Zuma's Questionable Motives

Is it an ambush by scandal on the road to Mangaung or a wise capitulation in the face of a near-certain court defeat?
Those alternatives broadly sum up the reaction to President Jacob Zuma's decision to release the report of the Donen Commission, which investigated South African involvement in the payment of kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime in return for oil allocations.
The Cape Argus newspaper has been pursuing a bid for access to the report in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).

If you were reading your Mail & Guardian in 2004, you will recall that two important threats to Zuma's pre-eminence, Kgalema Motlanthe and Tokyo Sexwale, were deeply implicated in the "oil-for-food" scandal. Both men will see their reputations hurt by the publication of the report. That, of course, is no reason to keep it secret and we welcome its publication, which we believe will further confirm many of the details of our reporting seven years ago.

Kgalema Motlanthe

Judy Sexwale wife of ANC stalwart Tokyo Sexwale. Judy was a paralegal when she met and married Tokyo when he was incarcerated on Robben Island.

But the suggestion that Zuma is releasing the report because of a sudden commitment to open government, or to pre-empt a pointless court battle, won't wash. Certainly the experience of the M&G suggests that when it comes to PAIA, Zuma is more than happy to risk defeat.

We have been fighting for three years to obtain a report by judges Dikgang Moseneke and Sisi Khampepe on the constitutional environment in which Zimbabwe's rigged 2002 elections took place. We won in the high court and we won again, resoundingly, in the Supreme Court of Appeal. That didn't stop Zuma from taking the case to the Constitutional Court, which is currently deliberating on its judgment.

South Africans have been through nearly a decade of succession wars conducted under the cover of legal battles and leaks and we are now incapable of remaining credulous in the face of these contradictions. After all, as we learned in early 2009, it is possible for two contending narratives to be true at the same time.

The National Prosecuting Authority did have compelling evidence of fraud and corruption against Zuma, as the Thabo Mbeki camp insisted, but the case against him was also subject to political influence, as his supporters kept complaining.

Similarly, there is plenty of reason to believe Motlanthe and Sexwale were up to their necks in dodgy crude just before the US-led invasion of Iraq and that the legal process is a politically convenient pretext for Zuma. Certainly, as our reporting this week shows, the two men in question are convinced the decision is motivated by succession considerations and they are hopping mad.

It was against this backdrop that Mac Maharaj, the president's emissary to the media, sent out a Press Freedom Day message complaining that it was terribly unfair to castigate Zuma for indecisiveness on Sicelo Shiceka, Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabine and Bheki Cele and then turn on a dime to attack his political motives when he acts boldly, as he has on Oilgate.

In fact, Zuma isn't so much indecisive as unwilling to be drawn into battles that may not profit him. So Mac, we're pleased that the report will be made public, but don't expect us to turn a blind eye to your boss's motives.

  No room for racism

When Mbongeni Ngema claimed in the hit song AmaNdiya that Indians were responsible for the oppression and marginalisation of Africans in KwaZulu-Natal he was called to order by then-president Nelson Mandela, who demanded, and got, an apology, albeit rather mealy-mouthed.
Madiba's objective was not to ignore the complex history of both solidarity and tension between oppressed communities in the province, but to put beyond the social and political pale the racism that Ngema so clearly evinced.

That was in 2002. Just eight years later, under a president who counts among his closest advisers and most senior ministers Indian struggle veterans like Mac Mahraj and Pravin Gordhan, such talk has become grotesquely respectable. How else could Jimmy Manyi, a senior civil servant, complain as he did in 2010, that Indians were disproportionately represented in management because of their talent for bargaining? He claims he was joking, but that is no defence. That is how the social space for hatred is opened up.
And it is how it comes to pass that we see the Judicial Service Commission considering a bizarre letter from the Pietermaritzburg branch of the Black Lawyer's Association attacking the suitability of KwaZulu-Natal deputy judge president Chiman Patel for promotion to judge president. Their grounds? He is Indian and would therefore favour other Indians when asked to appoint acting judges. The letter found a more nuanced echo in answers from another candidate for the post, Judge Mjabuliseni Madondo, who referred to "all kinds of things which need more insight which a person who is not African cannot be privy to … We were oppressed, but not in the same way."

And finally there is Julius Malema, speaking in Thembelihle, where service-delivery protests have been lent a sharper edge by perceptions that Indian residents of nearby Lenasia are treated better by the government. When Malema spoke of amaKula, or "coolies", he closed the circle with Ngema and set up a resonance that the worthies of the JSC ought to find deeply uncomfortable. There is no space on the commanding heights of our society for racism, whether cloaked in lawyers robes, or in naked, demagogic display.

If Zuma wants praise for his decisiveness, he should make that clear.

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-10-21-questionable-motives

Juju's March

TRUE COLOURS: ANCYL T-shirts and caps are displayed for sale at the league’s economic freedom march in Johannesburg.

WTF ?!?

AT THE READY: Marshals stand ready as the ANCYL's economic freedom march moves through Johannesburg.

I like the way Malema was not only late for his own march but also alternated between walking and riding the route

but his supporters didnt have that priviledge, what a twat!

EN MASSE: ANCYL march on Oxford Road, Johannesburg.

Just an excuse to cause more disruption, who is paying for this & the destruction left in their wake??

FRIENDLY: A jubilant supporter jumps on Julius Malema as he leads the crowd of protesters during the ANCYL march to the Chamber of Mines in central Johannesburg.

A look of total disgust at being touched....so much for being with the people for the people?

DANCING: Members of the ANCYL dance as they stage an "economic freedom youth mass action" march in Johannesburg.

I thought they were meant to be the Youth League not the Old Wives Club??

PS: The red is my own comments and not what was published by the media.

I will die laughing if we get a huge rain storm tonight washing out their night vigilante

At least the traffic going to work was better this morning.....

 

My thanks to Tanya Blank for this email - you rock my friend <3<3

 

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Uhuru

Below is a brilliant summary and analysis of the dire situation in South Africa


An excellent blog!!

Malema's Palace

Translated: MALEMA BUILDS R 16 MILLION PALACE!

MAKES YOU THINK!

Zuma's Full Statement on Cele and Ministers

Ladies and gentlemen of the media,
Thank you for joining us today.

I have a few announcements to make. These relate to changes to the National Executive of government, the Commission of Inquiry into the Strategic Defence Procurement Packages and the matter relating to the National Police Commissioner.

I have decided to make the following changes to the National Executive.

1. Ms Dina Pule, currently the Deputy Minister for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, has been appointed Minister of Communications.

2. Mr Thembelani “Thulas” Nxesi, the Deputy Minister for Rural Development and Land Reform, will become the new Minister of Public Works. The Department will no longer have a Deputy Minister.

3. Minister Richard Baloyi, the Minister of Public Service and Administration, has been appointed Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

4. Mr Roy Padayachie, the Minister of Communications, is to take over the Public Service and Administration portfolio.

5. Mr Obed Bapela, the Deputy Minister of Communications, has been appointed Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation.

6. Ms Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, the Deputy Minister of Public Works, will be the Deputy Minister for Women, Children and Persons with Disability.

7. Mr S. Lechesa Tsenoli, chairperson of the portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs, has been appointed as Deputy Minister for Rural Development and Land Reform.

8. ANC Member of Parliament, Ms Thembisa Stella Ndabeni, will become the Deputy Minister of Communications.

I wish all the new Ministers and Deputy Ministers well in their portfolios.

We also extend our gratitude to the Ministers and Deputy Ministers who have vacated their portfolios for their contribution to building a better life for all.

Ladies and gentlemen,

On the 15th of September I announced that I would, in terms of section 84 (2) (f) of the Constitution, appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of wrongdoing in the Strategic Defence Procurement Packages, generally known as the “arms deal”.

I have appointed the Commission. The esteemed members are as follows;

1. Honourable Mr Justice Willie Seriti, Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

2. Honourable Mr Justice Willem van der Merwe, Deputy Judge President of the North Gauteng High Court.

3. Honourable Mr Justice Francis Legodi, Judge of the North Gauteng High Court.

Mr Justice Seriti will chair the Commission, which is expected to complete its work within two years.

We wish Mr Justice Seriti and his team well in the execution of this important task.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Section 9 (1) read with section 8 (1) to (8) empowers the President to establish a Board of Inquiry into allegations of misconduct against the National Police Commissioner, and make findings and recommendations as contemplated in section 8(6)(b).

In August, I informed the National Commissioner, General Bheki Cele, of my intention to institute a Board of Inquiry to look into the allegations of misconduct, in relation to the procurement of office accommodation for the South African Police Service, as per the findings and recommendations of the Public Protector.

I have established the Board of Inquiry. The esteemed members are as follows;

• Ms Justice Yvonne Mokgoro (retired).

• Advocate Terry Motau (SC).

• Advocate Anthea Platt.

Ms Justice Mokgoro will chair the Board of Inquiry.

I have also decided to suspend the National Commissioner from duty with immediate effect, pending the outcome of the inquiry, in terms of section 8 (3) (a) read with Section 9 (1) of the South African Police Service Act.

He will, during the period of suspension, be entitled to his full salary, allowances, privileges and benefits, in terms of Section 8(3)(b) of the Act.
Major General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi will act as National Commissioner until further notice.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I thank you.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/Cele-fired-Zumas-statement-20111024#.TqV5OM6Mqpx.facebook

I Accuse - By Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela speaking to the court at his trial in 1962. It was printed afterward in a pamphlet called ‘I ACCUSE! SPEECHES TO COURT BY NELSON MANDELA’. This was printed on poor paper in South Africa. Mandela’s picture was on the cover and below it: ‘WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED PLEASE, PASS IT ON‘.

Mr Mandela’s fake Ethiopian passport, issued in 1962, in the name of David Motsamayi. He used it to travel to travel the continent to arrange support for the newly set up Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK).

Feeding the Birds

The following insightful analogy was found on the Face book site of Helen Zille, our Premier of the Western Cape. One of her fans had posted this comment - it is quite clever!

"I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. What a beauty of a bird feeder it was, as I filled it lovingly with  seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.

But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue.

Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table, everywhere!

Then  some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me  even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. And others birds were  boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at  all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low
on food.

After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore.

So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up  their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.

Soon, the back yard was like it used to be .. quiet, serene.. and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.

Now let's see.

Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care

  and free education, and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen.
Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went  up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families; you  have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor; your child's  second grade class is behind other schools because over half the class  doesn't speak English. Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to 'press one' to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags  other than our flag are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding  more rights and free liberties.

Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the  bird feeder.

If you agree, pass it on; if not, continue cleaning up the poop."

Mahlamba Ndlopfu - Zuma's Official Residence

Condition	Good
Date of origin	1936-1940
Previous names	Libertas
Place	Bryntirion
Street	George Washington Blvd. Access via Church Street
Town	Pretoria
Magisterial district	Tshwane
Province	Gauteng
Country	South Africa
GPS coordinates	25°44’14.73” S 28°13’35.53” E
Planning authority name	Department of Public Works
Architect/Firm	(data here)
Project architect/Designer	Gerard Moerdyk/Moerdijk
Commissioning owner	Department of Public Works
Current owner	Department of Public Works
Current occupant	President Jacob Zuma
Previous uses	Official residence of the prime minister
	Official residence of the president of South Africa Mahlamba Ndlopfu is the Official Residence for the President of the Republic of South Africa in Pretoria. The house was formerly known as Libertas and was completed in 1940 as the official residence for the Prime Minister of South Africa. The Architect was Dr Gerrit Moerdyk who designed the house in a traditional Cape-Dutch style but with certain adaptations for a residence of this status. Dr Moerdyk was selected to be the architect after his design won the national competition by the Department of Public Works for such a project. The name Libertas was changed in 1995 to what we know today as Mahlamba Ndlopfu (Shangaan). Mahlamba Ndlopfu means "The new dawn" when translated into English.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

　

Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948

All human beings are born with equal and inalienable rights and fundamental freedoms.

The United Nations is committed to upholding, promoting and protecting the human rights of every individual. This commitment stems from the United Nations Charter, which reaffirms the faith of the peoples of the world in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person.

In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations has stated in clear and simple terms the rights which belong equally to every person.

These rights belong to you.

They are your rights. Familiarize yourself with them. Help to promote and defend them for yourself as well as for your fellow human beings.

　

　

Preamble

Whereas

recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas

disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas

it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas

it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

      Whereas       the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith
      in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person
      and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote
      social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas

Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas

a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, therefore,

The General Assembly

       Proclaims
this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one nother in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial ribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11

(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.

(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14

(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15

(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.

(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16

(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17

(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21

(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

(2) Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.

(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international cooperation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23

(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27

(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29

(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

United Nations Department of Public Information

For more information

www.ohchr.org/english/issues/education/training/udhr.htm
www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/index.asp

http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/2007/hrphotos/declaration%20_eng.pdf

SA Treatment of Whites is Human Rights Violation

16 August, 2011

Barry Saayman

The ANC in government is showing its real colours. They are in fact historically and currently gross human rights violators that should be brought to book rather sooner than later.

The fact that South-Africa is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights apparently does not deter the ANC from pursuing policies that are clearly in conflict with the Declaration.

Article 7 of the Declaration inter alia states that “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.”

However, thousands of white males and their families are doomed to be needy for the rest of their lives because they are unlawfully and deliberately barred by racist and discriminating labour legislation from re-entering and competing on an equal foot in the labour market whilst Article 23 (1) of the Declaration clearly states that “(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.”
Furthermore, according to COSATU “all the parties represented at the last ANC national executive committee meeting had supported nationalisation” whilst Article 17 (2) states that “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.”

With its official 2007 Polokwane Strategy and Tactics the ANC has criminalised the history and existence of the white minority in South-Africa. The latter are publicly and officially depicted by the ANC as thieves that stole the land from its alleged rightful owners. This constitutes an aggressive and deliberate attack on the honour and dignity of millions of innocent men, women and children that are upright and law-abiding citizens.

Moreover, Article 12 of the Declaration states that “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”

The ANC has no right to keep on abusing fellow South-Africans and their children that do not enjoy special immunities or banal rights in these unlawful and inhumane manners.

Whereto is all this revenge politics of the governing tripartite alliance leading the country and when will it end?

The natural outcomes of the NDR are clearly, amongst others, further unlawful ethnic cleansing in the labour market, further mass displacement of minorities of which 1 million already emigrated, expropriation without due compensation of white owned property whilst under the prevailing hate filled atmosphere and low levels of social cohesion, the possibility of mass murder and genocide can unfortunately not be ruled out.

The leadership of the ANC should be very concerned. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court lists the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.

The ANC leadership will most certainly one day in the not too distant future be held responsible by the very same international community that assisted them to overcome minority rule for subsequently leading the post-apartheid South-Africa in the wrong direction – the ANC will not be able to keep on fooling everybody all the time with their superficial lip service to reconciliation and nation building.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/ilive/2011/08/16/sa-treatment-of-whites-is-human-rights-violation-ilive