A Promise to the South African Government

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><strong><span style="color: #990000;">Hacktivist group Anonymous has released a video calling on the people of South Africa to rise up and “take their country back” from corrupt and inept rulers.</span></strong><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/53tCd4jusxo" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />The video, posted to YouTube on March 18, begins with grainy footage of wind sweeping over Table Mountain, evoking the famous Winds of Change speech by Harold Macmillan which foreshadowed the end of the colonial era.<br /><br />The now-infamous Anonymous mask breaks in and a computerized female voice begins to list off a set of injustices being done to the people of South Africa; how the country has one of the largest rich-poor gaps in the world while Anglo-American and the Oppenheimer family have gotten wealthy from the country’s mineral resources; how, over the last six years, more people have been murdred in South Africa than in the Iraq War; and how crime runs rampant “while the police are rendered impotent by the very laws that govern South Africa.”<br /><br />“Throughout all of this, Jacob Zuma and the rest of the South African government are telling the rest of the world that South Africa is a Rainbow Democracy,” Anonymous says.<br /><br />“How long, people of South Africa, will you allow this to go on?”<br /><br />“The winds of change are blowing across mother earth and the time is now to take a bold stand against the government because they lost all legitimacy the day the first child was killed under their watch,” Anonymous says.<br /><br />Anonymous then calls on the people to “take their country back.”<br /><br />“We are Anonymous and we support you. We are Black and we are White, we are Coloured and we are Indian.”</span><p>

A Promise to the South African Government

Hacktivist group Anonymous has released a video calling on the people of South Africa to rise up and “take their country back” from corrupt ...

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Bright spark, big-mouth Malema linked to another failed construction project

<div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="color: #990000;">Reports say that Malema is co-owner of the company SGL Engineering Projects. SGL is said to have been awarded more than 20 contracts, each worth between R500000 and R39-million between 2007 and 2008. Most of these projects came from “cash-strapped” municipalities in Limpopo, some of which claim to be facing dire financial difficulties. Just recently the Limpopo county government requested a ZAR 5 billion loan from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) for such projects.</span></strong> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1R4sk-8olZfbE1KnEXS84yZBkQzoLblU4AaLvAMI3G_eBuXbwJP7bCojglg7qPZVLCtfyDDLEoLzRaF8oz3Hbmt9r04jp-B9w4pblRvboDFBXODoP2Mit2_HH9fGl6u2wqLNmBDytYmm/s1600/julius%252520malema%252520photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1R4sk-8olZfbE1KnEXS84yZBkQzoLblU4AaLvAMI3G_eBuXbwJP7bCojglg7qPZVLCtfyDDLEoLzRaF8oz3Hbmt9r04jp-B9w4pblRvboDFBXODoP2Mit2_HH9fGl6u2wqLNmBDytYmm/s320/julius%252520malema%252520photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The new “tenderpreneur” (a newly coined name given to those entrepreneurs who have become stinking rich via the South African Government’s tendering system) could not avoid facing the press who have been hounding him since news of his dubious wealth was recently leaked. When asked by reporters on national television station SABC about the origin of his wealth, Malema avoided all accountability and explanations of his lavish lifestyle and the source of his wealth, meticulously protesting, “I am not accountable to you, I am accountable to the ANCYL and ANC…. There are no laws that says politicians can’t be businessmen. The problem with you [white Africans] is that when an [black] African <strike>crook </strike>child is emerging and becoming successful, that is when you have a problem. That is your major problem that causes you sleepless nights. You want to see us dying in poverty. That is what you are committed to.” In an earlier interview with reporter from South African alternative television channel e.tv he said, “You cannot audit us… I cannot be audited by you because I have defeated you. I cannot be defeated by people I have defeated.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The big-mouth public servant also happens to be listed as the director of four companies (SGL, Ever Roaring, Blue Nightingale Trading 61 and 101 Junjus Trading).</span></div><div></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><strong>Malema linked to 'wrecked' taxi rank</strong></span> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">­</span> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">­</span><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">­Julius Malema has been linked to another failed construction project – a collapsed R2-million taxi rank in Limpopo.<br /><br />SGL Engineering Projects, a company that has had at least three municipal projects taken over after non-performance, won the tender to build the R2.1m Apel Cross Taxi Rank in Ga-Masemola, south of Polokwane, in March 2006.<br /><br />At the time, Malema was listed as a director of SGL. When his link to the company was revealed last year he claimed his signature had been forged and said he was never a ­director. Malema has since ­resigned as a director.<br /><br />City Press has obtained tender documents that the municipality previously told the Public ­Protector had been lost. The ­documents showed that SGL had subcontracted the construction of the taxi rank to two companies – Ever Roaring Investments and Moloko Business Enterprises.<br /><br />Malema was also a director of Ever Roaring at the time.<br /><br />According to the documents, the contract was split in two – R1.8m for construction and R300 000 to SGL as consulting engineers.<br /><br />Moloko’s director, Mathews Mathabatha, was one of Malema’s business partners in Ever Roaring.<br /><br />Malema was a director in Ever Roaring until last June.<br /><br />City Press has identified the following problems with the project:</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />- The rank was completed in ­October 2009, two years after its original deadline of August 2007;<br />- In March 2008 Moloko and ­Ever Roaring were kicked off the project because of non-performance and another company had to complete the project;<br />- The Greater Sekhukhune district municipality had initially ­refused to sign off on the project as it had questions about the roof’s design, according to a probe by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela;<br />- Water and electricity have still not been supplied to the taxi rank though it is stipulated in the ­contract;<br />- One section of the taxi rank’s roof caved in in October last year, a year after construction was ­completed, and;<br />- Minutes of several site meetings held between SGL, contractors, labourers and the project steering committee show that some of the labourers were not paid for up to four months.<br /><br />Municipal spokesperson Willy Mosoma said part of the roof collapsed due to natural disasters and not through any fault of SGL. However, he could not elaborate on these “natural disasters”.<br /><br />He said the municipality was working with Eskom to supply electricity and water to the rank.<br /><br />Mosoma’s version of how the roof collapsed was disputed by the chairperson of the Masemola ­Local and Long Distance Taxi Association Danie Mohlala, taxi drivers and hawkers, who believed it happened because poor quality materials had been used.<br /><br />Malema, through his spokesperson, Floyd Shivambu, refused to comment, saying he would not ­respond to questions from this ­reporter.<br /><br />In a recent meeting with City Press editors, Malema “banned” Rampedi from all youth league ­activities after he’d reported on Malema’s business interests.<br /><br />SGL project engineer Thomas Mulaudzi and company lawyer Mpoyana Ledwaba acknowledged receipt of questions sent to them but they failed to respond.<br /><br />City Press revealed last year that SGL had been awarded government tenders worth at least R140m by municipalities in Limpopo. <br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><br /><div id="ctl00_ctl00_MainBodyPlaceholder_Column1Placeholder_articlePaged_DivAccreditationName"><a href="http://www.citypress.co.za/" id="ctl00_ctl00_MainBodyPlaceholder_Column1Placeholder_articlePaged_lnkArticleAccreditationName" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: #0e2e5e;">- City Press</span></strong></a><br /><br /></div></span> </div>

Bright spark, big-mouth Malema linked to another failed construction project

Reports say that Malema is co-owner of the company SGL Engineering Projects. SGL is said to have been awarded more than 20 contracts, each w...

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EXPOSED - Eksdom R3bn boo-boo

<p><strong><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:medium;">TRUE STORY!</span></strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Ggw7dPR8ABNOqOlL_wuRWs72Ujqva5nfSV5VN66evZG3h4thJPdTSg2nt78ZAJExqsFqsmPWdDV2RcWF5HCHrK6YJSJz3qn9k8zBq5tjErFpTTHTl4BpVspc4GhyEn0FjHVRnJ8DWBUb/s1600/eskom-joke3.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#990000;"><em><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589068997842686418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Ggw7dPR8ABNOqOlL_wuRWs72Ujqva5nfSV5VN66evZG3h4thJPdTSg2nt78ZAJExqsFqsmPWdDV2RcWF5HCHrK6YJSJz3qn9k8zBq5tjErFpTTHTl4BpVspc4GhyEn0FjHVRnJ8DWBUb/s400/eskom-joke3.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 374px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 235px; CURSOR: hand" /></strong></em></span></a> <br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;color:#990000;"><em><strong>This rates as a pretty big Boo Boo. </strong></em></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;color:#990000;"><em><strong>Our local utility supplier ESKOM manged to blow up a 600Mw steam turbine during a routine overspeed test. </strong></em></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;color:#990000;"><em><strong>They then tried to keep a lid on it by reporting it as a fire during routine maintenance.</strong></em></span> <br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:medium;"><strong>A comedy of errors has cost Eskom R3bn and severely compromised South Africa’s supply of electricity. </strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:medium;"><strong>This has emerged after last month’s massive explosion at the Duvha power station outside ­Witbank, Mpumalanga.</strong> </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:medium;">The February 9 explosion ripped through one of the turbines at the power station, causing extensive damage to the station’s infrastructure and immediately removing 600MW from the country’s electricity supply. That amount can power a city the size of Bloemfontein during peak hours. </span><br /><p><strong><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:medium;">It has now emerged that human error or lack of personnel caused the explosion, as it happened ­during a routine check. Eskom is investigating whether the control room at the station was unmanned when all its safety mechanisms failed during a maintenance test on February 9. It appears that there was nobody in the control room to activate the ­emergency mechanism, which would have shut down the turbine immediately. </span></strong><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:medium;">“We are worried that such a thing could happen again,” said Dirk ­Herman of trade union Solidarity. This showed that Eskom’s ­personnel network could not handle the immense pressure, he said. </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:medium;">“Eskom’s investigation into the incident must be broadened to ­include an audit of the state of the network and the state of Eskom staff,” he said.</span> <br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:medium;"><em><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Read full story here -</span> </strong></em><a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/Eskom-makes-R3bn-boo-boo-20110327" id="ctl00_ctl00_MainBodyPlaceholder_Column2Placeholder_articleStatistics_rptMostRead_ctl01_lnkArticle" onclick="javascript: $j().geekGaTrackPage('UA-2092186-1','/outbound/news24/mostread/Eskom makes R3bn boo-boo');"><span style="color:#0e2e5e;"><em>Eskom makes R3bn boo-boo</em></span></a></span> </p><br /><p></p>

EXPOSED - Eksdom R3bn boo-boo

TRUE STORY! This rates as a pretty big Boo Boo. Our local utility supplier ESKOM manged to blow up a 600Mw steam turbine during a routine o...

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'Eksdom blows up a turbine' cover-up lies

<p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Eskom broken generator R3bn setback </span></strong></span></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">It will cost Eskom R3bn to replace the turbine generator that spun out of control and burst during a maintenance test near eMalahleni (Witbank). </span></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">But almost worse than the monetary damage is the loss of 600MW in generating capacity for more than a year. </span></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">It would take more than a year to replace the unit, said Hillary Joffe, Eskom’s head of communications. Unofficial sources reckoned it could take 18 months before a new unit, which would have to be ordered from and specially manufactured by French suppliers, could be put into operation. </span></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Photographs taken for the purposes of investigation of the damage shortly after the accident have since been widely published on the internet and show that the gigantic unit at Duvha, one of Eskom’s biggest power stations, was irreparably damaged by the explosion. </span></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>According to Joffe</strong>, an overspeed test on the unit was conducted on the evening of February 9. The turbine generator unit normally spins at 3 000 revolutions a minute when it is linked to the national power grid and the network operated at its normal 50 Hz voltage level. But during the test the unit is disconnected from the national network. A valve controlling an enormous flow of steam to drive the turbine is then gradually opened to raise the pressure of the steam on the turbine. The speed at which the turbine rotates increases as the steam pressure rises. Joffe said the system has a bolt that starts to cut the rotational speed of the turbine as soon as it goes 10% over the design speed of 3 000 revolutions a minute. <strong>This time the safety mechanism failed for some other reason.</strong> <em><span style="color:#000099;">(see below to find out what actually happened at Duhva) </span></em></span></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">As a result the turbine spun faster and faster. The rotational speed increased too quickly for anything to be done before the enormous machine burst with a tremendous explosion, with debris scattering in all directions. The explosion ripped off several steel plates in the roof of the turbine hall. Pieces of shrapnel made hundreds of holes in the remainder of the 30-metre-high roof. </span>- Sake24 </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"><em>Amazing how pics like these can get out even after Eskom put a blanket of secrecy around the whole incident ... Check out the holes in the roof - it's like a bomb went off - and that boken driveshaft lying on the floor is +-350mm diameter.</em></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></p></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFjacD0Cq9gqYBXyMwO21qVf0mbMYgT8orgPqWGJcJ9ooByf8j40hBeiLbzw1G9kUPhMKjnymDzc0jOQMlIQZXKNdPTNWUuQ9WbEvCmV1QvG12FhmDhGNRevIFWxT266QiHNQkAZUaQwV/s1600/eskom-turbine.bmp"><em><span style="color:#000099;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586641558027128738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFjacD0Cq9gqYBXyMwO21qVf0mbMYgT8orgPqWGJcJ9ooByf8j40hBeiLbzw1G9kUPhMKjnymDzc0jOQMlIQZXKNdPTNWUuQ9WbEvCmV1QvG12FhmDhGNRevIFWxT266QiHNQkAZUaQwV/s400/eskom-turbine.bmp" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></span></em></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRbF-mS5GSNo7G4YnB5TKnM42WvWDOHk_R3F8m3AfJ1wepaGm0973xorzsTprBbBXKyx106othrBXix8Z0Pvyy8EmKKJ2oW8UsfMOF-S8IhI5JD3T1HiMJn4JsKx8sCjzkqEAfu0f4wCp/s1600/eskom-turbine01.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586643083097054498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRbF-mS5GSNo7G4YnB5TKnM42WvWDOHk_R3F8m3AfJ1wepaGm0973xorzsTprBbBXKyx106othrBXix8Z0Pvyy8EmKKJ2oW8UsfMOF-S8IhI5JD3T1HiMJn4JsKx8sCjzkqEAfu0f4wCp/s400/eskom-turbine01.bmp" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSDBZjDavNCdpNQb1YP2IKIPBzv0P9eZARg-LjjTYUCbWO0tF4N9TYfvJJmvRdxxMN7tXk3v2PiF5f3_vutVWsju6JvqDRl6ERDX97mISctLBBR8uz4jpYDrEs_bE_4CJcJJedi6wmJgR/s1600/eskom-turbine06.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586656089877117074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSDBZjDavNCdpNQb1YP2IKIPBzv0P9eZARg-LjjTYUCbWO0tF4N9TYfvJJmvRdxxMN7tXk3v2PiF5f3_vutVWsju6JvqDRl6ERDX97mISctLBBR8uz4jpYDrEs_bE_4CJcJJedi6wmJgR/s400/eskom-turbine06.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDRe8RPtnlZmP31ZZq6y0yvq5TpuHtkbMHN_FiD7AwDkxR93ZavWjwOFz06tyJZBidnjDoH56l6T4eNYi0hQhN30m27IhI5Ip2KIept3k79fl9Xvt3Yt7BfRBS0nkL5zoB6_0PKCZa-6O/s1600/eskom-turbine02.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586643564657182162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDRe8RPtnlZmP31ZZq6y0yvq5TpuHtkbMHN_FiD7AwDkxR93ZavWjwOFz06tyJZBidnjDoH56l6T4eNYi0hQhN30m27IhI5Ip2KIept3k79fl9Xvt3Yt7BfRBS0nkL5zoB6_0PKCZa-6O/s400/eskom-turbine02.bmp" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Qgo-Ifz0yxxYT-p4SkpszxhiqHHfE9P-DevhMn7OHVZAFBtmmFgEAf2c6_Y2EzVtClLlvIFL4Se2GxGzEI51K4WYvPUTtzvglrM2LPgTI1NyKJB74wmBM70MKz-S1MIXIIE1FbXqOd3E/s1600/eskom-turbine03.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586644158986761010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Qgo-Ifz0yxxYT-p4SkpszxhiqHHfE9P-DevhMn7OHVZAFBtmmFgEAf2c6_Y2EzVtClLlvIFL4Se2GxGzEI51K4WYvPUTtzvglrM2LPgTI1NyKJB74wmBM70MKz-S1MIXIIE1FbXqOd3E/s400/eskom-turbine03.bmp" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzCbB7Z1FY81KNHy3a19UX8Moqo6l2v8O_etGMtFcQDHH_Y3DsXGWlwgRzYY6KCc58pgGu4y58oEvyb18t0llNdmDBof-_gLW_1Oed8NqE3KYgdq7kUs9oDCH5qybnL6JbO5PUSglz4hQ/s1600/eskom-turbine04.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586644946409696290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzCbB7Z1FY81KNHy3a19UX8Moqo6l2v8O_etGMtFcQDHH_Y3DsXGWlwgRzYY6KCc58pgGu4y58oEvyb18t0llNdmDBof-_gLW_1Oed8NqE3KYgdq7kUs9oDCH5qybnL6JbO5PUSglz4hQ/s400/eskom-turbine04.bmp" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNONibHgK1TeUjhZr2WbYYTaOmEoHbJZO2M4yl_JIMVbA-5JJxZ-5jakCvDakGoV3THN_GNU4wiX7t41Mi1-4CXu0S5h1KLJlP6-4psCw9wR1DmmeddwsQTI9zceLVxWgY8K8K3xYWE6Di/s1600/eskom-turbine05.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586645888711829154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNONibHgK1TeUjhZr2WbYYTaOmEoHbJZO2M4yl_JIMVbA-5JJxZ-5jakCvDakGoV3THN_GNU4wiX7t41Mi1-4CXu0S5h1KLJlP6-4psCw9wR1DmmeddwsQTI9zceLVxWgY8K8K3xYWE6Di/s400/eskom-turbine05.bmp" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>ESKOM blows up a turbine - R3Billion later </strong></span><br /><blockquote><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">"So I found out what happened at Duhva. </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">They were doing a test of the turbine overspeed protection system, and in short, the protection did not kick in. Conventional wisdom tells me that there should be a better way to test a protection system than to try and destroy the turbine and see if it feels like protecting itself, but that’s basically what they did. </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The turbine has a governor valve which controls the amount of steam coming into the turbine in order to keep it running at the right speed (3000 rpm for our grid frequency) and then it has a main isolation valve to shut the steam off completely. The protections systems (of which there are 3 independent systems, and a dude with his finger on the emergency button) are supposed to close this main isolation valve in a fraction of a second when the turbine overspeeds. </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">So they get ready for the test, they dump a helluva lot of steam onto the turbine, speed starts going crazy, it went from 3000 RPM to 4500 RMP in ten seconds (they are generally only designed for 10 to 15% overspeed, all three protection systems should have kicked in by the time you get to 110%). </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Anyway, <strong>all three systems failed, and the dude with his finger on the manual trip button wasn’t at his post.</strong> So the result was a big bang, some fire and a lot of steam going where it shouldn’t go. </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Scary thing is Duvha has a shared turbine hall. All six units are placed in one long straight stripe, with no missile shield between them. And if you look at the third last pic you can see how big that shaft is, if that landed on another turbine it would have destroyed that too. They are very lucky they didn’t lose the entire station. </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">So anyway, what gets reported in the news? “Unforeseen maintenance” at one of the units at Duvha requires it to remain shut down for 18 months. Understatement of the century in my book. But you shut off the containment ventilation system at Koeberg for one hour and a radiation alarm goes off, then it’s a front page news national crisis. I give up." </span></p></blockquote><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><em>Source:</em></span> <a href="http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php?t=79395"><em><span style="font-family:arial;">http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php?t=79395</span></em></a> </p>

'Eksdom blows up a turbine' cover-up lies

Eskom broken generator R3bn setback It will cost Eskom R3bn to replace the turbine generator that spun out of control and burst during a mai...

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Acid Mine Drainage – is this the end of life in Gauteng?

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="color:#990000;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">It's taken the government 14 years to take the issue of AMD (acid mine drainage) seriously and focus on finding practical solutions – and even to acknowledge the importance of enforcing compliance and regular inspection! What is lacking is the political will and commitment to implement plans and apportion liability. AMD on the Witwatersrand has now reached a crisis point.</span></strong></span></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="color:#990000;"></span></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbqzNUvHYoGOKwiHY6peO0dv6ED5AnuxwpKXBvi_77PUYLDt9O2fC16UOmyJ73RqmnC2hXB5xgjoToAzdeSUyZsyZsYRg8NxoZxV2edkWFdcV6hcClq5XOMl5PiUpnphyluHaMdVutgTk/s1600/dead-carp-in-lake-300x224.jpg"><strong><span style="color:#000066;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562581434539776162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbqzNUvHYoGOKwiHY6peO0dv6ED5AnuxwpKXBvi_77PUYLDt9O2fC16UOmyJ73RqmnC2hXB5xgjoToAzdeSUyZsyZsYRg8NxoZxV2edkWFdcV6hcClq5XOMl5PiUpnphyluHaMdVutgTk/s400/dead-carp-in-lake-300x224.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 224px; CURSOR: hand" /></span></strong></a><span style="color:black;">While South Africans are witnessing the “catastrophe”, the government committees are debating the water crisis in boardrooms, and nothing has been done to prevent the decanting of acid mine water. The first AMD (acid mine drainage) decant that occurred on the West Rand in 2002, was predicted in 1996. When will the department of water affairs recognise the situation for what it is – a pending disaster! Decisive action has become imperative as acidic mine water has now reached the Cradle of Humankind from the West Rand.</span></em></span> </p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="color:black;">In July 2010 the department stated that potential decant within the Johannesburg area could take place within 18 months, or by early 2012. Those 18 months had now shrunk to 12 months. </span></em></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="color:black;">It is all very well that the inter-ministerial committee appointed by the department of water affairs to investigate, completed its work, but besides the announcement of a report of which the findings were never made public, we have heard nothing further. </span></em></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="color:black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVwnPKDBXKXTTZJIJzzNlE70sj89sHaYVK-MO-eyvjAENmTjjS-Ty0euA0899UzJqOW1pVe6nhwDfSs6bYp0XgQM1B65dPf21RkpMVThsDT_hkMKOKcdZmUBk7wCU3wg9Zmgzz5Gmopsrx/s1600/fish-dead-acid-mine-water-pollution.jpg"><span style="color:black;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562581638293968370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVwnPKDBXKXTTZJIJzzNlE70sj89sHaYVK-MO-eyvjAENmTjjS-Ty0euA0899UzJqOW1pVe6nhwDfSs6bYp0XgQM1B65dPf21RkpMVThsDT_hkMKOKcdZmUBk7wCU3wg9Zmgzz5Gmopsrx/s400/fish-dead-acid-mine-water-pollution.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 350px; CURSOR: hand" /></span></a>Due to governments delays in dealing with AMD and given the huge volumes of AMD currently decanting, inadequate treatment methods (i.e. neutralisation) may have to be implemented in the short term – at the expense of our environment, health and economy! The threats are massive: Not only our water, but our health and food security is compromised. It is worrying that instead of scientific research and engineering, Ministers are calling for simplistic and quick solutions. Acid mine drainage is the most significant environmental threat facing South Africa and is going to take billions of Rands and will involve all sectors of society for many decades, if not centuries, to come.. We wait with bated breath to hear what Cabinet determines is the way forward!</span></em></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="color:black;"><strong>Footnote:</strong><br />For the record: A serious case of insufficient funds again! Government lacks the R1.5-billion needed for a 10-year rehabilitation plan. Just one pump to remove the water costs R218-million, but the current budget for this is R14-million. Which begs the question - Was the multibillion-rand Arms Deal, the R40-billion World Cup Soccer, the R21-billion Gauteng F</span></em></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="color:black;">reeway system or Cuba's R1.1-billion freebie a life and death situation? And what of our Disney World that is expected to cost R25-billion? Or is this #101 failure of government where self-help is the order of the day - 'Water is Life' - do you think this may have dawned on anyone in government?<br /></span></em><br /><strong>Radioactive Pollution Acid Mine Water reaches Cradle of Mankind</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFZY-mK0jyDFgL9bkmB8-THNZNwch7p6YSSxqtEcQzbjk3_iGdHdS-pCAM3e958umh1LLsz9J_tGZey9eyAz_Mnt3UAK-OuVz7uoM9MebEpQkaToAQ1C0mRidKzIQ7Tqm-wRkMtaH8McC/s1600/AMD-west-rand-gold-fields-300x225.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562579888284327842" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFZY-mK0jyDFgL9bkmB8-THNZNwch7p6YSSxqtEcQzbjk3_iGdHdS-pCAM3e958umh1LLsz9J_tGZey9eyAz_Mnt3UAK-OuVz7uoM9MebEpQkaToAQ1C0mRidKzIQ7Tqm-wRkMtaH8McC/s400/AMD-west-rand-gold-fields-300x225.png" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Acidic mine water that has been bubbling out of an old ventilation shaft on the West Rand for the past year has now reached the Cradle of Mankind and caused<strong> the deaths of over 60 carp in a dam.</strong><br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000099;">Radioactive dam left after failure to rehabilitate mine</span></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />This stream runs from the Tweelopiespruit, which springs from the radioactive Robinson lake outside Randfontein. From here it runs through the Krugersdorp game reserve, "over" the Sterkfontein Caves, right through the Cradle of Mankind up to the Crocodile River, which runs into the Hartbeespoort Dam.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1nknsvTYnOf8y2AmCIlW2h3_73I6xF3fo0JBnhvJFOsok9aEPEcc209kluwOIKeqbiyXxGdK5GDH-NGVK08gwm5MpQjLCcg5UN82Rs0oF3btt2En4mfcBYhS3Jyo9SsLdwNM-LWUCSs2t/s1600/AMD-Tweelopies-downstream-from-Hippo-Dam-201x300.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562580534379801698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1nknsvTYnOf8y2AmCIlW2h3_73I6xF3fo0JBnhvJFOsok9aEPEcc209kluwOIKeqbiyXxGdK5GDH-NGVK08gwm5MpQjLCcg5UN82Rs0oF3btt2En4mfcBYhS3Jyo9SsLdwNM-LWUCSs2t/s400/AMD-Tweelopies-downstream-from-Hippo-Dam-201x300.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 201px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Neil Norquoy from Wild Cave Adventures found the dead fish on the farm Koelenhof on Thursday.<br /><br />The farm is about 10km northeast of the place where<strong> millions of litres</strong> of acidic mine water has been leaking on the West Rand since last year.<br /><br />The dam is situated about 3km northeast of the Sterkfontein Caves.<br /><br />The pollution had spread from the old Rand Uranium goldmine on the West Rand and has now spread north to within the Cradle of Mankind.<br /><br />At this stage, it has already passed the Sterkfontein Caves as the Blaaubankspruit runs "over" the Sterkfontein Caves.<br /><br />Water specialist Garfield Krige said he believed the acidic mine water of the West Rand had reached the Hartbeespoort Dam "long ago".<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8slf-lyuuoZSXnoBP_ZbP_YVix5HguFzN8FmzZ6HeNWwfs5fSHcsfNfCCAMEEtpHJgP79NLd3tHG2GtoHWg66MYS_6SjZXds_Ik4XzNtROxJ7wR1QvpCtuFsu0S08CZPfeSukr867DGrZ/s1600/AMD-Tweelopiespruit.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562581027229956370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8slf-lyuuoZSXnoBP_ZbP_YVix5HguFzN8FmzZ6HeNWwfs5fSHcsfNfCCAMEEtpHJgP79NLd3tHG2GtoHWg66MYS_6SjZXds_Ik4XzNtROxJ7wR1QvpCtuFsu0S08CZPfeSukr867DGrZ/s400/AMD-Tweelopiespruit.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>The <strong>heavy rains</strong> over the past two weeks have filled the underground mined-out pockets on the West Rand to such an extent that there are now about 40 million litres of sour mine water in the Tweelopiespruit each day.<br /><br />Krige, who lives in the Cradle of Mankind, said stones in the area where the Blaaubankspruit flowed, are also coloured bright orange.<br /><br />The whole shore area of the Tweelopiespruit is coloured dark orange.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>What is AMD - Acid Mine Drainage?</strong> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">AMD is a</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> deadly cocktail of chemicals which includes various sulphates, and metals such as lead, magnesium, cadmium, bismuth, and radioactive uranium, strontium (one of uranium’s progeny) and radium which decays into radon, radon gas, polonium, and thorium. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>Ministers 'simple and quick’ solution - neutralisation!</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><strong>What is neutralisation?</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJ08luw5l7QJYaVqpafNoRPd2uEhiLJPCRw2BJPX7ODoSX87V9FYbkuhSrDrwTGBeBFgGtT2CjoqlzgylYe36tBGBtHmnSlKdWKI2_FZkBnQzaqi1bKaptYgoU7rXQ88D5EDUa68vgpSo/s1600/AMD-Crust-that-formed-in-the-Tweelopies-300x201.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562579253686398178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJ08luw5l7QJYaVqpafNoRPd2uEhiLJPCRw2BJPX7ODoSX87V9FYbkuhSrDrwTGBeBFgGtT2CjoqlzgylYe36tBGBtHmnSlKdWKI2_FZkBnQzaqi1bKaptYgoU7rXQ88D5EDUa68vgpSo/s400/AMD-Crust-that-formed-in-the-Tweelopies-300x201.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 201px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Neutralisation is simply a pH adjustment, for example by adding lime to acid mine water. Neutralisation with lime removes some of the sulphate salts from the water, but not enough. It makes metals fall out of the water to the bottom of the water course.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />In the West Rand, neutralisation of AMD has resulted in the discharge of water with high sulphate salt content and a stream lined with metal deposits.<em><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#000099;">(See photo right and click here:</span> </span></em><a href="http://www.earthlife.org.za/?p=989"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#46743c;"><em>‘Inadequate treatment of acid water flowing into Tweelopiespruit’</em></span></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;">.)</span></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Neutralisation also does not deal with radioactive particles from uranium in AMD.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">For neutralisation to be an effective water treatment method, the water needs to settle in holding tanks and the deposited toxic sludge removed and disposed of safely.<br /><br />(SEE IMAGES AND VIDEO LINKS BELOW)</span> </p><li id="video"><span style="PADDING-RIGHT: 2px"></span><a href="javascript:play_video(" style="COLOR: #3e7095"><span style="font-family:arial;">VIDEO - Part 1 Western Basin flooded with acid mine water</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></li><li id="video"><span style="PADDING-RIGHT: 2px"></span><a href="javascript:play_video(" style="COLOR: #3e7095"><span style="font-family:arial;">VIDEO - Part 2 Robinson Lake declared radioactive</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></li><li id="video"><span style="PADDING-RIGHT: 2px"></span><a href="javascript:play_video(" style="COLOR: #3e7095"><span style="font-family:arial;">VIDEO - Part 3 acid mine water spillages</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></li><p></p>

Acid Mine Drainage – is this the end of life in Gauteng?

It's taken the government 14 years to take the issue of AMD (acid mine drainage) seriously and focus on finding practical solutions – an...

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SA Govt repeating past mistakes...Again, Still, Whatever!

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Govt's <strike>TOP-10</strike> TOP-15 serious blunders that caused extreme alarm in 2010</span></strong><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><ol><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The water crisis,<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZdguT7C2IEhpOcuMhTZM-JkOa5CzZX5etWtx12zwtksfhi3ZTd1FTB6Z_VOBsCIOEK_PXlZMP2e7E5mdH1k6_IQ4sCUtjbA4gALNAZRZF1x_M09U6DcisZg18Iu8-YeylPRATyo5Oh86/s1600/anc-logo.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556269021058784578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZdguT7C2IEhpOcuMhTZM-JkOa5CzZX5etWtx12zwtksfhi3ZTd1FTB6Z_VOBsCIOEK_PXlZMP2e7E5mdH1k6_IQ4sCUtjbA4gALNAZRZF1x_M09U6DcisZg18Iu8-YeylPRATyo5Oh86/s320/anc-logo.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGGWfVaUkOdaDCWdD3_Zm5sJgnwnLGMkmD1KxE6zUp5T95x3tQf5X54TzfZI3Q4Qu70WxQCUe0qauHutgMF8fVDHEGeAXWBf9ocW0aFsXaxUOeB28Yug8FLAPyASciTKV4hKlWiifR99g/s1600/anc-logo.jpg"></a></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Misappropriation of state funds, </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Efforts to gag the media,</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The ongoing fiascos at semi-government institutions, </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The government's handling of youth matters, </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Road maintenance and potholes, </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">South Africa's military readiness, </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">CRIME, </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The widespread housing scandal </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Labour problems, </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Hosting of the R69m World Youth Festival by the NYDA; </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Poor service delivery from parastatals; </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The failure to create sufficient jobs; </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">A housing scandal involving 2 000 government officials, </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The failure to crush South Africa's "internationally feared" criminals.</span></li></ol><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">***</span></strong>Corruption is present in most of the above</span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>Water crisis state's worst blunder</strong><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">1. <strong>Water crisis<br /></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Government's denial of the worsening water problems in South Africa in 2010 must rate as one of its more serious blunders.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">In the same year that Trevor Manuel, minister in the presidency, shrugged off as "ridiculous" predictions that toxic mine water could seep out at various locations in Gauteng before long, government for the first time ever acknowledged its failure to maintain municipal sewerage plants all over the country. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The latter issue is a matter of grave concern. According to government's so-called Green Drop report for 2009, only 32 of the 449 plants tested managed Green Drop status. (Only 449 of the country's 852 plants were tested.) This means that millions of litres of insufficiently purified water daily find its way into our rivers.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">In a country afflicted by a scarcity of water, a fast-growing population and ageing infrastructure, our water predicament has now become a ticking timebomb.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">2. <strong>Youth</strong><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">One of the most expensive government blunders without a doubt was the 17th World Youth Festival presented by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) in December.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The festival cost almost R69 million, of which R29 million was funded by the treasury. In view of the current unemployment rate of 35,8% among South Africans in the age group 15 to 34 (according to the narrow definition of unemployment), such extravagance flies right in the face of our youth's aspirations. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">However, a critical 2010 blunder with more far-reaching consequences flows from government's continuing inability to solve our nation's education woes. The matric pass rate for 2009 was 60,6%. Owing to the prolonged teachers' strike in particular, the 2010 figure could hardly be an improvement on last year. Still failing to prepare our youth for the labour market, the education system generally produces merely mediocre school-leavers.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">3. <strong>Misappropriation</strong> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Here are just some of this year's shocking blunders regarding state spending: </span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The disclosure in November that the bodyguards of the leader of the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema, had already cost the taxpayer more than R880 000. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">In October it was divulged that R3,7 million had been transferred from the South African Police Service (SAPS) budget to pay for the residence of police chief General Bheki Cele. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Some R130 million was spent by government and several semi-government institutions on tickets for various matches in the Soccer World Cup Tournament. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">In November the auditor-general revealed numerous government departments' "irregular" spending of approximately R2,3 billion (i.e. spending incurred outside stipulated guidelines). </span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">As to the management of municipal funds the picture is bleak indeed. Financial statements of South African municipalities published by the treasury disclosed that consumers of municipal services were overdue by more than R62 billion at the end of September 2010 - with close to R3,4 billion due by the state itself. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">4. <strong>Potholes keep government stumbling<br /></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">While South African roads face a construction backlog of almost R100 billion, motorists are spending some R50 billion annually to have pothole-related damage to their vehicles repaired.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The maintenance of our secondary roads in particular has become a veritable nightmare thanks to the fact that, to a large extent, road maintenance has simply stopped. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) issued a warning in October that our roads were fast becoming irreparable. The AA conducted a study in 2008 by measuring road conditions on a scale of zero (worst condition) to 100 (best condition), according to the so-called visible-condition index (VCI). The index dropped to 46 in 2008, as against 65 in 1998.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Minister of transport, S'bu Ndebele, admitted in October that bad roads increase the risk of accidents.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">5. <strong>Media tribunal </strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">It would seem that a transparent society, investigative journalism and media freedom are to make way for more corruption and deeper murkiness. This scenario, among others, awaits South Africa if the proposed media tribunal and the Protection of Information Bill were to be adopted.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Already experts are describing eventual state control of the media as a disaster. The proposed legislation is aimed at, among others, empowering the authorities to classify information and to prosecute contravening opinionmakers such as journalists and editors. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">It is highly ironical that the ruling party who clamoured so vociferously for the freedom of speech during apartheid should now be trying to convince South Africans that a free press was indeed a threat to democracy!<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">6. <strong>SANDF</strong><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Disturbing rumours were again doing the rounds this year that the defence force was nowhere near fighting trim. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The low morale in the SANDF is alleged to be very serious; in fact, in November an MP warned that it could even endanger state security. The publishing of a comprehensive report on the combat status of the SANDF is awaited with apprehension.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">7. <strong>Semi-government institutions<br /></strong><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Many semi-government institutions are continuing their negative tendencies. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Some of these institutions are hampered by thousands of vacancies, weakening their service delivery. In May 2010 Transnet had some 4 500 vacancies, Eskom had 1 200, while SAA lacked 600 workers. Solidarity cited affirmative action as a probable contributing factor behind the vacancies, with service delivery its ultimate victim.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">8. <strong>Labour</strong><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Government's target of creating five million new jobs in the next decade is commendable; however, if this initiative was not left to the private sector, it cannot succeed. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The failure of the Essa project (Employment Services South Africa) seems inevitable.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Essa is a centralised database which is supposed to match jobseekers and employers. Since its inception four years ago, only 2% of the more than 1,2 million jobseekers have been placed successfully. Close to 170 000 jobseekers were registered in 2007/08, of whom only 3% were successful. More than 420 000 people were registered in 2008/09 - the lucky ones came to only 3,5%. And a meagre 1% of the more than 630 000 people registered in 2009/10 are now employed.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">9. <strong>Housing scandal </strong><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The housing corruption involving some 2 000 government officials is one of the most disgraceful public sins of 2010.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Minister of human settlements, Tokyo Sexwale, said in August this year that syndicates selling and leasing government housing were to be investigated. Numerous government officials, notably in Gauteng, North West and KwaZulu-Natal, are allegedly benefiting underhand from these deals. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The authorities' housing promises pose another fiasco. Sexwale announced in April this year that the housing backlog even exceeded the backlog in 1994: the figure has swelled from 1,5 million in 1994 to 2,1 million at present. Meanwhile the need for housing is growing daily; the number of informal settlements has already reached the 2 700-mark, of which at least 70 are inhabited by white people in shanty towns. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">10. <strong>Crime and law enforcement </strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The authorities are still failing to crush South Africa's internationally feared criminals, despite a growing police force. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">According to data released by SAPS in September, 16 849 murders, 68 332 sex-related crimes and 64 670 muggings (robberies with violence) were recorded as at 31 March 2010 when the 2009/10 financial year ended. Residential and business burglaries increased by 1,9% and 4,4% respectively. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Experts are moreover concerned that a growing percentage of crime victims no longer even bother to report the misdeeds they have suffered. And in March it was revealed that one out of three police stations lacked suitable victim support facilities.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Successful policing by police members with a sense of duty is further hindered by affirmative action as well as poor law enforcement and ill-considered strategic planning.<br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Solidarity emphasised the gravity of the crisis, saying that <strong>extensive and permanent damage</strong> had already been done and that merely pulling up its socks is not good enough for 2011.</span></em></span></p>

SA Govt repeating past mistakes...Again, Still, Whatever!

Govt's TOP-10 TOP-15 serious blunders that caused extreme alarm in 2010 The water crisis, Misappropriation of state funds, Efforts to ...

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Fat-cat parastatal bosses come and go, but they get the cream

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Seven of the top-10-earning executives at SA's parastatals have either left or are leaving. And a number of them left under a cloud.</span></strong><br /><br />Moreover, eight of the top-paid heads of parastatals would have ranked among SA's 150 biggest earners in private companies.<br /><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547320646424532418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9HPqtBDJ54Ow53tM-ev4HUYvI47-xmukVm7r5sRWXwGBxGKRwsD8vW2uAzzTVebJ1Wku4bmU8C1sFeF4M3zaJJOg4D_Q_2mi1UeGdUXg5Cg2ORWd02d9Mb8nAiXP6q2hOLoNaW5OItjm/s400/corruption-theft.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 360px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 305px; CURSOR: hand" />Research into parastatal pay, carried out by Who Owns Whom, is done on a selected number of parastatals, so it does not capture the pay of all directors of state-owned entities.<br /><br />Pay at entities such as Eskom, SAA, Denel, and the SABC should be seen in the context of regular news about failure, controversy and financial bail-outs.<br /><br />Khaya Ngqula, the former head of SAA, tops the rankings, having earned R13.7-million in 2009. This included his controversial R9.35-million "termination benefit" - the amount he was paid to go away.<br /><br />Behind was Geoffrey Qhena of the Industrial Development Corporation, one of the few who still has his job. Qhena earned R10.3-million last year. This included a performance bonus of almost R7-million.<br /><br />The IDC and Transnet were among the biggest payers, with numerous directors earning big packages.<br /><br />Jacob Maroga, who ranked 10th, was sacked from Eskom in late 2009 with no official golden handshake, but R9-million in previously awarded shares will be transferred to him through 2010 and up to March 2011. Universally acknowledged to have managed Eskom poorly, Maroga enjoyed a salary of more than R5-million in 2009.<br /><br />The court has since reserved judgment in his subsequent bid for a payout for unlawful dismissal. Maroga is suing for benefits he would have accrued into 2011 - to a total of R85-million.<br /><br />Eskom CEO Brian Dames faces a huge task if he is to alter the organisation's trajectory and justify the recent rate hikes and requests for funding, but the pain will be eased by his own hefty pay packet: a salary of R3.3-million, a short-term bonus of R1.22-million, another of R946000 and a payment of R230000, listed as "other".<br /><br />Over at poorly performing Telkom, CEO Reuben September, who has since left, pulled in a performance bonus of R1.84-million, with other benefits of R7.43-million on top of a salary of R3.6-million to rake in a total income of R12.8-million (down from a hefty R19.1-million the year before).<br /><br />In October 2009 new SAA board chairman Cheryl Carolus famously took action against Ngqula (the new SAA board apparently paid R20-million for a forensic report) for cash spent outside of his financial mandate that needed to be paid back, announcing a suit against Ngqula for R30.8-million, with further thinking required on how to recoup R141-million in misspent sponsorship money.<br /><br />SAA paid bonuses of R60.7-million to 153 managers over three years, at an average of R400000 per employee, as part of a retention scheme that Ngqula introduced. The pending court action will eat up yet more taxpayers' money.<br /><br />Similarly, Dali Mpofu was paid R12-million when he left the SABC, even though the broadcaster was R800-million in the red at the time.<br /><br />Siyabonga Gama, the CEO of Transnet freight rail, was dismissed for breach of governance requirements in respect of two procurement contracts before he could lead the running in the race to fill the position of Transnet CEO.<br /><br />The position has been vacant for over a year since Maria Ramos stepped down. Gama's pay for his last year was more than R4-million.<br /><br />Executive directors and senior managers at three parastatals - Transnet, Eskom and the IDC - were paid an average salary of R3.7-million per year for the past three financial years to the end of March.<br /><br />Eskom posted the worst performance of the three, but its directors were the most highly paid. In all, Transnet's three-year wage bill amounted to R245.6-million for 23 directors and senior managers, while Eskom was estimated to have paid R139-million in the same period, an average annual remuneration of R5.8-million for eight directors and senior managers.<br /><br />The IDC paid its 20 directors (including those at subsidiary Foskor) and senior managers R170.6-million over the three years, at an average of R2.8-million each.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><p>

Fat-cat parastatal bosses come and go, but they get the cream

Seven of the top-10-earning executives at SA's parastatals have either left or are leaving. And a number of them left under a cloud. Mor...

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Self-delusion and denialism within SA’s ruling and BEE classes

<p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">It is dawning on South Africa that there are two very separate and distinct mindsets at work in the country, and it seems never the twain will meet. Newspaper columns and letter pages, as well as talk shows and phone-ins, are replete with what “should be done” and ”why is this not done?” and the now over-used word “unbelievable”, from citizens aghast at the unfathomable behaviour of the ruling classes.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWSiqc_Vkja2A8XUCS2__cSyJQoNlzG4TZ8n5H_QwdoVPCEAEIwfRrPcsNMVBD3hYxyt3Y33oVsTNOodr_4gpegsFSIaOLZz2ppRJ4jrEg1x-23Pzth8C8gVv5Q1HGLZYy54CF-uQ48xw/s1600/incompetence01.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538844529326576226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWSiqc_Vkja2A8XUCS2__cSyJQoNlzG4TZ8n5H_QwdoVPCEAEIwfRrPcsNMVBD3hYxyt3Y33oVsTNOodr_4gpegsFSIaOLZz2ppRJ4jrEg1x-23Pzth8C8gVv5Q1HGLZYy54CF-uQ48xw/s400/incompetence01.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 115px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 115px; CURSOR: hand" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">The logic of one mindset is not the logic of the other. Who would think that after the abysmal failure of the South African land redistribution programme, the government would continue with it, albeit under different guises? Who would believe that after wantonly destroying Zimbabwe and rendering his people to grinding penury, the South African government would ask the United Nations to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe’s president, a perpetrator of human rights atrocities? Who can fathom a government that month after month - indeed year after year - places advertisements for desperately-needed municipal staff, stipulating that they are “equal opportunity employers”, meaning skilled whites need not apply?<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvENGzy20c2PemX-p2ZqdK3nqdQqfzecIac-ndgjZhHnQ8z3010hSXQk9NHJwOOBiISFKr4gI5kUMI2yVNvS1ZacLCyfBXJEBauoZ9OmithsM9TF7JVj2W8H_SwLZyUavuSGT5pLt3ht6/s1600/incompetence02.jpg"></a><span style="font-family:arial;">How is it that despite embarrassing service delivery failures, the wholesale plunder of taxpayers’ money by tenderpreneurs and government employees, the nepotism, the lowering of standards in health and education, the failing feeding schemes and the abuse of the social welfare system, the miscreants simply carry on as if nothing happened. There is no shame, no sense of accountability to those who pay them and indeed to South Africa as a nation. Indeed, when many are fired for incompetence, mismanagement or fraud, or all three, they go to court to demand huge payouts that they believe are their due! Denialism is at work here, and this brings us to an interesting explanation of this phenomenon now doing the Wikipedia rounds: the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect"><span style="font-family:arial;">Dunning-Kruger effect</span></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="color:#666666;">THE D K EFFECT</span></strong></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538849613055124050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wqjPYscBsBra90QiVogpW9sfqYkB_fWGdiJwwSC8kIyocCdBA7Vkux54JWEqxIaTRrqShEf-bY8Fyw1NX0sUmv2KFtHQ8Kl5_4V-XX5RQHR-bcr_sasc5VC7u1rpoudR1ms9REwtZp8e/s400/dunning-krugereffectwikipedia.png" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 372px; CURSOR: hand" /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>The Dunning-Kruger effect</strong> is the phenomenon wherein people who have little knowledge (or skill) tend to think they know more (or have more skill) than they do.<br /><br />Wikipedia reports that Justin Kruger and David Dunning of the USA’s Cornell University first performed a series of experiments in 1999 which suggested that ignorance of standards of performance is behind a great deal of incompetence. One of their 2000 reports was entitled “</span></span><a href="http://www.damninteresting.com/unskilled-and-unaware-of-it"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Unskilled and Unaware of it</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> : How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments”. <br /><br />They say that, </span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Incompetent individuals tend to overestimate their own level of skill.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Incompetent individuals fail to recognize genuine skill in others.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Incompetent individuals fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy.<br /></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">They conclude that poor performers do not learn from feedback that suggests a need to improve.<br /><br />Wikipedia gives numerous examples of others who have completed works in this field, including Bertrand Russell’s “The Triumph of Stupidity” (1933) and other more current academic writings about “the absence of self-insight among the incompetent” (Ehrlinger) and “among the inept, researchers discover ignorance is bliss” (Goode). Many of these findings have been widely published in the US national media, including the New York Times.<br /><br /></p><p><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538845405602465522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLB5AJySz4kDsvK9X4AjDd8AfFbWT557IAZfRHRWJ7UDVOFIIAqjMnbB5KnsWZCor3vLn55pLHgFopeNb9RVDCQBW3OkcYB4qJLfv0bEnKwXHrvPmHbx9w-I6Un62puI56KQsz9Y9wkkH/s400/incompetence02.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" />These syndromes of denialism and self-delusion are pervasive within SA’s ruling and BEE classes. People blithely take on a job that everyone knows they cannot do, but which they themselves don’t seem to realize they cannot do! We see this in the land redistribution policy where beneficiaries agree to run productive farms when they know they are incapable of doing so. They then blame the government, or mentors, or each other. We see someone in an expensive suit perched on the corner of an expensive desk being photographed as the new CEO, or the incoming “human resources manager”, or the new chairman of an organization. In many cases, this person is a token, it is well known that he is a token, but the subject himself seems to think he’s entitled to be there!<br /><br />Self-delusion and denialism are not new in South Africa. A report in the magazine YOU of 12 October 1995 revealed the degradation of small towns that had once thrived in the erstwhile Transkei. After the ANC took over in 1994, the decay set in and the town of Butterworth, for example, was described as “a wreck, with littered garbage in the streets and potholed roads. The century old town hall is neglected and the parks are overrun with weeds and rubbish.” Corruption, bad management and political infighting had taken their toll, said the article. Municipal management was “abysmal” and a debt of R50 million had already accrued. Nobody was paying for municipal services. Shortly after he arrived, the town clerk gave himself a salary raise R126,000 a year - from R20 000. (This pattern of deterioration repeated itself all over the old Transkei, and has been replayed all over South Africa since then).<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#666666;">SHAME AND APOLOGIES?</span></strong><br /><br />Was there any public acknowledgement by the ANC that it was not on top of the job, any requests for help, any promises to mend its corrupt ways?<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyGyzTrCOnhop7mcZuZLQiFMU4Ljd9pxQhjqzq6IZ-nlZuHrrdEw4BwZ2Y3FbtCLJ14EEb9f_yqQtGFu_y4BG0U5wuK38an8s-LZtZxylZcVMY2qTPU1NwmtZBpTBXkkvuP8G4W9Z0yQh/s1600/denial-eyes-pants.jpg"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538846866618249186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyGyzTrCOnhop7mcZuZLQiFMU4Ljd9pxQhjqzq6IZ-nlZuHrrdEw4BwZ2Y3FbtCLJ14EEb9f_yqQtGFu_y4BG0U5wuK38an8s-LZtZxylZcVMY2qTPU1NwmtZBpTBXkkvuP8G4W9Z0yQh/s400/denial-eyes-pants.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 256px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">On the contrary, denialism was the aggrieved reaction. Then President Nelson Mandela declared there was “no crisis” in the Eastern Cape. After a two-hour meeting with officials on 10 September 1995, Mandela declared there was “no crisis” and that in fact the problems of civil servants “were not discussed”, nor was a report to the parliamentary finance committee on the situation in the former Transkei. Provincial premier Raymond Mhlaba was “totally trustworthy”, declared Mandela - “Mahlaba had been involved in the struggle for more than 40 years”. So that was that! Problems in the Transkei were due to “untrained staff”, said another provincial report, despite evidence that there was wholesale theft of funds. (How do you train someone not to steal?)<br /><br />This was the mindset then, and this is the mindset now! (Interestingly, the Eastern Cape from where the ANC’s chosen emanates, is the most decrepit, corrupt and incompetent province in the country. They even steal from their own children – from the budget to feed 1,42 million E.Cape children, the government department involved cannot account for more than R180 million of this budget!)<br /><br />Even the most accommodating liberal supporter of the ANC’s South Africa has turned, and they have turned with a vengeance. Noseweek’s editor says SA’s leadership is “corrupt and delusional and irrational”. Others say the government is “out of touch” and a “bunch of mental midgets”.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#666666;">CABINET RESHUFFLE</span></strong><br /><br />President Jacob Zuma’s recent cabinet reshuffle was simply a ploy to enhance his chances of being re-elected in 2012 by removing political antagonists and replacing them with acolytes. (Citizen editorial 2.11.10) His administration has now been further bloated by extra appointments, and really incompetent persons such as Lulu Xingwana have remained as they are loyalists. Zuma is simply re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic!<br /><br />The implications of this denialism are far-reaching. Erstwhile honest taxpayers are now finding ways to avoid paying tax for more wives, more overseas trips, higher salaries, larger luxury vehicles and summits at Sun City!<br /><br />Our farmers are under siege, farmland is being destroyed by coal mining because top-level ANC friends have shares in coal companies, BEE has resulted in nothing more than the self-enrichment of a few, our health services will be destroyed by delusional dreams of a national health service underpinned by a shrinking tax base, threats to nationalize mining are taken seriously by investors, school and university certificates are in many cases not worth the paper they’re written on, farmers are accused of shooting labour inspectors without a shred of evidence, our water is polluted, our police force is corrupt and untrustworthy, our defence force a shadow of its former self, but the denialism is so entrenched that no advice is taken by government to alleviate the problems, and none is sought.. On the contrary, those who speak up are racists who don’t want to see blacks succeed!<br /><br />If present-day South Africa is an ANC success, then their failures are too terrible to contemplate!</span></p><p></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em><span style="color:#000099;">Source:-</span> <a href="http://www.tlu.co.za/">http://www.tlu.co.za/</a> </em></span></p><p></p>

Self-delusion and denialism within SA’s ruling and BEE classes

It is dawning on South Africa that there are two very separate and distinct mindsets at work in the country, and it seems never the twain wi...

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SA – Big Question Time

<p><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">By Iain Robertson<br /></span></em><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">South Africa is at a tipping point. We have a Government that seems to have lost the plot. It is fighting paper tigers in the media while we head towards an economic Armageddon with increasing rapidity. The rapacious plundering of the economy by the not-so-good in Government, their relatives and friends looks more and more like rats deserting the sinking ship.<br /></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538403977150930290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_F56Lvm1MSgYMWXq9-RcE6Tm9jF1XKjpkXRWN8t2nr6leXwP2JUnmK7_gyyqwoMPAVZAaS1OLc4SFTS3m4fMx5YzAIBcuFe2ovHzsQs_WlPZ_yfTCw1eRXvaPoXdZqwuVCg8zDYYUivB/s400/anc-fail.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 122px; CURSOR: hand" />B</span>ut the real story is even worse.</strong> We do not have the skills to turn our economy around, we do not have an education system that can provide us with the skilled people in sufficient time, and even if we did, we do not have the warm bodies of a suitable age to receive that education.<br /><br />Point 1 – a people crisis:<br /><br /></span></span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">A population of 52 Million or so, plus an estimated 10 Million legal and illegal immigrants.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The official unemployment rate is given as around 25%. Unisa calculate 45%, and the advertising industry use a figure closer to 65%.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">About 20 Million people are dependent on welfare grants<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">5.7 Million people are HIV positive, dying at a rate of about 1000 per day, mostly in the economically active 15-45 age group.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Average life expectancy has tumbled from 60 in 1990 to 40 today<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Disengaged, functionally illiterate, innumerate and uneducable individuals in youth and middle age<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">By 2015, 32% of all children will be AIDS orphans<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">There are about 5.3Million registered taxpayers, of whom 1 Million or so are Government employees, thereby just moving tax income from one pocket to another. Of the remaining 4Million or so, about 1 Million provide 75% of the tax income. According to Mike Schussler and others, an unsustainable economy.</span></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Point 2 – an environment crisis<br /><br /></p></span></span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Dysfunctional electricity reticulation and generation<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">An unmaintained and disintegrating physical infrastructure. Most roadway bridges have not been maintained for the last 15 years<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Less than 5% of the sewage plants in the country (around 30 out of 930) operate correctly<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Just over 10% of all municipalities (30 out of 280) can provide clean and safe drinking water<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Water with the acidity of lemon juice will flood central Johannesburg and poison the Gauteng environment in about 18 months time, the legacy of gold mining.</span></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Point 3 – a governance crisis<br /><br /></p></span></span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">A wholesale loss of skills and expertise from 1994 onwards as experienced and competent civil servants were replaced with deployed ANC cadres. A simple replacement, no handover or skills transfer<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The concept of “a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay” has gone out of the window.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Relocation (theft) of state funds by tampering with contracts, tenders and pay-offs has become an acceptable secondary income stream<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The result - large areas of society are governed by thieves and incompetents</span></span></li></ul><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />What is suddenly different ?<br /><br />While the gradual erosion of government could be hidden a facade could be maintained, but as soon as the electricity crisis hit, followed by the admission of a forthcoming sewage and water crisis, the inadequacies in governance were literally brought home to citizens. Questions were then asked about missing RDP homes, RDP homes that fell apart after a very short period, and the general appalling level of service delivery. The Emperor then had no clothes.<br /><br />The outcome of the realisation that governance is failing is already being seen. Self-help is now the order of the day as citizens bypass formal government structures that are unable to deliver. Communities repair roads themselves, pay for additional teaching and medical staff in their schools and hospitals. Black communities are demonstrating and physically attacking local and national government buildings. Voices are arising in all communities that they are paying at least twice for everything, once as tax, and a second time to provide paid-for services that are not delivered. At some point very soon, they will stop paying the first time and let the Revenue know in no uncertain terms.<br /><br />We are now beginning to see Government react. It is trying to close down avenues of information, by preventing the media reporting on it, by attempting to close off areas of the Internet, and by adopting the philosophy that everything is secret unless deemed otherwise. Local Government is becoming increasingly dysfunctional and irrelevant.<br /><br />Where do we go from here ? Towards an increasingly autocratic society as we slip into the “African” model of a polarised economy of an ultra rich minority and a subsistence level majority. Unless something changes that is what will happen.<br /><br />It all depends on how we manage our Human Capital as individuals and as small businesses. Without adequate intellectual and human capital in ourselves, our businesses and our customers, we will not be able to regenerate our society. The next year is critical.<br /><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span>

SA – Big Question Time

By Iain Robertson South Africa is at a tipping point. We have a Government that seems to have lost the plot. It is fighting paper tigers in ...

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Damning corruption report

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">State departments failed to respond to 90% of government corruption cases reported by the public on hotlines during the past financial year, according to the Public Service Commission's (PSC) 2010 report on the state of the public service.</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHyqgKZSD_W0F7_um3Ct_nl0r5P7IMYyJi70TDZXwat5AS-jRg-3bVId2-j_vfj1Ft7GIBSw4v3psRdfc2lth7Cz-P4VgSNGvRLOvNojVLolDO1h6CFjrXJ_ctJQUPeL-sm_zmpsIwurla/s1600/corruption-iceberg.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4G4cTdbqYvwbKg1AiIwom13yWI0Ys2qjrUcjAXNrGZR2fRoEKiIoXiP3hqK0wot716-NV9_rX0EHjVSN7VKl4qvHtE0vYMFLfyq-HyQdD3xWG3tpG7MGuZ2HWiVweYeIyhLETggLOlgS/s1600/anc-greed.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535345405137287106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4G4cTdbqYvwbKg1AiIwom13yWI0Ys2qjrUcjAXNrGZR2fRoEKiIoXiP3hqK0wot716-NV9_rX0EHjVSN7VKl4qvHtE0vYMFLfyq-HyQdD3xWG3tpG7MGuZ2HWiVweYeIyhLETggLOlgS/s400/anc-greed.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 334px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 226px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>The report, released on Thursday, also points to a twelvefold rise in fruitless and wasteful expenditure by the government in 2008/09 compared with the previous year -- <strong>from R2,8-million to R35,2-million</strong>.<br /><br />Noting a "sharp decline" in the government's responsiveness to corruption cases, the commission said that 1 430 cases were reported in 2009/10 but there was feedback on only 150, compared with 507 responses (25%) to 1 857 cases in 2008/09.<br /><br />The commission evaluated the government and public service on a range of issues, including transparency, service delivery and the creation of a more egalitarian society, according to the implementation of policies and programmes.<br /><br />The report also evaluated the average feedback from the government on reported corruption cases from the 2004/05 financial year to 2009/10, finding that of every 100 cases reported, whistle-blowers or the commission received no feedback to 64.<br /><br />Corruption is an increasingly insidious problem in South Africa, as reflected in the latest Transparency International corruption perception index report, also released this week. South Africa scored 4,5 out of 10 on the index and was placed 54 out of 146 countries.<br /><br />In 2007 it was placed 43 out of 170 countries, with a score of 5,1. It scored 4,9 in 2008 and 4,7 in 2009.<br /><br />The commission's report found that "capacity to follow up on these cases and investigate them is lacking" in departments.<br /><br />It painted a bleak picture of the effectiveness of structures created to fight corruption.<br /><br />It said the Anti-Corruption Coordinating Committee (ACCC), formed in 2002 and convened by the public service department with representatives from 18 key departments and agencies, including the National Intelligence Agency, National Treasury and revenue service, still had to prioritise the coordination of "measures to build the minimum anti-corruption capacity of departments. This is a pressing priority for the government, which will undoubtedly require resources and close monitoring."<br /><br />The report found that the "synergy" between structures such as the ACCC and the National Anti-Corruption Forum (NACF) "needs improvement".<br /><br />The NACF, established in 2001 to facilitate a national consensus on combating corruption, had been debilitated by "not always having its own budget and capacity", low levels of attendance and participation by government representatives and departments and poor recording of meetings.<br /><br />The commission said 1 024 cases of financial misconduct were reported to it in 2008/09, compared with 868 in 2007/08.<br /><br />A "key challenge", it said, is "that some public servants … implicated in acts of financial misconduct resign before disciplinary hearings can be concluded and then accept appointments in other departments". The report found that this was often difficult to detect because departments operated "in silos".<br /><br />It said that of the 868 officials reported to the commission in 2007/08, 50 (or 6%) left the public service before disciplinary hearings could be held. In 2008/09, 17 implicated employees resigned after charges of misconduct were levelled against them.<br /><br />The report blamed "highly unsatisfactory" evaluation of the performances of government heads of departments for the sharp rise in wasteful and fruitless government expenditure. As of March this year just half (51%) of these had undergone performance evaluation, a drop from 56% in the previous year.<br /><br />"In financial terms this means that roughly half of the national budget [including transfers to provinces and municipalities], which was in the order of R500-billion [excluding state debt costs] in the 2007/08 financial year, was controlled by accounting officers who were not subjected to a proper evaluation," the report said.<br /><br />The report is forthright on what the government needs to do to improve service delivery -- communicate with itself. It called for greater coherence within the government and between departments and spheres of government in the planning and implementation of projects and policies.<br /><br />"Planning at departmental level is on its own challenging and to integrate plans across departments or spheres of government exacerbates the challenge even further," it said.<br /><br />National planning at the departmental cluster level is a "collection of special projects pursuing the joint objectives of a cluster" rather an integrated process, it said. Only 32% of directors general attended cluster meetings, no planning decisions were taken there and there was no holistic planning around outcomes.<br /><br />At provincial level "there is very limited evidence of actual implementation of projects and budget items directly flowing out of the provincial growth and development strategies".<br /><br />The report also found that integrated development plans (IDPs) in municipalities were "drawn up for compliance reasons and municipal activities carried on in spite of, and not on the basis of, the IDP".<br /><br />Forty-five percent of the municipal IDPs "lacked financial strategies" and "most lacked budgets".<br /><br />The PSC's report rates the state sector "relatively low" with regard to transparency and says that its response to applications for government information under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) is "generally not adequate".<br /><br />The Constitution mandates the commission to evaluate government transparency, especially with regard to the Act, which allows any citizen to request government information.<br /><br />The PSC found that compliance with the Act was "generally not adequate in the public service".<br /><br />Public opposition to proposed legislation that could limit the access of the media and ordinary citizens to state information has gathered momentum in recent weeks, especially with regard to the Protection of Information Bill.<br /><br />The report also noted that government departments are required by law to report to the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) on the number of requests for information it receives from the public through PAIA and how these requests are handled.<br /><br />According to the 2008/09 HRC report, 10 national departments and 71 provincial departments did not submit reports as required.<br /><br />The PSC noted that the manner in which these requests were handled requires "serious attention".<br /></span><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Source: </span><a href="http://www.mg.co.za/"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.mg.co.za/</span></a> </em></span></p><p> </p><p><em><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></em> </p>

Damning corruption report

State departments failed to respond to 90% of government corruption cases reported by the public on hotlines during the past financial year,...

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SA's financial burden

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:#000000;"><em>by Ray</em></span> <p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Over the past few months the South African public has been informed of several additional financial and psychological burdens. </span></strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">We have the SABC, SAA, Water and sewage looming crisis, Eskom, Toll roads, NHI, to name a few.<br /><br /></span></strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitl3eYbY8of4t500uyZzI7uVlEueyXLXWZrdykYpCnfGNCzJIZGKyheTrSGNzd6Y5b4KHSXkZG5mHyfyn2_rigzGvBAlDExKTqDnE7u834MkNqWw_ASnUcz2YUV2pW-fMI2TiuGjezg5d2/s1600/zuma-dummie.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533975326183465426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitl3eYbY8of4t500uyZzI7uVlEueyXLXWZrdykYpCnfGNCzJIZGKyheTrSGNzd6Y5b4KHSXkZG5mHyfyn2_rigzGvBAlDExKTqDnE7u834MkNqWw_ASnUcz2YUV2pW-fMI2TiuGjezg5d2/s400/zuma-dummie.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 294px; CURSOR: hand" /></span></a>Please don't get me wrong. I love this country and think we have so much potential. My only two issues are that the people in power making decisions are not held responsible or accountable, and the general public is too apathetic.<br /><br />Let’s use the road death toll as an example as it can be applied to all the other failing areas. We appoint people into positions that generally fall into one or more of the following categories - no ability for the position, no work ethic, not sufficient management, not sufficient training, nepotism, political affiliations, skin colour, no experience or no moral fibre. The above may be a generalisation but they destroy the work of the few individuals that really try and make a difference in the average South African’s life. To those dedicated individuals we owe much because they carry the rest.<br /><br />Let’s apply the above to the example: where is visible policing on the roads every day, the ministers getting the TV crews there every so often to boost their image. Fines are seen as revenue and that appears to be the focus.<br /><br />Laws are not enforced - taxis, emergency lane driving, not using indicators, u-turns on highways, talking on cellphones and so on.<br /><br />The traffic officers standards are lower than a few years ago (thank goodness for Outsurance pointsmen). They openly ask for bribes, the anti-corruption call centre number just rings, how many officers get punished, and no a slap on the wrist doesn't count. The standards of driving schools are shocking, learners can buy licences for cash or sex, often the driving school is the broker. To get fines squashed pay the officer a portion of the fine.<br /><br />The booking call centres don't work. You can get the learners tests from the driving schools. Financial mismanagement is a given for government departments, but hey let’s throw some more money at them next year. Heads of department that aren't qualified for positions, managers that can focus on urgent things (and no functions and parties don't count), why don't we increase standards instead of lowering them.<br /><br />This decay hasn't just happened and it’s all over our beloved country, if we want the country to move forward, create wealth and prosperity for all then let’s put the right people in the right jobs, regardless of family relations, skin colour or political affiliations. At what point does the political rhetoric and self enrichment stop, so that the average citizen can be put first.<br /><br />While there appears to be no political will to rectify the situation (lip service does not count), a fish always rots from the head. When you enter public office you make the choice to serve South Africans, there is never any justification to steal, accept bribes etc. Ordinary South African citizens should start focusing on what’s important for our well being and that of future generations, actively take part to make South Africa great. You owe it to your children and other fellow South Africans. At what point does the financial and psychological burden become too great for the average South African and they stop seeing advantages in our country and look elsewhere?</span><br /></p>

SA's financial burden

by Ray Over the past few months the South African public has been informed of several additional financial and psychological burdens. We ha...

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2010 World Cup debt trail

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintPEi2uHM9M8L-HXfce6r8O3rIw35ArZhZZ0Kz5UcHyufgwyh_JjgOV95jM0I1mHFiLYwDtLEqDfHShuoJnZ1hJsPlUG8bu_ePRr14Aeedm70zh-ud-u1qcLnrsqr4j3plolTdaeRH039/s1600/fick+fufa.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529529677274427810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintPEi2uHM9M8L-HXfce6r8O3rIw35ArZhZZ0Kz5UcHyufgwyh_JjgOV95jM0I1mHFiLYwDtLEqDfHShuoJnZ1hJsPlUG8bu_ePRr14Aeedm70zh-ud-u1qcLnrsqr4j3plolTdaeRH039/s400/fick+fufa.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 360px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;"><em>Feefa, codenamed "Operation Rob The Darkies Blind", also known as the World Cup, Blatter and his gang, with the help of its accomplices the SA government, made off with around $2-billion in profit, while its victims – the South African taxpayer – are around $1-billion poorer.<br /><br />South Africa spent about $4-billion, of which it may recoup about $2.7-billion. Either way, Fingers and his gang walked away with their two billion. In other words, the South African government was suckered into burning $1.3 billion it didn’t have. </em></span></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;"><em>Meanwhile the government is adamant that hosting the World Cup was the right thing to do, despite half the country being unemployed and a third living in abject poverty. And yes, they could have used that R40-billion to build 700,000 RDP houses. </em></span></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;"><em>Another classic case of the incompetance of the ruling party. When will they be bought to book? And what has happened to Danny Jordaan? Where is he now?</span></em></strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:small;"><span style="font-size:large;"><span style="color:#999999;"><strong></strong></span></span></span></span></span><br /></p><span style="color:#990000;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:small;"><span style="font-size:large;"><span style="color:#999999;"><strong></strong></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><span style="color:#990000;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#999999;"><strong></strong></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color:#990000;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#999999;"><strong>Fifa's World Cup debt trail</strong></span> - </span><a href="http://www.fin24.com/"><em><span style="font-family:arial;">www.fin24.com</span></em></a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Fifa is facing a string of legal suits in South Africa for nearly R1bn in unpaid debts for services provided before and during the World Cup.<br /><br />The world soccer governing body has not paid about R240m for the buses that transported spectators and the security supplied by police after private security firms pulled out of the games over pay demands.<br /><br />Host cities are also threatening to sue for unpaid bills amounting to more than R500m for work Fifa allegedly demanded be done around stadiums.<br /><br />And last week, top executives from the SA Football Association (Safa) went cap in hand to Fifa's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, asking for about R60m used to buy hospitality packages.<br /><br />This comes three months after the end of Africa's first World Cup, which was held in June and July.<br /><br />Transport parastatal Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) entered into a R174m agreement with Fifa's Match Hospitality for the provision of buses to transport fans.<br /><br />Now Fifa faces a R148m lawsuit over the ­unpaid transport bill.<br /><br />According to Prasa, Fifa was ­expected to settle the bill by ­August 31, but has so far only paid R26m.<br /><br />Prasa spokesperson Nana ­Zenani said the entity "formally asserts that the matter is in the hands of its legal team".<br /><br />Zenani would not comment on the agency's next move.<br /><br />Prasa subsidiary, bus operator Autopax, acquired 570 new buses for R1.4bn for the World Cup.<br /><br />Fifa spokesperson Pekka Odriozola said they wouldn't comment on the transport bill and referred enquiries to Match.<br /><br />Match legal adviser Veruschka September confirmed that it ­contracted Prasa to deliver a ­complete bus transportation solution for the benefit of Match's clients during the World Cup.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#666666;">Financial trouble<br /></span></strong><br />September said Prasa had filed a claim against Match, which it is disputing in a private arbitration forum.<br /><br />However, the police ministry has ruled out a legal challenge to force the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to settle the R90m bill for securing Ellis Park and Soccer City in Johannesburg, Cape Town's Green Point and Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.<br /><br />About 1 300 police officers, mainly trainees, were called to ­secure the stadiums after Stallion Security guards protested over low wages.<br /><br />"There are no intentions for ­legal pressure or litigation to ­settle the matter because we're confident it will be settled," said police ministry spokesperson Zweli Mnisi.<br /><br />Mnisi said the department's ­engagements with the LOC "were ongoing, open and mutual".<br /><br />Last month, police minister Nathi Mthethwa told Parliament the bill was sent to the LOC but police had used their own budget to pay officers.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Safa president Kirsten Nematandani and chief executive Leslie Sedibe travelled to Zurich last week to ask for ­reimbursement, arguing that the association would not ordinarily have spent the money had it not been for the World Cup.<br /><br />Nematandani said Safa bought the tickets under the impression that it would receive the profits of World Cup ticket sales.<br /><br />But Fifa and Safa have since agreed to open a trust account for the windfall that will be ­channelled towards development programmes.<br /><br />The move to ask Fifa to pay the R60m was seen as an ­indication that the association was in financial straits.<br /><br />But Nematandani denied this.<br /><br />"If we were broke, we would have closed shop a long time ago and would not have been able to send Bafana to Sierra Leone on a ­chartered flight and our national under-23 team to Iran," he said.<br /><br />He added that Fifa had agreed to give Safa the 37 sponsored ­buses that carried national teams to the games.</span> </span></p><p></p>

2010 World Cup debt trail

Feefa, codenamed "Operation Rob The Darkies Blind", also known as the World Cup, Blatter and his gang, with the help of its accomp...

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Where the hell are we going?

<p><div align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Meltdown the inevitable result of ANC policies</span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="font-size:78%;">Dr. David Klatzow</span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRScjp1Iun1DIAtY9_HcWiil3HYzt7ggrkuaRzbHEqAaRsQ8vvc8zc7ic-or6dNBcxI5oSWSRwKLjdjgIQoJoU2SDYPZDHqplJ4LDCgNnPYPIlBTVLbalAg-imAGVg1NR4_N8EbA7qc1P/s1600-h/ancpastsellbydate.jpg"><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></a><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQfkBLXJkBbkXPK8kSRR3vR7AceIGTQ7-0PQElUsne1WW3iXhFsFyr_7dHsguUz0AysyrtAbzny3eGz-MlOqKNAx0NqH1eJWfy8MN8qo69bBDWw17MIDPI9mQvNwg6hMmrdXOl_IrNoI1/s1600-h/ancpastsellbydate.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443727198134663122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQfkBLXJkBbkXPK8kSRR3vR7AceIGTQ7-0PQElUsne1WW3iXhFsFyr_7dHsguUz0AysyrtAbzny3eGz-MlOqKNAx0NqH1eJWfy8MN8qo69bBDWw17MIDPI9mQvNwg6hMmrdXOl_IrNoI1/s320/ancpastsellbydate.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 263px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>T</span>he ANC</strong> led alliance came to power with many stated and lofty ideals. They flowed from the American rhetoric of such greats as Martin Luther King. “An injury to one is an injury to all”; “Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere”. </span></div><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Our government, post Madiba, has been slow to give reality to these lofty ideals. Mbeki (Mr. Delivery) turned out to be Mr. Non-Delivery. All functionaries in government were replaced by loyal party cadres. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Everything became <strong>ideology driven instead of ability driven</strong>. Government interference in the universities has become much more overt and destructive than ever it was under the Nationalists. <em><span style="font-size:100%;">(Exemplified by the turnabout on the honorary doctorate for Thabo Mbeki).<br /></span></em><br />Our health system was functional to a high level, even for rural black and the urban “non-European” hospitals, whilst an abominable reflection of the apartheid system, worked well with standards high and no shortage of drugs and equipment.<br /><br />Now in 2010, we contemplate exactly what has been achieved in the 15 years of post Apartheid South Africa.<br /><br />A previous vice-Chancellor of UCT, Ramphele Mamphela, is on record as saying that Bantu Education was better than the mess we have now.<br /><br />Our hospitals are dysfunctional for all South Africans who are unable to afford private health care.<br /><br />The Johannesburg General, Groote Schuur, Pretoria Hospital and many others around the country are mismanaged to such an extent that they have become a threat to health. The hospital accounting systems are in a shambles and suppliers have cut off supplies until their bills are paid. The standards of repair and cleanliness have plummeted. The equipment, supplies and linen have been pillaged and pilfered.<br />Recently at Groote Schuur I encountered a Neurology ward that had no toilet seats, no toilet paper, no soap and no towels. The chief neurologist there informed me that he would not use the toilets on his ward because they were too disgusting. The legacy of Manto Tshabalala-Msimang speaks for itself.<br /><br />Our police service is severely dysfunctional. Too many of the serving officers are corrupt. A recent PhD Thesis on the subject put it as 10% and probably higher.<br /><br />Out erstwhile chief cop, Jackie Selebi, stands accused of corruption whilst he was head of Interpol moreover. This is a national disgrace. The arrogance of the man to run around with the likes of the criminal gangsters that he associated with and not see the conflict of interests is astounding to say the least. The government, who should be doing all in their power to prosecute Selebi to the full, are wasting taxpayers’ money trying to keep certain witnesses out of court on the spurious basis of national interest.<br /><br />Our education system is a complete mess. We have the results of the OBE debacle to contend with where the only certainty is that we will produce a generation of educationally crippled youth.<br /><br />We have the ANC government with its ludicrous policies of “quiet diplomacy” which have allowed the stability of the region to deteriorate .The influx of refugees across our borders is fuelling xenophobic violence and is placing scarce resources under huge pressure. Our water supplies are dwindling and those that we have are polluted with faecal matter from the squatter camps along their courses. Cholera is waiting. Much of the water measuring equipment installed at key points on our rivers has been vandalized.<br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:78%;">The Cape Times (8/2/10) informs me that ‘DIRE SHORTAGE AT FORENSIC LABS STIFLES JUSTICE”</span><br /></em><br />What do you expect?<br /><br />In my private capacity as a consulting forensic scientist, I have been warning about this state of affairs for some years. Approximately 4 years ago I warned of the coming ”Melt Down”. To no avail.<br /><br />The analysts in the Health Department labs are appointed in terms of ethnicity and ideology and not in terms of their ability to do the work. When a previous head of the Laboratory in Pretoria, (Dr Viljoen), attempted to set an examination to regulate the incoming analysts he found that he was expected to appoint people who scored single figure results for the elementary chemistry examinations. The labs are swamped with incompetents and the work does not get done The net result was that he and the other heads of the laboratories have all left the state employ and are lost to the system. Their expertise is not even available to assist the state in pulling itself up by its bootstraps.<br /><br />At present there are nearly 5000 samples from the Salt River Mortuary which have not been analyzed. The talk is that they will be discarded. So much for justice. The departmental heads are not called to account for this disaster.<br /><br />Our courts have, for some time now, been grinding ever more to a halt because of the incompetence and disorganization of the laboratories that should be there to assist them.<br /><br />Morale at the police laboratories is low and the good scientists who are still there would leave if any other opportunities cross their path.<br /><br />Recently I became aware of a delay of 3 years in obtaining a post mortem report from the Tygerberg forensic department. This is just not good enough.<br /><br />I have not yet started on the disaster that is coming our way when the productive farms are taken and given to persons who cannot even use them for a proper subsistence, let alone a high technology productive farm to feed South Africa.<br /><br />There is only one way to stop the rot before it destroys the entire country.<br /><br />The government must stop the insane racist and aggressively affirmative policies that it has put in place.<br /><br />Corruption should be rooted out tooth and nail.<br /><br />All the available talent should be used in getting this country back on track. Stop the centralist interference in every aspect of our lives. It is not for the government to decide as to whether I may open a medical practice where so ever I wish. All that will happen is that the available source of doctors will dwindle as they head for greener pastures. The collective that have brought us to this pass will be blissfully prepared to blame it on the racist government. They are right there about the racism but it is their own racist policies that have brought us to the brink and not those of the previous dispensation.<br /><br />Education and security must take priority in government policies and non-performing ANC appointees should be kicked out forthwith. The business of suspension on full pay is an inducement to under-perform.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Z</span>uma</strong> is a national embarrassment is so many ways that it would be impossible to list them in the limited space at my disposal. However, his exuberant fecundity is the least of the issues.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7v4V13oy0cq-oN9IGpLjaEKqkVSDVi8TOSlXQuJILr0jpIl37sXLfeL4RmpNGK7GRtll_Mueeah5mXbGqfIKwCZlMNY1eWIg7Pn3mJanXguaabdqPibRtgIdTlpF3QLL5AdGqh2sw_IJl/s1600-h/zumatoilet.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IxMahEzLHBiJ3oC3YfdFOOzDvy4ZI84e_cPlx4sXny_PYR2IqEj_f4tDuKZgAZDJPPqowFyEVO2HIdvVTlG0pUS1UuBqONQWAKH-79bg7tIcr9QNZqDvEz8kt6PoYv4P0iEyeRCiRj6T/s1600-h/zumastink.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441504303299291330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IxMahEzLHBiJ3oC3YfdFOOzDvy4ZI84e_cPlx4sXny_PYR2IqEj_f4tDuKZgAZDJPPqowFyEVO2HIdvVTlG0pUS1UuBqONQWAKH-79bg7tIcr9QNZqDvEz8kt6PoYv4P0iEyeRCiRj6T/s400/zumastink.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>My primary problem with Zuma is his lack of appreciation for anything other than immediate gratification without appreciation for the consequences. He says what he feels the audience wants to hear, without a jot of sincerity or any intention to perform.<br />The appointment of Jon Qwelane as ambassador to Uganda sends the wrong message. Why send an openly homophobic man to a country where this lately achieved tolerance is under severe threat?<br /><br />Why appoint Menzi Simelani to his present position? The man is constitutionally and experientially unsuited to the job and in any event it kicks the notion of separation of power (enshrined in our constitution) in the teeth. One is left with the only rational conclusion that Zuma wants a pal who will not come after him in the little matter of corruption that seems to follow him like a black cloud. For a man who publicly demanded his day in court, he has gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid it.<br /><br />The disgraceful release on parole of Shaik is a slap in the face to our already foundering justice system. The only sense in which he was dying, was he was dying to get out and shop. Shame on you!<br /><br />It is high time, Mr Zuma, that you stop your philandering long enough to see that your party is systematically destroying this country. As a group, the ANC hierarchy is as racist and as corrupt as the Nationalists. History will judge you harshly.<br /><br />And by the way, we do not need aircraft (that nobody can fly) and corvettes to sit and rust in Simon’s Town, above education, policing and health.<br /><br />Maybe I could leave you as I started with two quotes from Martin Luther King:<br /><br />“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”.<br /><br />And finally, ”A riot is at the bottom, the language of the unheard”. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Dr Klatzow is an independent forensic consultant.</em></span><br /></p><em><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></em><p></p>

Where the hell are we going?

Meltdown the inevitable result of ANC policies Dr. David Klatzow T he ANC led alliance came to power with many stated and lofty ideals. The...

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