South Africa P.I.G.: POVERTY

Showing posts with label POVERTY. Show all posts

Our national anthem ought to be “Send in the Clowns”.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXXyDAcFu_RhBLv54i4oPAdaAjlXu8Mor9aanHatGaQ7cPMyIj-7cAtSBJ7-VbW-NPy3YsZK-khdxJdL3peCP2okvdnXQLKjd-h7cVfVoYsIlv7JLxrgCpuxlsmGplKCq9_huv_L6iJBrl/s1600/failing+SA" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXXyDAcFu_RhBLv54i4oPAdaAjlXu8Mor9aanHatGaQ7cPMyIj-7cAtSBJ7-VbW-NPy3YsZK-khdxJdL3peCP2okvdnXQLKjd-h7cVfVoYsIlv7JLxrgCpuxlsmGplKCq9_huv_L6iJBrl/s640/failing+SA" width="640" /></a></div> By David Bullard These days I find myself standing back , shaking my head and having a quiet chuckle at the many economic problems South Africa faces. I’ve even been known to silently mouth the words “told you so”. I realise this is not a good thing but I think it’s got something to do with age and the fourteen odd years I spent “farting against thunder” as a newspaper columnist. I was re-reading my first book, <a href="http://www.newstime.co.za/column/DavidBullard/SA_is_the_Amy_Winehouse_of_global_economies/9/3735/">Out to Lunch</a>, which was published almost ten years ago, and what I was writing about then I am still writing about today. Nothing has changed. We have learnt nothing and we still seem set on a course of self destruction. We are the Amy Winehouse of global economies. Of course, pointing this sort of thing out inevitably leads to one being labelled a “racist” which is the predictable reaction one can expect from people too stupid to debate important issues. Launch into an attack on our government’s economic non-performance and you’re bound to be accused of wanting the black man to fail/not believing that the black man is entitled to wealth/not having made the transition to a new South Africa etc etc. It’s the biggest load of horse shit you can imagine but what more can you expect when first world thinking has to co-exist with the majority of a country still stuck in the middle ages? Because, let’s be brutally honest here, we may be the Cradle of Mankind but the early settlers certainly didn’t stumble across anything approaching a sophisticated and developed society (over to Biko Lives). After all, why invent the wheel when you don’t plan on going anywhere? However, the confusion comes when a country like South Africa pretends that it wants to play with the big boys in the global playground but doesn’t have the stomach for it. Our latest and, to date, most embarrassing example is the way our government is treating the Walmart deal. Having eventually given a qualified go ahead for the US retailing giant to invest in SA it seems as though our Economic Development (sic) Minister Ebrahim Patel has changed his mind and now wants to put a permanent stain on Walmart’s reputation. This means that, even if the deal does come off, it will always have a taint. One wonders how a buffoon like Patel can hold such an important position but nothing surprises me these days. Most of those holding high office in this country I wouldn’t trust to put bread in a toaster without fucking it up. Our national anthem ought to be “Send in the Clowns”. I heard on the radio last week that foreign investment had fallen 70% in the past year. Is it any wonder when we are so hostile to anyone who comes knocking on our door keen to do business? But is there any point in any of us suffering high blood pressure because of this? Absolutely not. The best course is to hedge your bets by getting money offshore and to significantly reduce the amount you pay to the taxman. If you have a small business here then wind it down before it gets seized, taxed or legislated out of existence. Why would anyone want to deal with a lazy and uncommitted unionised workforce and a government openly hostile to capitalism? Forget all the bullshit about the ANC wanting to create jobs. That’s just a guilt trip being laid on the dwindling minority of the economically active. The government’s task is to create an environment conducive to job creation and economic prosperity. They’re clearly too dumb to understand that so why on earth would private enterprise want to try and help when it’s quite clear that the government is going to screw them over? If you run a hospital you tend to put people with medical experience and knowledge in key positions. If you run a university, hopefully you would appoint well respected academics (although that clearly doesn’t apply at some of our Universities so it’s not a great example) as heads of faculties. When you run a country you would hope that people who have some experience or understanding of the business world would be given key cabinet positions but that doesn’t happen. Instead we have a clutch of luxury car driving halfwit Commies with lunatic ideas who simply cannot grasp the fact that we are sailing merrily on to failed nation status and are deaf to advice. Link: <a href="http://www.newstime.co.za/" style="color: #0e774a;" title="Http://www.newstime.co.za">http://www.NewsTime.co.za</a>

Our national anthem ought to be “Send in the Clowns”.

By David Bullard These days I find myself standing back , shaking my head and having a quiet chuckle at the many economic problems South Afr...

4:01 AM

R800m for VIP jets when millions do not have housing, health and basic services

<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBrcL2yjIyRHLoEPPNHYqnuQlOCg8Ih1biO0OTmi1Gwt7v1z21U17DqMG6Ad2UBBTaFzson84n01QtUbIHSZ-DFeqmAKQ9pVsj_wzdgPr1DQwsNyT0k7Q0DrISzmQPJpIoORMsTh6xJnL/s1600/anc-greed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBrcL2yjIyRHLoEPPNHYqnuQlOCg8Ih1biO0OTmi1Gwt7v1z21U17DqMG6Ad2UBBTaFzson84n01QtUbIHSZ-DFeqmAKQ9pVsj_wzdgPr1DQwsNyT0k7Q0DrISzmQPJpIoORMsTh6xJnL/s320/anc-greed.jpg" width="320" /></a>Why are we spending R800m on aircraft for VIPs when millions of people do not have housing, health and basic services?</div> Government VIPs will soon be jetting around the country in two luxury jets complete with sleeping quarters, computer and satellite communication services and a conference cabin with space for six people. The department of defence has leased the jets on a five-year contract to supplement its VIP squadron. According to a report in Beeld newspaper, the contract with AdoAir, a small Lanseria-based company, is worth R808m. The company belongs to the Adonai Group, founded by Nigerian businessman Adegboyega Olulade. AdoAir “came out top” out of five competing tenders, the department spokesperson Ndivhuwo wa ha Mabaya said yesterday. He said an ageing air transport fleet had made it necessary for the South African Air Force to charter flights for VIP air transport, and this had been expensive. Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu revealed in December that chartered flights for VIPs spiked from R3.6m in 2009 to R16.9m last year. Mabaya added that the lease agreement also included the maintenance of the luxury jets over the five-year period. He said: “The two jets will be used by the VIP squadron. Our current fleet of VIP planes are very old and we don’t have the money to buy new planes.” These jets will also be used when the presidential jet, Inkwazi, is undergoing maintenance. - City Press Readers comments fandash1 - R808m over 5 years equates to R161,6m per year yet the cost which had spiked was only R16.9m and that over 5 years equates to R84.5m. Maybe the honourable Minister sholuld ask for a refund on her school fees as basic sums (no not maths) were not mastered. What a rip off for the tax payer. 9 1/2 times the cost dear Minister, who gets the rest. SHOCKING EXPENDITURE. Apache - Have I got this right? R808m over 5 years = R161.6m per year, but they only spent R16.9m on chartered flights last year! So we, the taxpayers, will be forking out 10 times more per annum than we have been...no wonder this country is in the mess it is. What clown did the maths on this decision? And yet the masses will again vote for these clowns in the upcoming elections, despite the fact that they still don't have the houses or services they are repeatedly promised. Funny thing that... marc - US$ 115 million? You could get two very exceptional jets, that fulfill the mandate, for a 3rd of that price. ADO AIR is a Nigerian company......Look it doenst take an rocket scientist to work out there is something very, very fishy about this deal. Daylight Robbery! Check out controller.com for jet prices. <div class="fl"><a class="author_link bold" href="http://www.blogger.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Benzo</a> -  <div class="clr"></div>Why sleeping facilities for "flying around the country"? How many conferences with not more than 6 people? Why computers? We all have our own laptops with our own data and software on hand!!</div><div class="fl"><a class="author_link bold" href="http://www.blogger.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bill Xhosa</a> -  </div><div class="clr"></div><div class="comment_text">She either wants a piece of the action or doesn't have good people to guarantee return on investment. We can't have SAPS getting all the shady deals. I thought SAPS did VIP transport? Hence the purchase of the R150 million Citation jet two years ago. Google ADOAIR. They own one Hawker 800XP. Used price between R35 to R50 million. Google pre-owned gulfstream. You will find used top of the line G550 at about R350 million. So the defense department wants to lease two planes for over twice the price of purchasing two G550.</div><div class="comment_text"><div class="fl"><a class="author_link bold" href="http://www.blogger.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Gen</a> - </div><div class="clr"></div><div class="comment_text">It must have been the bantu education that the present elite had that helped them calculate that R16,9million times 5 is greater than 808 million. PS When chartering an aircraft , the maintenance is already added. The money the ANC plan to spend will not remain in South Africa, if you say I'm wrong, check the ownership of charter company.</div><div class="comment_text"></div><div class="comment_text"><div class="fl"><a class="author_link bold" href="http://twitter.com/ev_ert" target="_blank">Embee Diamonds</a> - </div><div class="clr"></div><div class="comment_text">Assuming it is the Hawker 800XPi's- these sell for around $8m dollars pre-owned in the first world. To the math...someone is lining someone's pockets somewhere...</div><div class="comment_text"></div><div class="comment_text"><div class="fl"><a class="author_link bold" href="http://www.blogger.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">marc</a> -  </div><div class="clr"></div><div class="comment_text">US$ 115 million? You could get two very exceptional jets, that fulfill the mandate, for a 3rd of that price. ADO AIR is a Nigerian company......Look it doenst take an rocket scientist to work out there is something very, very fishy about this deal. Daylight Robbery! Check out controller.com for jet prices.</div></div></div></div><div class="comment_text"></div><div class="comment_text"><div class="fl"><a class="author_link bold" href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=557575807" target="_blank">Ralph</a> - </div><div class="clr"></div><div class="comment_text">In 1994 the ANC took over the goose that laid the golden egg, but I am afraid that they are forgetting to feed the goose and pretty soon it will die and then they will have nothing. </div></div><div align="justify"> Source:<a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/Luxury-VIP-jets-for-SA-elite-20110403">http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/Luxury-VIP-jets-for-SA-elite-20110403</a></div>

R800m for VIP jets when millions do not have housing, health and basic services

Why are we spending R800m on aircraft for VIPs when millions of people do not have housing, health and basic services? Government VIPs will ...

12:14 AM

Rocketing municipal bills hit SA

In the third quarter of this year South Africans shelled out 72.2% more for municipal services than during the same period two years ago. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_OxBykS2HUa2SeoBnKmQhBF7LUk_Lroi7TWoHBxzNZtMYpWe-0FIVvgDXckMPIM5DtvkQOR4bcO7jg3CzVm4f3Ec1gYns8OhiuL2vJB-WBBoWCnSFdIQVqEaGVpk5zZ8qDzuI-UGidTr/s1600/you_suck.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547686807509884898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_OxBykS2HUa2SeoBnKmQhBF7LUk_Lroi7TWoHBxzNZtMYpWe-0FIVvgDXckMPIM5DtvkQOR4bcO7jg3CzVm4f3Ec1gYns8OhiuL2vJB-WBBoWCnSFdIQVqEaGVpk5zZ8qDzuI-UGidTr/s320/you_suck.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Annual municipal rates and services tariffs were now equal to the total amount that South Africans paid in personal tax. But for this massive contribution they received little value for money, said Economists.co.za director Mike Schüssler, who reported these statistics. He reckoned these large increases equalled a 3.37 percentage point rise in interest rates. It was no wonder, he said, that interest-rate cuts did not have the desired outcome of getting consumer expenditure rolling forward. A large part of these savings were being sucked up by municipal accounts. Schüssler said the R51.7bn that the public had paid to municipalities in the third quarter represented 7.8% of the quarterly gross domestic product (GDP). Two years ago this percentage was 5.17%. Municipalities increasingly demand a greater proportion of the GDP and the tax burden on citizens is always on the rise, said Schüssler. If the situation should continue, within five years all the money would go to the state. This situation was not sustainable. He said local authorities needed to reduce costs, and municipal officers' salaries were excessive. Municipal officers needed money to buy copious amounts of alcohol, expensive houses and cars. It was not a case of too little money. Municipalities were hopelessly ineffective. He said the fact that municipalities' outstanding debts were continually rising was a sign that consumers were being tapped dry. According to figures released by National Treasury last week, by the end of September consumers owed metro councils 12.4% more than a year ago. In Johannesburg the increase was 23.5%. In secondary cities the outstanding debt was 18.3% up. More than 60% of this debt was owed by households. Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt said the sharp rise in municipal costs was moreover unevenly distributed among the county's citizens. For the middle class, which is easier to track down and can apparently afford to pay, the rise is probably even higher. He said if the economy grew by 3% this year, the benefits of this growth could be lost to the individual because he or she would have to shell out more and more to the local municipality. The biggest threat for the South African economy was for the state to break down completely, said Roodt There was clear evidence that South Africa was rapidly deteriorating in the same way that most other African countries had deteriorated which is why many Europeans had done the sensible thing and emigrated back to civilisation. This could already be seen at municipal level. He said municipalities were only supposed to deliver services and should therefore earn money only from levies. But they were actually busy redistributing, which was a function belonging to central government. That was how poverty was simply being spread. According to the municipal budget's medium-term review, which Treasury also announced last week, municipalities' budgets will increase by a further 25% over the next two years.

Rocketing municipal bills hit SA

In the third quarter of this year South Africans shelled out 72.2% more for municipal services than during the same period two years ago. An...

1:30 PM

The Zuma shuffle

All those taxpayer-funded luxury sedans have barely lost their 'new car' smell and already we are faced with a fresh batch of ministers. Not that we're complaining. Most – bar one, perhaps – of the ministers who were booted unceremoniously out of Zuma's Cabinet were simply living it up instead of living up to our not-particularly-high expectations. As long as the new ministers don't feel the need to splurge on newer cars and houses... But I have my doubts <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjng75yiqK1riacivyxZqJGYXQA7ZI8N17_DhU2Ku6NhyjgomNt-SKlr-709WM6-cFDkN0iqVVxAz01UiPs5oApzgkKEnRgRMo_-98dlYAmq-wSPTt6rR1P1u3A7BpYXeZvYofVsXsFX4l8/s1600/ditwits.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535273670540313058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjng75yiqK1riacivyxZqJGYXQA7ZI8N17_DhU2Ku6NhyjgomNt-SKlr-709WM6-cFDkN0iqVVxAz01UiPs5oApzgkKEnRgRMo_-98dlYAmq-wSPTt6rR1P1u3A7BpYXeZvYofVsXsFX4l8/s400/ditwits.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 372px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Most of those fired, especially Women's Minister Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda and Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana, thoroughly deserved the axe. The most suspicious exit is that of Geoff Doidge, who was known to play by the rules in his Public Works portfolio. Is his departure linked to his decision to investigate the controversial R500-million office-block tender for new police headquarters in Pretoria that police commissioner Bheki Cele signed off on? New appointments made to please, not to improve - Times LIVE What is worrying about Zuma's announcement, however, is that many of the high-profile appointments appear to have been motivated more by his desire to keep all factions that make up the ANC satisfied, rather than improve the work of government.To appease the ANC Youth League, he awarded Fikile Mbalula the Department of Sports and Recreation. Zuma also promoted Paul Mashatile to be the full minister of arts and culture, therefore winning ruling party structures in Gauteng. Deputy ministers - the vaguest job in government Zuma has automatically created new support bases for himself by bringing in a slew of deputy ministers who can act as extras to protect him. Because they don't have defined roles, deputy ministers simply do whatever their ministers deem them to be capable of and in some cases they can keep an eye on the minister. The creation of four new deputy ministerial positions increases the size of an already bloated administration at a huge cost to taxpayers. Zuma axes ministers in bid to regain control - Financial Times William Gumede, a political analyst, said the president “had been voted in not because people think he’s a great leader but because he promised to deal with health, poverty and education. But on all those things there has been no success whatsoever.” Zuma keeps friends close, enemies closer - Mail & Guardian Online The reshuffle was designed to create a “perception” that ministers were being held to account, Mr Gumede said, but was primarily aimed at neutralizing political rivals. “If he can lock those people in by giving them cabinet posts, they might support him in 2012 – or at least not oppose him.”

The Zuma shuffle

All those taxpayer-funded luxury sedans have barely lost their 'new car' smell and already we are faced with a fresh batch of minist...

3:30 AM

Why Africa is Poor: the result of power-hungry dictators

Mills' hard-hitting book pulls no punches about Africa's condition. The first sentence of the introduction to his book, Why Africa is Poor: And What Africans Can Do About It, reads: “The main reason why Africa’s people are poor is because their leaders have made this choice.” This sentence is repeated in the middle of the book. It is repeated again at the end of Mills’s conclusions. Could this insistent message be plainer? Or will Africa just continue to ignore the lessons of international reform as it suits them? <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7Atw3aj-Jn3TKQVo2cM5HVcoJ_haZs6FrS5i3MrKDXFToPjEFqjlKjNnvOmuKqwwyh5-HeAFXWMxl33L7Rtv8NAo0YHIxCEznf7lsP7DmYUQGZAjsSwtdbwLesg6qDI7eGuhgA2VpDUR/s1600/BOOK%20Why%20Africa%20is%20Poor(2).jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521362221422259666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7Atw3aj-Jn3TKQVo2cM5HVcoJ_haZs6FrS5i3MrKDXFToPjEFqjlKjNnvOmuKqwwyh5-HeAFXWMxl33L7Rtv8NAo0YHIxCEznf7lsP7DmYUQGZAjsSwtdbwLesg6qDI7eGuhgA2VpDUR/s400/BOOK%2520Why%2520Africa%2520is%2520Poor(2).jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 382px" /></a>It reminds me of another book titled Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent. (published in 1990), written by Blaine Harden of the Washington Post. In it he made the following observation: There are countless reasons to despair for Africa. At the end of the 1980s, per capita income was lower than it was thirty years earlier. Seventy percent of the world’s poorest nations are in Africa. The region is slipping out of the Third World into its own bleak category: the Nth World. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xrWeiHnfuLrqwwuMNSKzSjeqgPHdEE5kiaI_AZ_ZXjhe0m3VwMv5nXy2qouqvAem2OT0PIGWnFu8uylWzOfBCEzQeEMoEluWClSXY3PIOO2NdI6a1Cemf0ujfOAHPh80uc9N7NRKDJx0/s1600/Book+-+Africa+a+fragile+continent.jpg"></a>Africa is the most successful producer of babies in recorded history and the world’s least successful producer of food And, like Greg Mills, Harden blames Africa’s power-hungry dictators for the tragic state of affairs: As I travelled around Africa, it was the vulnerability of Africans to the depredations of their own leaders that — more than famines and wars and poverty — sickened me most. <blockquote>If you took a quarter-century worth of His Excellencies the African leader and tossed them in a blender, you would come up with a Big Man who looks like this: His face is on the money. His photograph hangs in every office in his realm. His ministers wear gold pins with tiny photographs of him on the lapels of their tailored pin-striped suits. He names streets, football stadiums, hospitals, and universities after himself. He carries a silver-inlaid ivory mace, or an ornately carved walking stick or a fly whisk or a chiefly stool. He insists on being called “Doctor” or “conqueror” or “teacher” or “the big elephant” or “the number-one peasant” or “the most popular leader in the world.” His every pronouncement is reported on the front page. He sleeps with the wives and daughters of powerful men in his government. He shuffles ministers without warning, paralyzing policy decisions as he undercuts pretenders to his throne. He scapegoats minorities to shore up popular support. He bans all political parties except the one he controls. He rigs elections. He emasculates the courts. He cows the press. He stifles academia. He goes to church.(p217, Blaine Harden, Africa – Dispatches from a Fragile Continent, 1993) </blockquote> Mills’s book should be required reading for every South African cabinet minister, senior (and upcoming) government official, business leader — for everyone interested in the development of what the Economist some years ago called the “hopeless continent”. Mills also discusses South Africa’s resistance to globalisation and generally Africa’s eagerness to attend the myriad international events to which its leaders are invited, instead of submitting strategic and detailed execution plans at these events. “Africa has the biggest voting bloc in the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other such organisations,” Mills notes. “But what does it ‘trade’ its vote for? Help for Cuba and the Palestinians, blocking UN managerial reform, and manoeuvring around tougher action on Burma and Iran. None of this does one bit for Africa or for Africans outside of the New York diplomats, who revel in such posturing, or those leaders overwrought by their own anti-colonial complexes. Africa is often the subject of these meetings, but its leaders generally miss the point. “As the collapse of the global trade talks in Geneva in 2008 showed, the WTO was perhaps the worst example. Led by South Africa, 40 African votes were locked together with China, India and Brazil, with the aim of resisting European and United States demands for the South American and South Asian giants to open their markets. “Fine for them, but those same countries had as high — or higher — tariffs on African goods as the EU and U.S. did. If African votes in support of their positions had been exchanged for commitment from those countries to provide duty- and quota-free status to Africa (a small price for them to pay given the limited share Africa would gain in their markets), this position would have made sense . Instead, Africa sold its votes for some form of ‘South-South’ solidarity, without any return to serve its own interests. India, China and Brazil must laugh all the way to Geneva for every WTO session.” For how much longer does Africa want to be known as the failed continent? Consider this comment in The Times (UK) by a former Conservative MP and influential columnist, Matthew Parris, responding to the constant squeals from African leaders that the West are trying to recolonise them: <blockquote>“Great powers aren’t interested in administering wild places any more, still less in settling them; just raping them. Black gangster governments sponsored by self-interested Asian or Western powers could become the central story in 21st-century African history. The continent is in many places run by outfits that resemble gangs rather than governments. You hardly need visit  … the gang’s territory … you simply give it support, munitions, bribes and protection to keep the roads and airports open and it pays you with access to resources. It is when China, then America, and perhaps even Russia or India follow, that the scramble for Africa will truly be resumed.” </blockquote><blockquote>Parris wrote that comment in April 2008.</blockquote> "Yet it is within the power of African governments to make more civilised arrangements. Why don’t they do it?" Surveying Africa’s record, Mills writes: “In a half-century of independence, Africa has not realised its potential. Instead, its greatest national assets have undermined its prosperity. Africa’s youth, far from being a huge source of talent and energy to be harnessed, are regarded as a destabilising force because they are largely unemployed and uneducated. The principal problem with African economics is politics, and the choices that leaders make in the interests of their short-term expediency of staying in power and ensuring control." Far from being the world's breadbasket, Africa's agriculture potential has similarly been squandered. Despite many African states possessing natural advantages, 35 of 48 sub-Saharan economies were net food importers at the end of the 2000s. Africa's share of world agricultural exports has halved since 1970, to under 4 percent. If Africa's dismal economic performance can be put down to bad choices by African leaders, then we have to ask: Why have they made them?" When African leaders read what further Mills has to say, they should squirm, because they know it applies to most of them: “Things are highly politicised in the small sense of the word — keeping matters in the party’s ambit, rather than true checks and balances on government.

Why Africa is Poor: the result of power-hungry dictators

Mills' hard-hitting book pulls no punches about Africa's condition. The first sentence of the introduction to his book, Why Africa i...

1:44 PM

Shocking images of Zimbabwe's starving people

Starving Zimbabweans descend upon and strip an elephant carcass bare 24 hours after they found it. Using machetes, axes and knives made from tin cans they set upon the six-ton carcass. It took just one hour and 47 minutes for the 13ft-tall elephant to be reduced to a skeleton. Every part was used for food, even the trunk and ears.The bones of the 70-year-old animal were taken to boil for soup and within 24 hours nothing was left but a blood-stained patch of earth. It was in the middle of nowhere, but within 15 minutes hundreds of people had arrived from all directions. The women formed a ring around the elephant and the men stood inside, fighting and stabbing each other to get to the meat. The images are undeniably shocking. But they illustrate the terrible lengths to which Zimbabweans are forced to go just to survive under Robert Mugabe. <a href="http://img687.imageshack.us/i/zim01.jpg/" target="_blank" title="ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting"><img border="0" src="http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/4275/zim01.jpg" /></a> Fallen giant: The corpse of the bull elephant lies undisturbed in deep scrubland in Gonarezhou National Park <a href="http://img85.imageshack.us/i/zim02.jpg/" target="_blank" title="ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting"><img border="0" src="http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/7970/zim02.jpg" /></a> The desperate descend: Within minutes, starving villagers arrive at the carcass <a href="http://img511.imageshack.us/i/zim03.jpg/" target="_blank" title="ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting"><img border="0" src="http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/3848/zim03.jpg" /></a> Battle begins: Soon, the villagers are fighting to get the urgently-needed meat <a href="http://img191.imageshack.us/i/zim04.jpg/" target="_blank" title="ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting"><img border="0" src="http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/2070/zim04.jpg" /></a> Audience: People gather on a hill a short distance away to watch village men get to work <a href="http://img30.imageshack.us/i/zim05.jpg/" target="_blank" title="ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting"><img border="0" src="http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/227/zim05.jpg" /></a> Brutally effective: Nothing goes to waste, with the skin, trunk and ears all removed <a href="http://img16.imageshack.us/i/zim06.jpg/" target="_blank" title="ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting"><img border="0" src="http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/7485/zim06.jpg" /></a> Starving: Zimbabweans grapple with each other as they set upon the elephant to get meat <a href="http://img39.imageshack.us/i/zim07.jpg/" target="_blank" title="ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting"><img border="0" src="http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/3053/zim07.jpg" /></a> Stripped: After less than two hours, only bones remain. Even these will later be taken <center><a href="http://img511.imageshack.us/i/zim08.jpg/" target="_blank" title="ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting"><img border="0" src="http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/5030/zim08.jpg" /></a> Desperate: A blood-spattered villager <center><a href="http://img532.imageshack.us/i/zim09.jpg/" target="_blank" title="ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting"><img border="0" src="http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/1252/zim09.jpg" /></a> the spot where the bull elephant lay is completely cleared just 24 hours after it was found </center></center><center><center></center></center>

Shocking images of Zimbabwe's starving people

Starving Zimbabweans descend upon and strip an elephant carcass bare 24 hours after they found it. Using machetes, axes and knives made from...

1:10 PM

Traditions plague Africa

Zuma's traditional wedding a "giant step back into the dark ages". Zuma's wedding "to a woman he is reported to have already fathered three children with, and the alarming return to ancestral worship is a giant step back into the dark ages," said CDP leader Reverend Theunis Botha. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423415726199644818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8clLve9HUclzrO6VawJc9ua7x1z1KDMKlYBXuDPg0RMcxo8lR3fZhm4uUV9_nCHK_sQ_3dHs1aLV-lXzKW4e9HbDXA6uze9TfiXwQfy3WZugw5dLJFDc8k9Q4qCq5GPPb6dYg0tzz70x/s400/zUMA-South-African-President-J-002.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 252px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />Zuma married his fifth wife, Thobeka Madiba, outside his homestead on Monday afternoon in a colourful traditional wedding which attracted scores of guests and media.'Traditions plagued Africa' It was the same ancestral traditions that had plagued Africa in the past and that had kept it [Africa] in superstition and poverty, and not colonialism as some people believed, he claimed. "Very little has been done since ‘independence’ in the way of development, with few that do not rely on handouts, especially from the West," he said. It was up to the churches to speak out about ancestral worship practices, Botha said. "Political parties doing so, when the churches are silent, are exposing themselves to undue criticism of being anti-black or racist," said Botha. The president's other wives are Sizakele Khumalo, whom he married in 1973, and Nompumelelo MaNtuli-Zuma, whom he married in 2007. He was previously married to current Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, whom he divorced in 1998, and Kate Mantsho Zuma, who committed suicide in 2000. Eighteen children Zuma is the father of 18 children. He is also engaged to Gloria Bongi Ngema from Durban. Her family presented umbondo (gifts) to the Zuma family at the end of December. Umbondo is the last Zulu traditional ceremony before the wedding. It was done after ilobolo had been paid. It was not known when Zuma would tie the knot with Ngema.

Traditions plague Africa

Zuma's traditional wedding a "giant step back into the dark ages". Zuma's wedding "to a woman he is reported to have ...

2:09 PM

South Africa: 'Flawed Democracy' Slips in Governance Rankings

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

South Africa: 'Flawed Democracy' Slips in Governance Rankings

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

8:49 AM

Government ’living large’ while citizens feel the pain

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERDGfH89FKcRlleLn0T6Xw_zbzsPrr46p-vuGpO_F0gTghwfU7uXwjLxpXQNRCUKEl-FIliilNa_d_0Ztgiwy1zX_8sIRy4tQbOygcDA-GdRu6AfzJfSgiJd6TUuY67O6GCNTEvwcX1s/s1600-h/day-spa-pta.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369847189623143922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERDGfH89FKcRlleLn0T6Xw_zbzsPrr46p-vuGpO_F0gTghwfU7uXwjLxpXQNRCUKEl-FIliilNa_d_0Ztgiwy1zX_8sIRy4tQbOygcDA-GdRu6AfzJfSgiJd6TUuY67O6GCNTEvwcX1s/s400/day-spa-pta.bmp" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 350px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 236px" /></a>Government ‘wasted R79m since July’The government has wasted R79 million since the DA set up a wasteful expenditure monitor in mid-July. See here <a href="http://www.da.org.za/campaigns.htm?action=view-page&category=7034&sub-page=7036">http://www.da.org.za/campaigns.htm?action=view-page&category=7034&sub-page=7036</a> DA MP Lindiwe Mazibuko said a further R3 million had been wasted in recent weeks. "The DA has identified an additional four examples of the ANC government’s culture of unnecessary spending," Mazibuko said today. "We will today update our Wasteful Expenditure Monitor by R3 million, bringing the total amount wasted by the new ANC administration to approximately R79 million." Mazibuko said in one case the North West education department had spent around R90,000 on "pampering" 43 directors and chief directors at a day spa outside Pretoria. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxkWKTJUJOliYcO1Rj_mrRHZX9gQyEZUcM9Uo3HG0bnQ82tnxsCy9k53SSErvfFv4Ph2FkSV5-BEqMCJR9zBdNFpu2WpeTm9JL8zcLSfHW2Y6g2sTJW1toVXSY-SAjoyNQrgWNe7BlrA/s1600-h/day-spa-04.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369847199880747202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxkWKTJUJOliYcO1Rj_mrRHZX9gQyEZUcM9Uo3HG0bnQ82tnxsCy9k53SSErvfFv4Ph2FkSV5-BEqMCJR9zBdNFpu2WpeTm9JL8zcLSfHW2Y6g2sTJW1toVXSY-SAjoyNQrgWNe7BlrA/s400/day-spa-04.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 270px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" /></a>"They chose the spa’s exotic full day package which cost R2099 per person," she said. The DA had counted R242,242 in wasteful expenditure by Parliamentary committees, which held meetings and workshops at luxury hotels, rather than in Parliament. The participating MPs were lodged at luxury hotels. The department of science and technology had spent R1.4 million on two Mercedes Benz ML350s for Minister Naledi Pandor at a cost of R1.4 million. The department of police spent R1.3 million on two new BMWs. Mazibuko however, welcomed an announcement by the Cabinet earlier this week that the minister of finance had tabled a draft report with proposals aimed at reducing wasteful spending. "The objectives of the proposals include addressing public concerns that government is ’living large’ while citizens are feeling the pain caused by the economic downturn," government spokesman Themba Maseko said.

Government ’living large’ while citizens feel the pain

Government ‘wasted R79m since July’ The government has wasted R79 million since the DA set up a wasteful expenditure monitor in mid-July. S...

8:27 AM

The fat of the land

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIO8uBETWxYID1B_2NVrylzEIocdd2ITfvhyeo2pcP892koPD4jx2Yg448k8qMDwcrMPBMRqJOATsJBfnQC2vZkLAg_QV9x5WybypTHa7cMktvGYLVrg6X4GEg43mXnJXJg-zd5njlv-A/s1600-h/corrupt-parl.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364648632243509458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIO8uBETWxYID1B_2NVrylzEIocdd2ITfvhyeo2pcP892koPD4jx2Yg448k8qMDwcrMPBMRqJOATsJBfnQC2vZkLAg_QV9x5WybypTHa7cMktvGYLVrg6X4GEg43mXnJXJg-zd5njlv-A/s400/corrupt-parl.bmp" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 311px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" /></a>While pay demands and service delivery protests cripple South Africa, government leaders are still receiving luxurious perks. In addition to salaries ranging from R2,04-million for the president to R692  085 for an MP, political office-bearers receive a range of benefits such as medical aid, housing, luxury travel and fancy cars. Last week the Democratic Alliance wrote to Vusi Mavimbela, the director general of the presidency, to request that some of these privileges be curtailed, especially the allocation for official vehicles, which the party wants reduced from R929 000 to R663 780 a vehicle. Cabinet members and deputy ministers are entitled to two vehicles. The DA also wants to revoke privileges such as free use of the Blue Train and VIP lounges at airports, as well as corporate credit cards for ministers’ expenses on official trips. “We hope that the government will take these proposals seriously and will take the steps that are necessary to show that they, too, recognise the harsh economic realities that South Africa is confronting,” DA leader Helen Zille said in a statement. Even former ministers and deputy ministers still enjoy up to 40 complimentary business-class domestic air tickets a year. Newly appointed officials such as Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda have been criticised for buying top-of-the-range vehicles. Others, such as Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, have opted for more modest vehicles, while Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane still drives the Mercedes 4X4 that his predecessor left behind, and opted to get a Volkswagen for his Cape Town office. Cape Town mayor Dan Plato is still driving his Volkswagen Chico. On Thursday, Chabane announced that ministers’ car allowances will be reconsidered as part of a review of government spending. “Political office bearers have not broken any rules,” he said in connection with the ministerial purchases. But “recognising the sensitivity of the matter, Cabinet has established a ministerial task team to look at government spending in the context of the economic meltdown”. The team will be made up of Chabane, Gordhan and Richard Baloyi, minister of public service and administration, and will “advise Cabinet on how matters of this nature can be handled”. Benefits of high-profile service Here are some of perks that parliamentarians enjoy: President <ul><li>Annual salary: R2 040 780 </li><li>Corporate credit card </li><li>State funeral with full military ceremonial honours </li><li>Presidential guest house </li><li>Full salary for life after leaving office </li><li>Security for life after leaving office </li><li>R1,3-million annual contribution to medical aid </li><li>Free furnished accommodation in Cape Town and Pretoria </li><li>Free cleaning and maintenance of these residences </li><li>R3-million for two cars for Cape Town and Pretoria </li><li>Daily allowance when travelling abroad for tips, room service, reading material and normal liquid refreshments</li></ul>Deputy president <ul></ul><li>Annual salary: R1 836 745 </li><li>State funeral with prescribed military ceremonial honours </li><li>Corporate credit card </li><li>Full salary for life after leaving office </li><li>Security for life after leaving office </li><li>R1,3-million annual contribution to medical aid </li><li>Free furnished accommodation in Cape Town and Pretoria </li><li>Free cleaning and maintenance of the residences </li><li>R3-million for two cars for Cape Town and Pretoria </li>Ministers <ul><li>Annual salary: R1 561 223 </li><li>Rent-free house in either Cape Town or Pretoria </li><li>Domestic worker </li><li>Corporate credit card </li><li>Two official cars in Cape Town and Pretoria to the value of R1-million each </li><li>Free government transport for spouses and dependants </li><li>30 business-class tickets annually for minister and spouse for discretionary use </li><li>First-class international travel for official trips </li><li>Six economy-class tickets annually for children </li><li>Spouses can travel on official trips and enjoy same benefits as ministers </li><li>Use of South African Air Force aircraft </li><li>Free travel on the Blue Train </li><li>Use of VIP lounges at airports </li><li>Private office with 10 staff members including four secretaries </li><li>Official funeral </li><li>Security worth R100 000 a year at private residences </li><li>Free telephone and internet services </li></ul>Deputy ministers <ul><li>Annual salary: R1 285 700 </li><li>State-sponsored house in either Cape Town or Pretoria </li><li>Domestic worker </li><li>Two official cars in Cape Town and Pretoria to the value of R1-million each </li><li>Free government transport for spouses and dependants </li><li>30 business-class tickets for minister and spouse </li><li>Six economy-class tickets for children </li><li>Spouse may come along on official trips </li><li>Use of South African Air Force aircraft </li><li>Free travel on the Blue Train </li><li>Use of VIP lounges at airports </li><li>Official funeral </li><li>Corporate credit card </li><li>Private office with six staff members including two secretaries </li></ul>Members of Parliament <ul></ul><li>Annual salary ranging from R692 085 to R1 836 745 </li><li>Two-thirds contribution to medical aid </li><li>54,5% of pension fund contribution </li><li>Motor vehicle allowance up to R204 532 a year </li><li>Relocation costs to Cape Town </li><li>Travel costs of children at university and two domestic workers </li><li>Telephone costs of up to R3 553 a month </li><li>78 single air tickets in economy class </li><li>12 air tickets for children </li><li>Laptop and printer </li><li>Life insurance </li>Mercs 'a steal at reduced prices'<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jqDtpY8ms3AQzZ-8sbNm96sSvGTTK5EJfi0XDtwIWoCvOej20A3ZyCVqnORPxXy0okvIZx82ywpR8E8Q_W8Dbk4wzxl0tSQke7k26cWBytVpr1PB0iBDypY0CgORhVQK1SmxclEjy_M/s1600-h/car-bling.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364643611101549458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jqDtpY8ms3AQzZ-8sbNm96sSvGTTK5EJfi0XDtwIWoCvOej20A3ZyCVqnORPxXy0okvIZx82ywpR8E8Q_W8Dbk4wzxl0tSQke7k26cWBytVpr1PB0iBDypY0CgORhVQK1SmxclEjy_M/s400/car-bling.bmp" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 253px" /></a>Free State Premier Ace Magashule and his ministers have become the latest members of government’s WaBenzi club after R11-million was splurged on new Mercedes-Benzes for the entire provincial cabinet, write Mandy Rossouw and Adriaan Basson. The revelation comes after a number of national ministers have had to explain their weakness for luxury vehicles in recent weeks. Topping the list was Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda, whose department spent R2,4-million on two top-of-the-range BMWs for his Cape Town and Pretoria offices. But Magashule has overtaken Nyanda as driver of the most expensive German sedan used by a South African politician. At a “discounted price” of R1,3-million, his Mercedes-Benz S600 eclipses Nyanda’s BMW 750i. Nyanda’s BM, which boasts extras such as body-roll stabilisation, electric sun blinds and high-gloss satin chrome, was a steal at R1,27-million. Magashule’s car makes Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s official vehicles -- an Audi A6 and Lexus GS300 at less than R600 000 each -- look frugal. The Merc S600 is the manufacturer’s flagship model and is designed to create “maximum comfort and safety” for both driver and passengers. The fully imported vehicle includes radar sensors that read road conditions, driving style and vehicle load. Passengers enjoy a gentle back massage that stimulates the back muscles, assists blood circulation and helps to prevent fatigue after a hard day’s work. The premier’s driver need not take his eyes off the road when he wants to change the radio station, CD or DVD that is fitted for passengers in the back seat, as these can all be operated from the steering wheel. The car is also fitted with its own telephone. In response to the Mail & Guardian’s questions, Teboho Sikisi, Magashule’s spokesperson, said the Free State government garage had bought the vehicles after an analysis of the most cost-effective way to transport MECs [provincial ministers]. According to him, ministers in former premier Beatrice Marshoff’s cabinet either drove their own cars and claimed exorbitant amounts for mileage each month, or their official vehicles exceeded the limit of 120 000km for public office-bearers. “Our analysis indicated that in the event that MECs used their own vehicles for official duties, their respective departments were paying between R30 000 and R45 000 a month on kilometres claimed, or between R3-million and R4-million per annum. This was very costly and unsustainable,” Sikisi said. The 11 Mercedes-Benzes were purchased as part of the Free State’s “asset base” and not for individual MECs. “The market value of each S500 is R1,3-million, but we got each for R970 000, representing a 40% discount. The market value of the S600 is R1,7-million and we got it at a discounted price of R1,3-million,” Sikisi said. “This, by any standard, is a good investment, since these vehicles constitute an asset base for the provincial government.” According to Sikisi the same arrangement is made for judges “and other VIPs” who are “clients” of the provincial government garage fleet. Through Sikisi, Magashule also defended spending R7-million on a function to mark the opening of the Free State legislature in June. “Given the nature of the event, the costs are justifiable and are normal compared with events of this nature and magnitude,” he said.

The fat of the land

While pay demands and service delivery protests cripple South Africa, government leaders are still receiving luxurious perks. In addition to...

5:02 AM

While fatcat politicians splurge on luxuries ...

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmcn2jITy-AhYKQpP3A8NzjHl-BFi2eOGZNvYDW0vK2nABto95SyMfHUIxNsyOTYs86k3SNC__AZuAObfJr6lkWuYwHtmGG2CXmKDK_dS2GpQzkDdLA0MFwhF3u4AW2dif1XuDjcdqmU/s1600-h/nig_image71.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364456936497815090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmcn2jITy-AhYKQpP3A8NzjHl-BFi2eOGZNvYDW0vK2nABto95SyMfHUIxNsyOTYs86k3SNC__AZuAObfJr6lkWuYwHtmGG2CXmKDK_dS2GpQzkDdLA0MFwhF3u4AW2dif1XuDjcdqmU/s400/nig_image71.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 298px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a> Black politicians deserve to live in luxury and to be treated like billionaires, because it sends a message that their subjects are worthwhile people. Only white people really moan about black politicians' expensive habits, because deep down they feel only white people should be entitled to such privilege. How am I doing so far? Wait, there's more. For decades of apartheid and centuries of colonialism whites took it for granted that they should live like kings. Well, white rule was overthrown by the revolution of 1994, and now it is the turn of black people to enjoy the fat of the land. To deny them that is to desire a return to the era of apartheid. It sounds obscene if you put all these excuses for the vulgar materialist excesses of the ruling fatcat politicians and public servants in one place. But I have heard these excuses and versions of them many times from the likes of ANC Youth League jokers, Luthuli House apparatchiks, ANC-aligned intellectuals, BEE beneficiaries, journalists and columnists in the pockets of ANC millionaires and even from propagandists of the Communist Party. But I've been around the block a few times. I've heard many variations of these excuses before, uttered in defence of the politician thieves of the old Zaire, Angola, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. I have also heard accusations that whites don't criticise the American or European politicians who also get paid vast amounts of money and live in luxury, they only criticise African leaders. Having considered all these excuses properly, I still want to make a few remarks about the way the present government and ruling party are flashing their ultra-luxurious lifestyles, homes, cars, clothes and parties in the faces of millions struggling to feed themselves and their children and put a roof over their heads. And yes, I am classified as a white person. It is my considered opinion that if the president of the ruling party and the country, Jacob Zuma, was indeed serious about his concern for the welfare of ordinary South Africans, he would not have allowed the presidential residence in Durban to be renovated at a price of R150 million; he would have scaled down the cavalcade of expensive new 4x4s and luxury sedans accompanying him wherever he goes from in the 30s to four or five; and he would have slashed his own lavish expenditure on inaugurations, official receptions and parties. Instead, Zuma asks for more patience from service delivery protesters and striking workers, saying it is unfair to criticise the new administration as it is still finding its feet. No, Mr President, it is unfair of you to ask workers and the unemployed to be patient while you and your party and your ministers and senior public servants spend tens of millions on extravagant luxuries. While your comrades in government, including those from Cosatu and the Communist Party, buy the most expensive cars and live it up like royalty, the number of citizens who have given up looking for work has risen to 1.52 million - that is on top of the 4.13 million people registered as unemployed. That means a minimum of 5.65 million South Africans who are potential breadwinners no longer have a regular income. That translates to many, many millions of people when one takes these people's families into account. How do you, Mr President, and your comrades sleep at night when you look at these figures? Just this week the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs declared six district municipalities in the Eastern Cape disaster areas due to "ailing water and sewerage infrastructure". These areas include the birthplaces of national icons Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela. The municipalities are not a lot worse off than many others. Do you close your ears when people tell you these things, Mr President? Do you quickly turn the page when newspapers report on them? If you reject my criticism because I'm white, let me tell you what one of Africa's leaders of the past, President Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, said more than 20 years ago in Ouagadougou. Sankara said the problem with Africa was that Africans had gained formal political power but their minds were still colonised. They were Africans but really wanted to be like their former colonial masters. Too many Africans suffered from self-loathing, he said. They are in perpetual conflict: they know and honour their own culture and ancestors, but part of them agrees with the European view that perhaps these are inferior and primitive. That was Sankara's take on why so many African leaders were "bathing themselves in gold". By the way, President Sankara's official presidential car was an ancient Peugeot 404 with a cracked windscreen.

While fatcat politicians splurge on luxuries ...

Black politicians deserve to live in luxury and to be treated like billionaires, because it sends a message that their subjects are worthwhi...

3:37 PM

Crass materialism, post-Polokwane

Remember the grainy television images of the 1980s of rocks and burning tyres in the streets, angry people throwing stones and petrol bombs and policemen firing into crowds? Those scenes depicted United Democratic Front structures making the country ungovernable. But we saw those same scenes again this past week. <embed src="http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/photostory/230709service_protest1/soundslider.swf?size=" width="420" height="383" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed> There is anger in some of South Africa's poorest areas In a dozen or so South African townships and squatter camps in several provinces, people took to the streets to protest, so we're told, "against slow service delivery". "Service delivery" is becoming one of those meaningless euphemisms like "unrest" was two decades ago. The Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Shiceka, blamed the SA National Civic Organisation for stoking the fires of protest. Watch out, soon one of the government spokesmen is going to blame "agitators", like the apartheid governments did from 1976 onwards. We have to conclude that the overwhelming majority of those angry people we see on television stoning cars and damaging property are supporters of the ruling party. Many of them are probably card-carrying members of the local ANC branch; almost all of them voted for the ANC in April. How do we know that? Well, look at the protest areas one by one: Orange Farm, Du Noon, Khayelitsha, Zeerust, Diepkloof, Thokoza, Piet Retief and others and check the voting patterns of these areas in April. It would be safe to say that in most of these areas most black people voted ANC just three months ago. If they felt uncomfortable voting for the DA, they could have voted for the black-led Cope or even the UDM. They didn't. They voted for Jacob Zuma, for the post-Polokwane ANC that was going to be the friend of the people, the champion of the poor. The elitist Thabo Mbeki faction had been defeated, now it was the time for the masses. Ja, right. It now appears that the new regime is no closer to the people than the Mbeki lot. The gulf between ruling elite and ordinary township dweller is as great as ever - another feature of the protest that can compare with the township revolt of the 1980s, even though we have a democracy now. <embed src="http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/player/mediaplayer.swf" width="450" height="370" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="height=370&width=450&file=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/flvideo/3514.flv&backcolor=0xB80000&frontcolor=0xFFFFFF&lightcolor=0xFFFFFF&screencolor=0x000000&logo=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/player/times_multimedia.png&recommendations=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/player/playlist.xml&link=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za&linktarget=_blank&searchbar=false&showstop=true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed> Soweto service delivery protest turns violent <embed src="http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/player/mediaplayer.swf" width="450" height="370" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="height=370&width=450&file=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/flvideo/4653.flv&backcolor=0xB80000&frontcolor=0xFFFFFF&lightcolor=0xFFFFFF&screencolor=0x000000&logo=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/player/times_multimedia.png&recommendations=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/player/playlist.xml&link=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za&linktarget=_blank&searchbar=false&showstop=true"></embed> Balfour protest turns violent <embed src="http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/player/mediaplayer.swf" width="450" height="370" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="height=370&width=450&file=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/flvideo/4579.flv&backcolor=0xB80000&frontcolor=0xFFFFFF&lightcolor=0xFFFFFF&screencolor=0x000000&logo=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/player/times_multimedia.png&recommendations=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/player/playlist.xml&link=http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za&linktarget=_blank&searchbar=false&showstop=true"></embed> Diepsloot: Power to the people? During the weeks that the township protests were raging, it became known that former Umkhonto we Sizwe top brass and now Minister of Communications, Siphiwe Nyanda, had spent R2 million of taxpayers' money on two cars for himself - not just reliable, safe cars, which he really should have at his disposal, but ultra luxurious rides with added bling that would make any multimillionaire proud. During the same time we hear that senior ANC figures refuse to stay in the housing provided for them, and instead rent homes worth more than R30 000 a month - again, using taxpayers' money. Sensitive, né? And there are many other current examples of the post-Polokwane ANC's new culture of crass materialism and entitlement. A senior member of the Mbeki administration, now retired, remarked to me the other day that the only real differences between the Mbeki-ANC and the Zuma-ANC was that the level of debate was much lower now and the centre of power had moved from the presidency to Luthuli House. The old apartheid government always appointed a commission of inquiry or a committee to investigate when something big went wrong. Luthuli House's reaction (nobody is even bothering any more to find out what the president is thinking about it) was to order an audit of the record of service delivery in the country's municipalities. Do the widespread and violent protests represent a major crisis? Yes, they do. Then one really would expect more than the appointment of a committee that will do an audit over the next few months. How about sending senior ministers and directors-general and top ANC officials out to the troubled areas today? The old cliche of playing the fiddle while Rome burns inevitably comes to mind. The ANC's mental energies are right now concentrated on a debate whether all South Africa's mines should be nationalised and on how the judiciary could be manipulated so that they will end up with a Constitutional Court that would be friendly to the ruling party. I don't think the ANC has the political will to really solve the problem of service delivery on a local level, because the problem lies with the mayors, town managers and other municipal officials - and most of them are prominent ANC functionaries. Political patronage is still more important than the plight of the citizens.

Crass materialism, post-Polokwane

Remember the grainy television images of the 1980s of rocks and burning tyres in the streets, angry people throwing stones and petrol bombs ...

11:55 AM

F*** the poor, say SA’s porky politicians

Britain’s recently been shocked by the “news” that avaricious members of parliament have been fleecing the taxpayer royally. But their MPs are mere amateurs compared to those we’ve elected in South Africa who have their snouts so deep in the trough that they’ve forgotten why they are there in the first place. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361738624627225154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwO_B-yHFWHGjcUwvFsu1mBnbNxWb56-eU3utULlkzGK5DM-U-TTmIG8lUIRBTBNSC1vwtH3xV1uELmvOu9jH97y18b-bzjz-mFb7ctz54_GtbNBgCf6CCHWDz-feiUFOxvhpzuVCuw2g/s400/zuma-gravy.bmp" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> The rot starts at the top. The government’s having Jacob Zuma’s official residence renovated for R50 million, ostensibly to remove all traces of Thabo’s pipe smoke, and having the walls of the ivory tower fortified against the masses who voted for him in their mindless hordes. Was the old one really so bad? Could we not have built 500 more houses or renovated some schools with that money instead? But the bit that really says “fuck the poor” is the way South African-made sanitary ware is not good enough for the man who calls himself president. No, no. Why spend R450 000 on locally-made taps, basins and fittings when you can spend an extra half million of the taxpayers’ hard-earned cash importing it? I trust Bra Jake will bathe peacefully knowing that at least five families who pinned their hopes on him changing their lives are still living in tin shacks as a result of his hideous profligacy.Famous ... Oliver Cromwell's speech - click on image to enlarge <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDda8q56fadx8gt4_SDw69KGePCSdRkGfhodBbv_0uX33ShlVH3gRf6DKrQIY_qB-IxJYAnAxqRA-APKb35JpbMTf6TKF2BFpuj4n9o2x391OFCMl0mYNZG0qjEObdYGdCKl8WqDfIIs/s1600-h/oliver_cromwell-famous-speech.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361737788330969570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDda8q56fadx8gt4_SDw69KGePCSdRkGfhodBbv_0uX33ShlVH3gRf6DKrQIY_qB-IxJYAnAxqRA-APKb35JpbMTf6TKF2BFpuj4n9o2x391OFCMl0mYNZG0qjEObdYGdCKl8WqDfIIs/s400/oliver_cromwell-famous-speech.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 173px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>Then let’s talk about our esteemed minister of communications, Siphiwe Nyanda. The man clearly likes his bling — a habit formed in his days as an army general where gold braid and shiny bits on your collar are de rigueur. Makes one wonder why the fuss about gays in the armed forces — but we digress. How much does Mr Nyanda like his bling? Oh, you have no idea. No sooner was the ink dry on his new employment contract than his mind turned to the biggest challenge he could find in his portfolio: how to pillage the electorate most effectively. His response was mundane only in its lack of imagination: he purchased not one, but TWO BMW 750i sedans for the trifling sum of R2.2 million. One for his office in Cape Town and one for his office in Pretoria. Each car is valued at R1 135 000 and come with R148 000 worth of extra features. The sun can be so tiresome on one’s face when you’re not allowed to have soldiers standing over you with palm leaves and leopard tails, you know. Across South Africa the desperate poor are burning tyres on roads and throwing stones in a vain attempt to attract the government’s attention but some crazed refugees from reality in Minister Nyanda’s department believe that “the process of procuring the vehicles for minister Nyanda was done in accordance with prescribed guidelines, which are stipulated in the ministerial handbook”. I could go on — the amounts we spend flying our ministers around in private jets, for example. The high-ranking officials who refuse to live in their mansions so rent others at our expense. Instead, let me remind you of the words with which Oliver Cromwell dissolved a rotten and corrupted parliament back on April 20 1653: <blockquote>“ … It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money. “Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter’d your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth? “Ye sordid prostitutes, have you not defil’d this sacred place … by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress’d; are not yourselves become the greatest the grievance? Your country therefore calls upon me to cleanse the Augean Stable, by putting a final period to your iniquitous proceedings … “I command ye, therefore, upon the peril of your lives, to depart immediately out of this place! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. You have sat here too long for the good you do. Go and get out, make haste ye venal slaves, be gone … ” </blockquote>Right now, we could do with an Oliver Cromwell. Or two.

F*** the poor, say SA’s porky politicians

Britain’s recently been shocked by the “news” that avaricious members of parliament have been fleecing the taxpayer royally. But their MPs a...

11:28 AM

Bling BMW: A slap in our faces

"Ask Minister Siphiwe Nyanda what government officials do in a recession..." <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsidsgXnwomu3haC-4zTodH_T4wR8tvQLvLGru-JDx_MJL7c_ydysGy9jUc1jvVNtM6v5B7SedpVbeO80CrsTRs4h4YUiok-m9jWjpwMGtuMkh_A1xW7PKCmgCV3YWgNr2SGQDE3qB9R0/s1600-h/bmw-7-series02.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361780089301435090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsidsgXnwomu3haC-4zTodH_T4wR8tvQLvLGru-JDx_MJL7c_ydysGy9jUc1jvVNtM6v5B7SedpVbeO80CrsTRs4h4YUiok-m9jWjpwMGtuMkh_A1xW7PKCmgCV3YWgNr2SGQDE3qB9R0/s400/bmw-7-series02.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" /></a>What does communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda do in the middle of a recession, where jobs are being lost, houses and cars are being repossessed by the thousand, most industries are in negative growth and we are all being told to watch our spending and tighten our belts? He goes out and buys, not one, but two top of the range luxury German cars with every extra under the sun attached, thus figuratively speaking running around beltless and shameless. I sit hear confused and irritated asking myself - what world do our ministers live in? In reality we are being encouraged to save and watch our spending. The government on the other hand, being the well-rounded role models they are, are living like rock stars with an endless supply of funds to buy luxury cars fit for heads of state in most rich first world countries. While we are grappling with the worst global recession in history our ignorant ministers are rushing out to luxury stores and buying like there is no tomorrow. Eskom, a state owned parastatal, is raising tariffs by 33%; the country is being lambasted by a wave of strikes demanding extra wages, everything is getting more expensive, house hold debt is at its highest in recorded history, and car sales are in negative growth along with most other sales of goods. Guidelines are flawed The prescribed guidelines for ministerial purchases are fundamentally flawed and its current practices are not in line with the current economic trends. How on earth can you justify spending R2.5m on two cars when you as a government are pleading poverty, raising taxes, paying your doctors pittances, not supplying your hospitals with the basic equipment used to save lives to name but a few on a very long list? Minster, I have a friend who was on a flight from Johannesburg to Durban after the final rugby test match between SA and the Lions. One of our senior rugby players and his family were spotted by cabin crew sitting in economy class with the rest of the common man. He and his family were invited to move into business class and he refused point blank saying "he was very happy where he was". I mention this purely to make a point that you don't have to take everything that is prescribed to you or your misdirected sense of entitlement deems necessary. This form of behaviour should be a lesson to you and all your "bling bling" cronies in government who are rewarding yourselves before you have even started doing your job. At the moment, the way things are going you should be riding a bicycle to the office or making use of our excellent public transport like everyone else. Minister I challenge you to inform the South African tax-paying public who bought these cars for you out of our hard earned taxes what ceramic surround for controls, ambient interior lighting, adaptive headlights, high beam assist, a three-spoke, leather-covered steering wheel, a R23 400 "rear-seat entertainment" system and a R5 600 "high-gloss satin chrome" paint job help you do your job? Maybe I am just ignorant but these extras are a slap in our faces. What is wrong with a standard 320d BMW? Most people only dream of owning a 3 series BMW, but you lift your nose up at it and go for the top of the range. Why do you need a 750i BMW? I will tell you why, because to you it's all about image, image at the cost of all else, as long as you look good in your designer suits, ministerial mansions, and luxury German cars everything else can fall to pieces. This form of behaviour has no place in a third-world country where more than half your population are below the bread line. No guilt? Minister, on a more personal level, how do you sleep at night knowing you just spent R2.5m on two cars, while so many South Africans can't even afford a roof over their heads? Do you justify your actions with bureaucratic guidelines and red tape? Shame on you and every other government official spending our taxes quicker than we can earn them. Every day you hear about another minister blowing the bank on some or other exorbitant spending spree or their officials running elaborate fraudulent schemes. Mr Jacob Zuma, the so called "president of the people" is also slipping into the cracks of gluttonous and unscrupulous spending with a new government which is clearly out of control and has no idea about the fundamental difference between money and wealth. Let it be known that you were voted in by the people, the same people who are struggling to make ends meet on a monthly basis. It is time for you and your government to humble yourselves and come down to our level. You are after all our employees; we pay your salaries and fit the bills for all of this reckless spending that has become the norm in the ANC. Lastly, to everyone who voted for the ANC. The next time you are on walking or driving on one of our roads and a 750i BMW with ceramic surround controls, ambient interior lighting, adaptive headlights, high beam assist a three-spoke, leather-covered steering wheel, a R23 400 "rear-seat entertainment" system and a R5 600 "high-gloss satin chrome" paint job screams past you at 180km/h throwing dust and rubber in your face, leaving your tiny insignificant image in its rear camera view, wipe the dust out of your eyes and take a look around and remember who you voted for. After all it's your vote that gives them the blank cheque. These officials should be held accountable for this blatant abuse of power and money. It's no wonder we are such an angry nation, our own government is misappropriating our taxes and hiding behind laws they created to protect their taste for the finest luxuries money can buy. As the late and great Winston Churchill said, "you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all of the time." We are not fools, so next time you pop into your luxury store and buy some unnecessary item, know we are watching you, and we will not stop until you stop.

Bling BMW: A slap in our faces

"Ask Minister Siphiwe Nyanda what government officials do in a recession..." What does communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda do i...

10:40 AM

'Go Home Mugabe'

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

'Go Home Mugabe'

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

5:44 AM

South Africa P.I.G.