-02-13T10:41:00.004+02:00

It is with great pride that I share with you the good news that Pambazuka has published the article about Kgalema Motlanthe, first published here at "Thinking Aloud".

According to PoliticsOnline run by the legendary Phil Noble, Pambazuka News is "..a pan-African community of over 1000 citizens - academics, social activists, women's organizations, writers, artists, poets, bloggers, and commentators who together produce insightful and thoughtful analyses that make it the most innovative and influential sites for social justice in Africa... Pambazuka has become the source of authentic voices of Africa's social analysts and activists."

Pambazuka News is produced and published by Fahamu - Networks For Social Justice which has a presence in the UK, South Africa, Kenya, Senegal. Pambazuka claims to have about 200 000 subscribers and a readership of about 500 000 across Africa and the world. This is not the first time they have noted "Thinking Aloud". In December of 2007, a review of African blogs by Pambazuka News noted and mentioned this blog.

It is an honour indeed. Read the Motlanthe article here

Will the “expat” vote benefit the opposition in the upcoming elections?

2009-02-12T10:51:00.000+02:00

There is still an uncertainty about the number of South Africans that live abroad and will actually take up the option to vote in the April 2009 elections. Estimates suggest that that there could be about 2 million to 3 million eligible South African voters mostly in the UK, USA, Australia and Nigeria. Will this be enough to tilt the scales in favour of the opposition?

We are yet to hear more official opinion polls but I have a suspicion that perhaps these voters may not make such a big difference in the overall results. If we assume that 1,5 to 2 million of the 3 million (max) voters will actually make the trip to the voting station, the vote is most likely going to be split between opposition parties, COPE and the DA to be exact. There is still a sizeable portion that will still be loyal to the ANC because they believe that the ANC government has made it possible for them to be where they are. We may actually end up with a situation where a couple of hundred thousand votes go three different ways.

Unfortunately the Freedom Front, the opposition party behind the expat vote victory, does not have the profile and the ability to attract a big portion of the expat vote. If they do, it will be small. Perhaps they know something we don’t know about their support overseas. Then what is the biggest threat to the ANC?

The biggest threat to the ANC is not overseas voters, it is two-fold; the young voters living in South Africa’s who have registered en-masse for the elections as well as the ANC itself. As Obama taught us, whenever young people decide to vote, change is on the way. Worry not about the enemy outside, it is the one within that is most dangerous.

When senior politicians who should really know better to get their act together like Tokyo Sexwale, go around accusing the opposition of witchcraft, then you know that the chicken has lost its head within the ANC. The young people of this country are perceptive enough to see that the ANC is bewitched! Its best assets (not that I believed that Tokyo ever was), loose their sparkle, parade in-front of the TV gyrating and playing to the gallery; you get a sense that perhaps it is time to change! The ANC will not loose this election but things are going to change after this election!

The right to vote

2009-02-12T07:57:00.000+02:00

The president has finally announced the election date, well the unofficial one. Even though this date has not been proclaimed in parliament it is pretty much foregone that the 22nd of April 2009 is the day. This date has been announced just after the high court has found the electoral law that forbade expatriates to vote to have been unconstitutional, effectively paving the way for South Africans abroad to take part in the election and vote for the government of their choice. The matter still sits with the constitutional court, which is expected to uphold the high court’s findings by many.

It has been very interesting listening to the debates around the right of the expatriates to vote. A number of people believe that those who are outside of the country should not vote as they have made their choice to stay away from their country of birth. I think this unreasonable, there are off course many South Africans out there who are working and living overseas for various other reasons besides hatred for their mother-land. Most of them still support our economy through their foreign currency earnings. Most intend to come back as they have families and roots back here.

Every South African that has not taken permanent residency in a foreign country should vote in my opinion. I think voting grants you the right to participate in a democratic order and should be enjoyed by all who call themselves South Africans. Those that have taken their residency elsewhere quite frankly will have to do more to convince me that it is a reasonable demand to still want to vote in a democracy that they have decided to NOT be part of!

The IEC has already indicated that it might have capacity problems rolling out the voting infrastructure overseas in such a short space of time. This could be problematic because it might mean that even if the constitutional court upholds the ruling of the high court, the decision may not be implement-able. We wait to see what will happen in the next two weeks. The burning question should be; Will the overseas vote benefit the opposition in the upcoming elections?

No political party is worth killing or even dying for

2009-02-11T18:26:00.000+02:00

It is with sadness to see so many South Africans carelessly taking and loosing their lives for political reasons. This must be the most unnecessary and foolish occurrence in the run up to the elections. Tempers seem to be very high especially wherever COPE and the ANC are involved. Off course the most historically violent clashes have been between the ANC and the IFP in KZN.

The politicians have not helped the situation by fanning the flames instead of being conciliatory. It is an undeniable fact that all parties should be allowed to contest and campaign everywhere in the country. However the recent trend of announcing rallies next to each other must be the most reckless act by political parties, the ANC has been found to be the most guilty of this backward practise in numerous cases.

If I had a megaphone big enough to be heard by all South Africans I would shout and scream; “No political party is worth dying or even killing for, STOP it now!” Once you are dead and buried, the same politicians you are prepared to kill and die for will continue with their lives, enjoying the privileges that life in South Africa grants without even stopping to think about you or your family. Your death will not change the course of history and no one should ever be fooled to believe that fallacy. It is your vote that counts, your death is a loss to yourself, your family and the nation.

An alleged corrupt boss ousted by corrupt lieutenants!

2009-02-11T11:35:00.002+02:00

Published on News24

In June of 2008, South Africa witnessed the most unbelievable scenes on the M2 highway when Metro opened fire at the SAPS, resulting in an intense gunfire battle between two state agencies entrusted with keeping law and order. Metro police reputation was dealt a sever blow, not only had they betrayed the public’s trust, they have dishonoured their sacred duty to protect us, the taxpayers. We still do not know the results of the investigation into this corrupt and reckless behaviour. We wait in patience.

So it was with amazement to hear that once again, that our protectors in brown and navy, were downing their tools, this time to rid their ranks of corruption. I wondered if there wasn’t a more constructive way to show disgust against corruption than to deprive the residents their much needed essential service, supposedly provided by these men and women. Needless to say that their strike continued and the streets of Johannesburg were being prepared for a cleaner Metro police force.

Imagine the shock and disgust when it was learnt that the Metro cops, they of flashy tax funded sporty sedans, notorious for begging and accepting bribes from motorists, had reached a deadlock with management and were going into an even protracted strike, because their allegedly corrupt boss, Chris Ncgobo was not willing to step down as they demanded.

No rendition of the popular mantra “Innocent until proven guilty” was heard this time, instead “Chris is too corrupt, he must step down”, a new opportunistic tune was sung this time around. No formal allegations were made, not even a hint of how intensely corrupt Mr. Ncgobo is was made clear, but we the residents of Johannesburg just have to trust the Metro mob this time around, they have our best interest at heart! Perhaps this is a new union song; all suspected of corruption should be fired, without a hearing or an investigation, because corruption is such a hideous thing. We wait in patience.

The most amazing twist to the story was the news that the Metro police consulted with Luthuli house to help them persuade Mr. Ngcobo to step down. Will this new partnership against corruption be a new template; should we “pilot” the template right at Luthuli House perhaps? Chris Ncgobo stepped down temporarily, paving way for an investigation. Read this again, Mr. Chris Ncgobo, an ANC deployee at the JMPD, was asked to step aside to allow allegations of corruption to be investigated fully before he could come back to work. Eureka, we should celebrate this moment, we should marvel and ask, will this medicine so judiciously applied to the goose be administered to the gander?

It is infuriating to witness public office and money being wasted for political gain. It is revolting to see political missions being undertaken at the expense of the taxpayer, perhaps it is time the residents of Johannesburg demand that all the corrupt, bribe taking, cop shooting, loafing Metro cops who would rather be seen dancing in the streets than do work, to be made to listen to this tune “You are too corrupt, you must step down”. What double standards!

Great books for cheap

2009-02-04T11:26:00.006+02:00

I got an e-mail about the great book sale by Exclusive Books on 30th January 2009. I found a heavily discounted copy of Naomi Klein’s best seller; “The Shock Doctrine: The rise and fall of Capitalism”. For only R40 rands or $4 (US dollars)!!! I snapped up this gift from the heavens. Since I had a discussion with a friend about this author I have been following her writings and I could not wait to lay my hands on the copy. It is a quite a thick one but I will hopefully make time to read it between all the many other books I still have to read. I also have a copy of “No logo” by the same author, which still languishes on my shelf, but I always wanted to read the “Shock Doctrine” first to get to understand and appreciate Naomi Klein.

I also got a copy of “Scatter the ashes and go” by Wally Serote for a song as well. I have been longing to read something by the much acclaimed Wally Serote, a South African writer without any success. Now I have no excuse but to acquaint myself with him, I have been told that this book is not the perfect place to start, but hey, at least I got something to work with. Oh I also got to finally buy my very own copy of “Cry the Beloved Country” by Alan Paton. Yeah I know it is disappointing to have never bought one, despite being familiar with the book and the movie.

Also still to languishing on my bookshelf at home:

Hegemony or Survival – Noam Chomsky
In my father’s house – Kwame Anthony Appiah
Ethics of Identity - Kwame Anthony Appiah
Race Matters – Cornel West (I have started on this one, brilliant so far)
The future of the race – Cornel West and Louis Gates Jnr.

The above treasure of books was brought all the way from the US by a very good friend of mine. I am still raising funds to repay himJ, I am bad I know. This means that at least this year’s supplies of homework has been provided, it is time to dig in and be enlightened. The only book that I still have to read this year that I struggled to obtain was the “Famished Road” by Ben Okri.

A good friend from Cape Town advised me to use the public library near me. I found out that only Cape Town libraries seem to have this treasure on their shelves. In Midrand where I live, the library did not have a copy, except for another linked library way too far from Midrand. The Sandton Exclusive Books also did not have a copy, they finally ordered a copy from the Cape Town (Cavendish). I believe it should arrive soon. Once this arrives I should be ready to finally read and stop buying, lest my wife reports me to the police for abusing her hard earned cash:-)

Will Kgalema survive?

2009-01-29T13:00:00.003+02:00

When Thabo Mbeki decided to defy the odds and attempted to be re-elected for the third time as ANC president in 2007 at Polokwane, no one could have imagined that South Africa had entered a new path, one that would lead to this sad end. In the run-up to Polokwane, as Zuma grew bolder and his support swelled, little did we know that a baby dragon was born and as it grew older, it would have the ability to spew fire and its claws would scratch so deep!

On the two lists presented by the Zuma camp and the Mbeki camp at Polokwane, one similarity stood tall; the name Kgalema Motlanthe. For a decade this quite but strong willed man, known affectionately as Mkhuluwa, the “the elder one/wiser one”, had been quietly steering the ANC ship, as the Secretary General. When may chose which camp to join, he stood like a towering father above all circumstances, provided leadership, supported Jacob Zuma through his ordeal while serving under Mbeki.

Indeed the ANC had found a new Dr. Xuma, a unifier and a voice of reason amidst infighting and animosity. Motlanthe managed to gain the respect of both camps; he was seen as the elderly leader in the mould of Sisulu, able to ease tensions while giving strong leadership. It was no wonder he could appear in the top six of both camps without any contradictory and divisive sentiment. When the Zuma machinery at Polokwane was at its climax, when the Mbeki people were booed off the stage, the chairman of the ANC at the time, Mosiua Lekota rose up to chastise such behaviour, he got an even bigger booing. It was only when Mkhulu stood up, with a stern resolve and dignity he called for order and there was quietness. Only a giant of a leader could achieve that, and Motlanthe did it with calm and poise. He is reported to have warned: “One day you will be running the ANC and there will be nobody to respect you because you will have planted this culture of defiance,”. It worked, the masses calmed down.

It was clear from then that Kgalema was the father of the movement, what Mbeki, Zuma and Lekota lacked in character and dignity in the eyes on the membership, Kgalema possessed in great measure. When he was elected overwhelmingly over Nkosazana Zuma as the Deputy President to Jacob Zuma, the masses were ecstatic. Kgalema inadvertently became part of the Zuma camp, the new post-Mbeki rulers. When asked if he has ambitions to be president of the country, like Jacob Zuma before him he indicated reluctantly that he harboured no such ambitions, he is simply a servant of the movement and he would rather be a soccer talent scout and help Bafana-Bafana reverse its fortunes.

As it was becoming clearer that a smooth handover of power was needed from the Mbeki administration to the next one, a bridge was needed. None other that Kgalema was swiftly sworn in as Member of Parliament to be the custodian of this transition. As the Zuma machinery kicked in after the Polokwane victory, it was time to “address the Mbeki” question. Judge Nicholson had indicated that he may have meddled and caused the problems of Jacob Zuma, the leaders clearly could not ignore such an inference of a political conspiracy against their beloved president. It is reported that Kgalema once again tried to be the voice of reason. Supported by Jacob Zuma he opposed the move to oust Mbeki prematurely, but this time he was overruled. Thabo Mbeki was the enemy of the state and had to be taught a lesson.

There were already voices from several quarters touting Kgalema Motlanthe to be a better man who would make a better president than Jacob Zuma. The star of Motlanthe was shining brighter. Clearly, some within the camp were not happy with him. Why was he starting to behave like “Zuma is not here” one voice was heard muttering. Some started to question the fact that he is not really “100 percent JZ”, a badge of honour worn by members of the inner circle. He was never seen singing praises to the king and by the way he was in both camps pre-Polokwane, some reminded us. Kgalema had earlier said on radio that it was nonsense for ANC members to say that they “will kill for Zuma”. He was not endearing himself with the faithful.

After Mbeki was vindictively dethroned, the Zuma camp put forth his name to stand in as caretaker president; he was a logical choice as he was already an MP, making him the third post-apartheid after Mandela and Mbeki. However, bad timing seemed to be Motlanthe’s enemy as he walked into the presidency. He was given a difficult task of finalising the Vusi Pikoli matter, a matter which was left hanging by Mbeki and had ramifications for the Jacob Zuma trial. Kgalema decided to show Pikoli the door against the recommendation of the Frene Ginwala, a senior in the movement without apparently consulting with the movement.

This was a turning point for Motlanthe’s presidency, the honeymoon was over. The media started to critically assessing him and his party members were also throwing jabs at him. The ANC started making more demands, and Kgalema seemed to be dancing to some other tune, perhaps his own, but clearly not the one from Luthuli house. Mbeki decided to appeal Nicholson’s judgement, funded by the state as an ex-president. Luthuli House wanted Kgalema to withdraw the support of government, he did not. Mbeki lost the appeal, he should have been lauded, but he was castigated for his wisdom. He has been seen to be dragging his feet on two important matters, signing two bills into law. The first is regarding the SABC board and the other is regarding the abolition of the National Prosecuting Authority. The faithful and the greedy are furious.

Kgalema seemingly went against the party wishes by bringing Ibrahim Rasool into his team after the latter was ousted from the party leadership in the Western Cape. Now that the disaster known as Mcebisi Skwatsha has exploded in the ANC’s face in the Western Cape, one would think Kgalema’s decision would be lauded. When the ANC had a chance to remove Thabo Mbeki from the Zimbwabwe mediation, the blinked, today those wishing that he was removed then seem to blame Kgalema for spending too much time with him. Kgalema has even been accused of inviting Mbeki to some state events where the JZ brigade believes he should have been shunned. It looks like Kgalema is too decent for petty squabbles.

When it was revealed that Kgalema’s other house was being paid for by the dubious Sandile Majali, one started to wonder what forces were at play. Is he just another corrupt comrade? Not long after, media reports about his collapsing family life were reported. It was clear that the claws of the dragon were digging in. Other reports started surfacing that Kgalema does not want to serve anymore in the future cabinet after his caretaker presidential term was over. He was citing interference in his family life as a reason according to those reports. The most painful assault was inflicted recently when it was reported that Kgalema has a secret love affair with two other women, one a 45yr old lover and another a pregnant 24 yr old. The allegation went further to imply that he is the father of the unborn baby.

The honeymoon is over. Just like the dramatic ending to the leadership of Dr. Xuma, who was ousted for being too moderate by the radical elements within the ANC of the 1940’s namely the Youth League and the SACP, Kgalema’s future seems to be written on the walls of history.

Politics and morality

2009-01-26T13:13:00.001+02:00

Published on News24

There are some who insist that the world of politics should not be governed by moral standards as the two are simply mutually exclusive. There are some who believe that the two must be treated as inseparable, arguing that political leadership without a moral compass is an indicator of bad leadership that should be abhorred. Yet, somewhere in this range of polarities one finds those who selectively apply morals to political leadership, uplifting the high standards of morals and ethics at times while turning a moral blind eye to other cases.

Take for instance the selection of Tony Yengeni and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. At the last ANC Polokwane conference, Yengeni, a convicted fraudster and Madikizela, also a convicted fraudster were elected into the NEC of the ANC, the highest decision making body of the party. More recently, their names were also put forward at the National List Conference, indicating that the membership of the ANC, the ruling party, believe in their leadership and would have liked to see them in Parliament, enacting laws and leading this country.

Had it not been of the country’s constitution, that restricts membership of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces to individuals that have not been convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment without the option of a fine, Yengeni and Madikizela-Mandela would have certainly made it into parliament.

Clearly the two remain popular within their party and despite their dubious moral standards (based on their criminal convictions), they seem to be seen as good political leaders. This certainly raises the question; should politicians, despite their popularity and prominence, be subjected to moral standards. In the US, impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton were instituted as a result of events relating to the sex scandal with his intern. Clearly the lies, the denials and the conduct of the president, a political leader, mattered to some so much that his fitness for the high office was questioned very seriously. Was it fair for a high performing president who brought economic prosperity and relative peace like Clinton, to be in such trouble for having consensual sexual relationship with another woman while he was married? Should morality have been set aside for the sake of politics?

Imagine what would happen if it there were strong allegations that Barack Obama has impregnated a 24 year old woman while still legally married to his wife? It is anyone’s guess what would have happened to his presidency! Should we look at morals in the form of criminal conduct and sexual conduct of political leaders as criteria for high office? Does society have a right to demand certain moral standards from their leaders? What should we make of society that elevates those same people whose moral standards are seen to be questionable?

One thing seems to be certain about politics and morality; in the long term amoral and immoral political leadership will always result in the downfall of politicians and societies that ignore the link between the two. Such nations resemble a heavy ship that tries to navigate rocky seas without a compass.

South Africa's lowered expectations

2009-01-19T11:09:00.003+02:00

This article has been published by News24

A friend of mine said this about the “We are one” concert at the Lincoln Memorial that was screened on our televisions on Sunday night: “It is so boring…”. I found that surprising because everyone else I spoke to and heard was simply awestruck. Perhaps he could not identify with the musical performances of the day, perhaps he thought the event was just too commercial and pretentious or perhaps the whole Obama euphoria is not his cup of tea.

Nevertheless to many across the globe, the concert was a wonderful foretaste of what the inauguration on Tuesday was going be; the day America and the world will open their hearts as an attempt to do things differently. Perhaps that is what inspired men and women in America and across the world to brave the cold winter day and late nights to catch a glimpse of a history that is unfolding.

The event was far from boring to me; it was both an inspirational as well as sad. It was a moment of reflection about how quickly South Africa managed to steer away from the path of possible greatness. As I jealously watched Americans embracing what Desmond Tutu has called “America’s Mandela moment”, my mind kept asking; how did we get it so wrong? Instead of the unified songs of happiness, in a few months, at a yet unnamed date, South Africans will face a tense general election that is not preceded by healthy contestation of ideas. Instead the atmosphere is littered with threats of violence, intimidation of political opponents, leadership uncertainties and general anxiety.

A sacked president, an under threat caretaker president and an embattled future president dominate the news. A ruling party at war with itself, a weak and divided opposition alternative as well as a heavily expectant electorate that is constantly made to witness and accept poor quality of political discourse. The only way South Africans are going to deal with its own elections will be through lowered expectations. They would have been asked to accept the harsh realities of its unprincipled political leadership. This is no environment for idealism and high standards of leadership, this is not a scene of revered leaders who are capable, ours is murky scenery of political opportunism and voter disempowerment, and there is very little we can do about it.

As I watched the Obama-Biden team I wondered why a nation that had once tasted greatness like ours has failed to demand more of its politicians. Why has South Africa failed to keep producing the same calibre of leaders that have the ability to unite her people? Did we stop or are they simply unable to step up to the challenge? Perhaps it is because we took our eyes of the ball, we failed to guard against the jackal in a sheep’s skin called the politician, and while we rode the wave of momentary peace and prosperity, he stole our precious jewels and now we can only dance to his tune.

As Americans celebrate what looks like their good fortune, let us learn to be more vigilant. If the good among us do not watch constantly and devotionally, the bad ones in the midst are tirelessly consolidating their onslaught, and the joys of freedom soon vanish. Like George Bush stole America’s jewels for eight years, the children of America fought and reclaimed back their sanity. As they celebrate, may they also be vigilant. And like them, we will also gather our lost jewels; we will sing and shout at the Freedom Memorial as we recover our lost sanity and innocence.

The Zuma game – Polokwane Rangers vs. Dying Scorpions

2009-01-12T22:32:00.001+02:00

Published by News24

Unlike the Judge Nicholson verdict, there were no surprises with the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA). The five judges did not mince their words; Judge Nicholson was simply out of order and his verdict has been essentially overturned, Jacob Zuma should face his demons in court. Like a drunken referee who handled game of soccer referring to rugby rules, he missed the boat completely. Not only did he red card the opposition (NPA), he also went beyond the call of his sacred duty and sin binned the spectators (Maduna, Ngcuka, Pikoli, Mpshe, Mbeki).

In doing so, the “activist” referee not only caused consternation as he awarded an undue victory to the Polokwane Rangers but even gave them license to indulge in conspiratorial frenzy as they danced the night away, hoisting their one and only captain fantabulous, affectionately known as JZ! Referee Nicholson or Judge Nicolas (as Julius “Killer” Malema, a deadly striker for the Polokwane Rangers prefers to call him, incidentally after missing the “woodwork”), was heaped with praise indeed he was the “beautiful” judge.

The miffed spectators, who by all honest accounts are not innocent bystanders, cried foul; surely this game was not about them, it was a grudge game between The Mighty Dying Scorpions vs. The Polokwane Rangers! But their cries fell on deaf ears. You see, we all know that somehow they did have a hand in the previous games leading to this one, but surely, they cannot be sin binned nor red carded when they are not actively playing on the day.

The bigger referees at the SCA, five of them in fact, must have watched with disbelief as the ageing colleague not only desecrated the statutes of the game, he utterly brought the game into disrepute. So when the loosing side, the Mighty Dying Scorpions approached the SCA for some fairness, they did not waste time nor mince their words, the Polokwane Rangers, led by captain JZ have to go back and face the Scorpions as their shock victory handed over by the “unfathomable” Nicholson was nullified!

One wonders what will happen to the ageing Nicholson, is it just water under the bridge, the fact that his “off-the-rail” handling of the match led to a post match destruction of one spectator in particular, Denial “TM” Mbeki? Secondly, will the poor TM be afforded any recourse? Well not in this game; he will have to toast his favourite malt to moral victory and vindication for now. He knows he is not completely innocent, besides, the destructive attack minded right winger, Gwede “Fanagalore” Mantashe and holding midfielder Piercing Blade Nzimande together with the left footed left winger Vivacious may just spring back into action against him. I keep thinking aloud as an outsider; if indeed it is true that “no player is bigger than the club”, why can’t the Polokwane Rangers simply do what is best for the club for the sake of their supporters and the championship aspirations and simply drop their flawed captain? Clearly he is the weakest link in the chain!

Will captain JZ once again try to avoid a direct match with the resurgent Scorpions at Pietermaritzburg or will he opt to “appeal the appeal” at a higher court? Or will he finally rest his favourite machine gun and call a truce with the Scorpions. Considering that it has taken two captains and a vice-captain to come so close to victory namely Bulelani AmaIndia Ngcuka, Vusi “Fit-But-Unfit” Pikoli and Mokotedi “Slow Poison” Mpshe, one doubts if they will simply move over and let him walk away with the victory!

The stakes are high, but believe me; this game is not over yet and there will be no easy victories!

2 significant events for this week - Zuma and Pikoli

2009-01-12T09:56:00.003+02:00

Today the Supreme court in Bloemfontein will give a ruling on the Jacob Zuma matter and Parliament in Cape Town will also be voting on whether they agree with Kgalema Motlanthe on the Pikoli matter.

I may not be able to blog about the two today due to work commitments, but as the news get discussed this week, be sure to come back to hear the loud thoughts on these very significant matters. There is a never a dull moment in SA politics.

Have a good week.

Wonderful news!

2009-01-12T09:10:00.002+02:00

BookSA has re-published the three part blog on "Zuma - The Biography" that i published on late last year on Thinking Aloud. According to their website, "BOOK Southern Africa is a literary news and social network for publishers, authors and the general book-buying and book-reading public. BOOK SA reports on local fiction, non-fiction, poetry, biography, book happenings, reviews and more".

The publishers of the book "Zuma - A biography", the well renowned Jonathan Ball, uses BookSA blogspace to post relevant information regarding their publications. It is on this space that the Thinking Aloud Zuma articles as well a fun mini-biography of myself have been published.

Furthermore, News24 has also decided to advertise this articles as a header on their blogging section MyNews24 next to Zuma's picture:-) This will most likely not be present forever, in case it has been removed, the advert will actually take you to this site, a mini mirror site of Thinking Aloud, hosted on News24.

PS: Thanks to Groundwork, a fellow blogger who alerted me to an inaccuracy i carried last friday on a blog under the same title which i have attempted to correct.

The presidential legacies bequeathed to South Africa

2009-01-09T06:27:00.002+02:00

To demonstrate how badly President Motlanthe handled the Pikoli, suspension, there is now serious talk that he will have to go to court to defend his decision. What makes me happy about this possible move from the Pikoli camp to sue the president is that perhaps we will get to the bottom of the mythical “national security” considerations that the president hid behind to justify the decision to fire Pikoli, this after he was effectively declared fit to hold the office of National prosecutor.

Reasonably speaking, I doubt if Motlanthe will be president long enough to see the end of this court challenge, I am not legally literate enough to know what happens if he steps down while defending his decision. Even though Pikoli may not see the end of this trial satisfactorily, he would made a brave and correct move to reject the president’s decision with utmost contempt by pursuing all available legal avenues.

Sadly, the short legacy of Motlanthe will be followed by this low point of the Pikoli suspension. It will go down as his defining moment, the moment when without a thought, as a president of the country decided to ignore the wishes of his people, abandoned logic, bowed to the pressure of his own party and did the unthinkable, fired a man who had just been declared worthy! We all know that all this was simply to keep his shady masters happy; at that moment he ceased to be his own man, and relegated his personal legacy to infamy.

What currently remains in the Pikoli saga is for the president to take his decision to be endorsed by parliament, this will indeed happen as the ANC holds sway and they enacted the bill to destroy the Scorpions in any case. Once this is done, we should see the appointment of the new head of the NPA, but that can only happen if Pikoli does not start sue the president as the results of that legal battle could still have him re-instated technically. I love my country!

Now think about this: the ex-President, Thabo Mbeki, is in court defending his legacy tarnished rightly so by Judge Nicholson (even though some might argue that Thabo made a mess of it by himself), the current President Motlanthe could be facing legal action that will undoubtedly define his own legacy, the future president, JZ, is spending now more than a decade of attending multiple court cases that have already defined his legacy, yes Mandela went to court, but he came out shining against the maniac Louis Luyt, this moment actually made Mandela even more saintly. But the other three presidents are suffering serious reputational damage through their legal battles. What a presidential legacy!

Nathi Mthetwa is right to ask for a permanent Police Commissioner

2009-01-08T06:26:00.000+02:00

Finally somebody is listening to the load cry: “Can somebody please just remove Jackie Selebi from the job he still holds under suspension as the Chief of SA Police?” Nathi Mthethwa, the eather jacket wearing Minister of Safety and Security, the one who appeared as a guest on news interview with his shiny dark oversized shades, has apparently asked President Motlanthe to effectively fire and replace Jackie Selebi, yes the police chief who once told us not to panic just because he is friends with the Mafia bosses of South Africa.

As you may have gathered, I don’t like the teenage-like dress sense of the man who heads up Safety and Security ministry (leave that to kwaito singers like Mandoza and the likes I say), but this time he is on the right track. He is right to ask for Selebi to be fired, we are tired of paying some old guy more that R60 000 rands a month to sit at home under suspension while some of his friends, the criminals of Johannesburg, are busy unleashing a wave of crime on us citizens of South Africa.

The foul mouthed suspended Police commissioner enjoyed a lot of protection under Mbeki, who extended his contract while under suspension; those days are over now that Thabo Mbeki (by the way Jackie once bought Thabo leather shoes) have also been fired!

It remains to be seen whether President Motlanthe will rise to the occasion and fire Selebi, that old struggle veteran. I suspect Jackie’s links to Mbeki may just be the very thing that makes it easy for Luthuli to authorise the move to fire him. But hey, remember Luthuli is a beast with a beautiful mind of its own. Who knows what they will say about Jackie, could he perhaps know too many criminal secrets that could compromise Luthuli from his days as the chief of police? Remember that Jackie’s mafia boss friend, Aggliotti, is allegedly involved in the murder of Brett Kebble, the corrupt mining magnate who handed millions of rands to the ANC youth league (and God know who else at Luthuli)…so firing Jackie may just be a little trickier for Motlanthe to execute! Let us wait and see!

The Middle-East quagmire

2009-01-07T06:47:00.001+02:00

There are two “situations” which I have kept quite about, it was not by mistake or lack of chance. It is because I seem to have views that are a little out of step with many people, so I decided to absorb some more opinions to at least make sure that I am not ignorant of the real facts. The issues are not in themselves related, just my mind and the cloud of uncertainty that connects them. The first issue which I will elaborate on in this entry is the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. The second one is the passing away of Helen Suzman. The latter will be a subject of another separate entry entitled The Helen Zille situation.

Let us focus on the Middle-East quagmire. I mean what a tragedy! Two nations bound by history of brotherhood turned into severe hatred that none can get to the bottom of! To see so much hatred between these two great nations is like watching the parasitic virus destroying its host savagely without caring about the fact that it will not survive the onslaught! What a short sighted unnecessary bloodbath. I have exhausted so many information sources, trying to understand, empathise, and enlighten myself.

I have however come to this sad conclusion, Israelis and the Palestinians refuse to see the middle ground, each side believing to be right. I therefore see no end until these two poles gravitate to the centre. This is unlikely to happen, so the middle ground seems to be a two state solution. Unfortunately separation of the two nations is the only sensible thing. I do not want to get technical about the analysis of rightness or wrongness, this at the risk of being dismissed as a surface analyst who fails to grapple with a historically rich crisis, historical legitimacy and spiritual significance of the Abrahamic covenant, so be it, just split the two brothers and let the world move on.

At this point I must admit that if each country in the whole world that has conflict would be split in order to accommodate the warlords, this planet would be the most terrible place to live in, imagine the passports, the visas, the passes…with that in mind I should admit, it is an imperfect solution for two uncompromising factions, let them have it!

This man made ego driven crisis sickens me. What bothers me is the fact that (this is say with all due respect to the innocent victims on both sides) it attracts so much world wide media attention, so much that the fickle media forgets about the other crisis filled areas such as Zimbwabwe and DRC for instance, with huge numbers far much more than the Israeli-Palestinian . Victims of natural disasters in the other parts of Asia who should also deservedly share the humanitarian sympathy are robbed of that chance because the cyclical Palestinian conflict keeps raging!

Some are already accusing President elect Obama, for choosing not to comment on the situation, I personally agree with him, the American financial crisis is his main headache, he has been elected by the Americans to fix it, not to be begging Hamas and the Israelis to sign yet another peace agreement only to break it within days or for that matter to beg Mugabe to give peace a chance in Zimbwabwe. This inability of the world to deal with their own problems and rely on Obama and America to solve them and then later on to turn against the American beast when it suits them needs to stop! I’m not American but even I’m getting tired of it; just solve your own problems DEAR WORLD, knock it off as the Americans say on TV!

Zuma’s fifth marriage - A maverick at play

2009-01-06T13:18:00.003+02:00

How do we begin to understand the shepherd boy from Nkandla, now the presidential candidate of South Africa? A liberation struggle commander and a Gucci revolutionaire of Sandton. An upmarket Forrest Town mansion resident and yet a proud owner of the rural Nkandla high-tech-down-to-earth rural homestead. A post apartheid ANC president and yet a Zulu traditionalist well known for his controversial statements on homosexuals and women dressed in Kangas and funny positions. How do we get our minds around this hardcore spear wielding and a Russian machine-gun wielding polygamist!

This is Jacob Zuma, a man tipped to be the president of South Africa sometime this year. If the reports by the Mercury, repeated by various media houses such as Mail and Guardian and News24 about the impending 5th polygamous marriage of JZ are to be believed, then we need to seriously start talking about how to relate to the complex multiple personalities of Jacob Zuma. Some call him a Zulu traditionalist, some have even called him a modern Zulu traditionalist. I don’t know what to call him!

Reports say wife number 5, but with Kate having committed suicide some time ago, and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma having divorced JZ already, it’s a question of statistics and serious mathematical assumptions to determine what number this new wife will be, a situation very similar to calculating the total number of recognized and unrecognized children Zuma has, some say 18 while some get to 17!

One thing is that although Zuma’s many faces may seem contradictory, this broad smile honorary reverend takes on all of these faces with relative ease and blasé poise. This in my opinion shows amazing character. But what should we make of his unusual combination of faces, is it even unusual or are we just being western in our analysis and thinking? Recently the ex-ANC Youth League president, Fikile Mbalula, was apparently hauled to a circumcision school by some of his friends. Another Gucci clad post-modern Sandton kind from the Free State, taken to the bush in the Western Cape, supposedly to be a man! What is it with South African politicians and traditional customary practices?

Is it a façade, a trick to recreate themselves as believers of traditions and culture to win over the rural popularity contest? Or is it perhaps a genuine struggle of urban South African to co-exist with the traditional roots? Let us face it, in townships, traditional customs are butchered, twisted and abandoned in favour of more western traditions. In townships and urban black areas, blacks consider it generally backwards to be having a traditional stick-fight or even to go to the mountain (circumcision school). These are past time of the village dwellers, the more traditional South Africans.

It is still normal to slaughter sheep and cows for events such as funerals, unveilings and traditional feasts in urban townships (almost non-existent in black suburbia), a cultural practice, but we are starting more and more to see township dwellers going for cheaper options like frying chicken pieces and serving them in disposable containers, a more “practical option”, doing away with the expensive cow slaughtering and the resource intensive cleaning of cups and plates after the eating! It would seem the need to preserve cosmetic nails and pure financial pressures are dictating terms.

Practices like polygamy are virtually absent in black urban areas as well as many rural areas for that matter. Let us put it this way, in many townships, grandfathers and fathers are not polygamists. In more rural areas, some of my friends have grandfathers that were polygamists, but their fathers are hardly polygamists. Jacob Zuma qualifies to be of my father’s generation, definitely not my grandfathers, so why does this relatively young man of a younger generation choosing to dabble in relatively obscure practices (at least in urban areas where he now lives) such as polygamy?

I have three suggestions to this question:

His own father was not a polygamist, but perhaps he died too soon. Perhaps JZ grew up with uncles who were polygamists and as such he is a product of that generation, of men who embrace this practice with pride and have decided not to be swallowed up by the township culture that has abandoned the practice. I see nothing wrong with those who choose to believe this way, it is their right protected by the constitution of this country.
Perhaps it is a political statement, perhaps to say, I am not like these other politicians who have abandoned culture, I still practice it and therefore you can trust me to carry your hopes into government! A clever political trick that should not be “tried at home”. Only JZ can pull it off, as those women can destroy even a man stronger than Samson!
Perhaps Zuma is a polygamist simply to justify his insatiable sexual desires and love for many women (as could be extrapolated from his answer in his unauthorized biography that many of his friends “have many girlfriends that they hide, he simply prefers to be public about it”). Maybe it is as simple as that! But this is pure speculation on my part!

Perhaps the answer lies in a combination of all three, or perhaps it lies in one of the justifications, whichever one it is, we the people of South Africa have to watch as the “JZ mystery” unfolds to see what this maverick will do with his wives as he becomes a president of a secular state, with his multiple wives.

We will have to see how modern Zulu culture plays out as traditional rules dictate who will be the First Lady for example, we know it should be the first wife, but we know she is a humble Nkandla woman who eschews the limelight. Or will it be the youngest wife, reports indicate she is some sort of a socialite. Or will it be the current latest wife, she has been known to be more modern the first wife!

Perhaps we are about to experience a lecture in the practice of African culture in a modern world, perhaps the wives will not even feature at all, perhaps JZ will stick to using one of his daughters to accompany him like Mandela did after the divorce from Winnie, or fly solo like Mbeki used to do many-a-times during his tenure. Whatever happens, JZ is just one of a kind, and I can see him sheepishly smiling through all of these ramblings:-)

Looking forward to a better 2009

2009-01-04T17:52:00.002+02:00

The holiday season is generally over and it is time to enter into a new action packed year, work, politics and new experiences. We already know that our political sphere is definitely going to get highly charged towards the middle of the year as South Africans will be heading to the polls for the country's general elections.

It is foregone that the ANC will win the elections yet again, but the interest around this election is essentially around how well the opposition is going to fare. The Congress Of the People or COPE, the new thorn on the ANC's side is definitely looking like it may just provide formidable challenge into the one horse race called SA post apartheid elections. This is because COPE is a breakaway of the ANC and it is a credible black opposition. It will be joining the struggle against the ANC domination, a battle that has been fought by the likes of the Democratic Alliance (led by Helen Zille), the Independent Democrats (led by Patricia de Lille), United Democratic Movement (led by Bantu Holomisa) and the African Christian Democratic Party (led be Rev. Meshoe) and the marginal Freedom Front.

In the past all these parties have managed to only obtain about a third of the vote while the ANC and its allies have managed to average close to to-thirds. Currently the ANC has a two thirds majority in parliament, a situation which is seriously threatened by the small ANC breakaway called COPE.

I believe that it is GREAT thing for our democracy to be finally put to the test in this manner. Ghana has led the way with their successful and heavily contested election. It is only when the rulers are threatened that we will really see the true nature of the beast. We now wonder if the ANC will accept this formidable opposition to its two thirds majority. Will the ANC be able to communicate effectively with its grass roots support that plurality and non-entitlement and free contestation are part and parcel of a free democracy? Will the Mugabean tendencies perhaps rear their ugly head?

Many have been thrust into a lull about the strength of the SA democracy, if SA survives this election then we shall all live in hope that perhaps the culture of democracy is taking root. I personally am worried about the hostility that has been meted out by ANC supporters especially towards the COPE supporters. I am also worried by COPE's obsession with showing the world how hostile the ANC is, i say to COPE, just get on with the job at hand. Convince South Africans that you are a viable opposition, work hard and campaign hard, focus on your party and forget the ANC.

There is no doubt that COPE will not win the elections, but a post election alliance with other opposition parties might dramatically alter the face of SA political landscape. I personally await that day when the ANC is weakened and a more balanced representation in parliament is achieved. This should help with delivery as politicians will always have to look, think and deliver as they will be threatened. Come 2009...lets rock this party!

Other things to watch out for this year:

The conclusion of the Zuma trial. There could be lots of drama here as the decisions from this trial will dictate whether JZ becomes president or not
The Selebi suspension will also have to be settled. Here we could see Thabo Mbeki being brought into question and his handling of the Selebi and Pikoli suspension. The ANc may use this to further vilify Mbeki who needs no more stress but may just have to face the results of his meddling while in power
The pre-election canvassing is set to intrigue as South Africa learns about itself
Watch out for the DA-COPE-UDM flirting
Economic crisis and its after-effects. Are we headed to a super deflation?
The finalization of the Zim crisis. As the smaller MDC faction is outmaneuvering the Morgan faction, seen by the marriage between the Zuma family and the Ncube children. Those who will dismiss this marital union and its political significance will do so at their own peril. The Mutambara faction (Ncube's camp) is seen more favourably by the ANC as they are more willing to compromise with Mugabe. Morgan is seen as stubborn and controlled by the West. I wish Morgan wakes up and fights harder to liberate Zimbwabwe. I also look forward to the fall of Mugabe this year
We shall see how Obama reacts to the Mid-East crisis and if at all will lift his hands around the African issues...Zim Crisis and the Guinea situation
Will Motlanthe step down quietly? I have absolutely no reason to suspect that Kgalema will step down without any power hiccups to allow Zuma to lead, but hey this is Africa after all!

Even so, come 2009.

2008 – Personal reflections of a bitter sweet year!

2008-12-31T10:02:00.003+02:00

This year will remain a monumental year in South African history. There are many events that happened but I will restrict my self to what I regard to be the top 5 events for South Africa in no particular order.

Electricity cut-offs: Who ever thought that the great South Africa could run out of electricity! Yes it happened and what a sobering experience for the children of Mandela. The blame game ensued, in the end, we all agreed that mismanagement of the highest order took place over the last 10 years and we just need to pump money into this problem. Currently the problem has been lessened, but we now know that there are serious cracks in the management of our economic infrastructure. The water infrastructure is apparently another bombshell to watch out! At least somebody is doing something with the roads situation!
Xenophobic attacks: Once again many were shocked when unexpectedly some of our South African brothers and sisters took to the streets and massacred foreigners in the streets of our townships! The intelligence community was caught napping, all our politicians were caught unawares, our president was in his usual denialist streak about the saga, Jacob Zuma, the man of the people, was pelted with bricks when he tried to intervene, it was a mess, an egg in our face, the barbarism and shear brutality of South Africa was screened throughout the world, CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera, it was the saddest moment of our history.
Firing of Mbeki: A few event led to this one, in summary Mbeki’s stubbornness after he was kicked out in Polokwane, then the Nicholson judgment that implicated him in the anti-Zuma conspiracy. The Zuma leftist brigade could not be the “better man”, and allow Mbeki to finish his term, they had to embarrass him, he was fired just like he fired JZ (at least JZ had the decency to meet with him and inform him of his fate before the axe was dropped of his Machiavellian neck). This was a watershed moment for SA history, the events that followed proved that the ANC was wrong to fire Thabo Mbeki in that manner as they could not claim higher moral ground, it got dirty and dirtier, stupid politicians!
Formation of COPE: One of the most significant repercussions of the Mbeki firing was the hasty formation of COPE, a significant split of the ANC, formed by Lekota, Shilowa and George! What the Zuma brigade did not anticipate was the support that this party would gather in such a short space of time, they would have done well not to give it legitimacy (firing Mbeki). COPE has since launched and it is a formidable force now, offering all Mbeki sympathizers, the Zuma skeptics and the Malema-phobes and the anti-left a home to fight the ANC. Now Zuma suddenly faces the prospect of under performing at the 2009 elections as a portion of his voters have fled to COPE.
The Zimbabwe disaster: This is not a South African story in the pure sense, but Zimbabwe is too linked to South Africa to leave it out the top 5! Our then president, TM, continued to mess things up in Zimbabwe until at some point there was relief, a spark of brilliance, the power sharing deal! At last we thought Mugabe was softening up! It took a few weeks before we realized that Mugabe had absolutely no intentions of rescuing Zimbabwe. Zimbabweans kept jumping the border, then the inflation kept spiraling, then there was an electricity shortage, then a water and shortage, then cholera then a complete breakdown! Then the lunatic called Bob, surfaced…”Zimbabwe is MINE”! Motlanthe did not help…shambolic!

There are other significant events that took place in 2008 that were significant from a South African point of view.

The Skierlik racist killings shocked us but a speedy sentencing of Johan Nel, a white Afrikaans teenager who went into a black squatter camp and shot people randomly once again reminded us that we are still a nation trying to discover itself.
This is a year that Jacob Zuma occupied a lot of our new headlines, coming fresh from the Polokwane victory, he was in court, winning verdicts and making a steady progress towards being a president of South Africa. This is a year that we discovered as South Africans that the media and the chattering classes of South Africa have absolutely no idea how the rest of the impoverished nation thinks. Despite the negative and unfavorable analysis of events around Jacob Zuma, the majority of South Africans still loved the man and will do everything to see him as head of the country! What a lesson!
The deaths of Eskia Mphahlele, Miriam Makeba and Dr.Nthato Motlana reminded us that our golden oldies are slowly leaving us behind. At least we still have Desmond Tut and Nelson Mandela who are both battling prostate cancer. Mandela has completely left the public scene while Tutu is still working hard.
On the sports front Bafana started out terribly at the Africa Cup of Nations. Then they steadily improved to everyone’s relief under new coach Joel Santana after Alberto Perreira quit. By the way the 2010 World Cup is still on track and despite our earlier fears; this spectacle is definitely going take place here in Mzansi. The PSL is giving us slightly better soccer but there is still a long way to go before our soccer really hits the big time!
The Proteas could not have given us a better Christmas present to a dull year. The beat Australia Down Under, JP Duminy and Steyn took the limelight. What a finish!!! Thank you guys.Rugby is riding on the World Cup victory and despite getting a new black coach I reckon our Rugby is still on course. The British tour victory was sweet. However, it is off the field where Rugby made more news. The sex tape scandal will remain a mystery now that a key participant who was suspended died in a plane crash. The Luke Watson saga as well as Springbok emblem furore kept us glued to the news! Please guys just sort these things out!

The rest of Africa also had its fair share of drama. We started the year with a civil war that looked set to destroy Kenya after reported electoral fraud by Mwai Kibaki. A thousand dead Africans later, a truce was reached and Kenya has pulled itself from the jaws of hell.

Laurent Nkunda, once a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, yes my Church, has been war mongering in the DRC supposedly in support and protection of the Tutsi minority. Some say the young general has his eyes on more than the Tutsi interest, the riches below the surface of DRC, mineral wealth seems to be a more plausible motive!

Guinea could not be outdone, in an attempt to close the year on an African high, a military coup took place just after the dictatorial president died. One would have thought that a chance for democracy came with his death, but well, another young general declared himself president! What a joke!

Internationally nothing will ever come close to the rise of Barack Obama. I must admit that I got it wrong at the beginning of 2008, I doubted whether America will ever choose a black president, and I was pleasantly proven wrong, American did just that! The wars may still be raging on, but at least America chose the best man for the job! I got to read Obama’s two books this year and man, what a story.

The international economic meltdown soon took pre-eminence after Obama took over, even though it unraveled during the fiercely contested elections, and ultimately proved to be McCain’s undoing, we are set to feel the pinch going into 2009.

On a personal note, 2008 was also a bitter sweet year for me. Most notably I lost two dear friends; Burchell Mwanashimbala and his wife Precious. Work-wise the year was a roller coaster ride, too many hours at work and few successes than I would have wanted. My last project at Anglo American was at least a sweet success over 6 months. The first 6 months are better laid to rest, disaster of note! Church-wise I started worshipping with the brethren at the Midrand Mount Calvary SDA Church. What an amazing group of believers. We have decided to make it our permanent home seeing that our never ending house building project in Midrand is going to be our permanent residence when and if it reaches completion.

The brightest thing that ever happened was my wife finishing off her two years of medical internship and wait for this one….YOURS TRULY SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED A MASTERS DEGREE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA. Yes please allow me to indulge and gloat, it was long coming, many glitches on the road, a very long road…but hey there we have it…you can call me Master Pitso from now onwards:-) Praise be to God for an amazing year! A PhD next, mmm well, not for now!

PS: This must be the longest unbroken article on this blog, but hey, the year is OVER man, I am allowed to break the rules:-)…HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Part 1 of 3: “Zuma – A biography”

2008-12-30T21:42:00.003+02:00

The December holidays have been wonderful so far, between visits to the Free State and Durban I managed to indulge myself in my favorite pastime…reading political biographies. This time it was the simply titled “Zuma”, the unfolding story of what I regard as the most intriguing political personality to ever grace South Africa.

JZ, Jacob Zuma, evokes such emotion that no one in South Africa will be lying if they said they do not have an opinion about him. The emotions he evokes are usually so polarized that JZ is either a “Saint” or the “Devil”. Many just completely love the man or simply just hate him! There are those who have just been following this man with intrigue; if Mbeki is the Machiavellian politician; Zuma is Houdini himself, the magician extraordinaire! If the proverbial cat has nine lives, JZ must have ten!

I would be the first to admit that JZ was just another politician for a long time to me, I don’t regard them very highly truth be told. In 1999, at the advent of the apocalypse called the Arms deal, JZ became a news item to those of us who don’t attend ANC conferences or have a penchant MK stories. Off course he was already making waves in KZN for his role in the IFP vs. ANC wars, relatively obscure but nevertheless present as the MEC of Economic affairs in KZN, but it was the Arms Deal that catapulted JZ into media stardom, when as the inert Deputy President of the country, was implicated in Shabir Shaik scandal.

Since then JZ has been fired from the presidency, slept with an HIV positive woman knowingly, spent millions defending himself in court against a litany of colorful corruption including rape charges. He has married his umpteenth wife, fathered just less than 20 children, said weird things that he had to correct and apologise about HIV and homosexuals. That is the image that the media has done very to project, and those who reside of the negative pole, can rattle these facts without blinking, especially when he starts dancing to his Mshini Wam trademark outside of some court!

What Jeremy Gordin does in this book is to balance this view with the less told story about JZ. He goes into respectable detail about Jacob Zuma; the young innocent Zulu shepherd boy. A son to a domestic worker and a policeman father he never got to know. A self taught and a Robben Island taught radical. A working class warrior lured into the struggle by love for freedom and equality. A true South African who understood the need to fight evil repressive system head on and thus sacrificed a good portion of his young life, 10 years of it at Robben Island and another 15 years in exile.

This Zuma is the one who rose to be the head of intelligence for the ANC in exile, became its chairperson and finally rose to its very top in 2007 at Polokwane, President of the ANC. He is a loyal son of the much revered ANC; he is a seasoned master of survival, he loves his Zulu culture, reveres the people of his homestead in KZN, he loves his many wives and tries as much as he can to provide for his many children.

He holds a lot of ANC exile secrets, he was instrumental to the IFP vs. ANC peace process, he seems to have an amazing level of Emotional Intelligence and charm that many writers and people have attested to, he is a maverick, unsophisticated at times (Jeremy recalls a funny incident when JZ called his aide, Ranjeni Munsamy, and asked “how can I make bullets?”, he simply meant paragraph bullets on his Word document!” or when he asked what does a journalist mean when he referred to Zuma as a “prick”). JZ is too unsuspecting (naïve), and yes…not detail orientated.

Part 2 of 3: “Zuma – A biography”

2008-12-30T21:37:00.002+02:00

We now know that JZ does not read a lot, relying on his intuitive oral and verbal analysis of the world. He tends to allow people to “take advantage of him socially” as stated by his own daughter. He pays little regard to his finances, delegating that to his close friends, the Shaik brothers, probably a habit that was developed during struggle exile days. We now know that it is not only JZ who has this weakness, even Kgalema Motlanthe has been exposed recently of staying in a mansion that was paid for by a dodgy character called Sandile Majali.

JZ clearly loves his women and making babies too. He does not smoke nor drink alcohol, except his traditional beer to go with his freshly slaughtered meat when he is visiting his homestead. It is this same JZ who against all odds has been able to resurrect himself over and over again, when it seemed he was dead and buried.

It is when I saw an article by the City Press with a heading: “Why do people hate me”, that I reviewed my own prejudices. Have I perhaps been prejudiced against Zuma, I read a few articles that I have written; I was comforted, because I have never been malicious in my own opinion. I have been critical of JZ YES, deservedly so he attracts more criticism than acclaim!

Do I think he is evil, ABSOLUTELY NOT. JZ is no worse than many 60 years olds that I know. His polygamous and traditionalist nature does not bother me at all, his lack of education is not a problem with me, he is a product of his time. I don’t like his constant smile, it looks fake to me, I don’t like his untimely bursts of laughter when he is being interviewed, it appears deceptive and evasive…this is hardly hatred though!

Do I like JZ. ABSOLUTELY YES. I love his loyalty to his party and his friends. I love JZ’s approachability, he is in tune with other humans, and he is like a village king I have never seen. He is respectful, cordial and consensus driven. He listens to people, he reacts, he engages others, he does not shut others out, he is fun. He is human and he does sound nice as he appears on TV and radio! That is what I like about JZ!

Do I think he is presidential material…ABSOLUTELY NOT! The unfair thing about the highest office in the land is that the nation projects its dreams and hopes in the one man, its president. A president has to command respect, and should inspire confidence. JZ has the ability to excite, he can sing and dance, but all the interviews I have heard of him trying to articulate his vision and that of the ANC has never moved me even once (and I am not exaggerating)! I feel emptiness in his answers; I am not complaining about oratory or fluency, I am talking substance, content! I fail to understand why he always has to “recontextualise” or explain parts of his speeches.

His flip-flopping on policy matters irritates me. I think he could manage his own family and finances better, but that hardly constitutes criticism, it is just a by-the-way, all of us could improve on that, but when a president looks so weak in those areas, the magnitude of those incompetence’s becomes exaggerated, that is the burden to be carried by those aspiring that high office! Sometimes I doubt if JZ himself believes some of the things he says, I guess all politicians are guilty of this, it’s the nature of the beast!

Part 3 of 3: “Zuma - A biography”

2008-12-30T21:30:00.002+02:00

The one thing that I have become a convert on after reading Jeremy Gordin’s biography is regarding JZ’s legal woes! It used to irk me that my future president “has a cloud on his head” of corruption charges. To all JZ’s fans…I agree with Judge Nicholson, the NPA has been abused to serve a political agenda. JZ has been victimized, he is not innocent of the charges (it will take some convincing to clear him of all the charges and the body of evidence against him), but those charging him are also so tainted and poisoned. The only logical thing is to drop the whole corruption fiasco and rather seek the whole truth about the arms deal! We will then see that he is as guilty as many other “holier-than-thou” people within the ANC and even perhaps COPE itself.

The country deserves the truth, the real truth and the whole truth about the ANC officials and many other corrupt South Africans and internationals who abused state coffers for easy money, billions of rands all in the name of military weaponry that we never needed and cant use now that we have. It is unfair that JZ is the face of corruption, the ANC I believe has a lot to answer. The corruption monster we see is a baby hatched in Luthuli house, that is the truth!

Does JZ deserve a chance like one of my friends challenged me; frankly NOT. The stakes are too high, the challenges that 2009 and beyond presents require a much stronger political brain that will be able to transcend personal tragedies and character doubts. Africa needs somebody much bigger that Zuma can ever be, I hope to be proved wrong on this, I hope Zuma still has a few more tricks up his sleeve to charm his way into my cynical mind. I have resigned to the fact that he is going the president of this country; it does not mean he is the most qualified person for the job, but we all just have to get on with it and hope for the best. Just drop the charges and let the electioneering start, let us judge the man on his abilities or lack thereof on the political field and not in the court where he is simply being persecuted!

Jeremy Gordin concludes his book with quotation from the movie “Nixon”. As Nixon was about to leave the presidency under a heavy cloud he looked at a picture of JF Kennedy hanging on the wall, JFK was at his prime then, Nixon muttered to himself: “When people look at you they see what they want to be. When they look at me, they see what they are”.

I do believe that South Africans are in denial about who they really are, the exceptionalism of Mandela is a deceptive force that hovers above our fantasies, the Xenophobia attacks, the rape statistics, the crime, the corruption, our dubious position regarding Zimbwabwe, our collapsing education system, our failed local government and perhaps Zuma, is exactly the image of Nixon, reminding us of who we really are, and “some among us” hate it! Perhaps it time to grow up.

COPE nets Allan Boesak but Phillip Dexter is already in trouble!

2008-12-16T23:29:00.000+02:00

The story of Dr. Allan Boesak is one full of intrigue for South Africans. We first got to know him as an anti-apartheid theologian (PhD) and cleric, a UDF activist and most notably, a chairman of the ANC Western Cape Region. He is fiery speaker and very popular amongst the coloured population of the Western Cape and for a long time was the go-to man for anyone who had any ambitions to control the Western Cape region.

This man of the cloth has also being dogged by controversy, starting from his extra marital affair that led to his divorce and remarriage to Elna Botha, a white television presenter in the early 90’s. This led to his resignation from the Dutch Reformed Church.

More spectacular, Dr. Allan Boesak was found guilty of misappropriating donor funds that were meant for development for his personal use. This fraudulent behavior earned him a 3 year jail sentence. It was a very divisive moment as many felt that he took the fall for a largely common practice within the anti-apartheid struggle ranks. He was released after serving a year, granted a presidential pardon by Thabo Mbeki and most importantly, his criminal record got expunged.

He has been a very bitter man since; he again resigned from the Uniting Reformed Church which he co-founded due to its rigid stance on homosexuality. He has continued to blast the ANC for its reverse racism especially to the coloured people of South Africa. COPE has somehow finally managed to woo this iconic figure into their ranks. It is a big political coup, one which will stand COPE good in their battle for the soul of the Western Cape.

Meanwhile the newly elected National Communications Manager, Phillip Dexter is already under a fresh investigation by the Scorpions, not even a day has passed, and the new COPE man has to spin himself out of a damaging probe. The NPA has not really disclosed what the charges are, but those who know these things say he is facing charges emanating from his role as the chairperson of the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA):

Irregular disposal of MEGA factories and properties
Abuse of MEGA lawyers and cell-phone facilities
Failure to declare his interests in his work for a non-profit NGO called Enablis Enterpreneural Network where he collected a handsome R100k per month while working for MEGA!

Off course Dexter rejects all these accusations as just political persecution. What is of interest for me is how COPE is going to handle this matter…will COPE ask Dexter to step aside while the law takes its course like they have been asking Jacob Zuma to do?

The Zuma book launch

2008-12-16T23:12:00.006+02:00

I attended Jeremy Gordin’s book launch at Hyde Park Exclusive Books. His book, simply titled “Zuma” is the unauthorized biography about the life of Jacob Zuma, a “social phenomenon” that has gripped South Africa currently. This blog elsewhere covers Zuma from various angles; the archives tell a riveting story of one man named Gedleyehlekisa (the one who laughs while they inflict pain on you---wonderful name for JZ I tell you).

Jeremy Gordin is a top journalist in South Africa, having been crowned Journalist of the year 2007 at the Mondi-Shanduka Newspaper awards. He has worked for the Mail and Guardian and the Sunday Independent for many years and as such one cannot question his knowledge of the subject! I had a chance to speak to Jeremy after the launch while he was autographing my copy of “Zuma” and I will cover this conversation towards the end of this entry.

The event was well marketed to the Exclusive Books patrons as they came in droves. It was as if JZ would be there, but we all knew he was NOT going to be there. They always know how to create an atmosphere at these “exclusive” events, the food was galore and drinks were free flowing. I looked around for some familiar faces, I saw no one I knew personally except many public figures, Xolela Mangcu, Yunis and Mo Shaik, Carl Niehaus and his beautiful partner, Mafani Niehaus, Carl and Mafani married after his divorce to his wife, the courageous Jansie, a comrade that Carl married in prison while he was serving his 15 years for political activism, a deffered romance!

An Afrikaaner priest ANC politician clutching hands with a modern black woman is a screensaver shot for the new South Africa I thought! The major attraction of this launch was the main speaker, Dr. Blade Nzimande, the Secretary General of SACP. Blade embodies the communism he stands for, simply dressed and without any pretences, it made him very approachable I must say. We were both early to the event and I quickly picked a copy of Zuma and got him to sign my copy as an ice-breaker and then we chatted rather aimlessly.

He just kept joking about how bad his handwriting is, I told him it makes a for a great signature, we both laughed when after writing his name (it looked like a signature to me) he still made a signature…then I realised that he had very bad handwriting, but hey when you have a PhD in Sociology from Natal University, you are allowed to have a bad handwriting I guess!

Blade ascended the podium and in all calm and candor he read through his notes, I loved the comfort he has under his own skin, it is legendary! The main points of his book review address were as follows:

He started with a joke that Exclusive Books might need to change its name to be “Inclusive Books”…vintage!
Then he really kicked things off with a serious confession. He said that he is very angry at the events that are unfolding regarding Jacob Zuma and his persecution. In his opinion, a good man is being vilified and many in the media have joined the bandwagon of vilifying and even insulting JZ without really any substance.
He wondered aloud whether the media bothers to explore Zuma beyond his last five years in the public eye, his role at the helm of the ANC intelligence, his role as the peace mediator in KZN. He believes that the book is a good start to understand this side of JZ!
He believes that the media only really started following Zuma since that infamous “off the record briefing” by Ngcuka, that is the wrong place to start understanding Zuma.
He warned the “chattering” middle class that the media got the mood of the ANC before Polokwane, and Zuma’s abilities were under-estimated and yet again he predicts that they will get it wrong before the elections. His frank advice is that the whole of South Africa should just get used to the fact that Zuma is going to be the president of South Africa and ignore all the reports to the contrary.
He personally first met JZ in 1990 and he got to work with a frank man with a hearty laugh which at first sounded fake. But he later learnt that Zuma is a man of the people, who has an innate and a well developed sense of “organic” intelligence! At some point Zuma was revered as a man who could smell spies from a distance, that is a JZ who we see rising above the storms of persecution.
He ended off with a warning and a thought, Blade sees the main challenge of the ANC being the same as the one that has destroyed ZANU-PF, the inability to deal with the fact of being a ruling party while they have liberation movement roots. A delicate balance is needed!

Jeremy Gordin took the stage and I guess like most geniuses, he absolutely failed to capture the mood of his very eager listening crowd. He started off with a self-deprecating introduction and simply rattled off some insignificant sentence very hurriedly. The most important thing he mentioned to me was the fact that Jacob Zuma does not read books, and that made it difficult for him to get through to him. In his opinion, Zuma’s universe is analyzed verbally and therein lays his brilliance.

So I guess we should not be expecting a president that will be quoting poems and sayings of wise men, he simply has not read them! He also refused Jeremy access to his private life and his wives. That will be left for his official biography, when and if he finally gets to it! I personally hope that Fred Khumalo’s biography that is currently ongoing “Mshini Wam” covers this bit as Zuma may never write about this part of his intriguing life, those who do not read, also tend to be loath of writing!

I asked Jeremy while he was signing my copy; "why just conclude that Jacob Zuma is a kind man...i mean my grandmother was kind too, does it make her worth writing a book about, why do you say he is kind and why is that so important?". His answer was; "Does my conclusion bother you?does it insult your grandmother?", and then he smiled and said, that (Zuma's kindness) is a discussion for another day!I still felt cheated by the author, but clutched on my signed copy Zuma and went home to hopefully read the book over the December holidays, perhaps i will discover this kind, social phenomen who is going to be my president as of next year!

Zuma to stop ANC politician’s tender fraud!

2008-12-12T12:13:00.002+02:00

Elections are funny events all over the world. Politicians make lots of promises that they do not intend to keep, and the masses just lap it up! I mean consider the latest drivel from Jacob Zuma that he plans to bar politicians from government tenders. One thing that is most touching thing about this statement is that Zuma has actually heard the people’s complaints and is somehow addressing a very real issue. Indeed at the lowest level of government you hear the same cry; ‘politicians are enriching themselves at the expense of hard working citizens who are professionals and should be the ones benefiting’.

Any South African who does business that is related to government will tell you about how you have to be connected with politicians to win tenders. There have been reports upon reports about how politicians have suddenly become very rich, about how ANC provincial heads essentially run mafia operations that dish out tenders to the “right” people! We all know about this, nothing happened under the Mbeki era except his complaints and ranting about this sick phenomenon on his many writings, speeches and letters. The Scorpions went some way into stinging some of these corrupt politicians cum businessmen, but even that was too little an effort.

These same tender beneficiaries are in turn the same people who financially support the ANC financially and Zuma himself has benefited from some of them. Do you remember that dark event in Bloemfontein one day, businessmen and some government employees lined up to “donate” cash for Zuma that was carried in black bags right on our TV screens. His fervent disciple from the Free State, Ace Magashule, was reported to have made calls to several businessmen who had benefited from the mafia tender machine that he heads to come and make donations to the man he likens Jesus! That is how government business is run and Luthuli House turns a blind eye, because it suits them to have things run this way!

Today we are asked to believe Zuma when he says he wants to end this corrupt practice. Tell it to my unborn children I say! Zuma neither has the moral strength nor the political will to pull the plug on his lieutenants; he knows very well that his own backers are politicians who have benefited and are still benefiting from government tenders. I support the principle behind this move and will very well like to see it happen! But please, we all know that this is classical electioneering at its best. The ANC is built on tender corruption at its most basic level and the citizens of this country can forget about this promise. Mr. Zuma; we all dare you to implement this promise and see if you will not be recalled sooner that you thought!

Dr.Nthato Motlana – A tribute to black economic emancipation!

2008-12-12T07:09:00.000+02:00

First it was Eskia Maphahlele, then went Marriam Makeba, this time another liberation stalwart, an example of how to fight for liberation while putting a lot of focus on personal development, Dr. Nthato Motlana has passed away! I certainly believe that if any aspiring black entrepreneur wishes to find inspiration, look no further than the stalwart of Diepkloof.

Dr. Motlana and Mr. Richard Maponya are real examples of fortitude, bravery and hard working middle class black South Africans that are a shining light of black economic emancipation! They established and operated real businesses that required hard labour and provided a needed service by their communities; they stayed the course and only graduated to the big time when they had proven themselves. Both received an education which was almost an impossible feat considering the times they grew up in, making a mockery of some of the new so called “leaders” who do not see the value of such things as education!

Dr. Motlana, a medical doctor, he operated a 24/7 surgery for his community and later opened up other business ventures which became signatures of success and resilience in the community and when the new opportunities of easy money which our generation is seeing, they grabbed these opportunities, backed by real experience and passion for operating profitable entities. Maponya’s exploits would require a separate article altogether!

Dr. Motlana leaves a big gap that no man can fill. We will all remember his contributions to the South African life in a great light. I have heard stories that his most controversial moment was the failure of NAIL, the earliest known BEE enterprise. Dr. Motlana walked away with millions of rands and a safe retirement. He remains a tower of strength nevertheless, one that we should all learn from. At his memorial, Richard Maponya made a challenge to the authorities to consider renaming Diepkloof, a Soweto suburb, after Dr. Motlana. He suggested Ga Motlana (Setswana for “a place of Motlana”). If there is a sensible name change, this is the one that I support wholeheartedly, that is if the people of Diepkloof like the suggestion. The premier of Gauteng has promised to look into this suggestion. Hopefully he does not forget this suggestion!

Motlanthe’s first real presidential test - The Pikoli decision

2008-12-08T18:06:00.002+02:00

The Pikoli decision remains the biggest test that Kgalema Motlanthe has had to face so far in his short presidency. Whether he outmaneuvers Zuma to remain the president of this country after the 2009 election or not, Kgalema's “first term” will be judged on this one big aspect. The reason I believe this is “the moment” for Kgalema is that he had to make choice between two “evils”, criticism by his party or criticism by the general population.

The unfair thing is that he inherited a mess and had to make a ruling as if this was his own doing, but that is what presidents are there for isn’t it? By choosing to fire Pikoli despite the fact that the commission clearly stated that indeed Pikoli is fit to lead the Scorpions, Kgalema made it clear where his loyalties lie…definitely not with the general population of South Africa, he is a Luthuli man through and through!

By choosing to remove his focus away from the Ginwala recommendation, Kgalema creatively invented an excuse that all security departments head need to the very wary of…National Security! According to President Motlanthe, while he accepts that Pikoli is fit to hold office, he is more guilty of a very serious offence, that of compromising national security. He creatively drew from a paragraph that had little to do with the main recommendation form the Ginwala report, and blew out of proportion to create a justifiable excuse why Pikoli could not be given his job back.

I could not help but sense the lack of conviction as the President justified his decision, of course to all of us cynics, his rambling was simply hogwash, Pikoli simply had to go because of his past sins against Zuma, finish and klaar. Citing national security was just an excuse, one that is subject to the president’s dicretion and one that cannot even be demonstrated practically…trading in nuclear secrets and selling them to the Russians or Osama Bin Laden is a threat to national security, prosecuting Zuma is hardly such a matter.

We all wish this drama is over, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Pikoli will still want to fight this matter some more, and try to get clarity as how exactly he compromised the safety of South Africa and its people. I doubt if he will get any joy from his protests, such is life I guess, it comes with taking up jobs such as the head of Scorpions, when it is your turn to get stung, it really hurts! Pikoli should walk tall knowing that it had to take such an amazing concoction of imagination from Kgalema and the ANC to get rid of him and his legacy, to the normal discerning South African, we can all see fact from lies. As for Motlanthe, your short legacy is already tainted Mr. President, you have failed to be our president, but chose to be an ANC sympathizer! There is a big difference between the two!

Pikoli is no saint himself, but on this score he has been really hard done, a double blow, one blow from Mbeki’s suspension and now another hard blow by Kgalema! I guess there is always a fall guy, Pikoli and Simelane are the two fall guys! Take it on the chin chaps, occupational hazards!

No bail-out for BEE firms!

2008-12-05T17:34:00.001+02:00

Published by News24

The current financial crisis continues to bite, companies are retrenching workers and individuals are also feeling the pinch. This happens despite assurances from the minister of Finance. Some of the hard hit casualties are BEE deals that have been struck over the last few years. The reason most of these BEE deals are hard-hit is simply due to the fact that they financed through debt, meaning that their equity exposure is very sensitive to the plummeting share prices at the stock exchange.

In light of the volatile market conditions, banks are also less willing to make loans easily available, making it very difficult for these BEE entities to access money to survive. According to reports, the minister of trade of industry stated that he had was asked by some key stakeholders about whether BEE companies would be bailed out should the markets threaten to swallow them up!

The recent bailout of several financial institutions by several Western countries seems to have inspired some businesspeople with hope that when their entrepreneurship fails it is the duty of the tax payers to help them out! This I find to be extremely worrying! When capitalists play the “high risk – high return” game they should be fully prepared to accept the rewards as well as the losses that come with this game. When entrepreneurs overreach themselves and take risks, they should be prepared to fall on their swords when tide turns against them.

I find it extremely opportunistic as well as reckless by some of these BEE beneficiaries as well as their “key stakeholders” to expect the taxpayer who is also feeling the pinch to bail them out? When will entrepreneurs be responsible and know that when times are good, it is not time to be buying luxury cars, mansions and smoking expensive cigars, but rather it is time to be preparing for the worst? As long as the creation of a black elite is done at the expense of ignoring basic fundamentals then this entities will never sustain themselves in the future under less challenging circumstances in any case.

How will we morally justify this bailout to workers and breadwinners who are currently being laid off without any government bailout? How are they supposed to be happy that a few high flyers who already have lots of money to survive the economic turmoil are being “rescued” all in the name of sustaining the idea of a powerful and rich black middle class which does not do anything for them? What is in it for them? Will these bailed out BEE entities share the fruits of the economic upswing when it does come? Why should they be treated differently, especially because some of these deals are not geared to benefit anyone but themselves as private individuals?

If the government does decide to bailout private businesses, then perhaps these BEE deals are not meant to produce entrepreneurs but merely to ensure a select few simply become rich. This in my opinion is a sad shortcut to universal principles of hard work and success in business! Perhaps we would have to definitely ask once more; “What really is the essence of this “empowerment?”

Rise UP Zimbwabwe!

2008-12-03T08:51:00.000+02:00

Last week I blogged about my frustration about Thabo Mbeki’s weak mediation in Zimbwabwe. This week I am even more disappointed by the ANC under Zuma and Motlanthe. This will be my first disappointment registered against President Kgalema and President Zuma. The two are the most powerful men in South Africa currently, but they have done very little to change the status quo in Zimbwabwe.

There was a time when Kgalema came out blazing, calling on Mugabe to toe the line or else…many of us got fresh hope, especially after enduring years of the Mbeki softy-soft approach. Then we saw the Motlanthe government withholding the R300m aid to Zimbwabwe, a move that many of us saw as tangible active measure to nudge Zimbwabwe in the right direction.

I read an article that asked very tough questions penned by Max Du Preez (Confronting Leadership) and it definitely clicked to me (yet again) ; “politicians don’t really care about nothing BUT themselves”. I now feel a sense of withdrawal by Kgalema, the last I heard was that he was now telling Morgan to come back to the table and accept the terms of Mbeki’s deal. This is disappointing from a man I hoped to be a shining ray of hope. Needless to say, the ANC, SACP and COSATU are also suddenly very quite. Do you remember the time when COSATU wanted so much to defy Mbeki on Zimbwabwe that they sent delegations to Zimbwabwe and were expelled by the Mugabe regime. COSATU even marched to the Zimbwabwe border in Limpopo to show solidarity with the MDC?

Well now that COSATU and SACP have “their man” in power, where is the action now? Where is the spirit of defiance and solidarity? Pathetic I say! This is pure betrayal! I say it is time for the people of Zimbwabwe to rise up and take charge of their own destiny; help will NOT come from the men in suits, from SADC or AU. They have hit a dead end; they are just not admitting it! This mediation will carry on forever until some day whenever in the future! If the people of Zimbwabwe do not stand up like the people of Thailand, and face Mugabe in the streets, no mediator will ever talk sense into Mugabe’s head.

I am no poet, neither am I an orator, I am just an ordinary guy with a heavy heart, so I make this call to the normal people of Zimbwabwe, my fellow Africans to STAND on your feet, and defend your dignity, Your country, your beloved Zimbwabwe!

Stand up, people of Zimbwabwe
Stand up, for your home is up in flames
Stand up, for your children home is no more
Stand up, for no one in Africa except you, is consumed up with neglect

Only you, know what it is like to fall from grace
Once the bread basket on the Africa, to become afflicted with cholera
Only you, know what it is like to carry bags of worthless money
Only you can turn things around

Rise up against the tyranny
Rise up, even if its only to protect your dignity
The world awaits your leadership from the ground
Politicians can only do so much, the rest lies within you!

Mbeki must leave Zim talks NOW!

2008-11-28T15:28:00.003+02:00

I fail to understand Thabo Mbeki’s reaction to the news that Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC are not happy with his mediation efforts in Zimbwabwe! Indeed this mediation has not yielded much fruit after such a long time to improve the situation in Zimbwabwe! We know that Mbeki is the champion of “quite diplomacy” that plunged Zimbwabwe into this situation in the first place! Mbeki and his government, fiddled when Rome next door sparked flames, the fire is now raging, and the best he can do is to demand respect from the MDC! What African respect is this?

It has been reported that he wrote a 4000 worded long letter (or a long lecture) to Morgan Tsvangirai, teaching him about how to respect African leaders! They say hind sight is perfect science. Perhaps if the SADC knew what we now know about Thabo Mbeki weak and biased mediation efforts, they may not have asked him to continue as mediator after his recall from the SA presidency! Yes the decision to keep him as mediator was based on the principle of continuity especially after promising deal that was struck under Mbeki, but today we know that it only lasted as long as Mugabe could pretend to be playing along.

Little did we know that the quite diplomacy was going to continue for much longer, and little did we know that part of Mbeki’s driving force is this belief that he shares with Robert Mugabe, that the “West is trying to take over Africa”. Mbeki has been quoted as saying: "It may be that, for whatever reason, you (Tsvangirai) consider our region and continent as being of little consequence to the future of Zimbabwe, believing that others further away, in Western Europe and North America, are of greater importance", this paranoia that Mbeki firmly holds propels him to treat MDC shabbily and unfairly in order to somehow secure an honourable “African” exit for Mugabe!

The longer Africa waits for Mr. Mbeki to get over his conspiratorial obsession about the West, the more severe the problems of Zimbwabwe will become. The more the SADC and AU fiddles on removing Mbeki as mediator, the more the raging fires of destruction, cholera, poverty will engulf Zimbwabwe!

I would like to appeal to Mr. Mbeki; it is un-African to be uncaring of your neighbours, it is even more un-African to put yourself ahead of the good of others in the way you have done to Zimbwabwe. The devastating effects of the AIDS pandemic in South Africa accrued during the height of your conspiratorial intoxication with the theory about the “real” cause of AIDS. While you traversed discredited sources over the internet, many died and today others have to clean up your mess!

Once again, Mugabe’s stubbornness has resulted in the economic collapse of Zimbwabwe, but yet you are failing to take this opportunity and be decisive, instead you see an invisible hand of the West trying to take over. You fail to see the cholera, hunger and oppression that lays clear in front of you yet again. We are tired of this flirting of yours with conspiracies at the expense of Africa, just leave this mediation and come home to retire, perhaps in the peace and quite of a secure retirement village you will have time to solve this mystery of the invisible hand of the West that have consumed you and clouded your common sense so much!

Now that we know that Trevor Manuel is leaving…

2008-11-26T07:13:00.000+02:00

The appointment of Maria Ramos, a girlfriend/fiance/long term partner/life partner to the popular Finance minister of South Africa, is a definite sign that Trevor Manuel shall be no more come 2009 elections. Ramos was appointed a Chief Executive of the ABSA bank last week. Experts insists that the Finance Ministry is ultimately responsible for the banks of the country, and thus it is unfathomable that a Chief Executive at one of the Big 4 banks, who happens to be a life partner to the Finance minister can claim that they do not see the conflict.

As an aside, I wonder why don’t they just get married, this life partner story sounds scandalousJ, I mean they have been known to be together for a very long time now, like Mandela and Graca, they just need to do the right thing!

Ramos has been quoted to say: "I'm a professional person and I can't pretend that the minister of finance is not my life partner. But as a professional I live my life in a professional manner, with integrity, and therefore it is possible for me to distinguish between my private and professional life." Okay now, for me this story does not hold water, Trevor and Maria are too wise to open themselves to this unnecessary scrutiny of their relationship and every decision that the bank makes.

Logic suggests that recently in the US and Europe, in the aftermath of the still raging financial and liquidity crisis, the Finance ministries of these countries had to bail out banks, now this is a very likely event in the current economic climate, can you imagine the scandal if somehow ABSA bank get a bigger slice of the rescue package? Was the cake cut in the bedroom? Oh no, let us not even go there!!

I honestly think that this is a clear message that Trevor will be leaving the ministry and it is thus likely that Nhlanhla Nene (the Chair-Man) will be our new Finance minister. I have no problems with Mr. Nene, however, I am aware that the favourite person that Treveor wanted in that position with Jabu Moleketi having resigned was Enoch Godongwana. I hope Luthili house knows something that we do not know, Nene has been praised for his work before and is known to be firmly in the Jacob Zuma camp. We cannot afford more surprises in this department, come out clear about the emergency succession plan to avoid the stock market jitters that we experience when Trevor also resigned and recanted a few months ago. It is very clear he will most likely give us his last entertaining budget speech, and step down…whether he will also join COPE is another matter for another article, but I would not be surprised!

Are Zimbwabweans timid or simply resilient?

2008-11-25T07:15:00.000+02:00

There is no doubt that SADC has failed dismally to solve the Zimbwabwe crisis. One wonders whether the AU would be able to handle this dilemma if SADC were to escalate the issue to its attention. The AU has not as yet inspired confidence in Africans, we can only wait and see what it will do. However, the failure of Mbeki and SADC to admit defeat is only pro-longing the unmitigated disaster that is taking place in Zimbwabwe.

Many commentators have also stated that the possibility of an internal revolt by Zimbwabweans is an unlikely event, if it has not happened by now, it will never happen. It is always an interesting discussion as to why the people have not really revolted but have rather sought help from SADC and AU and whoever else cares to listen. Being a South African, perhaps the culture of revolt, violence and political uprising stops me from understanding this amazing quite suffering of the Zim people.

I keep wondering whether this is a virtuous character that the whole of Africa should learn from. I mean Kenyans did not waste time when Kibaki stole the elections, people took to streets and a bloody civil strife ensued, we were shocked, hundreds of people died, teaching us that mass uprisings are costly. However talks were expedited, and today the opposition in Kenya shares power with Kibaki, an imperfect solution, but nonetheless, one that paved way for a new trajectory for the country!

South Africans always take to the streets when things don’t go their way, in fact South Africa has actually bred a whole generation of rebellious young people who always believe that when talks fail, we need to take to the streets. This is not something to be proud of, in fact it is such a dangerous tendency that I personally believe has contributed to the rampant violent crime in this country. The ruling party got a rude awakening when their leaders were pelted with stones during the Xenephobic tragedy that ensued in South Africa.

Zimbwabweans however, do not seem moved, or is perhaps that the evil Mugabe regime is so powerful and oppressive that people are simply scared? I do not believe this, cowardice has never been a trait of Africans in the face of danger. Actually, Mugabe has not really even unleashed brutality that the Apartheid government shown in the face of civil unrest, even that was defeated ultimately. Is is perhaps that Zimbwabweans in their heart of hearts have a soft spot for Mugabe so much that they really do not want to see him humiliated, rather be given an honourable exit from power. After all, this is the Knight of the Zimbwabwe revolution, with all his faults; he has fought the evil might of Britain before to bring liberation to his country.

There was a time in the 80’s when he was a good president, but there is no mistake about this one thing, he is as EVIL as they come and he is today an enemy of the Zimbabwean people. No matter what informs the apparent lack of grassroots level uprising which we in South Africa know to be effective (and yes destructive), the situation in Zimbwabwe needs urgent attention.

Perhaps with Ian Khama of Botswana and Kgalema Motlanthe recently coming together to forge a way forward, there may just be hope. I smiled when I heard Raila Odinga, the opposition leader of Kenya asking for AU peacekeeping troops to be deployed in Zim, there is a man who does not waste time I thought. It is unlikely he will be heard by our leaders, but let us remember that it is always an option when all fails! However my favoured solution is this:

Kick Mbeki out of the negotiation team, fresh ideas are needed, he did well to sign the deal but it has now appeared that Mugabe had no intention of honouring it. Mbeki’s methods are always lost in his character of stubbornness to give the opposition movement the respect they deserve, they won the election, they should be setting the tone and not Mugabe, Mbeki seems to be just hero-worshipping Bob, under some sort of spell…Thabo, perhaps it is time you move over to let Kgalema and Khama drive this process.
Demand and institute a new internationally supervised free and fair election NOW! No more deals with the devil!No more...
Deploy AU troops (if they have any left) to oversee safety and security during the elections. IF Mugabe wins (unlikely), then we should leave the people of Zimbwabwe alone with their beloved Zanu (if anything like that is possible) , and all of us (Botswana, Zambia and Zim, Mozambique and SA) should just mind our own business and focus on our own national issues. I am 100% certain that Mugabe will never even come close to winning a free and fair election in Zim! In fact we may just realise that the Emperor has always been hated by his people should they be given a free platform!

Exactly who is President Kgalema Motlanthe?

2008-11-24T06:49:00.002+02:00

No one will argue against the fact that a good understanding of a person’s background goes a long in trying to understand a person. Sadly, one’s historical background could be used against them by some and it can also be abused to create false memories of the past. However the need to understand a person by having a look at their past achievements and activities is a reasonable request especially if that person happens to be a president of a democratic country.

South Africa has recently inaugurated a president, however there is very little known about the man himself, except off course, the information that has been made available by those around him. But yet, South Africans cannot really claim to know the man in charge! What is even more interesting is the apparent acceptance of the reality that we may never get to know these facts by many in our society.

I do not wish to be misunderstood on bringing this issue to the fore; perhaps I should state a few facts about President Motlanthe to dispel any suspicions about my intentions. Firstly I believe that he is the best possible candidate that the ANC could have “deployed” to the presidency after the “recall” of Thabo Mbeki. I believe he has a proven track record and strong administrative credentials based on his performance as the Secretary General of the ANC and the National Union of Mineworkers. He held a much divided ANC together, and survived the pre-Polokwane as well as the post-Polokwane crises very well. It takes a diplomatic as well as a shrewd politician to pull this feat.

He spent ten 10 years in Robben Island for his political convictions, this proves that he is a man ready to stand for his convictions. Thus I sincerely and truly believe that he has developed a character and a world view that makes him fit for the highest office in the land. His calm demeanour and statesmanlike approach to a few issues that are in the current national discourse has been exemplary i.e. Malema, COPE, Zimbwabwe etc

However, I am interested to know the educational background of our current president. I think this will serve to complete a picture we have of a man we call our president. It does not matter whether he completed school or not especially looking at the time of SA’s history that he grew up and lived. Nevertheless, it is important to know such details about a man who is the administrative custodian of the nation.

I am also interested to find out more about his family life. If he is indeed married as it has been reported, why is our first lady off limits? Unlike others I am not interested in her dress style, in her looks or anything of that sort, I believe that the position of the first lady is an important one that can be used for good like it is done all over the world. The nation deserves to know whether the president is separated from his wife or if he is a polygamist. I have no prejudices against polygamy, if the president chooses like Jacob Zuma to practise that particular tradition, it is his prerogative. Does he have children as has been reported? Who are they and what do they do for a living? Why is there secrecy around the first family? If there is a good reason, then will somebody bother to tell us why?

The machinery of myth making and the rewriting of history in the eyes of the victors is a common phenomena in South African life, the only way we can all understand ourselves and our history is not by tailor making images of the past and the present, rather, it is by disclosing the good as well as the uncomfortable past that provides the truth! It is in this quest to unearth the real story that this piece is written. I believe it is a fair request and it serves to quell malicious suspicions, and will help us all to come to terms with our past and present and venture together into the unknown future.

Even though he is a caretaker president, the fact remains that Kgalema Motlanthe is a president of a country, and the least the presidency could do would be to let us in into his other background so we can make up our minds about the character of the man we all call President!

Congrats Bafana!

2008-11-21T08:01:00.000+02:00

They played their hearts out, there seemed to be a plan, and they looked like winners! Congratulation to Bafana-Bafana for beating Cameroon 3-2. Teko Modise was brilliant, Simphiwe Tshabalala was great too. Our bench looked great as well! If Teko did not miss that penalty the scoreline would be 4-2!

It is a pity Et0 and Song did not make it to the game, it would have been an even more special win! If the boys keep playing like this, then we have something to look forward to in 2010.

Halala Bafana!

Is the ANC scared?

2008-11-19T07:22:00.000+02:00

While everyone was celebrating the unprecedented ascendancy of Kgalema Motlanthe as president of South Africa a few months ago, a voice of caution came from an unexpected corner: “The ANC harnessed Mr Motlanthe as a lion today in the dark and current crisis and we wish him well with that. Does the ANC also know how to unharness a lion, should it be necessary?” said the Pieter Mulder of the Freedom Front.

Before the words sunk into the minds of all of us, we are already seeing signs that some within Mr. Zuma’s camp, are already battling with the perception that Kgalema is already winning the admiration of many, and perhaps, he is the best possible salvo the ANC can fire in its quest to win back it lost ground. The reports that the media (the SABC to be precise), has been requested, to tone down in its coverage of President Kgalema, and start reporting positively about the dancing president-in-waiting.

Mr. Mulder is probably watching with interest, and so is a lot of South Africans, will the ANC realise that they are perhaps trying to fix the wrong problem? Why try to so hard to push Zuma ahead of a leadership race he simply is failing to win. In my opinion, Kgalema Motlanthe has not even started to act like someone who really harbors ambitions to win the country’s presidency race. He has kept a low profile by any standard, obviously in a move not to offend the real rulers from Luthuli house, lest another urgent meeting be convened by yet to be unmasked kingmakers at Kempton Park to recall yet another president.

I am fearful that the ANC is in panic mode, and this is bad for the country. The ANC is angst stricken about the quick rise of the new opposition spirit led by fearless COPE and the renewed DA. The ANC is worried about the reputational damage its youth wing is causing, it is worried about how to contain the powerful left leaning voices in its ranks, it is also worried about its own internal leadership preferences. Should it venture into the untested waters of having a deputy president of the movement to be the president of the country while the recently elected president is still around, expecting to ascend the throne, the ANC has to decide whether to put the country’s best interest ahead of its own Polokwane inspired interests!

This perhaps explains why its National Working Committee has been reported to be making moves to have an early general election. Perhaps this explains why Nhlanhla Nene was chosen ahead of the Trevor Manuel’s and the Treasury’s favorite Enoch Godongwana. Maybe the contradicting Left versus Right economic stances lie at the heart of this anxiety. Perhaps we can start to understand why it is claiming ownership of the word “congress”, despite the fact that others have used the word before such as the PAC and the Congress of the People in Trinidad and Tobago. Perhaps we can start to unravel the Malema gagging mystery, be worried fellow South Africans, an anxious ruling party tends to make unpredictable and irrational moves.

I hope for the sake of this country that we do not see too many radical changes before the general elections. I hope we do not see the escalation of violence as opposition parties try to present themselves as an alternative to the embattled ANC. While it is almost foregone that we are going to have an absent president for the next few months, I hope the ANC counts the cost!

Dr. Pallo Jordan at UJ – Part 2

2008-11-14T16:13:00.002+02:00

The speech got a little academic towards the end, and sensing that the audience may not be with him, he cleverly wrapped it up and opened up the dialogue! This is where it really goes interesting. I will try to report on those questions and answers I felt were interesting (and can still clearly remember), paraphrased off course:

Q: A question from me…oh yeah, yours truly mustered the courage to engage the big man: “Don’t you think that the ANC has neglected to carry the youth of South Africa with them as they engaged in their internal squabbles? Gwede Mantashe is hardly a face that the youth of SA can identify with, in the US they have Obama, he is a man that I personally feel attracted to (to a rousing laughter…it took me a while to realise that my words accidentally achieved unintended consequencesJ)

A: The youth of SA need to realise that SA politics are very different to US politics. In SA we have party politics that are very divorced from the individual, whereas in the US, the individual reigns. People like Gwede need to judged on the content of what they say, not on how they say it.

Q: At the lowest levels of service delivery the ANC is found wanting! Comrades are deployed in areas that require specific skills which they do not possess, thus leading to non-delivery and plunder.

A: People must learn that qualifications do not translate into competence. There are historically a lot of black South Africans who are extremely capable but do not have qualifications…take JZ for instance, the man could barely write his name when he got to Robben Island, he was taught there, and yes he may never be eloquent as Obama, he may never be able to read like the new generations BUT he is able to hold his own against the world today. People like those should not be excluded, many ANC cadres are teachers but it does not mean that they cannot run municipalities etc!!

Q: Why is the ANC not genuine about the fact that they do not adhere to the Freedom Charter?

A: The ANC shrewdly and selectively chooses what it implements based on practical considerations. Mines will not be nationalised as the charter says, and the land is not going to be redistributed to Africans simply to prove a point. The ANC considers international market conditions, business interest and political factor about when to implement the charter!

Q: This one from Prof. Adam Habib; why did the ANC not fire Trevor Manuel seeing that he is the right leaning member of party who defends his non-leftist economic policies!

A: The question of Trevor was a practical measure, yes there are rumours that he is right leaning, but I do not agree with that sentiment, but we are safe from the international economic meltdown due to the policies that he implemented over his long tenure, why fire the guy who has done so well? Besides, the markets will punish you for such an irrational measure.

Q: Does the senior leadership of the ANC provide any form of mentorship to its Youth League arm? (to rousing laughter)

A: Not as well as it used to do in the past, and the effects are showing! (I like Pallo!)

On the question of Lekota and his defence for the constitution, Dr. Pallo Jordaan was lyrical and funny. He believes that it is unfair to demand that Shikota have policies so early on, give them some time to get to it, but to stand up and claim that your policy is to defend the constitution that was written by your opponents is taking a shortcut (LOL)!

The warning remains, Shikota must win the battle for number 2 (opposition), if they don’t, they are finished! Will he be proven right or wrong…it remains to be seen.

My personal opinion is that Shikota can eclipse the DA in 2009, question is; will the ANC “COPE” with this eventuality? I can only be happy if the PAC, ID, DA, UDM, ACDP, FF and COPE votes come to a combined 40%, even 50%. That will set this democracy alight! I will be happy if every little bill gets contested, if every little policy gets scrutinized, this is real democracy, and Dr. Jordan, what will happen then to the ANC?

I would like to suggest that they will be forced to be leaner and start thinking about every little move they take, they will have to ensure that the right people are deployed at every available position, how shall the ANC be when they do not have total control of all the nine provinces? Will they cope?

Dr. Pallo Jordan at UJ – Part 1

2008-11-14T16:10:00.002+02:00

I went to listen to Dr. Pallo Jordan address the public at the University of Johannesburg. It is part of the work that Dr. Xolela Mangcu initiated while he was still at WITS, Public Delibaration Platform. The crowd was small and the room intimate enough to have a quality discussion on “important matters” affecting the South African society.

Dr. Zwelidinga Pallo Jordan is a well known think tank of the ANC. He is known for his highly intellectual and deep thinking. He is a living encyclopaedia of ANC history. He is a historian by training, a philosopher and is currently a minister of Arts and Culture. He has lectured at UCT, Fort Hare, UCLA and Wisconsin Universities in the US. He was born in the early 40’s into a highly politicised family with two parents who had PhD’s and he followed in the proud family tradition. He was born in the Free State, Kroonstad, about 60km from where I was born (does that make him my homeboy?)

What makes him relevant and interesting is that he is known to be a lone voice of reason within the ANC. A fierce critic of Mbeki, he was outsted when Thabo took over but later re-instated, he remains popular within the ANC and has served in the NEC since the 80’s.

He started the address, a letter written to an imaginary ANC comrade who had long passed away. The aim of the letter was to inform the friend, Khumalo, about the state of the ANC and the emergence of COPE (aka Shikota), the ANC breakaway and what it meant for the future of SA. His most notable points to me were:

Both parties, the ANC and COPE claim custody of the Freedom Charter, in his opinion; they are both right to claim it!
Dialectical materialism (Wikipedia is a good source to understand this concept, fascinating, but I am yet to understand what the heck it really means in totality…a few weeks ago Mbeki taught me a new word…Compradore (BEE fronts the SA context)…what is it with politicians and these big words…I digresss), Dialectical Materialism seems to be at the core of the problem that is ripping the ANC apart. The fact that Mvelaphanda is owned by an ANC member, employs lots of ANC cadres, and yet the ANC believes in the Freedom charter (nationalisation of mines and ownership of land by those who work it). Contradictions but realities that the ANC has to live with! Names like Karl Marx, Hegel, Dietzgen, Engel, come to mind!
The inability to find a balance between what he calls the “min and the max” by the ANC leadership and a “dismal lack of leadership” has brought the ANC to this point. He did NOT blame Mbeki as News 24 suggested; he did say that as he has been a senior leader in the ANC all this time, he takes responsibility for it, collective responsibility the leadership!
He spent quite a good time focussing on the lure for quick money, the abuse of state resources in the quest by comrades to have the “good life”, which has led to the ANC simply becoming a battleground for the pursuit of money, not really serving the masses!
He also challenged Shikota in the following way: “If Shikota does not replace the DA and become the official opposition in 2009 elections, it will suffer the same fate as Holomisa’s UDM”. It will simply dive into oblivion!

to be continued...

A challenge to Shikota, Convention Movement...Oops SANC...oops SADC, no I meant COP!

2008-11-11T16:20:00.003+02:00

I would like to voice my disappointment with err…lets call them “The New Party” led by Lekota and Shilowa, popularly called Shikota! Why are they so intent on defining their new movement on the old ANC imagery? Why is it so important to them to establish themselves on a platform that they are rebelling against?

This obsession with everything ANC begs a question: Is Shikota an honest clean break from the old, outdated, potentially disastrous, polarizing and inept politics of the ANC OR is it perhaps simply a rebellion against certain characters within the post-Polokwane ANC? Let me ask again; if Mbeki won a third term in Polokwane, would we have Shikota today?

I was one of the very excited people when Lekota broke the silence and declared that he is sick and tired of the ANC and would therefore call on progressive South Africans to convene and chart a way forward. What excited me was the realization that there is “a voice of reason” elsewhere that understands the need for an alternative voice in the precariously deteriorating politics of this country of ours. So when the many convened in Sandton, waving South African flags, calling for change, I understood them to be calling for a real change in South Africa, not a change within the ANC!

As the events unfold, I have this uneasiness within myself, I keep wondering: “Does Shikota stand for real authentic change or are they simply afraid of the new Zuma order”? Let me state clearly, if Shikota is simply a Polokwane inspired uprising that does not include in its mission statement a need for a better way to do things in South Africa, then this country is yet to be offered hope for a new beginning! Why do I hold this view you may ask? I would like to point you to a few worrying signs…

First, the obstinate obsession with formulating an identity that is as close to the ANC as possible reveals a weak desire to usher in a new era. If Shikota stands for change, I challenge them to drop the mentality that suggested names like New African National Congress, South African National Congress and lately Congress of the People. These names do not inspire change at all.

Secondly, the need to claim Mbeki as their inspiration as has been done by Shilowa and claiming the legacy of Mandela as was indirectly done by Saki Macozoma leaves one with a sense that perhaps Shikota simply once to fix the paintwork instead of the obvious cracks resulting from the post apartheid ANC. If Mbeki is Shikota’s hero, perhaps they would like to be left with the burden of explaining his flawed style of leadership, his AIDS policy, the Zimbabwe mess as well as the failing third tier of government. Surely change is needed, a far reaching change that is rooted in anti-cronyism, service delivery and national pride.

Finally, as the old Polokwane losers flock to Shikota, may Shikota stand up and tell all of us, change optimists, that indeed they stand for something more than just a petty party squabbles. We have a looming Vavi-Nzimande-Malemic election victory in 2009, could all South Africans, Black, White, Indian and Coloured that see the need for change please get a genuine vehicle to deny them the two thirds majority at least?

Obama, a true hero

2008-11-05T09:03:00.000+02:00

I saw a miracle this morning! Dreams and hopes of the majority of Americans and the majority of the world are now pinned in the safe hands of one Barack Hussein Obama jnr. What a responsibility...and yes...what a brilliant victory!

Wow, touching stuff, I just could not believe it! I have been following every move of Obama I could possibly. I read his two books, narrowly missed his Chicago rally when I was briefly in the US, watched every little snippet of news about it, I am smitten you could say. I wrote articles about this man, on this site and on other sites, all these I did because there is a something about this man that resonates with me, it brings me a smile, I feel like I get it when he speaks! He is calm, he is a thinker, he is smooth, he is brave, he loves his family from what we see, he loves life and he loves his people, the American people.

He won me over completely in the debates that he had against McCain, he mesmerized the elderly Republican, he was ready, the time was right and he was confident. There is something natural with the way he interacts with his wife; no pretenses, its magic, they make music together! He is very honest about their problems as a couple in his second book (The Audacity of Hope), there is just something about this man, destiny I dare say! He represents perhaps what many young men and women would like to be, a success, true success.

Some say that I may just be bordering on obsession in the way I admire Obama’s achievements, I disagree. I think he is great, I do not think he is infallible, I do not believe he has all the answers. I am well aware that he has over-promised in his campaign, he will NOT achieve the many things he has promised. But I know he is going to try to make good on his promises. He is hard worker and he takes his job seriously. He is not perfect, in fact just like another icon of mine, Nelson Mandela, Obama is going to make mistakes, he is going to disappoint us in future in some respects, he is after all only human. But people of Mandela’s ilk, the same one which Obama has been plucked from, always rise above their problems and mistakes, to inspire hope; you see they are a gift to human kind.

I do not think they are the only ones who could have attained this level of human achievement, there are many more of such good men and women, often unsung, but they make lasting impact to those around them, and inspire hope. At 47yrs of age Obama still has a long way to go, and a lot of growing up as well, he will mess up, but we should never forget that the greatest legends are not men who are saints, but men who learn from their mistakes, and continue to strive to be better people. They acknowledge their weaknesses and accept their limitations! I have great admiration for such men, and I wish to see them succeed. There is now a huge burden of expectations on Obama to perform miracle, he created the expectation mostly all by himself, he may fall short, but at least we all know he would have tried his level best!

YOU GO OBAMA!

More on the Shikota Convention

2008-11-04T22:05:00.000+02:00

Malema obviously missed the recent international events and their significance...choosing instead to do more damage to the ANC's image, by claiming that ABSA and IDC have been abused by Shilowa's wife, Wendy Luhabe...this is the ABSA which Tokyo Sexwale, and ANC Zumarite holds a big BEE stake...now you make up your mind. Furthermore, if indeed business is being "abused" then perhaps we need to stand back and debate that issue that was raised by IDASA and Helen Zille a long time ago, party funding!!!

The US has managed to do extremely well on this, Obama accounts for every cent that his money obtains from funders and the public is empowered to ask...When Sarah "Blond" Palin chose to buy clothes with that money, the Republicans got hammered for it! Will the ANC itself tell us who funds them...Chancellor House? Government tenders? Arms Deal? Is Malema even aware where he is going with this...or should we say, are those people that are feeding him this information aware of what Malema is potentially going to do? Zuma will realise this later as usual!

I had several wishes that I would have liked to forward to the Convention Movement heros...i attempt to tackle them below.

On the issue of raising Shilowa's profile and reducing Lekota's the party did well. Did you see how prominent Shilowa was at the Convention? Lekota was quiet at the back and allowed the man from Limpopo to articulate the party's position. I felt like they listened to the cry...well done Shikota.

On the issue of being negative, well I am afraid not so well! They attempted at least, it will take a while I guess, but these guys need to learn from Obama, focus on your agenda and let the opposition entangle themselves in negativity. Sooner or later people will be attracted to the positive, not the negative!

On the issue of being bold about their name, emblems and image, well they failed on this one, thanks to technicality they are now forced to do the right thing i.e. that is to find a name that is detached from the ANC. Perhaps this is my biggest gripe with Shikota, they are holding on too much to the ANC, I would urge them to break away completely! Divorce Mbeki from the party, Mbeki has mistakes that the new party should certainly dissociate itself from, otherwise they will have to answer question about AIDS failure and the Zim disaster and crime etc...it is not their legacy, they should behave like they want to start afresh...new logo, new colours, something inclusive and bright, forget black green and gold, get orange or blue forget SANC or SADC...be fresh, how about "The Voice Party"...Hope Convention, give South Africa something radical man!!

Furthermore, the Mbeki defectors should not be embraced like heroes as such, let them be welcomed like anyone else, otherwise you are going to have to explain your association with people like Balindlela (failed premiership) and Smuts Ngonyama ("i did not struggle to be poor"). Break away and inspire South Africans with new faces! I hear Given Mkhari has joined the party or supporting it, give us new faces please!

It is becoming very clear that policy is not really going to be Shikota strong point. They better start polishing their oratory skills, they have exactly the same goals as the ANC, this is not a bad thing, in theory what the ANC stands for is right, they just do not have he people to deliver on it! So Shikota should try to say, we are the people to deliver on that mandate, remove the old revolutionary speak, talk like Obama, speak to us in a language we can understand, no big political terms, plain speak...Change we can all believe in....not scary stuff like Mshini Wam in these day and age!

Focussing solely on the middle class will only guarantee Shikota perhaps 10% at the general elections, is that what they want? I think not, then you are exclusive and may never be able to change things! If indeed you want to win a bigger slice, you have no option but to broaden your appeal!

Finally i loved the positive embrace of Helen Zille and UDM...this was akin to McCain concessionary speech. Touching when fellow countrymen combine decency and politics, respect for life with healthy competition.

All in all it was a good convention; more still needs to be done!

My wish-list before the November 2 National Convention (Shikota Convention)

2008-11-04T18:13:00.000+02:00

It is good to be blogging again! I had some work commitments that simply ate up all my time! It is all over now, and YES the project was a great success. Now I have some time to start re-engaging with the world. Expect a lot of backdated opinions, I’ll catch up eventually, but hey some of these old thoughts are still relevant!

On this article I will share some thoughts that I actually shared with a few friends over e-mail. This was when I realized that I would not make it to the Shikota convention as the day coincided with big work commitment! So I sent this list as a wish-list of what I would have said to the “dissident” leaders.

You see the last 3 elections I voted the ANC without fail. There is a very small probability that I will vote them again based on what I see. However I am waiting to be “wowed”, swept under my feet like the Obama did to many Americans, I want to dream and hope, hence my interest in the new party.

There are a few things I would like to see in the new party:

Push Lekota more behind the scenes and push Shilowa to be the face of the party. He is simply a better face for change that Lekota often emotional personality!
Move beyond simple cheap shots against the ANC all the time and start selling themselves positively
Be bold especially about their image by choosing a distinct identity which divorces them from the ANC, new colors, new emblem. Break away from the old completely. The SANC name for me is cowardly as it is too associated with the ANC, if these guys want to build another ANC, then it is not a cause worth supporting! The suggested alternative name, SADC, is old and cliché! Think out the box guys!
Find a better way to communicate their founding basis, this story about being the real custodians of the Freedom Charter simply makes them another ANC. Find another platform, something new and fresh even if it still covers the same Freedom Charter principles, you cannot oppose people that you agree with. If it is simply the implementation of the Freedom Charter, then let that be the thrust as opposed to simply saying that the freedom charter this and that all the time! It is an ANC doc for goodness sake!
Come out clear that they will NOT inherit some of the Mbeki "deadwood" that are just running away from the Zuma axe. If this party is to survive, you need to introduce new faces of leadership! Taking the likes of ex-Mbeki praise singers is not the way to go!
Warn Terror about shooting from the hip, he is starting to sound like an older version of Malema the more he speaks. This is not about him, it is about securing a future for the country
Agree on how policy formulation is going to happen before the elections. Unlike people who accuse the young Shikota of not having policy, I am patiently giving them a chance to produce something concrete by the beginning of the year, a concrete election manifesto that is not reactionary but bold.
The issue of direct representation in parliament is important but secondary; the structures of delivery are just not working! We need to purge our municipalities of the ANC appointees and get people who just want to work!
And Terror and Sam need to decide where they are take their fight...provincial or national? In my opinion WC and Gauteng and perhaps FS and EC are good places to fight...places like KZN, Limpopo, Mpumalanga for instance are not winnable at all!!

My vote (and many other South Africans) will be won over if Shikota takes the fight to the ANC on the following issues:

Job Creation - How are they going to change the status quo of joblessness? BEE and AA? How are they going to improve empowerment and boost service delivery? Are they going to keep these political appointments in the public service that are killing delivery at the munipality level? Re-introduction of apprenticeships?
Poverty alleviation - How are they going to tackle this? Any innovative policy will score big points, clearly the grants are now working at all!
Education - We do not need more money into this sector but we simply need better focus here...schools need to be centers of excellence and tertiary education needs to be made more accessible
Land policies - We are now a net-importer of food when we used to export food....agriculture as a tool for job creation and land ownership and productivity?
Crime - Are we going to get our dear Scorpions back or at least an improved version of them as opposed to the already doomed DPCI that has been proposed. Linked to this, the question of the Justice system...we need to sort out the courts! And prisons and security in general. That Nathi Mthethwa guy (the new Safety and Security Minister) is not doing it for me, yes I know i may be too quick to judge, but there is just something about a Government minister, head of the police, who goes to a TV interview with a leather jacket and black sunglasses, something bothers me about that picture!
Education - Please inject some urgency here...education lies at the heart of development, more so in a country like South Africa

Will Shikota step up to the plate?

Kulkat speaks:Reflections on the current finacial turmouil- A South African perspective!

2008-10-29T07:37:00.002+02:00

It is said one man who thought he was well-to-do discovered rather shockingly that he wasn’t so well-off after all. It turns out that wifey had been leaving the high life on their small fortune with the hubby unaware. The poor rich man came to this insalubrious truth when he found himself in a surprise meeting with a debt counsellor arranged by his spendthrift wife. This story as carried by one of the national newspaper is highlighting the deep, unseen tentacles of the financial market crumble, that for the longest time, we were made to believe is mostly affecting the US and European super-powers like Britain, France, etc.

I reject this obverse totally and call for a more judicious, rigorous due diligence and analysis by our own experts so we can fully appreciate this behemoth and to formulate our counter mechanisms and policies. Einstein said you “cannot change what you don’t know.” Professor Dawie Smit of Wits University says “you cannot change what you don’t acknowledge.” All of us know that the sugar-coated talk of an “insulated SA market and banking system” is somewhat manure. Most of us are feeling the real pinch of a hurricane which has been predicted by some soothsayers. Did anyone to listen to them? Don’t answer this is a rhetoric question. One such man - Paul Krugman, a US economist who for the longest time was questioning George Bush’s financial policies has won a 2008 Nobel Prize for Economics. Such studious men were heckled ere the Wall Street catastrophe and labelled “alarmists” by avaricious men who profiteered from the rest of us not knowing what we should know!

Today, a not-so-filling BigMac burger is way above the twenty bucks (R20) that made it such a hit with teenagers and adults. Today to enjoy this fatty American take-out means you have to part with 30 big bucks (a lotta cash here or in Zim). It is said in the theory of young people’s ‘freakconomics’ that if you cannot afford a BigMac you must forget about owning even a one-eyed goat. The struggle to keep the wolves away from the door is no longer the exclusive preserve of the poor, but it’s fast becoming a common occurrence in the life of the bourgeoisies, the middle-class and the proletariats!

We, as a nation, cannot continue to accept the status quo thinking it will somehow blow over. Today, more than ever before, most people cannot afford to buy/sell a simple two-bedroomed house. Today, most people cannot afford to get credit from a bank to consolidate their debts. How can we be happy, with banks now going to incredulous lengths to recover monies owed to them - persecuting you with incessant calls from call centre agents reminding you about your due account? How can I hug and kiss Tito (Mboweni) for having saved me from myself, if I cannot even afford to buy the belt he asked me to tighten? Today the price of basic foodstuffs is so prohibitive that your money buys less grocery each month, but your salary remains unchanged. Inflation is firmly going North with a South-turn too ambitious to contemplate for now!

How can we continue to listen to speak that we are insulated if GM is laying-off an already over-extended workforce? How do I, a simple man, believe that things are not as bad in SA if properties and cars are being repossessed at such an unprecedented rate? Just the day other as a parting shot, my mother implored me to stop drinking (expensive) Jack Daniels…Dang! I guess it’s no longer a “Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World” ;-)

Kulkat speaks: The Quiet Death of Zimbabwe

2008-10-29T06:31:00.001+02:00

Another day passes by, another batch of famine-induced deaths in Zimbabwe. The quiet death of Zimbabwe will haunt us all to our dying days. This former African bread basket country continues to wither away – way away from the glare of the world. Families have been torn apart, many men have been executed – I take it back…many men have been murdered!This is another day in the life of a thuggish military junta headed by its hypocritical leader - Robert Gabriel Mugabe. ‘Let them eat potatoes’, the monstrous Mugabe was once quoted.

Sadly the potatoes he so bragged about to the world has also run out. While Mugabe and his junta continue to enjoy three course meals each day, sons and daughters of Zimbabwe succumb daily to famine, malnutrition and disease. While the negotiated political settlement continues to show more signs of a burlesque, relatives and friends of the Zimbabwean people pray that someone would be bold enough to step up and act.

While most of us Down South continue to cheer, rile and contemplate the impact of a ShiKota political party, many of the desperate Zimbabweans who had some hope that normality was going to return to the country of their birth, now they left with little choice but to flee in search of greener pastures and a normal coexistence!Why are we doing nothing bathong (people)? Just as was noted in the Nazi camp – soon they WOULD be coming for us after they have decimated what remains of Zimbabwe.

Are we willing to let the situation gravitate to that level before we act? How long will we continue to endorse (by doing nothing) the illegitimate and brutal regime of Robert Gabriel Mugabe?With no UN peace-keeping forces and UNAid allowed, the junta continue to rule the day and use fatal force at night. Do we have to continue talking to a regime that doesn’t respect the rules of engagement? Is there a need from our side to continue to recognise a Presidency that shows scant regard for the opposition?I know what I would like to see in Zimbabwe: I would like to see peace, reconstruction and prosperity in Zimbabwe – ‘by any means necessary!’

Hellen Zille has done SA proud!

2008-10-23T15:01:00.004+02:00

Excellence is something to be celebrated and yes, even though I am terribly late on this one I would still like to add my voice of congratulations!

Helen Zille showed that one does not need to be part of the ruling party to be a good mayor, but one just has to love her work and just do it. She beat amongst others mayors from countries such as Switzerland, USA, Germany, Sweden and others! Indeed this is a remarkable achievement, World Mayor of 2008!

I have three reasons why I believe that she deserving of this award more than anyone else:

1. She has integrity - We are currently seeing a decline in this moral character in our politics, Helen Zille definitely has shown over the years that even though she represents a political home that the majority of South Africans do not identify with, this woman has integrity!

2. She is a fighter - Helen Zille over and over again takes on the big and tough ANC leadership when it matters and she does it with finesse and elegance. Whether she is right or wrong in some of her pursuits, she pours her heart at it, and fights so hard that none of the ruling party leaders would dare challenge her in a public debate, she is thorough and she has balls of steel!She took on Mbeki on the AIDS issue, she took him on on the ARMS deal, she fought hard, and today we know that she was right all along!

3. She is inspirational - When one listens to Helen Zille speaks, one has to admit that she speaks from the heart. Yes she is a politician, and does things politicians do like point scoring etc, but she does it with finesse, rigour and care that you just have to give it to her, she is special and she has done a good job of running a beautiful city of Cape Town. Yes she is not perfect, she still has to sort out lots of things in Cape Town, but we all know she can only really do so much!

Congrats Helen, you are a shining star!

Congratulations to Mr.Hugh Glenister!

2008-10-23T14:57:00.000+02:00

One of my favourite authors once penned these words: “The greatest want of the world is the want of men-- men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.”

I am proud today to say that for the last few months I have witnessed such a man, his name is Hugh Glenister. I do not know the man personally and I never knew him before he burst onto the contaminated political scene of South Africa. I only know what I know about him from what has been published by newspapers and radio talk shows. He has earned my respect for daring to stand for what is right! He put his money where his mouth is and such men demonstrate the calibre of men that can take this country to new heights.

When he launched his bid to stop the infamous Scorpions bill from being put to the vote in Parliament, he struck me as a man who was ready to do what is right, no matter how unpopular it might make him. In this act he showed the whole of South Africa that fighting for principle is something that should pre-occupy any leader, a driving force that should dominate any leader’s mind.

Yes he never stood a chance of winning, but the fight for principle is never about winning, but about making a statement. When he lost his original bid, and also the subsequent bid to stop the highly conflicted Travelgate MP’s from voting for the destruction of the Scorpions which stung them in the past, Mr. Glenister did not go down as a loser, in fact he remains as a man who stood with a clear conscience against those who sold their souls, and betrayed multitudes of South Africans. It may be that the men and women who have abused our trust in Parliament will vote to destroy the Scorpions against the wishes of the majority, it is all but a crownless triumph! All it has achieved is to prove once again to everyone, what happens when too much power is given to those who do not subscribe to high moral values that come with true leadership.

Mr. Glenister indeed lost millions of rands in this noble quest, however I was thoroughly impressed when I read a quote attributed to him: “It was money well spent”. Such men are not only examples for the many in this country, but he represents the many true leaders who quietly go about life, doing what is necessary to help this country to become a great place to live in. He represents the men and women who will not be silenced, who will not look away when principle is compromised, South Africans who will shout truth to power. I therefore write this piece, in honour of a man, who remained true to his duty as a needle to the pole!

You are a true South African, Mr. Glenister, you have taught us to see that beyond temporary material losses, there is a higher standard that we should all dare to reach.

Saki Macozoma and Mzi Khumalo for the new party?

2008-10-16T06:46:00.000+02:00

Apparently the ANC NEC has leaked out information that that the main funders of the new party are Mzi Khumalo and Saki Macozoma. I am not surprised that Saki Macozoma has decided to back this new move. Saki has always been a powerful ally of Mbeki’s and after having listened to this man had an address at Wits I am convinced that there is something in him that encourages me about the future of politics of this country. He certainly comes across as logical and forward thinking.

He was booted out of the NEC at Polokwane when Mbeki fell on his sword and has since been hounded by the Zuma people in his business deals. Yes he comes with a lot of a baggage, the ANC baggage; he currently has a accusations of using some of his BEE deals to fund the ANC, something that I believe all the ANC BEE people do! He has always been seen as one of those comrades who were deployed into business for the purposes of funding the ANC, and now that he has fallen out of favour with the new mob, this same practice that was okay all along now seems to be a problem.

He is a prolific business man and has had his success and failures out there. His most notable failure was as the MD of Transnet, where he foolishly negotiated a package of over R300 million for Andrew Coleman, a CEO of South African Airways which was under the control of the Transnet MD. It was a complete disaster as the American sold a few planes, declared a profit and ran with the money under the inexperienced eye of Macozoma. On his more up to date CV’s, his tumultuous tenure as MD of Transnet in the late 90’s is omitted!

However, Saki has turned himself around and now sits in the board of Standard Bank Group, this is a respected company in South Africa especially. He does have lots of financial muscle and the fact that his current fortunes are not too tied to government tenders could be a great bonus.

However I am not so sure of Mzi Khumalo. He of the Metallon Group, a serial and vicious BEE kingpin, his name is only associated with controversy in SA and Africa. He is a capitalist through and through and does not fear to say things like he is not a BEE candidate (in fact he is right, but the spirit in which this is said is the height of Mzi's arrogance) but capitalists! Just read this article I wrote a long time ago about this dodgy man to understand my problems with this character, back in 2006. Bad karma for the new party on this man I tell you!

Shilowa's future and the new ANC splinter group

2008-10-15T21:20:00.001+02:00

Sam Shilowa, the ex-premier of Gauteng who recently resigned from his post after Thabo Mbeki was recalled from the presidency by the ANC has decided throw his weight behind the Lekota faction. This is a big coup by the Lekota people and it just goes on to show that the rift within the ANC is not as small as the leadership of the ANC wants the public to believe.

My sincere wish is that at the convention that is planned for 02 Nov, the followers of the new movement whish will presumably be formed on that day should be strategic and choose Shilowa as the president of the party. He comes across very well, did very well as the premier of Gauteng and does not have the same baggage as Lekota.

If Lekota is chosen as the new leader, the movement will inevitably have to go into battle with a man that the ANC can easily take cheap shots throughout the journey and this may distract them in their quest to wrestle votes from the ANC. I wish sanity prevails and Lekota sees things this way, he could in turn be given the chairmanship or even the general secretary position. If indeed Lekota is not out for personal gain and glory he should do what is best for the new party.

The other clever moves could be to lure Jabu Moleketi (ex-deputy Finanace minister) to take the one of the top spots in the party, perhaps Treasurer. He is know to be quite a morally strong and hard working individual. His wife, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi (ex-minister of public service) is a well known figure who has also resigned and should be roped into the new party to act as its deputy president, she is fiery and feisty, she is an able administrator and she has a solid track record and a clean public image. Perhaps a deputy president position of the party, in line with the gender demands of todays age as well as a way to provide competent feminine balance at the top of the new party.

In my opinion the party also still needs to hunt for Andrew Feinstein and Trevor Manuel into their fold. These two gentlemen have the makings of great and able opposition characters. They could be just what the new party needs. I am worried though with names like Vax Mayekiso from the Free State coming into the fold. Yes he brings a lot of grass root support from the Free State but has a history of corruption that will be used against him as he climbs up the party ladder. A much cleaner character is Sello Dithebe. He hails from the same place as Vax Mayekiso and believe me when I say that he is more revered by people of the ground than Vax Mayekiso. He has currently fallen out of favour with the Free State ANC and is a more eloquent, principled and powerful leader in the Free State that the opposition has on offer.

When the general elections come it will be an easy choice to decide whether one places their cross next to Shilowa's face vis-à-vis Zuma's. I support the notion of an a strong opposition party, I support the notion of a having a plurality in the political landscape, any effort to provide opposition and weaken the overwhelming ANC two-thirds majority should be a welcome move, we need a strong democracy, a one party state is bad for the citizens of this country!

How Zuma can become a Messiah!

2008-10-13T17:03:00.004+02:00

I was once again touched by Justice Malala’s recent article “Nothing new in the ANC zoo”. I say once again because similar views have been advanced by many other writers before him. In the article he states a point that has been argued by Bantu Holomisa, William Mervyn Gumede and many others that if Zuma really loves the ANC and this country he should just step aside, put aside his presidential ambitions and sort out his life with the courts! I think by now the Zuma led ANC can see that their victory in Polokwane has been an absolute disaster for the party so far.

An insistence to push forward a flawed candidate like Zuma will alienate the voters and will simply hand over a substantial number of votes to the new ANC splinter group under Lekota. It should be very clear that the decision to temporarily install Kgalema Motlanthe as the president was a welcome move and the ANC should rather keep him as their face for the elections as opposed to replacing him for Zuma in 2009.

Malala states that Zuma should be very happy for having achieved one thing that has been good for the country…getting rid of the heart of the current problems, Thabo Mbeki. Indeed, we all know that Mbeki’s actions has led us to this point, he is the one who harboured ambitions for a third term against all popular opinion. The rot began there and resulting abuse of power, supported in part by men like Lekota himself, simply made things worse. Mbeki is gone now as president of the ANC, thanks to the Zunami, but history will remember Zuma much better if he would simply declare that his mission is accomplished, and let somebody more capable than himself to lead the country.

Like Malala, Gumede, Holomisa et al, we know this is a far fetched dream especially to the ears of men like Vavi, Nzimande and Malema. However there are still men within the current ANC who can restore order in this once indomitable movement, men who are more able to lead with integrity and could perhaps even reverse the potentially deadly “divorce proceedings” by Lekota. They still have men like Motlanthe, Ramaphosa, Manuel, Pallo Jordaan and many others who could make better faces for the ANC. Yes Ramaphosa disappointed me for his support of the ill-advised sentiments in support of Mbeki’s removal, but in the context of what Mbeki did to him, perhaps he can be justified.

Trevor Manuel, despite his irritating yo-yo-ing about his support for the Zuma ANC has definitely proved that he loves the country more than the ANC. These are the kind of men we want at the top, for the sake of sanity and progress. Men like Shilowa, Jabu Moleketi and others who have decided to leave government and perhaps even the ANC can still be persuaded to come back, but not in the current order.

I would thus like to echo this desperate voice as well, I know at the bottom of the hearts of the Zumarites there is a deep sense of patriotic visions, dreams to see a successful South Africa. Let us then be wise to take the right step, let Msholozi etch his name in annals of history, as the selfless leader who only had the country’s interest at heart. Let him step aside, not lead this country as president, but be a leader cherished by man, a leader that history can remember as a true human, flawed as he may be, but much bigger that his mistakes, a man and a father who loved this country more than any man that ever walked the streets of South Africa, a true hero.

Is the ANC church over?

2008-10-10T07:17:00.001+02:00

A fellow blogger, Kulkat, has invited me to give an opinion about the recent ANC "divorce". I have done so in two articles which are published on his blogsite.

1. Is the ANC church over - Part 1?
2. Is the ANC church over - Part 2?

Enjoy!

The ANC open letters - Part 2

2008-10-05T07:43:00.000+02:00

As was to be expected the ANC did not take kindly to Lekota’s open letter. The Secretary General, Gwede Mantashe indeed rose up to the challenge and in his usual characteristic gesture completely dismissed the man and his letter as irrelevant! Gwede is an interesting character, while he has dedicated his whole life to better the lives of the poor, his new position as the CEO of the ANC has given him so much power and presence and he has been flexing his muscle like a body builder, as if to say, “I got it and you don’t”!

The manner in which he chooses his words, the intolerance and arrogance that exudes out of him contradicts his humble personal ascension to power, perhaps in a misguided call to be “robust” he has unknowingly crossed to the line into the dark valley of power stupor! He dismissed Lekota and also informed the public that Lekota will not even be called to explain his irresponsible remarks, nor will he be disciplined by the party! He also called on the NEC members to “robustly” respond to Lekota in public as well, tit-for-tat basically!

A much calmer Mantashe was recorded at Dan Tloome Memorial Lecture. In this speech he was not responding to Lekota but was addressing the rumors of the ANC split, he warned about the 1958 PAC split led by Robert Sobukwe and Madzunya, the dismissal of the eight, the Morogoro conference, essentially here Gwede was simply saying, those who wish to split will die just like the others before them.

A more emotive response can from an NEC member, Jeff Radebe. Now Jeff is one of the respectable ministers and an ANC stalwart, his response was rather personal and disappointing to me as it side stepped the issues and was unnecessary to enter into public mudslinging and street fighting tactics, intergrity sometimes is better than the thrill of revenge personal attacks.

First he interpreted Lekota’s letter as notice to leave the ANC
Then he lambastes Lekota’s tenure as chairperson of the ANC for having been autocratic and effectively turning the ANC meetings into an animal farm
The he reminds Lekota about insulting Nelson Mandela in one of his meetings, and sarcastically implores Lekota to go to Mandela and apologise
He also lambasted Lekota for being un-ANC in the run up to Polokwane conference (now let me remind you that Lekota came out strongly in support for Mbeki and also attacked the 100% Zuluboy t-shirts of the Zuma camp as tribalistic, and also lambasted the singing of Mshini Wam as a campaign song for Zuma…sounds not so un-ANC to me but you make up your mind). Any guesses as to what ANC vs un-ANC behavior is?

He also warned against the splinter mentality (Sobukwe perhaps) by saying that “history is full of individuals who were too big for the ANC” who voluntarily left or were expelled by the party! And the most worrying of all Radebe’s sentiments is his view that Judge Nicholson “found that the Executive violated the rights of Zuma”, now at this point I say…is this really true? Did the judge make a finding or did the judge express and opinion? The battle for the mind of public is also in full force as much as the soul of the ANC!

The ANC open letters - Part 1

2008-10-05T06:39:00.000+02:00

A war of words has erupted and indications are that there is perhaps more resignations to come, this time from the party (ANC). Mosiua Lekota,the beloved ex-premier of the Free State province, ex-chairperson of the ANC and the ex-minister of the Defence who resigned after Mbeki was recalled by the ANC, wrote a stinging attack in an unprecedented “open letter to the Secretary General of the ANC, Gwede Mantashe.

In his letter Lekota angrily express his concerns about what he terms the “gnawing away at the ANC” and his “growing sense that the ANC leadership has veered the organisation away from the established policy priorities and customary democratic norms of the ANC”. Lekota’s main concerns are:

The intolerance for differing opinion and the hounding of individuals who hold such opinions
The expected pledge of solidarity with comrades who are attending criminal cases such as Tony Yengeni and Jacob Zuma.
The constant attacks on the judiciary
The unadulterated departure from the Freedom Charter through the call for political solutions to criminal matters
Threats to kill or die for individuals (Malema and the youth league as well as Vavi (COSATU) and Nzimande (SACP))

Look we are well aware that Lekota is an Mbeki man through and through by now, thus it is expected that he is an unhappy man at this current juncture. There are strong rumors that are linking him to the formation of a new break away party, using his popularity in the Free State as a base (He still is the only premier that the Free State people really liked and respected until he was elevated to Defence where he has been rather useless in my opinion, ill health has also beset him, heart problems it was reported). So it is possible that he is looking for a loud exit from the ANC to stir emotions. The ANC insiders will always cry foul that he addressed them publicly as opposed to opting for internal structures etc…

However let us ask ourselves if his concerns are legitimate, is there credence to his claims? YES indeed, all of Lekota’s five claims to me sounds very real and issues that even others have raised before. The ANC perhaps should seriously internalize these issues and reflect upon them. The once proud movement is battling to come to terms with the fact that so much wrong has gathered up within itself, so much dirt has piled up that ignoring it will definitely gnaw the whole movement away. The soul of the ANC is at stake and while the temptation will be to ignore Lekota and dismiss him as a bitter defeated man, the party of Mandela will soon rot the inside and perish!

Why we need an alternative party in South Africa.

2008-10-01T16:47:00.003+02:00

This will probably be controversial to some, but hey…let us think aloud, it is a democracy after all that we live in! Please I beg for your feedback, criticize and engage me….

Here are my reasons why I think we need an alternative party in South Africa…

It is natural for people to want to gang up when faced with a threatening problem. Blacks "ganged" up to fight the monster of apartheid. The monster is dead now, we have ourselves to blame and praise for the good and the bad. Yes we still have to correct the effects of the past monster, poverty and dehumanization (which results in crime, victim-hood, laziness etc), that is a fact.

However I would like to argue that blacks do not need to “gang up” in one party (ANC) to stand against poverty and dehumanization. In actual fact, we need a variety of ideas and tactics to fight this problem. The enemy is not one big piece, it is multi pronged, and we cannot rely on group think or some political solidarity to solve this. The strategy of fighting together as the ANC is flawed, because if we do, there will be no one to raise an objective voice, see what happened to Shilowa, the high performing premier of Gauteng who was ousted for holding different views to the ANC. What we need is many different voices to attack the challenges from various sides!

I personally think that the ANC has become so power drunk that it has alienated the proverbial "talented tenth" of this country (Note: The term Talented Tenth as used in this article is a bastardization of the great work by WEB DuBois (1903), a recommended read by the way) . The concept of the talented tenth in the context of this paper refers to that portion of the population that sustains the proverbial 90% due to their learned and natural exceptional abilities, these are the business men, professionals and skilled people of all sorts who simply want to express their talents and abilities, work hard for their money and sustain their lives and those that depend on them.

The “talented tenth” in South Africa, because of Apartheid policies, consists mainly of white and Indians and a small middle class black people and a neglected section of enterprising individuals who are scattered in the rural villages and townships of South Africa. Without these people we run the risk of the “talented tenth” sabotaging the economy by simply leaving, ask the Mugabe what happens when your talented tenth dissapears to the UK and the US, the country collapses. Ask Mozambique and Uganda what happens when you alienate your best talent and elect power hungry politicians!

By elevating people who have intellectual insecurities and “un-useful” (note: I did not say “useless”) like Malema, Vavi and many other so called "grass root" leaders, the ANC has essentially told the talented tenth to “go fly”, buzz off, completely alienating them! There is a deeply flawed myth that the government will solve our problems, hence the need for all blacks to support the ANC against an imaginary enemy (whites taking over again perhaps). This myth has even led many to believe that if you have popular support, you are the right guy, because people support you!

No, just because Malema has the popular vote, it does not mean that he can create jobs! After liberation, you need the talented tenth to focus on doing what they do best, to keep the machine running. The reason why public service has failed, is not only because the cake is now shared by many now bla-blah, ANC hogwash I tell you, the National Party apartheid machine, had mastered the art of running a country as perfectly as oppressing black people. If that core of talent that used to run the public sector was left to stay and do their thing, augmented with blacks who would learn from them (I call this group the aspirant / undiscovered talented) as they prepare to run things, we would have a better public service! But we chased away the core, that pocket of excellence that knew how to run an administration, out of anger perhaps...but we have been left exposed, unable to service our own people, because the people who used to run the machine are gone.

I put it to you that we need the talented tenth more than we need politicians in a post-liberation country! Currently, institutions like the ANC only serve the politicians, this dependency must break, this stupid belief that politicians are able to run a country must stop! People need to realise that it is actually talented people and hard working citizens that are keeping things together! Not Zuma, not even Mbeki alone!

Due to this rise of the politicians, labour movements and now the MK Veterans under Zuma, what will inevitably happen is that you slowly start loosing your best talent, because very quickly they will realize that their abilities will not be needed! What makes people go work in Dubai despite of its oppressive religious regime, what makes Muslims go work in the US despite hating it so much....because their talents are allowed to be expressed and they could not care about politicians! Who is the General Secretary of the Republicans? Who is the Treasurer of the Democrats? Who is Gordon Brown's deputy?...the reason we do not know these guys is because the politician is not as important in this economies as the talented people! Who is the president of Switzerland for instance...but let me ask you, Would you live in Switzerland?...off course, YES, the country is working, talented people are able to be the best they can be!

Why do we need an alternative party...because a strong alternative party will send a message to the worried endangered talented tenth that they can at least still have a voice in a Malemarian dispensation that is coming. At least we would know that Vavirians and Zumarites cannot ruin the country without having to account, we need hope that there will be a serious voice to keep them in check, a voice that will one day take over and rule this country in a way that will reduce the politician and elevate that talented members of the society, whose only ambition is to simply make things work! Ultimately, the politicians must decrease, and the citizen MUST increase!

Will Zuma know how to unharness a lion called Motlanthe?

2008-09-28T19:44:00.002+02:00

The most powerful statement and probably the best to ever come out of the Freedom Front was stated by the Pieter Mulder, in a wise warning to the ANC. Just before Kgalema Motlanthe was sworn in as president of the republic, Pieter Mulder shared this powerful Afrikaner anecdote about two Afrikaners who were on a journey, using their wagon and eight oxen.

He said :“That evening they unharnessed the oxen and went to sleep in the bush next to the road. At midnight they heard lions roaring around the camp. Quickly and anxiously they harnessed the oxen and dashed away. When the sun came up that morning they saw that in their haste they had harnessed seven oxen and one of the lions. The two looked at each other and said: ‘I t was easy to hastily harness the lion in the dark, but how do we now unharness it?”
Then the wise concluded, “The ANC harnessed Mr Motlanthe as a lion today in the dark and current crisis and we wish him well with that. Does the ANC also know how to unharness a lion, should it be necessary?”

Indeed, what if Motlanthe becomes a lion that will need to be unharnessed one day by the Zuma machinery? Frankly I would like to give President Kgalema a benefit of the doubt, I do not think he harbors ambitions to steal the crown from the prince, he knows too well what happens to such men. However the trappings of power and the comforts of that esteemed position can be luring, even good men with lofty ambitions cannot escape them at time.

We would hope that Motlanthe is bigger than this, he respects his party and most importantly, knows that he serves a South African public that is madly in love with Zuma, they would kill for him! Perhaps the anecdote from Mr. Mulder will remain simply that, just an anecdote for future generations. But let us all indeed take heed.

A possible model for the presidency - Part 1.

2008-09-26T07:10:00.004+02:00

This article is an attempt to imagine the post 2009 election presidency given the characters that are currently present in this big ongoing power struggle within the ANC. I cannot remember where I read this, it is definitely one of the newspapers, where a journalist or an analyst suggested that perhaps the ANC should introduce the prime-minister position in the presidency. I would like to extend on this idea which I found to be so fascinating!

Zuma has proven himself as a charismatic leader whose most powerful attribute is his ability to connect with the masses, an attribute that sunk Mbeki and elevated Mandela. Zuma has got it, in his own way, and it works, lets use it as a country! Also, none of us can swear by his administrative abilities. So, the best way to utilise him is to appoint him as the Prime Minister with a reasonable level of executive powers to avoid him being made redundant or lame duck, which could anger his backers.

This will allow him to also focus on rebuilding the ANC, something he could probably do better as it is his main competency, during his heydays as the Head of Intelligence of the ANC and the General Secretary of the party at some point! He can focus half his time overseeing overall strategy and also rebuilding the ANC, going to the masses and feeding that back into Motlanthe’s team. Then the ANC can continue with Motlanthe as the President of the republic after the elections, perhaps with lesser powers than Mbeki had amassed to himself, something we don’t want to see with Kgalema ever again! Kgalema can then be allowed to run the country on a day-to-day basis, his experienced amassed as the General Secretary of the ANC being applied positively.

Then the ANC can continue with Baleka Mbete for continuity after the elections, even though i would have loved to see Lindiwe Sisulu as vice-president in keeping with the 50/50 gender parity rule. Lindiwe in my opinion is the best female parliamentarian who has done reasonably well so far. She is in the right camp and could do well at the vice-presidency role. She is well spoken and focused, having spent all her life practically in the liberation movement, originally from the Black Consciousness movement. Baleka has been sworn in and it would probably make sense to let her continue post elections.

Part 2 will focus on the rest of the cabinet.