South Africa P.I.G.: AIDS

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Jacob Zuma is a sex-obsessed bigot with four wives and 35 children. So why is Britain fawning over this vile buffoon?

By Stephen Robinson on 02nd March 2010 <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444119095084985522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnsm0h0QTvuy5TgyIk85iKV-ld7ZAgVmkGOCj5wH9rx19avpV-EpB86n5_b8kxULW7aK_f7VT5jI82uyZqtFIDkVSWXGaFimZK70D-lfsRDpwLJEYomXX4TGVfeKFHl11UjUvtTQweAxK/s400/zapiro0203_517056d.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 282px; CURSOR: hand" />Spare a thought for the Buckingham Palace protocol officials tomorrow when His Excellency President Jacob Zuma arrives in London for his first state visit to these shores. For this incoming 'One hundred per cent Zulu Boy', as the South African President styles himself when he has an election to win, presents unique challenges of planning for the courtiers. The formal announcement of the state visit primly notes that the President will be accompanied during his three-day stay at Buckingham Palace by 'his wife Mrs Thobeka Madiba Zuma'. This is not untrue - but nor is it quite the whole truth. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444094403350338386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAj0NIm0p2iXIukd3IxmoloOHlBAF39E-uaOV4tmW7x9CXqXMuAU3PFWMH1_vMqRQd5g-wGEsoGlz0NM1OHICB4fE_nrgJrxbQYSBafGTmedyGbhoX6C-qke3e0yTjZBp6QIbUmDSBsgs/s400/ZUMA-BUFFOON.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 328px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" /> Buffoon: Jacob Zuma with one of his four wives Because Thobeka is just one of Mr Zuma's four living wives, not including one from Mozambique who committed suicide in 2000. She is also one of the estimated ten women with whom the libidinous Zuma has sired the 20 children he acknowledges to be his own. On top of that, Zuma has paid lobolo - a sort of tribal deposit on a future bride - to the families of at least two more potential wives. On a recent visit to South Africa, I was told very confidently by a man who knows the inner workings of the government that Zuma's true tally is actually 35 children, including a set of twins with a woman from Ukraine. One thing is clear. Jacob Zuma could not be more different from the man in whose long shadow he must walk - South Africa's great and first democratic leader, Nelson Mandela. But to go back to the hard-pressed Palace courtiers in charge of protocol, how can they prevent disaster in the diplomatic minefield of tomorrow night's state banquet? At these state dinners it is traditional to invite leaders of the 'arts community' to break up the stodgy ranks of diplomats and establishment bigwigs who tend to get the bulk of the invitations. But will theatrical greats such as Sir Ian McKellen be comfortable breaking bread with a man who has described same-sex marriage as 'a disgrace to the nation and to God', and who boasted that when he was a young man, any sensible homosexual would have got out of his way because: 'I would have knocked him out.' Will our bishops want to nibble canapes with a man who won the South African election last year by appearing at rallies and singing the old ANC guerilla war song: 'Bring Me My Machine Gun'? At the time, this was interpreted by many South Africans as a grotesque disavowal of Mandela's exhortation to his supporters to throw their weapons into the sea. And for that matter, would Harriet Harman, assiduously promoting her equality agenda as the General Election nears, wish to discuss gender issues with a man who, when charged with rape in 2005, protested in court that the alleged victim was wearing an extremely short skirt. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444094418998531922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6ggVu3-PnGx0mhyu3cMGdW1H2hoMqvjRTf2HzYW6rChwWxpUXNWec2tdsg4wR78FF4l5p-ewlZ-8l9CtvtjuovDkxu2PWvIyT0ATMJSC2p4mF79eitJMq1PwH2BwoiRwfLoq2S74J58i/s400/ZUMA-3-WIVES.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 250px; CURSOR: hand" /> Polygamous: Zuma with three of his wives - Sizakele, right, Nompumelo, left, and Thobeka 'In Zulu culture you cannot leave a woman if she is ready,' Zuma told the judge. 'To deny her sex would have been tantamount to rape.' Knowing that the woman he had imposed himself upon was HIV positive and that he had not used a condom, Zuma took a postcoital shower, believing that would protect him against the virus. The Foreign Office expects the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to submit themselves to an average of only two incoming state visits a year, so why was it thought necessary to honour Zuma in this way? It is not as though South African leaders have been strangers to Buckingham Palace in recent years. President Mandela came on a state visit two years after winning the first democratic election in 1994, and returned again 18 months ago during his 90th birthday celebrations. Thabo Mbeki, Zuma's predecessor as president, came over with his wife on a state visit in 2001. Which all means there was certainly no diplomatic need for Britain to mark Zuma's installation in power last year. During almost 60 years on the throne, the Queen has learned she broadly has to do what the Foreign Office tells her, so she throws open Buckingham Palace and pins medals on the chest of any murderous dictator the government wishes to suck up to. Zuma may not have matched the grotesque misrule of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, who was welcomed to the Palace in 1994. But he tends to side with the mobs who have invaded the white-owned, productive farms rather than those who used to produce the country's food.'Europeans often ignore the fact that Mugabe is very popular among Africans. In their eyes, he has given blacks their country back after centuries of colonialism,' Zuma has said. 'The people love him, so how can we condemn him?' No wonder that affluent South Africans, black and white, are now so concerned by the course South Africa is taking under Zuma, and fearful they are on a trajectory towards becoming the continent's next basket case. It seems utterly misguided to have invited Zuma at a time when it is becoming ever more evident that South Africa is being turned into an organised kleptocracy. With timing that seems suspiciously fortunate given the looming state visit, the government this month announced a deal with British Aerospace to end investigations into whether bribes were paid in several recent contracts. This is fortunate for Zuma - he was deeply implicated in the bribes paid by European defence contractors, including British Aerospace, over a gigantic 1998 South African arms deal. Schabir Shaik, Zuma's personal financial adviser, was one of the few men to stand trial for corruption as Thabo Mbeki's government kicked over the traces of the arms deal and other corruption scandals. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444094409181389026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGfVVFk_FXgnFOWJprV9g_KXW8erZMUCJ3PAGCJiYlXxtKEVMvf9tJLxTDRL_OC_xkKR5Q-eV5-ZpbkfbCag7KC3_ZygIPHrWywyWvbswYTteYMW0DJn2FrOEeFeSGJDwEol9KbR2FhTi/s400/ZUMA-LONDON-VISIT.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 244px; CURSOR: hand" /> State visit: The flags of South Africa and Britain fly together on the Mall in London for Zuma's visit Shaik was convicted of making several illegal payments to Zuma, and in effect underwriting the cost of his substantial private home to accommodate his various wives and children.The truth is that corruption is now so prevalent that South Africans have lost their capacity to be shocked by it. But Zuma may not be forgiven for his flamboyant sex life. Having been acquitted of rape, then mobbed by jubilant supporters, Zuma believed he was beyond criticism. Yet he now finds himself in political difficulty after the recent revelation of the birth of the 20th acknowledged child, to a woman in Durban. This broke a deal he made with the party that even if he could not conquer his libido, he would at least behave with discretion, and stop impregnating casual sexual partners. Like the 19th-century missionaries who attempted to stamp it out, the ruling ANC party disapproves of polygamy, partly because it reinforces white men's stereotypes of Africans as somehow uncivilised. But Aids is the much more compelling explanation for why Zuma finds himself in trouble. With an HIV infection rate feared to be close to 30 per cent, and with South Africa's rural areas overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of Aids orphans, Zuma's manic promiscuity is setting a terrible example and has become a matter of grave public concern. The ANC was forced, in a formal statement, to acknowledge the level of public disquiet about Zuma's conduct. And there is now even talk at the highest level of the ANC that Zuma might not be allowed a second term as president. Since Thabo Mbeki (who had demented ideas about Aids) was forced from office, the government has made progress in changing the sexual attitudes of black South Africans. Zuma has blown a hole in this campaign for the sake of his nights of passion. No doubt the guests tomorrow night in London will be too polite to raise such delicate matters with the guest of honour. But millions of South Africans, viewing television images of the Zulu Boy at Buckingham Palace, will wonder why the Queen is honouring a man who back home is rapidly becoming a very bad joke. Source: - <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1254748/Jacob-Zuma-sex-obsessed-bigot--Britain-fawning-him.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1254748/Jacob-Zuma-sex-obsessed-bigot--Britain-fawning-him.html</a>

Jacob Zuma is a sex-obsessed bigot with four wives and 35 children. So why is Britain fawning over this vile buffoon?

By Stephen Robinson on 02nd March 2010 Spare a thought for the Buckingham Palace protocol officials tomorrow when His Excellency President J...

9:23 AM

Getting to know the real Jacob Zuma

The latest controversy surrounding President Jacob Zuma illustrates a consistent thread running through his presidency: power abuse. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3HJrO_kjBJOnHNw1RrbD57iypM1sCZfvRMbP2_4T-1KhguMzJ72I5QSEwSKpvsMiaIxE4cJDzC7Kc8Q6H1cPICwCwgE3_kisOGm57rh9LYbVIqTzyAQEWHrW720grXqpX-aR7nR3x6_0/s1600-h/ancposter5475.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439733198991668434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3HJrO_kjBJOnHNw1RrbD57iypM1sCZfvRMbP2_4T-1KhguMzJ72I5QSEwSKpvsMiaIxE4cJDzC7Kc8Q6H1cPICwCwgE3_kisOGm57rh9LYbVIqTzyAQEWHrW720grXqpX-aR7nR3x6_0/s400/ancposter5475.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 291px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Zuma believes he is above the law and social norms. He believes that - by virtue of his position - he can get away with anything. One of his close political associates summed it up the other day when he said, in conversation: Jacob Zuma has a mandate from 11 million people so he can do what he likes. This attitude applies to Zuma's financial dealings, his relationships with women, and to his relationship with his citizens. If any institution of state gets in his way, it is effectively neutered. If any government campaign requires him to change his behaviour, it is ignored. Behind his undoubted warmth and charm, this is the real Jacob Zuma. It is also the real ANC. This is how the ANC understands and uses power. We have, during the past year, witnessed the cynical manipulation that has turned the National Prosecuting Authority and the Judicial Service Commission into extensions of the ANC to protect President Zuma. The Zuma clique in the ruling party does not seem to grasp that, in a constitutional democracy, ruling parties and their leaders are not above the law or social norms. They may not ignore their own policies. They must be held to account. And they must lead by example. So what has this got to do with the birth of Jacob Zuma's 20th child? Everything. Firstly, Zuma does not consider himself bound by the norms of safe sex that he exhorts his fellow citizens to follow. It is worth repeating what he said in December last year on World Aids Day: "Prevention is our most powerful weapon against the epidemic… All South Africans should take steps to ensure that they do not become infected, that they do not infect others and that they know their status. Each individual must take responsibility for protection against HIV...It does not mean that we should be irresponsible in our sexual practices. It does not mean that people do not have to practice safer sex. It does not mean that people should not use condoms consistently and correctly during every sexual encounter. We can eliminate the scourge of HIV if all South Africans take responsibility for their actions." Quite clearly, there is one norm for Jacob Zuma and another for everybody else. This attitude is rooted in the same assumptions that justify his destruction of independent state institutions that seek to call him to account on legal matters against him. After all, he has a mandate from 11 million people. He can do what he likes. Secondly, the birth of his little girl in October last year neatly illustrates his abuse of power as a husband. This baby was conceived between two marriages. No culture, polygamous or otherwise, justifies cheating on your wife/wives. This is confirmed by cultural expert Ndela Nelson Ntshangase of the University of KwaZulu-Natal: "Polygamy allows all children to be born into a family, to have access to both parents, unlike an illegitimate child…If a child is born out of wedlock... the illegitimate child is in a vulnerable position, she is standing on a slippery slope because the child is born into a broken family." And yet, Zuma has tried to appeal to culture to defend himself. Like the race card, Zuma and the ANC play the culture card to try and silence legitimate criticism. This opportunistic strategy is actually an abuse of culture. Indeed, it is part of Zuma's pattern of power abuse. And it justifies further abuse of that culture by his supporters. As Julius Malema said: "We are Africans, we cannot discuss the private affairs of our elders and Zuma is a father to us all." The fact is, promiscuity and philandering are not part of Zulu culture, they are in conflict with it. As cultural analyst, Nomboniso Gasa points out: "According to the cultural milieu to which Malema refers, leadership is earned every day. Ukuzeyisa nobungcathu - self-control, discipline, modesty about one's desires are critical qualities of leadership." We cannot allow appeals to culture, especially when they are self-servingly distorted, to stop legitimate criticism of an elected leader who is accountable for his actions. Zuma can, and must, be called to account for private actions that have public consequences, particularly when those consequences are so profound. The truth is that Zuma has set us back at least a decade in the fight against HIV/Aids. His actions will have a far more negative impact than even the Aids denialism of Thabo Mbeki. Getting bogged down in esoteric theories and quack science would have had far less impact on people's behaviour, than a leader who by his own example, justifies unprotected sex. The inevitable response of millions of young men will be: "If the President can do it so can I." This attitude undermines the entire edifice of the government's HIV/Aids programme. It will destroy many lives. And it will cost the taxpayers millions in treating people who contract HIV/AIDS as a result. There is a clear parallel between Zuma's attitude to HIV/AIDS and his corruption trial. By manipulating the criminal justice system to ensure that he never had to answer the allegations against him in court, he sent out the message that it is okay to be corrupt. It is nobody's culture to justify corruption. In his admission yesterday, Zuma railed against "opportunistic" critics for encroaching on an "intensely private" matter that does not consider the rights of the child. Really? How touching. One has to ask: To what extent has his behavior considered the rights of this child, his other children, or every other South African child? One of the root causes of social disintegration in our country is the failure of so many fathers to take responsibility for their children. Absent fathers rob children of a present parent. Often, they deprive a family of a crucial income source to give children the opportunities they deserve in life. Zuma is sending out a message that it is okay to father as many children as you want, whatever the social consequences and burden on the state. The difference is that the average single-parent cannot afford to look after 20 children. Indeed, it is questionable whether even Jacob Zuma - on a President's salary - can do so either. Questions need to be asked about where he gets the money to support all his wives and children, but that is another issue for another day. It may have been feasible in a by-gone rural era, for 20 children of a single father to be properly cared for, nurtured and mentored in an extended family network. In a fragmented urban environment, it is not possible. The children inevitably suffer the consequences. It is nobody's culture to diminish their children's chances in life. Many of Zuma's actions demonstrate the ANC's belief that there is one law for themselves, and another for the rest of South Africa. Zuma can get way with things that ordinary people can't. Not only this, he is shielded from the consequences of his actions. This is power abuse, pure and simple. If there is anything positive about this episode, it is that South Africa is getting to know the real Jacob Zuma, beyond the charm. The honeymoon, (in the figurative sense at least), is over! Helen Zille

Getting to know the real Jacob Zuma

The latest controversy surrounding President Jacob Zuma illustrates a consistent thread running through his presidency: power abuse . Zuma b...

3:31 PM

Open letter to Mr President from Evita Bezuidenhout

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAZBS7jA7iNSONY7Hcox2gnucVRDUp6fOLcp0HBqM8ARBYu7Eue9jxF_sXuK-XukkMtdhjkFrjxkQEj37y2Bi0aCsYVijpxQ0sQFSFjWIA1nWjw7nBMt-Bjuah4lV9JOigM9qI6P2N5FM/s1600-h/ZUMA-20-KIDS.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440430735425791954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAZBS7jA7iNSONY7Hcox2gnucVRDUp6fOLcp0HBqM8ARBYu7Eue9jxF_sXuK-XukkMtdhjkFrjxkQEj37y2Bi0aCsYVijpxQ0sQFSFjWIA1nWjw7nBMt-Bjuah4lV9JOigM9qI6P2N5FM/s400/ZUMA-20-KIDS.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Dear President Zuma, I won’t address you as Father of the Nation because I know you don’t like formalities. I treasure your allowing me to still call you by your Zulu name, Innocent. For all the years we have passed each other in the passages of power you have always treated me with great respect. Granted, I’ve never been alone in a room with you for more than a minute. People have come to me in the past few days and said, “Evita, talk to him. Make him realise he is not just a song-and-dance man.” Of course you’re not. You were a major player in the Struggle against apartheid, and let the world now know that you have been responsible for extraordinary things during the past 30 years. But nothing as extraordinary as your personal collection of beautiful wives. Liewe aarde, Innocent, what competition are you trying to win here? How is it possible that a man who is so involved in politics as president of a young democracy that needs as much supervision as a 16-year-old delinquent child finds so much time to share with not just one wife but three? At what time of day can you get to your office if there are so many wives to kiss goodbye in the morning? And you have to be fair and kiss them all, other¬wise we will sit with a never-ending television series called Desperate First Ladies! But then, when you should be addressing the problems of poverty, xenophobia, Zimbabwe, presidential pardons - to mention but a few - you spend those moments creating more Zumettes. They say already 20 children from your own loins, and maybe we can add one or two for those slipped out without you noticing ? Maggies man, carry on like that and you will have your own football teams to win the cup for South Africa in 2018 ! Innocent, I like you. I even respect you. I want you to be the best president we've had since Nelson Mandela decided to hand over the reigns to someone else. There is no reason for you to fail. You came to power as our third democratically elected leader in spite of a nightmare audition; months of court actions and trials, miles of media blah blah reporting every rumour and gossip. Freedom of speech is sacred in our land and while some of the media went too far and showered you with accusations, don't they have the right ? Is that why today you protect freedom of speech but want terms and conditions to apply ? You have apologised. I am a bit older than you and yet you make me feel like a school girl at your feet. You smile at me. You laugh at my words. You sing for me and you dance around me. It is captivating. You start to sing. You move into a dance. And when all that is over, the media have forgotten the question. Of course I have a lot to say but I don't, because I as a white woman have an opinion about the foibles of your government I am called racist and told to shut up or emigrate. Well, I won't do either ! I will build up enough courage to write you this letter, because it's time we stood up and spoke. Not as whites, not as men and women, but as citizens of a magical country that was given a second chance to make it's dreams come true. I see some leaders pooh pooh FW de Klerk's celebration of his legendary speech of 2nd February 1990 which lead to the freeing of Nelson Mandela and the unbanning of the ANC and SA Communist party (SACP) and other minor irritations. They say it happened only as a result of the Struggle. My skat, the last thing anyone expected was to be handed the nightmare of a bankrupt blood-soaked South Africa. We gave it to you and now it's yours, Innocent. I'm on your side Msholozi, If I may use your clan name, I have no problem with your cultural, traditional weapons of marriage. All your ZuMamas are a joy to behold. I remember seeing them at the opening of parliament last year, when you made your first state-of-the-nation address as president. They were all asleep in the gallery. Thanks to that we know that there are no power hungry Hillary Clintons among them, no overambitious Winnies or scheming Lady Macbeths. I have no problem with you. I have a problem with what the people see in you. My son De Kock, does aids awareness talks at schools. Recently he was at a school in Soweto, demonstrating safe sex through the use of condoms. After the talk a group of senior learners approached him. They liked his presentation. "But must you go on about condoms ? We know," said one. De Kock said he was pleased that they were informed but there were many others that needed the information. "Why?" asked the other young man "We don't need condoms. We have a shower" De Kock laughed loudly, as we all would. There was no smiles on the faces of the young men. "Why do you laugh?" the one asked angrily. "Well" said De Kock, "you refer to Jacob Zuma having a shower after unprotected sex." "So ? what's funny ? Are you calling our president a liar ?" De Kock realised there was no joke here. "Jacob Zuma is our president, We follow by example," was their parting statement. Innocent, you lead by example, like it or not ! If there is one thing you need to impregnate it is our country. Give us the benefit of your strength, your humour, your wisdom, your compassion and your focus. We need you. You might say, "Why must I listen to Evita Bezuidenhout ?" Well if you listen to Julius Malema, I too have a right to your ear. And I passed woodwork at school with a B+. So, vuk'uzenzele, M-shower-lozi ! Practice what you preach and, please, put your love in a plastic bag. Sincerely, Evita Bezuidenhout From Evita Bezuidenhout a popular SA political playwright.

Open letter to Mr President from Evita Bezuidenhout

Dear President Zuma, I won’t address you as Father of the Nation because I know you don’t like formalities. I treasure your allowing me to s...

2:54 PM

Zuma has once again proved the ANC wrong

The ANC will rue the day they decided - against all logic - that Jacob Zuma shall be president of the country. Today the man is seen by many as nothing more than an object of comic relief. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2bZX6Ak12JYFzwntwFV2AOZ8Fn1yPlR2ltmiexPhJl5xRSaZtToMg3UbKE1L7nyVITBtu-CmWknoM9c_5EGlVpYiNec6Bb0mlpt-LFk40yQDAdcp9_uobqdvrXYKo4uME4XJ5FTQyDR4/s1600-h/zuma-samecircus.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435255198177852402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2bZX6Ak12JYFzwntwFV2AOZ8Fn1yPlR2ltmiexPhJl5xRSaZtToMg3UbKE1L7nyVITBtu-CmWknoM9c_5EGlVpYiNec6Bb0mlpt-LFk40yQDAdcp9_uobqdvrXYKo4uME4XJ5FTQyDR4/s400/zuma-samecircus.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 284px" /></a>No wonder journalists in Davos, Switzerland, could not resist the urge to use him to entertain themselves. Luckily for Zuma, while South Africans wallow in embarrassment and shame, he appears very much at ease with his "culture-induced" indiscretions. His affable and warm personality aside, Zuma's shortcomings are just so glaring that in a normal country he would not be allowed a look-in at the presidential palace. Ironically, the ANC faction that brought Zuma to power made the same mistake as Thabo Mbeki, who foolishly wanted to prove mainstream medical scientists wrong with his crackpot Aids denialist theories. Through Zuma the ANC wanted to prove to the world that an uneducated man from a humble rural background could lead a modern state to prosperity. Needless to say, this grandiosely romanticised project has backfired spectacularly. Zuma's latest gaffe makes for intriguing times in the faction-riddled ANC. No doubt Zuma's handlers in Cosatu and the SACP must be very worried. They will now find it difficult to bulldoze other factions within the ANC-led alliance to accept a second term for Zuma as fait accompli. In fact, it is not inconceivable that other factions will be emboldened by this "love child" saga to find their voice and even agitate for Zuma's "recall". After all, a precedent has been set. However, the very prospect of Zuma's recall will have its own repercussions. Zuma's liaisons with convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik tell us that he is not unfamiliar with the notion of corruption. Lest we forget, the man went to extraordinary lengths to avoid his own day in court. Now that it is almost certain that a second term is out of question, Msholozi might need to make the proverbial hay while the sun is still shining.

Zuma has once again proved the ANC wrong

The ANC will rue the day they decided - against all logic - that Jacob Zuma shall be president of the country. Today the man is seen by many...

11:52 AM

South Africa: 'Flawed Democracy' Slips in Governance Rankings

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzA1GFxrc6-RQcH2YQsEDdMMpedGSFeM-gJKebqARFbx1rkfPbtQqQGQchGP0wdtemeBiZjAW4LZdkLXpwAt_s4SBKxqkwtWRcCVe-F8cHj-Gt7a_oCIRtGTsDU0V4QXYZ8gPMNlF81HX/s1600-h/hello-africa-tell-me-how-we-doing.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417735727773054498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzA1GFxrc6-RQcH2YQsEDdMMpedGSFeM-gJKebqARFbx1rkfPbtQqQGQchGP0wdtemeBiZjAW4LZdkLXpwAt_s4SBKxqkwtWRcCVe-F8cHj-Gt7a_oCIRtGTsDU0V4QXYZ8gPMNlF81HX/s400/hello-africa-tell-me-how-we-doing.bmp" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 356px" /></a>Yarik Turianskyi and Steven Gruzd Which way is governance going on the African continent and particularly in South Africa? According to the newly released 2009 African Governance Report (AGR-II), put together by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, it seems that many of the continent’s newly-established democracies are suffering from an authoritarian hangover. Overall, progress is marginal at best and mixed, and worryingly, South Africa is sliding slowly down the ranks. South Africa has many internal problems that it seems not willing or able to solve, which bring into question its aspirations for leadership in governance in Africa. How much governance change can we really measure in four years? The answer is: not much. The AGR-II, which covers 32 African countries, states that compared to the findings of AGR-I in 2005, indicators on political representation, independence of the electoral process and power distribution remained flat across the continent as a whole, while on political party freedom and security the index reveals a one percent slide, and an increase of three percent on the rule of law as well as on the independence of civil society and the media. Overall, no dramatic shifts either way. In only three countries did more than half of the experts surveyed agree that the democratic framework is accepted by all social and political groups, suggesting that democracy has shallow roots. Limited respect for the rule of law and constitutionalism is evident in many African countries, and written rules are undermined by unwritten practices. How then, does South Africa stack up against its African counterparts? Truth be told, although it is consistently in the top 10 on AGR-II’s rankings, there are some rather worrying trends. In terms of acceptance of a democratic framework, South Africa ranks tenth, with less than 38 percent agreeing that such a framework is accepted by all. Furthermore, it is behind states like Sierra Leone and the Republic of Congo, which hardly epitomize democratic rule. South Africa is ranked at number seven on respect for the rule of law, with less than half the experts agreeing that there is adherence in the country. A similar percentage believes that the police and government always respect human rights in South Africa, placing it behind states like Benin and Morocco. On corruption, South Africa is ranked as the fifth least corrupt in the executive branch, but eighth in the judiciary and tenth in the legislative branch, coming in behind Malawi and Tunisia. The fact that South Africa, a leading state in Africa and one that often seeks to promote good governance and democracy in the rest of the continent, is not in pole position in these rankings is worrying. It is important to bear in mind that the AGR-II is mostly based on expert surveys, grounded in opinions and perceptions. One could therefore argue that surveying a different set of experts might have produced a very different report. Yet other international governance rankings support AGR-II’s findings. The country has been slowly losing ground. According to a November 2009 report published by the Democratic Alliance, <blockquote>South Africa has dropped 10 places in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions index; five spots in the African Governance Index; 24 places on the Global Peace Index; and two places in the Index of Democracy, which also classified it as a “flawed democracy</blockquote> These figures should ring alarm bells. South Africa faces many governance challenges. These were highlighted in the country’s 2007 African Peer Review Mechanism report, and include “unemployment rates; capacity constraints and poor service delivery; poverty and inequality; land reform; violence against women and children; HIV/Aids pandemic; corruption; crime; racism and xenophobia; and, managing diversity.” Combined with the fact that South Africa has been making international and African headlines for all the wrong reasons lately (corruption trials of high-standing public figures, xenophobic attacks, refusal of a visa to the Dalai Lama, accusations of abuse of state organs), sinking rankings negatively affect its international image. With all the plethora of governance reports, indices, monitoring frameworks and tracking tools in Africa, one can only wonder why governance on the continent is not improving at a faster rate. While the AGR-II tells us little that’s new, it echoes what is being said by others: governance in Africa is variable and South Africa is doing worse than it used to. Although a long way from catastrophic, this trajectory is going the wrong way. If South Africa wants to be a continental leader in governance matters and help others, it first needs to get its own house in order. It is important that the Zuma administration tries to turn this trend around.

South Africa: 'Flawed Democracy' Slips in Governance Rankings

Yarik Turianskyi and Steven Gruzd Which way is governance going on the African continent and particularly in South Africa? According to the ...

8:49 AM

Manto will be remembered for her failure to fight Aids

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqMw878DR3ujFDmr9AaHjcfTerb16DoChyrzZ2icUpWPlwNk-q9_Ypb_69rggi6G4m0czDN-pe7u2F6_JtV8lZMhdt-MN2MDaA8LCcN_9lzRbKl_vgjIWwyIhuITiDufcV_vx8sG-m8sLd/s1600-h/jack-daniels-manto.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415960570164273234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqMw878DR3ujFDmr9AaHjcfTerb16DoChyrzZ2icUpWPlwNk-q9_Ypb_69rggi6G4m0czDN-pe7u2F6_JtV8lZMhdt-MN2MDaA8LCcN_9lzRbKl_vgjIWwyIhuITiDufcV_vx8sG-m8sLd/s320/jack-daniels-manto.bmp" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 302px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" /></a>MANTO Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa’s controversial former health minister has died. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6oMdjglUi9P-8GbnkuK4bxDFT3rG8dTUfq_MYLhIFUXeZljFiAy-OBqfuitc-VLHXHa7bA4QDRx5Z96aXcOlnKUdyfxPSBDVcdeTByNJ6I-ZalRSjo2vrtE5oncKwpY26iIOsimHlq2Q/s1600-h/manto%2520Incapable%2520Idiot.jpg"></a>She was controversial because of the stance that she took — backed by her then boss, President Thabo Mbeki — against rolling out anti-retroviral drugs to those with HIV/Aids. Tshabalala-Msimang and Mbeki have been blamed for an estimated 330 000 preventable deaths according to a study by academics at Harvard University. But it was not always so. Few will remember now that it was her predecessor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who was first criticised for failing to properly address the Aids crisis. In fact she made a very good impression on taking office. One of the first things she did was to visit Uganda, then a leading example of how a relatively under-resourced government could mount a successful national campaign against Aids. Zambia’s political leaders, in stark contrast to South Africa’s, mounted a strong public campaign calling for the use of condoms and the destigmatisation of those who had it. Tshabalala-Msimang, it seemed, would finally get government’s Aids programme working. But it was not to be. Under the shadow of an openly denialist Mbeki, she grew increasingly taciturn and eventually became the number one enemy of those lobbying for government to roll out Aids treatment. She famously fought an application in the Constitutional Court for the roll out of Nevirapine, then the leading drug for the prevention of mother-to-child Aids transmission. Tshabalala Msimang made a big contribution to the liberation of South Africa. But her legacy will sadly remain that of the minister who cost this country thousands of lives.

Manto will be remembered for her failure to fight Aids

MANTO Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa’s controversial former health minister has died. She was controversial because of the stance that sh...

7:13 AM

Gorillas, chimpanzees, sources of HIV

Researchers identify new strain of HIV derived from gorillas <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2It2R4rVV3HT0f9lKCEDA4F9A0TlAz5fE_fsuJY65SK7r9vkL4Cu2zjmDpFi2K8aKYCGs6hhKGZVtlX5d653s8e9JS6XtIWr21FVDVkLdIcJ1nQcX7qLH1C9RbbZ7pYs0BAkK0pTHI0/s1600-h/gorilla_africanus.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367620645818307410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2It2R4rVV3HT0f9lKCEDA4F9A0TlAz5fE_fsuJY65SK7r9vkL4Cu2zjmDpFi2K8aKYCGs6hhKGZVtlX5d653s8e9JS6XtIWr21FVDVkLdIcJ1nQcX7qLH1C9RbbZ7pYs0BAkK0pTHI0/s400/gorilla_africanus.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 344px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 326px" /></a>(CNN) -- French researchers have identified a new human immunodeficiency virus, the first derived from gorillas, a report said Monday. The three previous HIV variants came from chimpanzees. The new findings indicate that gorillas, in addition to chimpanzees, are likely sources of HIV, the researchers concluded in a report published in the weekly Nature Medicine journal. The new virus, called RBF 168, was detected in a 62-year-old woman who moved to Paris, France, from the western Africa nation of Cameroon, the report says. She tested positive for HIV in 2004, and researchers led by Jean-Christophe Plantier identified the virus as being closely related to a recently discovered simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). The new gorilla virus "has many of the biological properties necessary for human infection," the report says. "The human case described here does not seem to be an isolated incident, as before coming to Paris the subject had lived in the semiurban area of Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, and reported no contact with apes or bush meat," the researchers said. That would indicate that the woman contracted the virus from another human. The significance of the latest findings is difficult to determine without more information, said Robert C. Gallo, who co-discovered HIV in 1984. "It's yet to be known," Gallo said. "It could be zero. ... Let's see a more full report on this individual and let's see wider testing." Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, calls the latest HIV variant "an oddity" but said it's not surprising that it cropped up, because the virus has been circulating in non-human primates for centuries. The three previous HIV variants are labeled M, N and O. The new one has been classified P. The N and O variants, Fauci said, are extremely rare. "It's not significant unless it establishes itself as a predominant strain," he said. "We have not seen that with N and O." Fauci lumps the new P variant with the rare group because it has been detected in only one patient. If it were widespread, Fauci said, "we would already know about it. When these things happen, you see a lot of them around." Even if the new variant proves lethal, it's not likely to increase AIDS infections, said Gallo, director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. There are so many HIV variations, he said, that one more is not likely to make a difference. The new virus is difficult to detect by conventional tests because it is not closely related to the other three HIV variants. "This demonstrates that HIV evolution is an ongoing process," co-researcher David Robertson of the University of Manchester said in a release. "The virus can jump from species to species, from primate to primate, and that includes us; pathogens have been with us for millions of years and routinely switch host species." HIV can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, which attacks the body's immune system, giving rise to lethal infections. Patients diagnosed with HIV can take medications to delay or stop HIV from developing into AIDS. There are 33 million confirmed cases of AIDS worldwide. The unnamed woman has no signs of AIDS and remains untreated, Nature Medicine said. The most likely explanation for the emergence of the new virus is gorilla-to-human transmission, though researchers say they cannot rule out the possibility that the chimpanzee SIV gave rise to the new strain "either indirectly by transmission to gorillas and then to humans or directly by transmission to humans and also to gorillas." Researchers said they don't know how widespread the virus is among humans. "The human prevalence of this new lineage remains to be determined," the report says, adding that "it could be circulating unnoticed in Cameroon or elsewhere." Western Central Africa bears close watching, the researchers suggest. "In conclusion, our findings indicate that gorillas, in addition to chimpanzees, are likely sources of HIV-1," the report states. "The discovery of this novel HIV-1 lineage highlights the continuing need to watch closely for the emergence of new HIV variants, particularly in western central Africa, the origin of all existing HIV-1 groups." Co-researcher Robertson noted that the new virus may not be restricted to Africa. "It also highlights how human mobility can rapidly transfer a virus from one geographical location to another as has been dramatically evident with the recent emergence of swine flu," he said.

Gorillas, chimpanzees, sources of HIV

Researchers identify new strain of HIV derived from gorillas (CNN) -- French researchers have identified a new human immunodeficiency virus,...

7:29 AM

How many years of HIV treatment can your presidential jet buy?

229,524, <a href="http://www.arasa.info/" target="_blank">according </a>to the AIDS & Rights Alliance for Southern Africa in a PR video calling out the African Union and African leaders for not spending enough on health. One year of corruption in Africa = 704 million years of HIV treatment See the rest in this video set to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWebzEbHCJI" s_oid="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWebzEbHCJI" s_oidt="0" target="_blank">Akon's</a> - "I'm So Paid": <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MkWoKgLhDVs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MkWoKgLhDVs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>And for more fun, add all those numbers up at the end for a grand total of lives that could’ve been saved. Then visit the <a href="http://arasa.info/" target="_blank">AIDS and Rights Alliance of Southern Africa</a> (ARASA), a network of local NGOs who describe themselves as pursuing a human rights approach to HIV and TB treatment. <blockquote>“Africa South of the Sahara still faces a grim scenario with respect to the health of its people. The region –which is home to 12 percent of the world’s population –accounts for 22 percent of the total global disease burden and more than 68 percent of the people living with HIV/AIDS. The region’s poor health status is mirrored by crises in health financing and human resources for health.With only 2 percent of the global health workforce and only 1 percent of the world’s health expenditures Sub-Saharan African countries are ill-equipped to adequately address their health problems.”</blockquote>- AU Paper (CAMH/EXP/13a(IV))presented to AU Ministers of Health Conference in Ethiopia, May 2009<a href="http://www.arasa.info/healthmoney" title="Show Us the Money for Health: An Open Appeal to African Heads of State">Show Us the Money for Health: An Open Appeal to African Heads of State</a> Sign the petition Calling on African Heads of State to Allocate More Money to Health!We need not rehash the masses of data that demonstrate in no uncertain terms that <a href="http://www.arasa.info/node/48"></a>health in Sub-Saharan Africa is in absolute crisis – child health, maternal health, HIV, TB, malaria… the list of our health woes is miserably endless.We do not need to point out, once again, the <a href="http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/11/08-054932/en/index.html">skewed priorities</a> that govern how money in this region is spent or mis-spent: by now these are obvious, painful and embarrassing.This correspondence is not about technicalities. It is, fundamentally, a moral challenge.A status quo has been established in much of the African region whereby money – a lot of which comes from the labour of civilians whose votes and/or fear keep you in power – is used <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4723572.stm">without transparency</a>, and without humanity.Decisions on health are among the most critical decisions that our leaders can make, and are invariably some of the most disappointing.Our money bleeds into places we cannot see, while our health care workers sacrifice their right to decent wages and working conditions and our people sacrifice their right to health and life. In the meantime, we knock on the door of the international community to cushion the altar – and certainly, the international community has a responsibility to fulfil their commitments to health funding – but, so do we.What happened to the <a href="http://rbm.who.int/docs/abuja_declaration.pdf">Abuja Declaration</a> of 2001? Do you remember stating that “We are fully convinced that containing and reversing the HIV/AIDS epidemic, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases should constitute our top priority for the first quarter of the 21st Century”?With close to 2 million people dying of HIV and TB in Africa every year, and governments across the region putting the brakes on scaling up access to prevention, treatment and care – are you still convinced?What about the commitment to allocating at least 15% of national budgets to health?<a href="http://www.arasa.info/www.africa-union.org/.../2009/.../CAMH-EXP-13a(iv)%20Paper%20Health%20Financing%20in%20Africa.doc">Where is the money?</a>You may have forgotten, but we have not and cannot. Your broken promises translate into broken lives.Worse still, the economic recession threatens to push health even further down the agenda. The tragic irony is that, as history has shown and much <a href="http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2007/08/01/000158349_20070801103922/Rendered/PDF/wps4295.pdf">expert analysis</a> has reiterated, this will cost us far more down the line. There is no bright future in ill health.We acknowledge that our dismay does not apply evenly across the board. Some countries are doing better than others, because political commitment to health is real and present. We urge these leaders to stand up and challenge their peers.We call on African governments to scrutinize their country-level prioritization of health and to develop clear roadmaps for meeting the Abuja 15% target for expenditure on this basic human right.We are watching, and organizing, and will hold our governments accountable for the promises that they have made.Please sign the <a href="http://www.arasa.info/taxonomy/term/121">Petition</a>. ADDRESS AND CONTACT DETAILS WILL NOT BE SHARED.Related - <a alt="Africa: Backsliding On Aids Funding" href="http://www.arasa.info/node/115" title="Africa: Backsliding On Aids Funding">Africa: Backsliding On Aids Funding</a>

How many years of HIV treatment can your presidential jet buy?

229,524, according to the AIDS & Rights Alliance for Southern Africa in a PR video calling out the African Union and African leaders for...

12:08 PM

South African ruling party is dying of AIDS

AIDS is killing so many politicians in southern Africa that their deaths are threatening the ability of governments and local authorities to function properly, a Cape Town researcher warns. South Africa alone is losing 28,000 young voters a month to AIDS. A full 2.6-million registered South African voters aged 30 to 49 years have already died since 1999. And it's due to AIDS, says Kondwani Chirambo, lead author of a new study on deaths among local city councillors in South Africa. The vast majority of South Africa's wall-to-wall municipalities are run by councillors from the ruling African National Congress party. That's the party of Nelson Mandela - and of former president Thabo Mbeki - the latter leader who denied that AIDS was caused by the HIV-virus. Instead, Mbeki claimed, AIDS was 'caused by poverty, and malnutrition caused by poverty.' <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aOiuL4ca8zg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=nl&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aOiuL4ca8zg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=nl&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> His health minister, Mrs Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, seen here on this video explaining what she and her president believed were the causes of AIDS, became infamous worldwide for her concocting an 'AIDS-cure' of beetroot, garlic and African potatoes, which was widely distributed in South African public health facilities during the Mbeki-rule to people dying of AIDS-related diseases. Security forces, prisons: The problem also emerges in the South African security forces, where the large number of young, infected soldiers and police officers are posing a growing security threat due to the physical side-effects of the deadly syndrome, according to a warning issued late last year by one of the country's top psychiatrists. <a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/268734">see</a> A secret report about the massive AIDS-death toll in the South African Prison system also was highlighted in another, seperate report last month. In the secret prison study, it was found that both the guards and the inmates were dying of AIDS in nearly equal numbers. <a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/266405">see</a> Ruling African National Congress councillors dying of AIDS This study thus also indicates that the local-level leadership of the ruling party of South Africa -- the<a href="http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2009/at10.htm#art1"> African National Congress</a> - now are dying by the tens of thousands each month of AIDS.<a href="http://idasa.wordpress.com/"> see</a> The AIDS-epidemic is of course not limited only to the ANC-membership - other political party members are also suffering in a similar way. However because the ANC is the ruling party which holds the most parliamentary and local-authority seats, the effect of the AIDS-epidemic could have a devastating impact on this political party 's ability to provide municipal services countrywide - with their members and town councillors dying so fast and often also being too ill too work while they are still officially employed. Chirambo, the lead author of this new study on deaths among local city councillors in South Africa, told Agence France Press news agency that he had studied six other southern African countries where unnatural numbers of deaths of lawmakers could also be attributed to AIDS. The study said there was a general fear among the 112 ward councillors interviewed by researchers that disclosure of HIV status could ruin political careers. "On the one hand, councillors express a fear of rejection by the electorate, who may deem them unfit for office if they are known to be HIV-positive. "On the other, they see a danger of political opposition presenting them as incapable of ruling. The emerging data creates the impression that HIV/Aids denialism permeates politics." The study said 233 local councillors in the 22 to 49 year age group died in office between February 2001 and December 2007, and it could be assumed that 70% of those, or 161 individuals, died of Aids. The deaths were equivalent to two-thirds of the strength of the National Assembly. Losing this number of people at leadership level was "not a phenomenon to be ignored". The fact that most of the deaths occurred among councillors younger than 51, should raise the alarm over institutional memory and effective local governance. "How can we possibly expect to build capacity in politics if the people who should lead will die before the age of 50?" the study asked. "If you look at the statistics, MPs have been dying young and dying in large numbers. These trends are similar to the trend seen in the general population," said Chirambo, of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa. Life expectancy in South Africa down to 51 Life expectancy in South Africa has been dramatically reduced by the epidemic: from 64 years during the apartheid years which ended in 1994, to 51 years in 2008 -- and only as a result of the AIDS epidemic. The 2004 South African Department of Health report "The Democraphic Impact of HIV/AIDS in South Africa: National and Provincial Indicators" concluded for instance that 70 percent of all deaths in that year in the age group 15 – 49 years were due to AIDS and often also of co-infection with Extremely-drug-resistant Tuberculosis. Municipalities can't function properly Municipalities depend on appropriate knowledge and skills in order to deliver quality service to local communities. The study warns that loss of skills as a result of AIDS, job migration to other sectors of the economy and increasing demands for service delivery may all ‘conspire to undermine service delivery’. “Apart from local government losing skills to other sectors it is also suffering a depletion caused by an unexplained illnesses which could largely be associated with HIV and AIDS. And that might introduce institutional weakness because most of these are the most trained and most experienced councillors”, says Chirambo. Death of young voters And, Chirambo says, they have determined that South Africa is losing 28,000 registered voters a month -- this alone should be a concern to those charged with providing municipal services to residents. It's a death-blow to the future of South Africa’s young democracy. <a href="http://idasa.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/aids-sweeps-through-councils/">see</a> 2.6-million young voters died in 2001-2006 “Pressure on cemetery space grows. Pressure on clinical services also grow as younger people are showing up ill. Between 2001 and 2006 we noted that there were 2,6 million voters who had died, and the majority of them were between the ages of 30 and 49 years. And that has to be quite worrying”. Over the last eight years, almost half of the 589 municipal by-elections in South Africa between February 2001 and December 2007 were caused by death of councillors at a young age. <a href="http://www.idasa.org.za/Output_Details.asp?RID=1701&oplang=en&OTID=6&PID=71">see</a> Chirambo said this "does not bode well" for South Africa, where the poor government services are a major public complaint. Countrywide protest actions are held regularly to demand better 'service delivery' in municipalities. At least 226 municipalities were in fact functioning so poorly that local ratepayers created Trust Funds in which they deposited their taxes, so that they could start running their own municipal services. Councillors are not the poorest people in the world... Yet in the whole of southern Africa, the study found only one elected official who had openly disclosed her HIV status, and Chirambo attributes the failure of all these officials to seek help to a fear of stigma. "It is not a very healthy profile. Councillors are not the poorest people in the world," he said. "It is clear a great deal of them feel to disclose your status is a form of political suicide." South Africa undoubtedly has the world's highest new AIDS infection statistics. Depending on the source, these statistics range from 5.4 million people infected (SA Government); to 6.1-million (by the international medical agency MSF). At least 18% of the AIDS-victims in South Africa are working-age people, still active in the work-force. Senegal In Senegal, with a national AIDS prevalence of only one percent, there were only three vacancies in parliament caused by deaths of politicians. He did not say why the recorded AIDS-prevalence in Senegal was so low. Zambia However in Zambia, which recorded the first AIDS-death in 1995, AIDS is cited as the most common cause of deaths which are leading to parliamentary vacancies. <a href="http://idasa.wordpress.com/">see</a> Published Mar 17, 2009 by <a class="ut ut-1" title="Citizen">■</a> <a class="usrlnk" href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/user/257733" onmouseover="djp.user.tt(this,event);" pg="1">Adriana Stuijt</a>

South African ruling party is dying of AIDS

AIDS is killing so many politicians in southern Africa that their deaths are threatening the ability of governments and local authorities to...

4:20 AM

Sex, lies and 'small penis syndrome'

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_ZdnC5rzzY0Y4xhvgMNo_No91Qp175DWmGZTYf2iJf0Sp8CnddQzGOVEQVlp78rlhKULcl8rSglSLrDS8X8wZ_8vacpDWJnx1ruK0yQHLiAJnU8IsagFIMxkS95HBdp7Eb9ZGB1mqyo/s1600-h/circumcision-ceremony.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350198878725706722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_ZdnC5rzzY0Y4xhvgMNo_No91Qp175DWmGZTYf2iJf0Sp8CnddQzGOVEQVlp78rlhKULcl8rSglSLrDS8X8wZ_8vacpDWJnx1ruK0yQHLiAJnU8IsagFIMxkS95HBdp7Eb9ZGB1mqyo/s400/circumcision-ceremony.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px" /></a>A distorted teaching in some initiation schools is leading to increased incidents of rape and the spread of HIV, say activist groups working with traditional leaders to stop what they fear is encouraging ritual sexual violence. "This is not part of our tradition; this is crime," said Mbulelo Dyasi of Masimanyane, a women's support centre in East London. The widespread myth holds that when the young men emerge from the initiation schools, they should first have sex with women who are not their partners. This is done to clean the penis and test if it is working, according to Dyasi. Men are being taught that this practice is part of traditional culture. But Dyasi said an investigation found that the myth only began circulating in the 1980s. There are reports of the teaching in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Mpumalanga. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRi-oroSD_oCuKvmaJ9TovL1vejwzSq97V1sS0UheIbwVtWXodiJSuyJKuq91t3xjDz8-kIOvHomzQEN4fepzOKmdtCySt9EsvfZ-e0drV7cahZUK8ILE1EIAkiatbi6ex142CJY7gzjg/s1600-h/circumcision-ritual.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350199556796550370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRi-oroSD_oCuKvmaJ9TovL1vejwzSq97V1sS0UheIbwVtWXodiJSuyJKuq91t3xjDz8-kIOvHomzQEN4fepzOKmdtCySt9EsvfZ-e0drV7cahZUK8ILE1EIAkiatbi6ex142CJY7gzjg/s400/circumcision-ritual.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>"We do not know where it's coming from, but it's becoming a common trend as finalising the initiation," said Nono Eland of the Treatment Action Campaign. The young initiates would have sex with new partners seen to be of "lesser value" in the community, said Eland. This included women who had previously had many sexual partners, increasing the young initiate's risk of exposure to HIV. The use of condoms was not encouraged. The myth came to the attention of Masimanyane when it emerged that some young initiates were raping women, said Dyasi. They joined gangs, whose members encouraged them to rape as a form of good luck after the circumcision. Dyasi cited one incident during which a pregnant mother was raped by nine men. "This is crime, and not part of our tradition," he said. The distorted teaching has been brought to the attention of the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders, which is now revising the guidelines for initiation schools. The new curriculum guidelines will be released by December. Dyasi said the schools needed to teach leadership skills and life skills, as well as about human rights and HIV. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrADngccD2WmhKFiVPwqZ-iCIdvvet5prbhyGQJHfvlscOkKOo0Qiw1DmJ7kGHAZe38_amLIRbM4aP5oR9DGT90T1uA84bSNnXnsh0NNQXb6brkKIZV1AXwdxwn1LHX0H54JB8ql8-rU/s1600-h/circumcision-tribal.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350198883613119490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrADngccD2WmhKFiVPwqZ-iCIdvvet5prbhyGQJHfvlscOkKOo0Qiw1DmJ7kGHAZe38_amLIRbM4aP5oR9DGT90T1uA84bSNnXnsh0NNQXb6brkKIZV1AXwdxwn1LHX0H54JB8ql8-rU/s400/circumcision-tribal.bmp" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" /></a>"These young men are our future leaders," he said. Simphiwe Sesanti, a journalism lecturer at Stellenbosch University, said that initiation was about teaching responsibility. This was no longer being done. Sesanti said he and his fellow initiates were encouraged to sleep with a new partner at their initiation school near Uitenhage in the 1990s. He condemned the teaching as "a distortion of African culture" and "disrespectful to the young man and the young woman". In his Youth Day address, ANC Youth League President Julius Malema called on the youth of South Africa to practise monogamy. But a league spokeswoman refused to confirm that this applied to rituals at initiation schools. "What happens in initiation schools remains the business of the initiation school. It is a cultural practice," said Magdalene Moonsamy.

Sex, lies and 'small penis syndrome'

A distorted teaching in some initiation schools is leading to increased incidents of rape and the spread of HIV, say activist groups working...

3:56 AM

South African rape shock

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6kSTLhwX45Y2K2YuyXYea4WkQAi19CskVCNvQMl-wDlx3nRWFNZ7vZAggMX93TRzrEcCbSCbJ0YKD-1T2cZO2ih2kpL71kgSZhQCc1GcH7HTwaRafHWNw-UHs_NW6iNnFrk6uRAg5Y_I/s1600-h/rape-2007-38000.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafLFrq6cx93aAIDW2W_JZYRoiUOl1Xi1BczumNnHvVoKLme8vnlJuwEQT1uVzGnLn0oSe2EbKLefEbfx_RIXWDer5axrSsu_smoULqLB_IpTU1NwN5JsyusVSlEe6Qz2tA4O8kKhSclc/s1600-h/rape-stats-sa.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348839296036466994" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafLFrq6cx93aAIDW2W_JZYRoiUOl1Xi1BczumNnHvVoKLme8vnlJuwEQT1uVzGnLn0oSe2EbKLefEbfx_RIXWDer5axrSsu_smoULqLB_IpTU1NwN5JsyusVSlEe6Qz2tA4O8kKhSclc/s400/rape-stats-sa.gif" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 291px" /></a><a href="http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfrica/News/1059/39d107d7f309461ba407eb7fe0371353/18-06-2009%2005-06/One_in_4_SA_men_admit_rape" onclick="_IG_FRUC_setFeedAsRead(26,2)" target="_blank" title="More than a quarter of SA men involved in a study have admitted to raping a woman or girl - with 9.8% forcing themselves on a victim for the first time before the age of 10.">One in 4 SA men admit rape</a><a href="http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-06-18-quarter-of-men-in-south-africa-admit-rape">MRC: Quarter of men in South Africa admit rape</a>More than a quarter of South African men admit to raping a woman or girl - with 9.8% forcing themselves on a victim for the first time before the age of 10.SA is proudly number ONE in the world when it comes to RAPE. Reported cases to the South African Police in 2007 numbered 38 000. Many more cases go unreported.The Medical Research Council (MRC) study of 1 738 men found that nearly half had done so more than once.Among the men surveyed, 27.6% admitted to raping a woman or girl. One in five of confessed rapists had HIV, added the study, which canvassed men of all race groups, different socio-economic backgrounds, and urban and rural areas.Nearly 10% of the men said they had forced a woman or girl into sex for the first time when aged under 10 years old.Nearly 73% of the men surveyed committed their first rape while under age 20.The incidence of HIV among rapists was similar to the rate among the general population. But 27.8% of the men who said they had committed same-sex assaults tested positive for HIV.More than 42% of men in the study said they were physically violent to their partners, and those men were more likely to have HIV, the council said.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmR9hjaJ4qROnE19SdTD-PD6EnGPDLOE4VeHzgWg2OFpPZJdT4wjWDEVSkwqK8YzjKZH5yY4TXoskLOG4kSpPFMRoIiOPuHiljn1KJm-bJUyo62cU8a9tZRujx3gdAsW35ELR582t5Fg/s1600-h/hiv-aids-stats.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348841010050071794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmR9hjaJ4qROnE19SdTD-PD6EnGPDLOE4VeHzgWg2OFpPZJdT4wjWDEVSkwqK8YzjKZH5yY4TXoskLOG4kSpPFMRoIiOPuHiljn1KJm-bJUyo62cU8a9tZRujx3gdAsW35ELR582t5Fg/s400/hiv-aids-stats.gif" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 306px" /></a>South Africa has one of the world's highest rates of reported rape with 36 190 cases - 99 per day - reported to police in 2007, but experts say that only a small number of attacks are actually reported. The country has the highest number of HIV infections in the world. <a class="l" href="http://www.thebody.com/content/news/art44043.html" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','res','2','&sig2=RdmVGVyxI83MR0jQZprj6Q')">South Africa Has World's Highest Number With AIDS: UN Report - The ...</a> <a class="l" href="http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Aids_Focus/0,,2-7-659_2224356,00.html" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','res','7','&sig2=vE8iVoOTzOAQOt7eVWSdIA')">SA has most HIV infections : News24: SouthAfrica: AidsFocus</a> South Africa's government has been repeatedly criticised for failing to address the country's rape epidemic. A recent trade union report said a child was being raped in South Africa every three minutes with the vast majority of those cases going unreported.<ul><li><a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/06/530-kids-raped-day.html">530 kids in South Africa raped a day</a> </li><li><a class="l" href="http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-06-03-solidarity-one-child-raped-every-three-minutes-in-sa" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','res','1','&sig2=9eU7kHw1BulhkkC5fhwG0Q')">Solidarity: One child raped every three minutes in SA - Mail ...</a> </li><li><a href="http://health.iafrica.com/features/820587.htm">Shocking ordeal of rape survivors</a> </li></ul>

South African rape shock

One in 4 SA men admit rape MRC: Quarter of men in South Africa admit rape More than a quarter of South African men admit to raping a woman o...

11:22 AM

AIDS girls on World Cup game

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBdsQcnr2WlZocsgTVWfvm1h2YfRLUn-Rjqnc3S3ODeHAiLlmAC6eLhnZvaE6PVULroS0BR1afSfZecvlq1m4Y83eOYJjhwazYA3rFt1jO7g5PF3Fls6tvD1AApLTjIfNjvAVmom5S_o/s1600-h/sex-workers-sa.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344574145556722082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBdsQcnr2WlZocsgTVWfvm1h2YfRLUn-Rjqnc3S3ODeHAiLlmAC6eLhnZvaE6PVULroS0BR1afSfZecvlq1m4Y83eOYJjhwazYA3rFt1jO7g5PF3Fls6tvD1AApLTjIfNjvAVmom5S_o/s400/sex-workers-sa.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 280px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 390px" /></a>PROSTITUTES in South Africa are preparing to cash in on England fans during the 2010 footie World Cup. But HALF the nation’s hookers are infected with HIV or AIDS. A shock investigation by The Sun has revealed girls from poverty-stricken townships are desperate for ENGLAND to qualify and bring their army of fans. Parading on the hard shoulder of the N7 road from Cape Town, they wait for passing trade while dreaming of the boost in business 2010 will bring. Road to ruin ... Levola, Yolanda and Samantha wait for punters The city’s stadium will host group matches and a semi-final. It isn’t finished yet but teenage prostitutes Yolanda, Lavola and Samantha are already dreaming of the extra cash they stand to earn. They save what little they can from their sordid encounters to pay their share of the cost of a convoy of minibuses ready to take the sex show on the road in just one year. If their teams qualify, Brits risk paying the ultimate price for a cheap thrill if they use the desperate women who punctuate the barren landscape either side of all roads to Cape Town. The three girls I spoke to, from shanty town DuNoon, are in high spirits about the approaching footie fest, despite having just been fined for exposing themselves to drivers. They had been flashing their boobs and lifting their skirts to show they were ready for work. Yolanda Lorika, 19, squeals: “We just can’t wait. We only get paid about £10 for sex when drivers stop for us here. English men will pay a lot more. “We’ll probably have to fight over them with the girls who already have pitches in that area, but it will be worth it. “We’re hoping to earn enough to get a decent life.” A decent life is something she knows nothing about. Yolanda and little sister Lavola are homeless. They have been abandoned by their families and repeatedly robbed and raped. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfE_BlGPHzlsKvhaVVQAtSKavt7urJr5kdXvkETTKeZChiZebXG6KGrlKz466pYyo_ogr5z3EZfo1SSQlCuoR9J3oi8Ieq3fmt8QKZn2-L1-DfhyphenhyphenYtTPCHOWtoBcZsbTuOCe88zx7AXmY/s1600-h/soccer_fans_-_FIFA_World_Cup_2006_(03).jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKqUtVsWi6VbOZgUD_9GQsFdnItOYLNPUSI3ls9QwcQKXB7iG2bjfXeRJEHFxIg7_HUlfr1JSyCgq7h4o-brgzsYOS-BL7O8EZBvbgSSDobmfD8yII1nExPqnqnuPhbYQkgG8YGZMqlw/s1600-h/soccer_england_footie3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344584702094050162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKqUtVsWi6VbOZgUD_9GQsFdnItOYLNPUSI3ls9QwcQKXB7iG2bjfXeRJEHFxIg7_HUlfr1JSyCgq7h4o-brgzsYOS-BL7O8EZBvbgSSDobmfD8yII1nExPqnqnuPhbYQkgG8YGZMqlw/s320/soccer_england_footie3.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhit-BASmBr9cP3KhaDUePL9uiS-0HcVE_cIB2ZTMSR9xQv9lN9CR4KsagrKcoe8gDuqehl1swTf7mrHEgh-ZAfbapSRv1W7gU3E6rRsAyQmZkEaHJc8kpO04At0GwsIFGQkeKDWNHTqaE/s1600-h/soccer_england_footie3.jpg"></a>Up for some fun ... English fans? They are fortunate to have a health clinic near their homes and say they are regularly tested for HIV/AIDS. But punters planning to party with girls like these should remember that one in every two prostitutes in South Africa has tested positive. Yolanda describes how she came to be a street walker. She says: “I remember when we lived in the bush, near a farm. My father left us for another woman and we had no money so my mother got desperate. “She took me and my sister to live with our grandparents in a settlement near Cape Town. “I was nine years old when my grandfather raped me. I thought I was being smart when I went out and found a pay phone and called the child abuse line. Looking back, I think maybe I should have kept quiet. “My grandfather was arrested and put in jail. My grandmother threw me and my sister out on to the street with nowhere to go. “We were taken into an orphanage by social workers and for the next few years it was a calm, safe place for us. “But by the time I was 14 I was fed up with all the rules and regulations. I wanted freedom. “Lavola and me left. We slept on the floor in friends’ shacks until they asked us to go. “At the moment we are living with our friend Samantha and her mother. There isn’t really room for us but we all share a bedroom and we are close. Samantha’s mother is very sick with AIDS and we share the work of looking after her. “We don’t have any identity documents, no birth certificates or anything, so we can’t even think about getting jobs. I had a boyfriend who always threatened me. He wanted me to start dealing in drugs and give him the money. He said he would kill me if I left him. “But I’ve seen so many girls led into drugs and sex work, giving all the money to pimps, and I’m not going to do that. “I left him. My sister and our friend Samantha and me now work together on the motorway. “It’s dangerous, and some of the men and women in our settlement curse us, calling us whores. “What’s worse is that the tsotsis (gangs) come after us in the street near our home, telling us we must give them the money we earned. If they catch you they won’t let go until they’ve raped you and robbed you.” All three girls have been raped several times. In DuNoon, where they live, it is the norm. Yolanda longs to be a social worker. She says: “If I can earn some big money when all the World Cup fans arrive that will be my dream. Maybe I could go to a government department and try to get some identity documents, get out of this life.” Her sister Lavola, who looks older than her years in her tight-fitting top and thigh-high denim skirt, is just 16. With Yolande and Sam, Lavola leaves the chaotic settlement of shacks and poor government housing at DuNoon and dodges traffic to take up her place on the hard shoulder each morning. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTyRFMH4z8vOuzAXrMvO9Lj3NLhYXWhv-bwCBgekTg8QLwHaeRyGamPTYgSYw91subdmt0RbULtCKRN1yCnZb5a1xjaOXmd9zH4U2C5vphquWH2GcSy9ihmw2A-X4rTdi_Dxz-KcJCE8/s1600-h/soccer-new-stad-ct.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344579966902096322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTyRFMH4z8vOuzAXrMvO9Lj3NLhYXWhv-bwCBgekTg8QLwHaeRyGamPTYgSYw91subdmt0RbULtCKRN1yCnZb5a1xjaOXmd9zH4U2C5vphquWH2GcSy9ihmw2A-X4rTdi_Dxz-KcJCE8/s400/soccer-new-stad-ct.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 384px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 235px" /></a>The girls manage to stop half a dozen vehicles each day, climb in without a thought for their safety, and receive around £10 a time for sex acts with strangers. The reason for optimism ... Cape Town's new stadium They say they always use condoms, stolen in quantities from the health clinic in DuNoon. “They would give us some for free, but not enough for our work,” said Lavola. They know about HIV/AIDS – they have grown up with it – but it is just an occupational hazard. Samantha, 16 like Lavola, told matter-of-factly how her sick mum had “finished her course of pills”. Samantha says: “My dream is to find a nice man one day, marry him and have babies and a good life. “I would take my sister and brother and my mother out of DuNoon and we would live together somewhere without problems.” The youngster has already had her six-month-old baby, Tania, taken into foster care. She says: “The baby was an accident. My boyfriend at the time had no money and we didn’t know what to do.” Sometimes she visits Tania and, smiling like the child she still is, she tells me: “I like to hold her.” The young absentee mum then explains her background. “My father was lazy and didn’t work. He drank a lot so one day my grandmother came and took me and my mother. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoaiwvSsF_yKXtV2aLDG-1V5joqfI49QYP9v8OiHRujzj6ZsYIVRP3fTqYep_UjQSMk86vIgPhx5W4aIfO6cZbruH0QxtBQPOd1amzy4hXK09Tzxim3-pr3vZso6QM1LZy1Zxy4xsDNs/s1600-h/FiFa_South_Africa_2010.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344583760033187922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoaiwvSsF_yKXtV2aLDG-1V5joqfI49QYP9v8OiHRujzj6ZsYIVRP3fTqYep_UjQSMk86vIgPhx5W4aIfO6cZbruH0QxtBQPOd1amzy4hXK09Tzxim3-pr3vZso6QM1LZy1Zxy4xsDNs/s200/FiFa_South_Africa_2010.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 183px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RvWTRqXf7sczBzOC_NNRcM2BFr6TAZCIImYU6hrppTB8X9VrLoSO8fOI84z-B1WVCgDQWJJYwb2DUlyKY8jkhgmsTaZGSOb4zT9mTo0SrmN1r04o-czrXmLhlUgaBH2F1zWnJCg_gtk/s1600-h/FiFa_South_Africa_2010.jpg"></a>“She brought us here but after two months she died. The rest of the family were unkind to us. “I had to get up at 5am every day and fetch water from the river in a bucket, then walk to school. Top event ... South Africa 2010 “As I got older some bad girls I knew said they would take me to a Somalian guy and he would give me money. I said ‘No, I don’t want to do that.’ They found a Nigerian guy instead and he had sex with me in his house and gave me £7. “I realised this was the only way I would ever have any money.” The three girls know they are breaking the law but their poverty, ignorance and desperation prevents them from changing. Prostitution is rife in South Africa. The Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Trust wants the law changed to decriminalise the girls. Spokesman Vivienne Lalu said: “We want to reduce the risk to sex workers, to give them a health regime and police protection from violence. They are at immense risk of HIV and need to have free health checks to protect them and their clients. “Our concern is for the sex workers in a situation where clients will actually pay more for sex without condoms. We want legal rights for all prostitutes.” South African MPs recently discussed the possibility of legalising prostitution for the duration of the 2010 World Cup. No final decision has been taken. For anyone paying to play away in 2010, it could be a deadly mistake. source - <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1018041.ece">http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1018041.ece</a>

AIDS girls on World Cup game

PROSTITUTES in South Africa are preparing to cash in on England fans during the 2010 footie World Cup. But HALF the nation’s hookers are inf...

6:05 AM

Nurse busted selling baby formula

More deceit, manipulation, and bullshit ! Integrity is virtually unknown amongst blacks. Nurse bust selling baby formula that should be free for poor mothers<a class="entry-title-link" closure_hashcode_2h8t7n="877" href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1007920" target="_blank">Control of milk stock investigated </a> THE Times has bust a staff member at a Soweto clinic discovered selling government-issued baby milk formula to an HIV-positive mother who should have received it free. While tiny babies were being fed watered-down maize meal and black tea during this month’s formula shortage, the woman, known as “Sister Thandi”, was allegedly selling the little stock left at the Chiawelo Clinic for R150 for a six-pack. Sister Thandi was fired yesterday following The Times’ investigation. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340588322919231874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_c-8ADHqEbe_xRT5HcXyUUlNGAynZfJq3IgpXRL2zLj9ZBGM2dnJUr8UzSzaE2RmOKEuiLLW1BAEUXppkGj46eijG3V6ObU7XDXUcIGBNnDkRhGQodZa6Qq75TVy4IzP3TY51Aj-DtNBi/s320/chiawelo-clinic-loser-thandi.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 158px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> FIRED: ‘Sister Thandi’ sold government-issued milk formula to a motherGauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu apologised this week to mothers who, for more than a week, could not feed their babies because the department had failed to pay formula supplier Nestlé for six months. Nestlé stopped delivering baby formula to clinics and state hospitals last month. On Friday, The Times visited Chiawelo Clinic and found a 28-year-old HIV-positive mother, whom we cannot name, desperately in search of formula for her two-month-old baby. She had been feeding her tiny son black tea. The woman said she had bought formula from another employee at the Chiawelo Clinic in April, despite knowing that she should not have to pay for it. After being turned away by a clinic nurse who claimed that there was no milk, she was approached by one of the clinic staff and told that, if she had money, “they could make a plan”.<div align="center"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340588318998932098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ucFugRHrGLKuDrjJlpaxLLSLohpZ6D8jdXxGXDjCHJsb0QUi6xqzi_9oPE6sWI_uevjumcKN9hwXsvVJzPmIP8UgWnQxSxtm_xRgzI11ZJFMGfEZ3WSzZlrm_ifcMkZD8FVWW03LjQF6/s320/chiawelo-clinic-baby-milk-formula.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 132px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> HIV-positive mother buys baby-milk formula, which she should have received free, at the Chiawelo Clinic, in Soweto </div> HIV-positive mothers risk passing on the virus to their babies through their breast milk and rely on free formula from state clinics and hospitals to feed their children. Last month, when the HIV-positive mother asked the clinic employee, whose name she does not know, how much she had to pay for formula, she was told R150. On Monday, The Times accompanied the young mother to the clinic to buy more formula and Sister Thandi told her that she could not sell it to her while “the other people were around”. She was told to “come tomorrow”. At 8.30am yesterday, the 28-year-old mother joined the queue to receive formula at Chiawelo Clinic’s maternity ward. When her turn came, she approached Sister Thandi and paid for six 400g tins of Nan Pelargon. She did not have her clinic card with her and, in normal circumstances, would have been denied formula. “I went to her office and told her I wanted to buy the milk. I paid her the R150. No questions were asked and within five minutes I got it.” The Times phoned the provincial health department to report the irregularity and an official, who introduced herself as Gugu, was sent to the clinic. Gugu, who refused to reveal her surname but said she was from the “district office”, confronted Sister Thandi in the clinic, which The Times was barred from entering. She confirmed that the formula bought yesterday was from government stock and should have been given free to poor HIV- positive mothers. Gauteng health department spokesman John Louw, said Sister Thandi was an Aids counsellor at the clinic and was employed by a non-government organisation contracted by the health department. He refused to name the organisation. He said Sister Thandi was taken to the police station by clinic security officers and a charge of theft was laid. When her organisation was told of her trade in formula, Louw said, it dismissed her immediately.

Nurse busted selling baby formula

More deceit, manipulation, and bullshit ! Integrity is virtually unknown amongst blacks. Nurse bust selling baby formula that should be fr...

2:47 AM

Outrage as Manto lands top health job

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4FOrHpU5vSIrR8v0MIrZye2JqYD-Z34w8zbrW9GaJAJlzkjePMvjyAyCop_rTQlm1w4ShQDn45rvV8p1xl5FjhkVB605chVY3s6PssgpAW9AwYKEX8RitHeE9gPBBjMsLfBvAQvSMNML/s1600-h/manto%2520Incapable%2520Idiot.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336430048971228930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4FOrHpU5vSIrR8v0MIrZye2JqYD-Z34w8zbrW9GaJAJlzkjePMvjyAyCop_rTQlm1w4ShQDn45rvV8p1xl5FjhkVB605chVY3s6PssgpAW9AwYKEX8RitHeE9gPBBjMsLfBvAQvSMNML/s400/manto%2520Incapable%2520Idiot.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 191px" /></a>Controversial former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has been rescued from life in the backbenches of parliament to serve instead as the guardian of mother and child health in Africa. Health experts and lobby groups reacted with shock on Friday at the news that Tshabalala-Msimang is now African Union Goodwill Ambassador and Champion for the Improvement of Maternal and Child Health in Africa beyond 2015. Many were reduced to tears, others warned that Tshabalala-Msimang would now endanger the health of the entire continent rather than just South Africa. After serving in the health portfolio for almost a decade, to which she was controversially re-appointed in 2004 by former president Thabo Mbeki, she was moved to Minister in the Presidency last year, when Mbeki was sacked. She was replaced by Barbara Hogan, now Minister of Public Enterprises - a move that earned the ANC great praise from health pressure groups at the time. Treatment Action Campaign General Secretary Vuyiseka Dubula on Friday said she was "shocked" by Tshabalala-Msimang's latest appointment. "She has done very badly in this country (with respect to improving mother and child health), and now she is going to destroy the whole continent," Dubula said. She said 400 out of every 100 000 mothers die each year in South Africa because they do not get proper after-birth care, and this had got worse under Tshabalala-Msimang's watch. "Women are dying in our hospitals because of poor health care," she said. She said she could not understand why African Union leaders would want to appoint her to such a position. Another expert who works in the field said "I just feel like crying" upon hearing the news of Tshabalala-Msimang's recent appointment, adding that although she cannot do much damage in her new position, a more competent person could have done a lot of good. She said the African Union probably had certain political reasons for appointing South Africa's former health minister, who pushed very strongly for a women and child agenda while in the Presidency. President of the Pan-African Parliament Gertrude Mongella is in a similar position, being Goodwill Ambassador for the World Health Organisation's Africa region, but because she is a competent operator, she gets things done, the expert said. Tshabalala-Msimang would in this capacity also be involved in the finalisation of AU documents about reproductive health care, women's rights and nutrition. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyEgIND6gInjWF4x5AFN6qKSGS9eGYlFMBSiAgDn2vErlXj7_i3RM8QkDbnKYtVICrfksbQ3pyRMeymhdn3oBs-mdI4ZyrbMJtGGAUQdTOmfli3QfRVKtzOgaKJlAucmqixVkh4VgRrFm/s1600-h/mbeki-farmer.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336430257347205650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyEgIND6gInjWF4x5AFN6qKSGS9eGYlFMBSiAgDn2vErlXj7_i3RM8QkDbnKYtVICrfksbQ3pyRMeymhdn3oBs-mdI4ZyrbMJtGGAUQdTOmfli3QfRVKtzOgaKJlAucmqixVkh4VgRrFm/s400/mbeki-farmer.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 216px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" /></a>Her former spokesperson, Charity Bhengu, could not be contacted on Friday, but it is understood that Tshabalala-Msimang will continue in the AU position, even though she is not a minister anymore. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtzr93WIpPW5o3vns7PPsO_UeHJsjnJX_dopEAYWKUVwGQROJZWx_Ll6exmkzdKxEf6_MzvRhGZ6BTaiemz8hmG6CGI4AQDknQUPL-ZtPAT_IQahETh52ScyWCG7tzssbHmOj-beepacj/s1600-h/mantoprotest.bmp"></a>Tshabalala-Msimang, championing beetroot and garlic as a cure for Aids, was seen as the ambassador of Mbeki's denialist stance on the disease, which, according to experts, contributed to the high rate of mother and child deaths. According to Health e-News the rate of mothers and children dying have increased under Tshabalala-Msimang to exceed figures for before 1994. South Africa is one of only a few countries that will not meet the United Nations Millennium Development goal for reducing these rates by three-quarters by 2015. Another expert said South Africa was one of only 10 out of 190 countries where the rate for mother and child mortality was actually getting worse.

Outrage as Manto lands top health job

Controversial former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has been rescued from life in the backbenches of parliament to serve instead a...

7:01 AM

'Go Home Mugabe'

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zSFvJpRNT_0dD4zMAxIhosrDs66AXEs7BqqoS0d_6dTEDZ2qroDM0Zrr9knvij-HimfG4ZSzl8GFef6QSS3vaGva7SPJO4fz6AT4_2qbzB29V0fG9XeYyp5rLRomxv7i6RX-BsfkC02x/s1600-h/mugabe-gohome.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333532698870386978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zSFvJpRNT_0dD4zMAxIhosrDs66AXEs7BqqoS0d_6dTEDZ2qroDM0Zrr9knvij-HimfG4ZSzl8GFef6QSS3vaGva7SPJO4fz6AT4_2qbzB29V0fG9XeYyp5rLRomxv7i6RX-BsfkC02x/s400/mugabe-gohome.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 243px" /></a>Mugabe, Mswati oppressors!Mugabe, like Swaziland's King Mswati, has crushed all ideals of democracy and freedom, is starving his own people and is married to this doctrine of violations with impunity. Both are just as despotic and corrupt. If Mswati is not welcome at Zuma inauguration, Mugabe, who has committed similar crimes against humanity, must 'GO HOME' he is not welcome here. Mugabe's and Mswati's authoritarian actions bear striking similarities, both:- 1. Imprisoned the opposition leader under inhumane conditions including the denial of adequate medical care. 2. Ordered violent crackdowns on pro-democracy and trade union activists. The outcome of these violent crackdowns is often terrifying as people are murdered and scores of others are severely injured - some have sustained permanent disabilities as a result. 3. Ordered mass eviction of rural residents from their homes 4. Introduced draconian laws banning and restricting the press 5. Interfered with the judiciary in an attempt to use it as a repressive political instrument 6. Maintained the ban on political parties and participation in national politics 7. Failed to adhere to international principles of human rights and democracy 8. Maintained his stranglehold on political power by continuing to rule by decree 9. Militate against free and fair elections, with political parties officially banned in Swaziland, and the Zimbabwean people forced to make choices within ZANUPF-set frameworks. Despite this frightening record of human rights abuse, Mugabe continues to enjoy diplomatic relationships with South Africa. The Zuma Government must severe all political, economic, political and cultural ties with Mugabe. Critics say SA has damaged its image by taking a soft line on Mugabe and countries such as Sudan and Myanmar. Critics also accused the government of caving into pressure from China by refusing the Dalai Lama a visa to attend a peace conference in March which was widely condemned... see here - <a href="http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_2513228,00.html" onclick="_IG_FRUC_setFeedAsRead(26,2)" target="_blank" title="A leading rights watchdog has urged South Africa's new government to restore the country's image by putting human rights at the centre of its foreign policy.">'Put human rights first'</a>Zuma inauguration: 'King Mswati not welcome' <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaryOuu2pOrYVE4l4m9WXOkqUqAsuLho2YNAYslm_f2gYtpQVgfh1aespeU86Zzaej1rAlkmXoTxFwdHTdYuGi7aVM_LZSNamz4winIKTyuZojJLLrO43aRCMWLvRvtJq2U_frHHPLzyG/s1600-h/pot-kettle.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333533081952206034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaryOuu2pOrYVE4l4m9WXOkqUqAsuLho2YNAYslm_f2gYtpQVgfh1aespeU86Zzaej1rAlkmXoTxFwdHTdYuGi7aVM_LZSNamz4winIKTyuZojJLLrO43aRCMWLvRvtJq2U_frHHPLzyG/s320/pot-kettle.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" /></a>Swaziland's King Mswati III is not welcome at Jacob Zuma's inauguration because he "knows no democracy", the SACP said on Thursday. "The SACP wishes to express its strong displeasure at the presence of King Mswati at a ceremony that in many ways is also a celebration of democracy that he has denied his people," said SA Communist Party spokesperson Malesela Maleka in a statement. It called on the Southern African Development Community and the government to put "serious pressure" on Mswati to introduce democracy in Swaziland. While Mswati enjoyed the festivities associated with SA's democratic advances, his nation suffered hunger and poverty. "Mswati's dynasty" wasted millions of rands on lavish birthday parties, luxury vehicles and personal shopping sprees, while the majority of his people had no access to basic services and were being ravaged by HIV and Aids. (sounds like Mad Bob's government) The SACP charged that Mswati was responsible for detention of Peoples' United Democratic Movement president Mario Masuku and had refused him visits by human rights groups. "The regime has stepped up its undemocratic practices when they also detained the president and the secretary general of Swayoco [Swaziland Youth Congress]. "The man who is at the helm of these human rights abuses deserves no seat at our most revered celebration this Saturday." The SACP said it supported the Swaziland Solidarity Network's call for workers to refuse to help Mswati "should he defy logic" and attend the inauguration on Saturday. Source Url: <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=nw20090507165456323C619692">http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=nw20090507165456323C619692</a>

'Go Home Mugabe'

Mugabe, Mswati oppressors! Mugabe, like Swaziland's King Mswati, has crushed all ideals of democracy and freedom, is starving his own pe...

5:44 AM

South Africa P.I.G.