On paper the National Assembly, whose members are democratically elected, is a powerful body. It elects and can fire the President. It is empowered to pass legislation and to hold the members of the executive to account. But because the electoral system allows party leaders to exercise control over individual MPs, the Assembly often acts as a rubber stamp for decisions taken by the executive, turning MPs into glorified messengers for party bosses. A recent judgment by the Constitutional Court may begin to address this problem.
Section 73(2) of the Constitution allows any member of the National Assembly to introduce a Bill in the Assembly – even if that member is not a Cabinet Minister and even if that member belongs to an opposition party. However, the rules of the National Assembly (adopted in 1998) stated that this could only happen if a majority of members of the Assembly had given “permission” to an MP to initiate such legislation. In practice this meant that members of the opposition could never introduce any Bills in the Assembly. All they could do was to criticise the Bills introduced by the relevant Cabinet Minister. Their own legislative proposals had no chance of being debated by the relevant Portfolio Committee in the National Assembly.
In Oriani-Ambrosini v Sisulu the Constitutional Court, in an excellent judgment authored by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, declared these rules of the National Assembly unconstitutional. The judgment serves as a reminder that ours is a constitutional democracy “that is designed to ensure that the voiceless are heard”, one in which the “views of the marginalised or the powerless minorities” cannot be suppressed.
Quoting from a previous Constitutional Court judgment, Mogoeng reaffirmed that:
[T]he Constitution does not envisage a mathematical form of democracy, where the winner takes all until the next vote-counting exercise occurs. Rather, it contemplates a pluralistic democracy where continuous respect is given to the rights of all to be heard and have their views considered. . . . The open and deliberative nature of the process goes further than providing a dignified and meaningful role for all participants. It is calculated to produce better outcomes through subjecting laws and governmental action to the test of critical debate, rather than basing them on unilateral decision-making.
When individual MPs have the power to initiate legislation and introduce Bills in the National Assembly it provides them with an opportunity “to promote their legislative proposals so that they could be considered properly”. The members of both the majority and minority parties in the Assembly will then be required “to deliberate critically and seriously on legislative proposals and other matters of national importance”. These deliberations will then happen in the relevant Portfolio Committee before the Bill is submitted to the National Assembly for a vote.
There is a good reason for the Constitution’s inclusive approach to democracy. As Justice Mogoeng reminded us:
South Africa’s shameful history is one marked by authoritarianism, not only of the legal and physical kind, but also of an intellectual, ideological and philosophical nature. The apartheid regime sought to dominate all facets of human life. It was determined to suppress dissenting views, with the aim of imposing hegemonic control over thoughts and conduct, for the preservation of institutionalised injustice. It is this unjust system that South Africans, through their Constitution, so decisively seek to reverse by ensuring that this country fully belongs to all those who live in it.
This does not mean that the will of the majority party in the Assembly can ultimately be thwarted. The majority party can always vote against a Bill after it had been discussed and debated by the Portfolio Committee. Some might say the right of opposition MPs to introduce their own Bills would therefore be of little more than ceremonial significance. However, as the Constitutional Court pointed out, this is not so as it will give opposition MPs the opportunity to go beyond an obstructionist oppositional role, allowing them to submit constructive proposals of their own about how to solve a particular legislative problem and allowing these proposals to be discussed seriously by the members of the National Assembly.
Our electoral system — which requires us to vote for political parties and not for individual MPs – renders it difficult for voters to hold individual MPs accountable. Unless we join a political party and unless we actively take part in the election processes for the leadership of that party, we have little or no say in who represents us in Parliament and who is elected as our President. This diminishes transparency and accountability in the governance and law-making processes.
Given these limitations, rules of the National Assembly which would make it impossible for individual MPs to have their alternative legislative proposals tabled and discussed by the Assembly diminishes our democracy and robs voters of the opportunity to judge whether they support the legislative proposals of the governing party or of any given opposition party.
Chief Justice Mogoeng emphasised that in providing such alternatives it “allow for a legislative proposal to be debated properly and in a manner that is open to the public, before its fate is decided”. Furthermore:
public participation, so as to cultivate an ‘active, informed and engaged citizenry’, is also facilitated by rules that allow even minority party members, who are not ordinarily represented in Cabinet, to initiate or prepare legislation and introduce a Bill. This is because the public can only properly hold their elected representatives accountable if they are sufficiently informed of the relative merits of issues before the Assembly.
For example, imagine what might have happened if an individual member of the opposition had been allowed to introduce an alternative Protection of State Information Bill into the National Assembly. We would then have had the opportunity to compare this alternative Bill with the Secrecy Bill punted by the securocrats in the government. The relevant Committee would then have had two Bills before it containing different approaches to dealing the protection of state information.
If the version of the Bill introduced by the opposition MP turned out to be frivolous or unworkable, it would have exposed the opposition party to criticism and might have created the impression in the minds of voters that the party is not ready to govern the country. If, however, the Bill provided a workable (but human rights friendly) solution to the problem of how to protect state information, it would have embarrassed the majority party and would have enhanced debate — both in Parliament and by the public — about what is at stake with the passing of the Bill.
Of course, this does not mean the majority party would have changed course and would have ditched the Secrecy Bill in favour of an alternative Bill proposed by Lindiwe Mazibuko. The majority party would remain entitled to make the final decision on which Bill to pass into law — no matter how unpopular or how unwise that Bill might be with the electorate.
But in the long run its MPs would have been forced to engage seriously with an alternative Bill proposed by the opposition. A failure to do so in a serious and competent manner would have run the risk of turning away more informed voters and would have eroded the voting majority of the dominant party. On the other hand, if the MPs of the majority party had managed to show up the Bill proposed by the opposition as frivolous, unworkable or unpopular, the party would have been able to gain more support from voters currently supporting an opposition party or not supporting any party at all.
The judgment will not cure all the ills that beset our democratic Parliament. The culture within political parties, which requires strict party discipline and control of individual MPs by party leaders, are too strong for this. But it is a first small step towards making our democratic Parliament relevant once more.
Print 
PDF
Not sure whether to keep the eye on Nkandla or departmental documents with figures??
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Public-works-to-keep-eye-on-Nkandla-20121010
This is unfortunately an instance where the CC, CJ and Prof are both wrong.
In this instance one must defer to His Excelence, The Reverend, Professor JG Zuma who clearly explained that if you are in the minority you have fewer rights.
I know he is right because he’s the President and when the president says it, it must be right, not so (Nixon)
Well done CJ Mogoeng-squared.
Maybe there is a god after all!
1998?
SO they would have been initiated under Mandela’s watch then, I’m sure his legacy keepers will brush that under the carpet.
Prof says “in an excellent judgment authored by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng”
Where are the “Mogoeng haters” now. I noticed one saying well-done, where are the others, show yourself haters.
I guess the suggestion that Mogoeng’s appointment was another instance of that brilliant policy of cadre deployment is now dead and buried. ( watch the haters revive it)
The silence of the haters – starring Brett, Graham, Cicero and other extras.
mhlongo
October 10, 2012 at 17:18 pm
Hey Mhlongo,
“Where are the “Mogoeng haters” now. I noticed one saying well-done, where are the others, show yourself haters.”
You’ve arrived at the wrong conclusion.
Just for the record, I do not hate Mogoeng-squared.
But I don’t believe that he was the proper choice for CJ in the circumstances.
Nor do I “hate” Zuma – conversely I think he is a very likeable person. But he makes a kak president.
All the same M-squared is showing that he can elevate himself out of the backwardness he started off with – good for him and South Africa.
Lot of rap listeners blog here, extreme this or that no gray areas: “screw you mother fuckers, cause I’m on a boat (or a Bentley)” “they see me rollin, they hatin”.
We’re dealing with constitutional issues here and not all discisions or criticism comes as a direct result of a commentators prejudice.
What if for an instance you take into consideration what exactly the consequences of a descision, taken by yourself or someone else might have?
What if you could become so good at it that you could give quite accurate pro’s and cons of your own discisions or the dicisions of others?
What if you realise that with regards to certain topics there are other people who gives more accurate pros and cons to certain decisions, perhaps because they have somehow qualified to do topic specific analisys or perhaps they don’t listen to no niggers telling them who the mother fucking haters are? Maybe we should do a little introspection as to who and what we allow to influence our lives before we go accusing people of dumb ass mother fucking bull shit if you know what I’m talking about?
With regards to the topic at hand today it is my humble opinion that the justice dispensed by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng is of idealistic value allone and will not translate into any of the beautiful potential outcomes as identified by Professor de Vos. What’s going to happen? The DA tabling a piece legislation that has the potential of actual implimentation? (unlike the firearm legislation).
It sounds like an attempt to take Mr. Presidents foot out of his mouth after his minority report the other day at absolutely no expens. Talk is cheap, but the money buys the whiskey and the Range Rover sport with supercharger.
mhlongo
October 10, 2012 at 17:18 pm
I also thought (and still thinks) Mogoeng was the wrong choice for CJ.
Not because he is not a good judge. I think he is an excellent judge, perhaps the best the Noth West Division ever produced. However to be CJ you need something else: Strong leadership qualities.
@ Mhlongo
With respect, it saddens me that the CC has been handing victories to opposition parties like Ambrosini and the DA. What they cannot win at the polls, these incorrigible counter-majoritarian counter-revolutionaries win in Court.
That is why I renew my demand for the TRANSFORMATION of the judiciary!
Thanks.
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder
October 10, 2012 at 19:21 pm
Dworky,
“it saddens me that the CC has been handing victories to opposition parties like Ambrosini and the DA.”
You really mean that our judges have been CO-OPTED, don’t you?
Maggs, yes, that is more or less what I meant.
BTW, do you think Brett will ever get around to sharing with us what inspired him to risk his reputation by telling his dominee that apartheid was UNCHRISTIAN? Could it be because blacks were “spoiled rotten” by the avalanche of free goodies dumped on their undeserving heads by whitists?
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder
October 10, 2012 at 20:39 pm
Dworky
I don’t want to get involved in the first and second generation Christian family disputes – as you know I am really a Hindu at heart. (p.s. ok, sort of p.s. – Brett was bullshitting. I was there when he said “Great sermon, padre”)
p.s. (really p.s. this time) – do you think Brett and Vuyani are closely related?
Dworky, it was a huge step considering my twelve-year-old’s-reputation was at stake.
Do you think it might be a nice gesture – as a way to say ‘Thank You!’ for all they have contributed to our country – to let all those whitists enjoy a nice, peaceful, comfortable old age?
mhlongo says:
October 10, 2012 at 17:18 pm
A Moegoeng ‘hater’? Where? And how? I think you have me confused with Maggs!
Brett, has it occurred to you that the ANC govt has already offered you and your people THANKS FOR APARTHEID’S LAVISH GIFTS TO BLACKS — by letting land redistribution grind to a halt, failing to prosecute the security police who did not seek amnesty, maintaining capitalism, encouraging white enterprise by shoving whites out of dead-end civil service jobs and, most recently, turning its guns on angry blacks who want to seize all the wealth?
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder
October 10, 2012 at 21:05 pm
Dworky,
“the ANC govt has already offered you and your people THANKS”
You really mean that the ANC has been CO-OPTED. don’t you?
Great. I want to go to parliament and propose that we scrap BBEEE and AA with immediate effect. No more handouts and stuff for mahala nomore. Let black folks stand on their own feet and do some honest graft for a change.
I know that is what Steve Biko would have wanted.
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder says:
October 10, 2012 at 21:05 pm
Interesting proposition. No, not really – you’re being a silly azz as usual albeit in a slightly different way. The ANC signed on the bottom line below the constitutional framework of the modus vivendi. Personally, I would not be in mourning if they resiled from the agreement considering how things are turning out.
95% of land claims have been settled. Despite the huge bureaucracy the ANC created. Many of the land resettlement schemes are abject failures, dustbowls, with the SPCA having to shoot the animals where they find them due to malnutrition and tea and pawpaw plantations being used for firewood.
So much for land redistribution having ground to a halt.
Many of the Mbokodo Camp Quattro torturers apply for amnesty, did they?
Cyril has shown he is quite ready to take over from the Randlords in exploiting labour, thank you very much. The Randlords did not exploit for my people – they exploited my people and black people and kept them at each others throats.
The ANC has maintained capitalism because the alternative is living on rats like some Zimbabweans (OK not those connected to ZANY like Solomon Mujuru) or Mozambicans (OK not those connected to Graca’s family)
The ANC turned ‘it’s’ guns on a rival union to NUM. A union with a filthy rich leader whose wealth is unexplained. Strangely enough, NUM leaders are dropping dead like flies (or KZN politicians.) The cops appear to be stumped.
Speaking of NUM, Cosatu leader Vavi has decided the way to decrease social distance (supposedly the reason Cosatu is becoming alienated from its base) is to swan-dive right back into the 19th century.
SA has been downgraded by ratings-agencies as a result and faces a recession for Christmas. Nice little capital flight Monday, what?
Lastly, we have service delivery riots every day because Mbeki destroyed the Afrikaner civil service.
BTW, thanks so much for asking for a newsroundup. Seen The Star’s front page article about the ‘affirmative actioned’ ‘transformed’ SABC?
Is no-one going to ask why it took opposition parties 14 years to challenge the greedy, shameless, godless ANC’s abuse of power in the ConCourt?
Is it because they mostly do SFA?
Interesting that nobody apologises to JM or JZ for appointing such a God-fearing patriach.
After the “white liberal” lynch mob all but crucified both of them.
Brett, is no one going to as you why you forgot about the Certification Judgments (1997); New National Party of South Africa v The Government of the Republic of South Africa and others (1998); Democratic Party v Minister of Home Affairs (1999); UDM v President or the Republic (2002)?
Michael, if they did I’d be in big trouble because I have not done the homework.
Please explain?
Indeed, you have not done your homework, Brett, so you ARE in big trouble.
Please look at the CC website, which carries every case decided by the CC. You will find all the cases I mentioned in which political parties challenged the govt, and more.
Brett, I did see some stat somewhere about govt promising to redistribute 30% of farming land by 2010, but only achieving 5% or less. Now there is some new 2014 target, which will likewise fail. But maybe this, like all the other stories of govt breaking almost every promise its makes, is crap too.
You essential points stands. Blacks are UNGRATEFUL for apartheid. You have persuaded me. End of story. Good night!
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder October 11, 2012 at 0:38 am
‘Brett, I did see some stat somewhere about govt promising to redistribute 30% of farming land by 2010, but only achieving 5% or less.”
Those figures are not correct. In NW province for example almost half of all land belongs to RB tribe and in KZN it has just recently been publicised that 33% belongs to the Zulu tribe held in custody by King Godwill.
There are evev larger swathes of land held by other customary entities and also by the state.
The sooner we get the facts right, the sooner we can put the ‘land issue’ /myth to bed.
Michael Osborne
October 11, 2012 at 0:11 am
Hey Prof MO,
Is the effect of this judgement is that when Minister Shabangu says “SHUT UP!!!!”, the opposition are not obliged to?
@Brett Nortje – brilliant argument at least Ozone Blue is taking off rose tinted spectecles with regards to land ownership and redistribution.The Transkei is the worst example of land lying idle and must vye for the title of the biggest moter car scrap yard in Africa.
Gone to Mangaung, call us next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Eastern-Cape-audit-reports-worsen-20121011
“What I can say today is that On-Point should never have been awarded the tender by a long shot,” said Madonsela, adding that: “This entire process was unlawful. The agreements led to millions of rand worth of kickbacks.”
She said the Treasury had been asked to recover the funds paid to On-Point, and the state attorney was advised to institute legal proceedings against On-Point and its shareholders.”
Is Madonsela not asking Treasury to do the impossible???
IF through a miracle Treasury is refunded then what happens to the bridges, roads etc??
How I wish this move can be applied to other tenders such as Arms deal, R10 Bn Social Grants etc which have evidence of bribing and corruption.
OB
Nothing new there, tell Mantashe about your equal society.
http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/10/11/south-africa-is-an-irish-coffee-society
@Gwebecimele
What happens to the bridges roads etc ?
Well nothing because they were not built in the first place or if something resmembling them was built then only half the amount of money that should have been spent was spent and the rest sits in the Ratanang trust.
The CJ should not be applauded as he was not confronted with a real test. It is like asking Zuma to cut the ribbon during the opening ceremony of a new road. Ask him to debate Zille in public and he’ll be as scares as food in Somalia.
Hold your applause for the time when Moegoe Square makes a decision against the wishes of the executive.
Sgow yourself you said .
OK. Here
|\_/|
/ @ @ \
( > º < )
`»»x««´
/ O \
Miaaow.
-+. ;$X.
, X:%/..H :$
H/+;.,X ,+X: ;%
:-. .X -+X+ ;%
=$=/++;H :$.
=+ =: -$,
.;:=-.,X .$:
,X,=:;+H /%
H. ,$=
:% /+.
;X+/+/+M, -X:
,H ;$,
X, .%+.
==-,. :% -%;
%%=;;/+: =$=
H. ;%+:.
=$ -$,
.%: .=/++%+X$=.
/$+////= :%+=. -/+:
.$: :$: -%;
%/ .%; -$.
;% X- .$,
-/++%- +; ,$
:@:. @. +-
=%; =/++++++%H:. :+, :;
=$: ,++:. ,;+: X#: =/++/, /@=
:$: .%+. -%= ,+%=. ,+%H,++
;$= -X, ;+ =%+. ;$ =$=
/%, ,X. :$+%+: M. /$,
.+%. H, %: .M ./%,
,%/ =$ ,H .$; ,%+.
-$; ;; @. ./$- ,$;
:$- ;; @. :$+- ;%
/+. =$ $#; ,H .; %=
,%; H, -/. +; $=
=$= -X. :$ ;%
;+. -X, ;$ %/
.+; .%/. -$; =$-
-$- -%%= ,;$/ .%/
;%. =++++//+++;, /%.
.+/ ;$-
-$: /%=
;%. =+%-
.$; .–, ,+%:.
;X$+;;= .;$/$,
;+ .–, ,;%+- %,
H.=$XH:/ .=/%%% $.
$= %+, . .-;+$%/=. ,$ X.
,X. ,- -H :%+/:, $. .X X
,$; :X, =$;% /: X H=
-/+/++H, ,H X. -+ X H:$
,X =X ;; .X X. ./$= %-
+% +/ .X X. $+%+, ,@+/++/=.
=$H= :$/H- +;:/%+;, =@% =;++=
.X.,@. ,:+///+/;-. ;$/.:$, :++,
%= ;% +% ,H, .H,
.X %+ .H, -H X,
/X, /$. ,X= $: H/
.:++/:, ,%+, ,+%, -X .M-%;
,/%/- ./%%/:=,,,-:/%$/, @/, /+ :$,
=%/, .-=;;;:-, H:+$- ,H .%/
=$: +; /$=H, -$=
.%/ $. // .X% ;%,
-$. @. /$ .%/
H. .@ /% :$.
H =$ X- ,X,
/; +; -@;, .H
.@, H. H-/%. ,%;
.$;H, =X $- +/ =-M+
.$- -H- H, +; :+ -+ H-$:
$- .$+ /% ;/ /++/+ X:%=
+; =$/. =X :+ X;:M$+
=$ -+%/-. /% H@, ,-
H. ,:$H+++%= /+%=
// .%%. ,H $-
H :X#= .X-.@%
=% %/.@$/ X= ;;H
%= ,X= +::$. .X= -$ H
H ,X, X, %+. =X- .$
=@ ,X. .$- ,%%, =$; /:
-:+%/H .X, .%: ./%/, .;$;. -$
/+:, = $+ =@/ ,/%/= ,;$%= :$
%;,. ,%/% ,% :/+/:, ,=/+%/- .%%$.
=;/$ :% %- -;%++;;;+/////:-. – ./$@ ,$.
.$: .:=,,H .X- .;%= .=+%=.H @++=
,X, .$+ =$-=;;, .%; .=/XM$/+%H@%::+$= ;/ =+;
%= -X,// -$ -$/. ,+/;/;-. H/. .-==-. /% -$:
,$+%/ /; ,X. =X+%:, =%+. +-X%/:==:;++= :$.
,$+%. ,H+ -;+%/=,. -/%: $,/;//,.,. .$-
.X+: ,=H@/;::. ,X=+/, .H.
;;=X .H-% ,XH%+;=,, .,=:/++@,
$X :$;- -X=:% -/+/::::/;;;;;::::;/+,
;+-%: ,:/+/:.,XH .=///////////;=,
X =++;===;+$$X
=/ .–,. =+X
+= %/+
%, .X$,
+- +$+
:/ =@$
.H ,MH.
/= ,MX.
.$. :@;
-$:,-/%/.
-::,
MDF your concerns are noted, but you see my good man, the issue of Transformation is not about skin colour, it’s about a mindset. Transformative judges, those who are loyal to the constitutional injuction of a transfornative jurispudence need not be black.
On another issue, I cant wait for the DA to introduce bills, Parliament is about to get very exciting. Watch the ANC shoot them down.
@ Mhlongo
” Transformation is not about skin colour, it’s about a mindset. ”
I agree with you in part. Having a dark skin is a NECESSARY, but not a SUFFICIENT condition for being a TRANSFORMED person. Hence, I say that it is impossible to be TRANSFORMED if you are not African. On the other hand, it is possible to be African, but not be TRANSFORMED. The latter tragic case is exemplified by an “African” judge who rules in favour of a DA litigant!
Hayi man, Fass.
Nope, even judges who are light of skin can propound a transformative jurisprudence, they usually are liberals, yep those wonderful liberals are usually the main drives of a transformative jurispudence.
Ho ho Mr Fassy and Zuma somewhat hoist by their own petards as it were. Seems to me this is like the apartheid ers judges who, once appointed, weren’t as pliable as the Nats would have liked. I think TRANSFORMED to Fassy et al (Radebe etc) means judges listening attentively to their masters voice from Luthuli House, Harare or Nkandla and ruling accordingly. Most inconvenient having an independent judiciary.
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder says:
October 11, 2012 at 13:46 pm
What about judges from the Balkan states?
@ Mhlongo
“even judges who are light of skin can propound a transformative jurisprudence”
I find it sad that you have been captured by the anti-essentialist jurisprudence of legal positivism and liberal “colour-blindness.”
@ Chris (who doth protest too much)
The balkan bench is a red herring. Let us first deal with TRANSFORMATION here at home.
Michael Osborne
October 11, 2012 at 0:11 am
Not to be contrarian, Michael, but are you sure you want to cite those cases as authority in a dispute about none of the opposition parties challenging the Rules in defence of 73(2) and 55(1)(b) of the Con?
mhlongo
October 11, 2012 at 13:38 pm
Thank you for the help, mhlongo, but we never fail to spot that mindset by following the Hawks or the stench of the track record.
mhlongo
October 11, 2012 at 13:38 pm
Hey Mhlongo,
“On another issue, I cant wait for the DA to introduce bills, Parliament is about to get very exciting. Watch the ANC shoot them down.”
That is probably what the opposition hope will happen.
It is most likely that bills introduced by the opposition will be those which are aimed at e.g. improving the lives of the poor and needy.
So let’s see …
There are calls for changing the electoral system in respect to electing a President.
Do people really believe that if the ANC fielded Zuma and the DA fielded Zille/de Lille/Ramphele that Zuma would lose?????
Or do people want a choice in respect to the ANC presidential candidate?
Maggs Naidu – (maggsnaidu@hotmail.com) – Zuma MUST go!
October 11, 2012 at 22:39 pm
Our people are not stupid. The fact that they vote for the ANC despite all this media/chattering classes whining and propaganda about “service delivery” and even the threat from some quarters of “economic freedom fights” and making SA :ungovernable” tells me that the people are in essence satisfied with the status quo and that they are immensely pleased with the performance of oldest liberation movement on the African soils.
And please correct your handle as in now to prevent further embarrassment in future – cause cde. Zuma IS ON A ROLL.
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder
October 11, 2012 at 15:18 pm
“I find it sad that you have been captured by the anti-essentialist jurisprudence of legal positivism and liberal “colour-blindness.”
All should be forgiven because it appears as if even cde Subokwe suffered from the above ideological weaknesses:
“We guarantee no minority rights, because we think in terms of individuals, not groups. Economically we aim at the rapid extension of industrial development in order to alleviate pressure on the land, which is what progress means in terms of modern society. We stand committed to a policy guaranteeing the most equitable distribution of wealth. Socially we aim at the full development of the human personality and a ruthless uprooting and outlawing of all forms or manifestations of the racial myth.”
I wonder what cde Sobukwe would have said about this morally reprehensible development of deep rural Nkandla and the ANC’s socalled “Developmental State”. Or the fact that despite cde Zuma being a progressive socialist he still takes time off for his people and openly displays immense pride in his Zulu heritage.
“Socially we aim at the full development of the human personality and a ruthless uprooting and outlawing of all forms or manifestations of the racial myth.”
VIVA.
Thus BBBEE, AA and all other disgusting references to Apartheid era racial classifications MUST go!
So, sadly, but not surprisingly it appears as if our “Economic Freedom Fighters” are in fact a bunch of common criminals:
“Finding 3: Did the Ratanang Family Trust and/or Mr J Malema benefit improperly from the tender that was awarded to On-Point?
(a) On-Point paid more than R2 million directly to the Ratanang Family Trust from November 2010 to May 2012 in the form of “dividends” and loans. The amount of
R1 million withdrawn 5 days after one of the kickbacks was paid under the back-to-back agreements, is further accounted for in the bank statements as having been paid towards the Ratanang Farm. Further amounts of R160 000 and R100 000 are reflected as having been paid in respect of the “Sandton Property” and “Sandowns Property”, respectively. Payments were also made to Tshiamo Dichabe, the Makatele Family Trust, Guilder Investments and the Gwangwa Family Trust (former and current shareholders of Guilder Investments, which is the sole shareholder of On-Point).”
http://www.pprotect.org/library/investigation_report/2012/Final%20Report%20Signed.pdf
@Thabo Botha – you write a lot of crap, the chattering classes could never be satisfied with the income equality gap that has been brought about as a result of a lack of skills development or the increase in infant mortality rates due to piss poor hygiene in the goverment hospitals to name some.
Perhaps your mindset demonstrates why the west is so far ahead of africa because what the black population in africa is expected to put up with, will never be tolerated in the USA Europe and elswhere.
Mike
October 12, 2012 at 9:41 am
“you write a lot of crap, the chattering classes could never be satisfied with the income equality gap”
Just a point of correction in your deeply flawed logic mike. The chattering classes would not even exist if it wasn’t for the “income equality gap”.
Just for the HANDBOOK
May be DA and Ambrosini can start with a bill around these perks test the ANC MP’s if they will behave like those in Kenya.
http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/cars/bmw/bmw-s-new-7-series-bigwig-wafts-in-1.1401273
Mean time the [criminal] Economic Economic Fighters are revisiting Zimbabwe of all places, to learn, bring back some real “knowledge” and pointers on how a “progressive” revolutionary can “transform” an African economy from semi-dysfunctional and colonial to a steaming pile of donkey shit.
Malema heads to Zimbabwe for talks
http://www.iol.co.za/news/special-features/malema-heads-to-zimbabwe-for-talks-1.1401334#.UHfPKXaKhRg
correction … [criminal] Economic Enrichment Fighters
Thabo Botha says:
October 12, 2012 at 10:15 am
LOL! Cde Juliass going to get new instructions from his CIO handlers on how to unseat Cde 783.
His bail-conditions must have been far more lenient than the norm.
Pierrot? Zim-style elections at UCT?
Brett Nortje
October 12, 2012 at 10:58 am
“Cde Juliass going to get new instructions from his CIO handlers on how to unseat Cde 783.”
First of all Mr. Malema is no “comrade” of mine. He is my self-proclaimed enemy.
Secondly I suspect you are right, I can’t imagine he is going to seriously discuss more revolutionary tactics singing “kill the boer” whose very taxes are been used to keep Zimbabwe from starving to death as we speak.
“Zimbabwe is turning to South Africa and Angola for help in plugging a $400-million hole in its budget, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Thursday, lamenting a lack of foreign investment and aid from its traditional Western donors.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/african-and-mideast-business/cash-crunch-forces-zimbabwe-to-seek-aid/article4524543/
Very sad.
Let’s hope the judge or magistrate has been fired.
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Dept-pays-rape-survivor-for-case-delays-20121012
WTF does Tendai expect – go ask your vice president for the money. Tax her husband’s estate, Tendai!
Thabo Botha says:
October 12, 2012 at 11:16 am
You red bastards change allegiances all the time, don’t you? ‘Putsches’ and all that. Time to make the zimbos sing for their supper.
Kill. The farmer! Kill! The Boer! Ngilambile, Baas!
Jy beskou Juliass as jou vyand, Ek beskou hom as die beste ding om in ‘n lang tyd met wit Suid-Afrikaners te gebeur. Vir 16 jaar was ons lamgele deur skuld gevoelens oor wat tydens Apartheid gebeur het en leierloos. Niks gedoen omtrent S235 van die Groot Con nie.
Kyk wat het Juliass vir ons gedoen.
Brett Nortje
October 12, 2012 at 11:40 am
“You red bastards change allegiances all the time, don’t you?”
As I pointed out on many occasions we are simply sticking to generally agreed principles as enshrined in all treatises on human rights. From the writings of PAC founding members, to the Freedom Charter, to Nelson Mandela to the UN Bill of Human Rights.
It is therefore not us who have “changed allegiances”, rather it is that new fascist ideological bastard that is dominating political discourse now and making us forget what we are and what we represent.
Brett Nortje
October 12, 2012 at 11:47 am
“Jy beskou Juliass as jou vyand, Ek beskou hom as die beste ding om in ‘n lang tyd met wit Suid-Afrikaners te gebeur.”
So if I understand you and your bizarre twisted logic then the “white genocide” partly attributable to “kill the boer” politics is in fact a good thing.
erm.. isn’t that a bit cold and how can I say cynical. How many boers do you believe have to die before white South Africa gets a new leader?
Pierre says : “Our electoral system — which requires us to vote for political parties and not for individual MPs – renders it difficult for voters to hold individual MPs accountable. Unless we join a political party and unless we actively take part in the election processes for the leadership of that party, we have little or no say in who represents us in Parliament and who is elected as our President. This diminishes transparency and accountability in the governance and law-making processes.”
I’m still curious as to what changes would make the effective difference.
}}In practice this meant that members of the opposition could never
introduce any Bills in the Assembly. All they could do was to criticise
the Bills introduced by the relevant Cabinet Minister. Their own
legislative proposals had no chance of being debated by the relevant
Portfolio Committee in the National Assembly.{{
== Did this apply under the Nats too?
Is that why absurd legislation, like what needed to be abolished by CC:Jahfa
could exists for decades? Or is it just the African sun that made then stoopid
too?
}} South Africa’s shameful history is one marked by authoritarianism,
not only of the legal and physical kind, but also of an intellectual,
ideological and philosophical nature. The apartheid regime sought
to dominate all facets of human life.{{
= That’s how it WENT. The IDEA was the OPPOSITE: you-go-your-way and
I’ll-go-my-way = APARTness. Islamists & Christians want-the-whole-cake.
TwoStatists are prepare to share, but not chew on the same slice.
But globalisation doesn’t ALLOW isolationism because diseases and.
economic-refugees can’t be kept out.
}} However, as the Constitutional Court pointed out,
this is not so as it will give opposition MPs the opportunity to go
beyond an obstructionist oppositional role, allowing them to submit
constructive proposals of their own about how to solve a particular
legislative problem and allowing these proposals to be discussed
seriously by the members of the National Assembly.{{
== An important point is missed here. Read the analogy:
By creating a RECORD of the proceedings of my matter, a HIGHER authority
can see how the SA-Courts acted incompetently/illegally.
I.e. the voters can look-back at HOW the abusive-majority refused the
oppositions proposals, and appreciate the consequent results. We told you so.
== OK, I read that further text implies exactly this. Thank you.
Maggs Naidu – (maggsnaidu@hotmail.com) – Zuma MUST go!
October 12, 2012 at 12:53 pm
“Pierre says :”
Who gives a fuck about what what “Pierre says”?
ZOL – Zuma is On a Roll !
“Our people are not stupid.”
Thabozone is right. I saw a study on the internet showing that Our People are among the most clever in the world.
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder
October 13, 2012 at 11:46 am
Dworky
When Ozone Boy says of right-wing WHITE people “Our people are not stupid,” he may have a point; after all they are known to have made some significant discoveries like the Cape of Storms; boerewors; rugby with lots of beer; that funny flag; Orania; Robben Island; torture …
But OzoneBoy does make up for what his people lack!
Thabo Botha says:
October 12, 2012 at 12:24 pm
You could watch cartoons and draw the wrong conclusion.
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=331358&sn=Detail&pid=71619
James Myburgh:
“Over the past fifteen years it has been taken as a given that commercial farmers have subjected to extremely high levels of violent and often murderous attack in South Africa. Many intellectuals and human rights organisations have however been anxious to underplay the import of this problem: The underlying concern apparently being that farmers might end up being regarded as ‘victims’ rather than as ‘perpetrators’. The line generally taken has been that there is no evidence that these attacks are in any way racially or politically motivated.”
The shining example is Michael pretending he has never heard of Genocide Watch. Now Juliass has left the pinko ‘progressives’ much less space for avoidance.
Juliass made Afrikaners face their own reality and a lot of them have connected the dots. That attitude you see now was a long time coming.
Can someone please call a white cop?
(Coz a black cop might beat the shit out the victim…)
http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/cop-beat-up-son-of-ex-envoy-1.1402237
‘Cop’ beat up son of ex-envoy
October 13 2012 at 09:49am
By Kashiefa Ajam
Johannesburg – A shocking assault by a man who got out of a police vehicle, left the son of SA’s former ambassador to Thailand in a Joburg intensive care unit, with a fractured skull and “contusions on his brain”.
Donald Gibson, son of Douglas Gibson who was the DA’s chief whip prior to becoming an ambassador, was beaten and knocked out last Saturday when what was to have been a fun day with colleagues at the rugby match between the Springboks and the All Blacks at the FNB stadium in Soweto, turned ugly.
Douglas Gibson said his son, who is an environmental scientist, had been punched below the ear after finding himself among a group who joked and laughed on seeing the door of a police van fall off in the parking lot.
“While [they were] in the car park, a police van pulled up. Several men climbed out. Then the door of the van just fell off and there was a roar of laughter from bystanders. People were laughing and taking pictures as they tried to put the door back on. It was all good-natured,” the injured man’s father said.
“Then one man [who got out of the police van] pointed at Donald and said to him ‘I know where you live’. Donald replied that he wasn’t going to disseminate the pictures. He said he wouldn’t put them on Facebook or Twitter.”
But the man responded by punching him and knocking him out. He went on to threaten another member of the group.
“(Donald) fell on the back of his head. People around him thought that he was dying. He was gurgling and gargling in pain.”
The men from the police van then got into a taxi and left.
Donald was rushed to a Joburg hospital, where he has been in ICU ever since.
“He has a fractured skull and contusions on his brain. We are very grateful… [the injuries were not a lot worse]. But we have been assured that he will be fine,” Gibson said.
The assault was reported to the Parkview police station, and station commander Colonel Nanda Moodley took a witness statement himself.
Moodley told Weekend Argus sister title the Saturday Star yesterday: “I got a call from Mr Gibson who told me what had happened to his son. He said his son was incapacitated. We took a statement from a witness.”
But the case had to be transferred to the Booysens police station, because the FNB Stadium fell under that jurisdiction.
“There has been a slight delay, an administrative delay, with getting the docket there. We have only managed to take it there today (Friday). But I have called the station commander there and told him that this case needs to take priority,” Moodley said.
He denied the men in the police vehicle had been policemen.
“The police officers were driving a Toyota Quantum. They gave these three guys a lift. When they got out of the kombi, they yanked the door so hard that it came off the rails. Then they tried to put it back.”
Moodley was adamant that the man who attacked Gibson was not a policeman. But it was unclear why the police at the scene at the time had not made an arrest there and then.
Donald is a partner and principal environmental scientist at SRK Consulting, an international consulting practice that provides advice to clients, mainly from the earth- and water-resource industries.
He has been involved in environmental management and has published several research documents on environmental issues.
Last night Douglas Gibson said his son was awake, and now able to speak, but that his recovery would be slow.
“It is going to be a very slow process for us. It has been hard for everyone. His wife, Tarryn, is a sensible and intelligent woman. She has taken it like a champ. But it has been hard, exhausting.”
And he was adamant he would insist on a “thorough police investigation”.
“We have several witnesses and pictures which were taken of the incident. I am determined to see that this kind of crime will not go unpunished.”
Weekend Argus
Brett Nortje
October 13, 2012 at 13:07 pm
I may not agree with James Myburgh’s but I have absolutely no doubt that “kill the boer” politics is inciting violence amongst the black masses and plays a contributing factor in the farms attacks and the grotesque violence that accompany them.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/04/20/whites-not-the-enemy
That is another reason why whites in general and boers in particular should throw their support behind cde Zuma for he represents the nonracial, nation building character of the old ANC.
Prosecute violent strikers – Satawu
“Cape Town – The violent strikers who killed a Cape Town truck driver do not belong in the labour movement and should face the law, the SA Trade Transport Workers Union said on Tuesday.
“We do not think people like that belong in our democracy and they do not belong with us as Satawu,” said spokesman Vincent Masoga.
A Cape Town trucker was declared brain dead after being hit on the head by a stone thrown into his vehicle, the Cape Times reported on Tuesday.
Gary Stewart, 41, had been on life support with a fractured skull and he sustained severe brain damage last Wednesday.
He was hit on the head while driving on the N2 by a stone thrown through the windshield of his vehicle.
The strikers were thought to be members of Satawu.
“No one associated with us can be involved with violence,” Masoga said.
He said that if any Satawu members were found to be involved they would face internal disciplinary process as well as the law.
“We are heartbroken at this. We send condolences to his family and fellow workers,” Masoga said.
“The criminals involved must certainly face the wrath of the law.”
Masoga said Satawu would co-operate with the law enforcement investigation. – Sapa”
http://www.iol.co.za/business/business-news/prosecute-violent-strikers-satawu-1.1399332
Fifty ‘infiltrators’ arrested at Samwu march
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/10/12/fifty-infiltrators-arrested-at-samwu-march
Collectively, as a peace loving and democratic nation we shall deal with the political violence and those who advocate it.
Ruthlessly.
Wie gaan dit doen? Jou Minister van Justisie wie se Departement vir die agste keer ‘n oudit gepluk het?
Gaan praat kak op ‘n ander plek.
A Port Elizabeth truck driver spent more than an hour convincing a suicidal man not to jump off the Van Stadens River Bridge early yesterday morning.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2012/10/11/trucker-prevents-suicide-attempt
Brett Nortje
October 13, 2012 at 15:26 pm
I honestly do feel sorry for incurably racist white people like you (of whom there are unfortunate more than I would like to admit) who don’t won’t to live under an African government, don’t see themsleves as Africans (as Sobukwe would put it) and in fact don’t want to be in Africa at all.
As said before it is better if you just leave. Better for yourself, better for your kids and better for the rest of who do feel patriotism and passion towards our forefather’s commitment to Afrika.
I
http://m.apnews.mobi/ap/db_6776/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=cECDidsh
Incurably racist? Because I hold black people to the same standard as white people?
Because I’m disgusted that black people appear to hold black people to no standard at all?
http://www.iol.co.za:80/news/politics/da-loses-seats-in-uct-vote-squabble-1.1402265
From teagirl to suitcase!!!!!
Brett Nortje
October 14, 2012 at 8:57 am
I suggest you read some of comments from Flip Buys regarding our patriotic duty towards South Africa.
Also note you cannot claim to be a victim of racism when your are a big racist yourself. You with all your valid concerns regarding a “white genocide” but back at the farm the reality is different. That transparent hypocrisy simply doesn’t wash.
“It is unacceptable for people to stir up racism through SMSs, Facebook, the internet, e-mail and conversations with family and friends. Our members must not show sympathy for white racists. Minorities never benefit from racial conflict and polarisation. We must also not show sympathy for white racist, because it could backfire in the form of violence towards our spouses, children and parents. Minorities have never benefited from racial conflict and polarisation, especially not where the majority almost has a monopoly of the sources of power.
Independent research shows that the vast majority of white farmers have good relationships with their workers and generally have fair labour practices. But if there are cases where black farm workers are exploited or where paternalistic or colonial labour practices are still in existence, these practices are inexcusable and we must criticise them just as strongly as we fight the exploitation of and unfair practices against our own members. Look at what is right and wrong, and not at who belongs to what race.”
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=172412&sn=Detail
Tell that to this guy:
http://www.rapport.co.za/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Man-van-Upington-sterf-in-sel-20121013
Man van Upington sterf in sel
2012-10-13 23:19
Anena Burger
Die familie van ‘n Noord-Kaapse man soek antwoorde nadat hy in
polisie-aanhouding gesterf het.
‘n Nadoodse ondersoek wys Edion Beukes (40), bekend as Ettienne,
is verlede naweek aan onnatuurlike oorsake dood in die
Rosedale-polisiekantoor in Upington. Hy het skedelbreuk en
inwendige bloeding opgedoen.
Een van sy broers, wat sy lyk moes uitken, sê hoewel hy voor sy
inhegtenisneming blakend gesond was, was sy tande uit, sy lyf was
vol blou kolle en daar was bloed aan sy neus en ore.
Volgens Ettienne se broers, Riaan en Connie, het hy verlede
Saterdagmiddag met sy bure in ‘n woordewisseling betrokke geraak.
Die bure het die polisie ontbied en Ettienne het kort daarna
vrywillig met ‘n polisiebeampte na die Rosedale-polisiekantoor
gegaan.
Connie, die jongste broer, sê vriende van Ettienne het hom om
20:00 laat weet sy broer is toegesluit.
Toe Connie na die polisiekantoor is, kon hy nie met sy broer
praat nie. Die beamptes aan diens het gesê hy kan sy broer die
volgende oggend sien as hy vrygelaat word.
“Ek het hulle gevra wat die klagte teen Ettienne is en hulle het
gesê het hy word aangekla vir ‘oorlaspleging’.”
Connie is daarna huis toe.
Die volgende oggend het die polisie Connie ingelig dat hulle sy
broer se lyk in die polisiesel gekry het.
Volgens lt.kol. Moses Dlamini, woordvoerder van die onafhanklike
polisie-ondersoekdirektoraat (Opod), is hul kantoor in Upington
ingelig oor die sterfte. Hy sê daar word ondersoek ingestel na
die omstandighede van Beukes se dood.
Pierre, wat gaan vandag aan met jou spamfilter? Nou gaan OBS wegkom met sy skynheiligheid.
Haibo Comrade T,
No textbbook on leadership – Manuel
Try THE HANDBOOK!!!!!!!!!
It works even better.
@ Ozoneboy Botha
May I remind you that, like Our People, Mr Zuma is not stupid.
What is more, I have detected subtle signs that Zuma is, albeit slowly, moving the government away from the RACIALLY-based mode of AA imposed by President Mbeki!
Thanks.
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder
October 14, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Are you referring to cde Zuma’s unflinching commitment to the Freedom Charter or the allegation that he is “surrounding himself with [bargaining] Indians”?
“Mr Zuma has a much more relaxed approach to race, constantly stressing his commitment to the principle of “non-racialism” enshrined in the 1955 Freedom Charter. “We, the people of South Africa, declare”, the charter begins, echoing America’s constitution, “that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white.” What exactly “non-racialism” means is not clear, though it seems to suggest that people will be treated on their individual merits, not the colour of their skin. Yet the racial categories laid down under apartheid are still widely used, the only difference being that people now choose their own classification rather than having it foisted on them”
Perhaps that is why the FYL don’t like cde Zuma much.
http://www.citizen.co.za/citizen/content/en/citizen/local-news?oid=288101&sn=Detail&pid=334&ANC-rebukes-Lamola-over-Zuma-comments
“In his haste to vilify and denigrate President Zuma, Lamola conveniently forgets that the ANC in Polokwane adopted a policy on rural development and land reform,” the party said.
To further this policy, a rural and land reform ministry was established in 2009, and had been championing rural development.
Towns in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Northern and Eastern capes had all been targeted for development.
“It is therefore not only disingenuous for Lamola to accuse the president of prioritising Nkandla for development, but also an insult in the extreme.”
His comments showed malice, the ANC said.”
Colour me South African
http://www.economist.com/node/16248631
@ ThaboOzoneBuoy
Yes, that is what I had in mind.
But what do you say to the sceptics who fear that the wonderful non-RACIALISM that Mr Zuma has supported with fine words may take about 175 years to make a practical difference to the civil service over which presides which still, so we are told, will sometimes leave posts unfilled, rather than employing WHITES?
Mikhail Dworkin Fassbinder
October 14, 2012 at 14:06 pm
I don’t know mfd. But I do know that it is not that simple because apparently the CRT scientists form UCT have proven that the only race that doesn’t belong to the human race is the WHITE race and we should know this to truly understand Sobukwe and the meaning of the Freedom Charter. A little bit like when you read the Apartheid Bible and its says you Shall Love your Brother you shouldn’t take that too literally but you need to qualify and understand that a “brother” in this context means a fellow White Afrikaner.
“Furthermore, Sobukwe’s Pan Africanist ideas, including his promotion of the anti-racist declaration that “there is only one race, the human race”, were major breakthroughs and linked South Africa to the broader African reality. We know it was the PAC as a result of this thinking that first spoke about “non-racialism” as opposed to the ANC’s more backward “four nations” philosophy, which meant the acceptance of the Verwoerdian notions of multiracialism. But the Pan Africanists were not always consistent; from their “one human race” thinking they at times included whites in the struggle. In other words they denied the salience of race and skin colour. At the same time they were ambivalent about the Indians and Coloureds.”
http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/columnists/2012/03/06/let-s-rescue-sobukwe-s-and-biko-s-legacy-from-their-parties
Haibo Comrade T,
No textbbook on leadership – Manuel
Try THE HANDBOOK!!!!!!!!!
It works even better.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2012/10/14/active-citizenship-requires-inspirational-leadership-at-all-levels-of-society-manuel
Hey DMwangi – I think they are speaking about you!
Over the past 20 years, nearly everyone seems to have become an economics expert. …
Unfortunately, because much of the professional insight offered on economics is so poor, the standard of public discussion is often woeful, particularly in the English-speaking world. This is because, for years, most Western economists have only provided a simplified, one-dimensional view of their subject.
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1061011/tired-ideas-wont-save-ailing-western-economies
Cry or laugh if you can!!!
http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2012/10/15/corruption-is-not-something-to-joke-about
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=332464&sn=Detail&pid=71616
http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2012/10/15/the-thick-end-of-the-wedge–the-publishers-notebook
The Thick End of the Wedge — The Publisher’s Notebook
by Peter Bruce, 15 October 2012, 06:19
ANOTHER week, another downgrade. If this gets any more regular we’ll be able to calculate to the day how long it took the African National Congress (ANC) to shut down the economy as an investment prospect. One is tempted to blame President Jacob Zuma but there are a few problems with that. First, he probably doesn’t read the press. Second, he might miss the point and third, as he keeps saying, he is only doing what the ANC asks him to do.
Some ideologically unencumbered ministers know what’s going on. Pravin Gordhan does. So, evidently, does Susan Shabangu. The fact is, the investing world is losing patience with South Africa really quickly now. We may retain some sort of geopolitical significance, mainly by virtue of our location (pretty much the only thing the ANC can’t “transform”) but we’re becoming the sort of place only investors with shiny suits will take seriously.
The litany of poor judgments, bad policy, rotten leadership, political division, blatant corruption and just plain embarrassment that Zuma has brought to the highest office in the land is too long to list in a column as tight as this. Suffice to say, we are all about to pay the price for the ANC having elected him, and for the probability that they’ll do so again.
The price will look something like this: violent strikes, political uncertainty and an inability to put the nationalisation bogey away will, in an already skittish and uncertain investment world, encourage long-term investors to look elsewhere. The value of the rand will fall. Because under the ANC the economy has deindustrialised, we now import more ordinary things and they will cost more. But we will keep importing them and that will force prices up — making it more expensive to run businesses and people will lose their jobs. There’s more, but you get my drift …
Zuma has been, effectively, silent during the wave of strikes of the past few months. His inability to lead is breathtaking. He had a meeting last Friday with business and union and government leaders, but one wonders why. Did he have anything to tell them they don’t already know? No. The meeting appears to have been designed so they could tell him what the hell is going on.
What would be the point of telling him? Oh, Sir, the state, under your leadership, is collapsing. The economy is on the verge of falling below generally accepted investment grade levels. What are you going to do? We know the answer is “nothing, because anything I do to clean up the mess I’ve made could trigger a threat to my personal and political comfort”.
In the middle of the wider Zuma Calamity, it is comforting to hear and read middle-class black SA standing up for what is right. The most recent columns from Barney Mthombothi and Mondli Makhanya are outstanding for their courage. An open letter from Kay Sexwale to the few Rivonia trialists still living yesterday was equally wonderful, particularly as she hails from one of the ANC’s royal families. Describing her agony over whether, or how, to continue voting for the party that liberated her, she comes to a powerful conclusion: “I don’t know who I will vote for (in 2014). All I know is that Jacob Zuma will never again hold office with my consent.”
I was also very excited to see the Black Business Council (BBC) hold a conference last week on the subject of creating black industrialists. Such people are exactly what the country needs. They are not, however, what the ANC needs. You cannot run an independent manufacturing business in the economic climate the party has created. You need to export and import, both made impossible by a wildly volatile currency. You need to hire and fire as economically as possible, both made impossible by ANC labour laws. The BBC is still very close to the ANC but that is one marriage that would not survive real black industrialisation. Just as the old National Party became a direct threat to Afrikaner wealth, so soon will the ANC become a threat to black wealth. Then all bets are off.
Maggs, I must say I am surprised that Mr Zuma has not led us more effectively. Still, in the same circumstances, I would support him again. As OzoneBlue keeps pointing out, it is only a matter of time until Mr Zuma raises the banner of NON-RACIALISM!
BTW I be the last one to point out minor spelling and grammar problems. But aint it “one small step” in the stead of “once small step” ?
Welkom Rip van Winkel!
@mfd
I dont think cde Zuma will raise the banner of socalled “nonracialism” outside of the context of African Democratic Socialism.. So we true revolutinaries have absolutely nothiing to worry about!
As a reborn marxist capitalist I demand an equal generation of whelf !
Brett Nortje
October 15, 2012 at 17:42 pm
LOL G,
“Welkom Rip van Winkel!”
Well, it did take five days for him to catch on. I think of OBS as a kind of white Peter DeVilliers
Not that I want to nursemaid Pierrot in any way. I’m still more than slightly peeved that this blog’s silly spamfilter blocked the fruits of my investigative genius when OBS was crying out for examples of the greedy tothecorerotten black elite who cannot distinguish between right and wrong but have to eat – it all – NOW.
Speaking of the greedy tothecorerotten black elite who cannot distinguish between right and wrong but have to eat – it all – NOW what do you think of the assault on the PP? Funny how facing a contract running out makes one focus on what is important in life, what?
This provides another excuse to compare OUR leaders with YOUR leaders:
Did I mention that PW retired to a holiday home that sold at auction after his death for a mere R3,6m? At the height of the housing boom?
Eish, Maggs, the lot you foisted on us….
Brett Nortje
October 15, 2012 at 20:08 pm
G,
For a moment I thought that was a word “tothecorerotten”.
“NOW what do you think of the assault on the PP?”
I’ve made my comment – read it.
@Maggs:
” Maggs Naidu – (maggsnaidu@hotmail.com) – Zuma MUST go!
October 15, 2012 at 7:42 am
Hey DMwangi – I think they are speaking about you!
Over the past 20 years, nearly everyone seems to have become an economics expert. …
Unfortunately, because much of the professional insight offered on economics is so poor, the standard of public discussion is often woeful, particularly in the English-speaking world. This is because, for years, most Western economists have only provided a simplified, one-dimensional view of their subject.”
As MDF will attest, I have repeatedly held that Western economics has veered far off-course into a kind of Humean ideological enterprise, in which simpletons espouse the view that all human conduct derives from non-cognitive sources and is self-interested in the adolescent sense of being incapable of having proper regard for the interests of others.
You are much more likely to find me reading economists like Sen, Ndungu or Ropke than contemporary Western ones.
Hi Prof
Would I be correct in saying that this is the very first CC judgement written by Moegoeng2 – after serving on the CC for how many years ?
He also quoted extensively from other CC judgements, but I guess that’s better than quoting from pre 1996 judgements, as was exposed in his JSC interview.
Let’s hope that this is a sign of better things to come.
Parliament blocks question to President Zuma on Nkandlagate
Lindiwe Mazibuko, Parliamentary Leader of the Democratic Alliance
24 October 2012
My written question to President Zuma asking him how much he will be personally contributing to the revamp of his Nkandla home has been thrown out by Parliament’s questions office. This decision, I believe, sets a dangerous precedent in allowing Parliament to protect the President from answering difficult questions, and undermines the objective of written questions, which is to ensure that the executive is held to account.
http://www.da.org.za/newsroom.htm?action=view-news-item&id=11505