The Post-Mbeki Government Continues to Recycle Thugs and Thieves

IN A recent radio debate with analyst Steven Friedman, African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Gwede Mantashe spoke of the Polokwane revolution as a rejection of Thabo Mbeki’s ANC. No sooner had he uttered these words than the Dalai Lama was refused a visa to attend the 2010 Soccer World Cup peace conference.

In true Mbeki tradition, the ANC’s alliance with rogue states such as Syria, Iran, Burma, Zimbabwe, Sudan, and now China, continues. To quote Tony Leon, the ANC government has yet to show us a dictator it does not like.

Supporting China, SA’s R60bn-trading partner and new colonial master, is more important than promoting world peace. For both countries, respect for human rights is an obstacle to their attainment of a national democratic revolution — so stupidly affirmed by presidential spokesman, Thabo Masebe, on a national news bulletin. Unbelievably, Masebe said the presence of the Dalai Lama would just focus attention on relations between China and Tibet, and divert attention from the good things SA is doing. Yeah, right! Good things such as mowing down black foreign nationals and refugees fleeing their turbulent countries for SA . Or the hate crimes against Somali traders and xenophobic attacks against Zimbabweans and the Congolese. Should this not be construed as the natural outcome of the government consistently undermining, not supporting, Bishop Paul Verryn for doing what the government should be doing? South Africans, regrettably, have imbibed this extreme display of callousness towards foreign nationals upon whom they act out their animosity in situations where jobs and houses are scarce.

Worryingly, the evidence that the Jacob Zuma presidency will be a continuation of the past is overwhelming. How does one explain the cover up to protect the 220 MPs involved in the travel scandal? About R370000 of taxpayers’ money has been used to pay for the debtors’ book of Bathong Travel, to obliterate all evidence of those involved. Parliament is going to do its damndest to make Travelgate go away, and instead of retrieving at least R6m it could have recovered for one aspect of the fraud, MPs have devised a master stroke to conceal their sins. To make matters worse, this cover up is disgustingly driven by Speaker Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde and her National Council of Provinces comrade, Mninawa Mahlangu, continuing in the footsteps of deputy president and former speaker, Baleka Mbete.

News that Sheryl Cwele, wife of Minister of Intelligence Siyabonga Cwele, is allegedly involved in drug smuggling, fully explains the dip in public confidence in the ruling party. Surely President Kgalema Motlanthe should have suspended the minister of intelligence immediately, pending investigations. How can one command the intelligence forces of the country when intelligence on the home front is found wanting? Does this not remind us of former police commissioner and head of Interpol, Jackie Selebi, and his links with underworld figures such as Glenn Agliotti ?

Where is the political accountability? Why do politicians want our vote when they do as they please anyway? Transparency is an alien concept, replaced by a culture of impunity that has become inscribed in the DNA of the body politic. The post-Mbeki government continues to recycle thugs and thieves, appointing them to leading positions in the state. No wonder election posters display bland slogans such as the ANC’s “Working Together We Can Do More”. The ANC can no longer in all honesty make promises they know they will fail to fulfil. As someone wisely said, “Politicians know it’s not necessary to fool all the people all of the time — just during election campaigns.”

The time for taking our lives into our own hands is now. We would really be stupid if we vote to continue the status quo, which makes both the Congress of the People and the ANC ineligible. Let us make April 22 the beginning of the real transformation of SA by voting responsibly — otherwise we have no right to moan when things get worse.

Rhoda Kadalie ~ Human rights activist ~ Cape Town