Is Mbeki race-obsessed?
Is President Thabo Mbeki obsessed with racism, as whites claim? I’m beginning to suspect he is.
When whites first made the claim, I was among the first to come to his defence. As blacks, we couldn’t afford to let our former oppressors publicly insult our leader — not after what they’d put us through.
But now I’m beginning to wonder if I did the right thing. It seems the president sees racism everywhere, even where it doesn’t exist.
It is true that whites want the issue of racism to be swept under the carpet. Unfortunately, this is one issue that is going to stay with us for a long time to come, given our history. However, we’re managing this demon fairly well as a nation.
So why did Mbeki spring to the defence of the Cabinet ministers said to be part of the companies that stand to benefit from the Gautrain, and blame racism for the saga? What has racism got to do with the matter? The president is losing the plot.
Mbeki seems to be using his weekly letter to deal with his detractors, which is wrong. Remember how he attacked Archbishop Desmond Tutu on ANC Today after the acclaimed cleric delivered the Mandela Lecture? His sin? Tutu said debate was being suppressed in the ruling party.
It seems Mbeki’s attitude is: either you are with me or against me. That doesn’t work when you are in leadership. United States President George W Bush also took this view and now his empire is crumbling. The same could be said of the ANC leader.
It is evident that Mbeki’s remaining two years as president of South Africa are going to be tough ones. He has lost his authority within the ruling party and is being challenged by party members, which is unusual in the ANC.
Does the president hate whites? It’s a very sensitive question, but it needs to be asked. — Thabile Mange
I am a long-standing, card-carrying ANC member, an African and a former exile. I fought for our freedom and love my country. I will not stand by while it is looted.
The president’s position on the participation of ministers in the Gautrain project is alarming — in fact, he and his ministers are ganging up against society. These ministers are using the political process to accumulate wealth.
How can Mbeki say on one platform that people did not fight for ANC positions to enrich themselves, then write on the ANC website that ministers have a right to enrich themselves through the Gautrain? And that any opposition to this blatant wealth-grabbing and abuse of power is racism?
The nearer to the president you are, the richer you become. Everybody is fighting for patronage, which leads to infighting and political instability, destabilises the government and the economy, which causes the flight of capital and skilled people.
If the economy collapses, so will the rule of law. The next stage would be a state of emergency and a civil war.
All South Africans must fight against the present path taken by this government. We must oppose the BEE brigade and tender-rigging in the national government and municipalities.
I hold no brief for Cosatu, but I think its position on self-enrichment in government is commendable. I encourage the federation to mobilise workers and other key sectors for mass action to stop this looting. — George Sono
![]()
DA’s planning failure
The DA often uses the excuse that ability, not colour, should determine the selection of its next leader. This is a cop-out and, some would say, a damning indictment of its ability to plan.
To imply that no individual of colour is being considered as a replacement for Tony Leon because they don’t have the ability is a poor reflection on the party.
To select a black leader requires the political will and foresight to cultivate black leadership.
Being involved in recruitment and management, I know South Africa has a huge amount of untapped skill and talent, which merely has to be identified and nurtured.
Training and mentorship is an essential ingredient in the selection and nurturing of future leaders anyway, but in South Africa it is of paramount importance.
Bad planning and management seems to be the DA’s main problem. An independent land surveyor has been quoted in the media as saying ”when it comes to planning, the DA is a disaster”. — N Kleinsmidt, Mitchells Plain
![]()
Boss claim defamatory
David Robert Lewis’s blog is marked ”Mail & Guardian Online”. In the absence of any reply facility on it, I turn to you.
Lewis recently referred to me, without proof, as a ”Boss agent and NIA spy” in an entry, which is untrue and grossly defamatory.
Like most 1980s journalists I was certainly approached byboth BOSS and the security branch, but turned them both down — to the serious detriment of my bank account, as they were offering more than my monthly salary.
Naturally, I can’t prove this, so I offer circumstantial evidence.
At the invitation of the ANC I served as a security adviser for the Independent Electoral Commission in 1994. I later served on a committee concerned with the demobilisation of Umkhonto weSizwe, and still later did contract work for the Ministry of Defence.
Unless the ANC consists of some very dim bulbs, I do not believe this would have happened to a former Boss man.
What Lewis did was unfair, unethical and intellectually dishonest, not to mention potentially actionable. It would be a good idea to rein him in, or, better still, teach him the rudiments of ethical journalism. — Willem Steenkamp
![]()
Urdu vital for Muslims
With regard to Rehana Ebrahim-Vally’s article ”I am not Indian … I am Muslim” (December 8), I would agree that the true meaning of Islam in the Qur’an cannot be learned through Urdu — or any other language than Arabic, in which the Qur’an was revealed to mankind. For Muslims, knowledge of Arabic for comprehending the Qur’anic message remains indispensable.
However, the learning of Urdu remains necessary for Muslims. Otherwise the rich Islamic legacy of past Muslim scholars, much of which still remains to be translated into other languages and resides in Indian archives gathering dust, would be lost to us. Urdu remains part of our great Islamic heritage.
I also wish to correct Vally’s comment regarding majlis and maulud, which she says are rituals practised by women.
Throughout South Africa women as well as men participate in these rituals in large numbers in mosques, homes and other venues. — Amena Hayat, Cape Town
![]()
Aliens not the real issue
Fiona Macleod bemoans the fact that ”aliens are invading South Africa” (December 1). We are told that alien plants such as jacarandas consume 7% of the country’s water resources, rising to 25% in 20 years if not contained. This seems exaggerated — jacarandas have greened and enhanced our neighbourhoods.
With higher CO2 pollution levels, more vegetation and trees are needed to clean the air. Yes, some control of eucalyptus, Port Jackson weed and wattle makes sense. We have seen blue gums cut back — yet few replacement trees are planted.
The campaign has been ruthless, but these trees provided some shade and screening. Fortunately, the environmental department is sceptical about implementing scientists’ recommendations.
There are many more pressing matters affecting water and air resources:
- The mining industry has polluted water, air and ecosystems.
- Large-scale development (buildings and roads) causes water run-off, leading to erosion. It also causes global warming, because of the heat given off. Vegetation, in comparison, transforms the sun’s energy through photosynthesis with no heat build-up.
- The proliferation of golfing estates, which use vast amounts of water, needs to be stopped. Take Mabalingwe, where water is pumped from underground, drying up nature’s well. South Africa cannot sustain these developments.
- The pine plantations in Mpumalanga amount to extreme exploitation. Here virtually all natural vegetation is wiped out to make space for commercial development.
- Vehicle and industrial pollution are exacerbated by economic growth, which must be reversed. The trend to larger engines is not sustainable. Local government has lost skills needed to police industrial pollution. The consumer must learn to boycott industrial polluters.
- Private pools for the rich also use huge quantities of water.
The question we should ask is: do we need to use so much fuel, paper, packaging, water and other resources? A North American Indian saying says we should ”tread gently on the earth”. How true! — Steve Lincoln, lma Park
![]()
Bolton resignation a blessing
Yesterday it was Donald Rumsfeld, today it is John Bolton, tomorrow it will be George Bush and Tony Blair — and our international politics will return to some level of sobriety.
Bolton’s resignation from the United Nations is a blessing. This tactless, arrogant diplomat was removed from the United States state department’s delegation to the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear arms programme in 2003 after he reportedly made statements about the Korean leadership that were considered undiplomatic.
He was also instrumental in derailing a 2001 Biological Weapons Conference in Geneva, called to endorse a UN proposal to enforce the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention.
His nomination to the post of US ambassador to the UN was not confirmed by the Senate foreign relations committee, mainly because Democratic Party senators knew all about his temperament.
Bolton is reported to have said there is no such thing as the United Nations because the US makes the UN work. His contribution to reforming the UN was controversial, and his departure will surely result in some movement in that regard.
Diplomacy will benefit immensely from the disappearance of Bolton, who basically parroted his like-minded president. Collectively, their approach jeopardised world peace and security. — Modisakgotla Letlhogile
![]()
Issue of substance
We should be thankful there are still public figures who know what’s in the public interest. I’m referring to Hilton Epstein, the judge who rejected the Scorpions’ attempt to gag the Mail & Guardian.
At the same time there are still respected figures who confuse media sensationalism and substance, including Scorpions boss Vusi Pikoli.
South Africans need to be educated on the difference between sensationalism and substance. Then people will not run to court with applications to stop newspapers publishing.
The press is a tool for us, and Brett Kebble’s murder is an issue of substance for the public. — Vusi Melane
![]()
In brief
I was very distressed to read in John Matshikiza’s column of the rape of his niece (December 8). Albeit in a small way, I can feel and identify with the pain he and his family are feeling. Together we must work out ways in which we can legitimately and legally respond to our society’s increasing sickness. Hopefully, the vast majority of South Africans can actively work together to deal with it. — David Douglas
![]()
On radio last week, a guest speaker claimed there was irrefutable proof that more corruption was committed by the apartheid government than the current one. However, as apartheid-era newspapers were all state controlled, they could not inform the public. This oft-repeated excuse for corruption by current ministers, and by ANC representatives, has become tiresome and unbelievable. — Frank Hartry, Kingsburgh
![]()
I am deeply puzzled by the continuous claims that only black people are real Africans, made by people who also proudly claim Africa as the cradle of humanity.If all races came from Africa, ”African” can’t equal ”black”. — Lyndall Beddy, Plettenberg Bay
![]()
Can anyone explain why we are allowed to take matches and lighters on board aircraft? We can’t take nail scissors, but can take fire! — Pete Ess, Durban