Stand up, the real Gwede
Gwede Mantashe, the ANC’s new secretary general, is commendably frank about the way the ANC thinks it is going to achieve the impossible — meeting the widespread expectations from within its own ranks for radical change while not spooking the market (‘What now for the ANC?” January 11).
Mantashe expects us to accept that poverty, inequality, deteriorating working conditions and unemployment can be addressed without having to change ANC policies. The policies are fine, he would have us believe; the problem lies with the failure to implement them properly.
Mantashe is also national chairperson of the South African Communist Party. The SACP has long argued that poverty, inequality, deteriorating working conditions and unemployment are the unavoidable conditions for, and consequences of the government’s macroeconomic policies; that these features are all organically part of the ‘economic fundamentals” of which the government and ANC are so proud.
Given this analysis of a single economy in which poverty is the necessary price paid by the many for the prosperity of the few, implementation of existing policies can only aggravate the very problems Jacob Zuma’s ‘new” ANC earmarks as a priority for redress.
Will Mantashe please, therefore, tell us why he now evidently rejects the SACP’s fundamental critique of prevailing macroeconomic policies?
Indeed, will the SACP please clarify who is the real Mantashe — the ANC’s secretary general, happy to implement existing policies, or the chairperson of a party strongly opposed to those policies? — Jeff Rudin, Woodstock, Cape Town
I’m ashamed to be ANC
The cases of Jackie Selebi, Tony Yengeni, Jacob Zuma and others in leadership positions underline their change in attitude since they participated in the fight for the liberation of South Africa, and their belief that they now have the right to rape and pillage it.
This is no different from a father who claims a right to abuse his daughter because she is his child.
I used to be proud to be an ANC member, but now I am completely ashamed. Many died for our liberation, even before 1912 when the ANC was formed.
Now the leaders are vultures fighting over the spoils. — Siphiwe Twala, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
I and other South Africans feel frustrated by the whole issue of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) vs Zuma.
The Scorpions must do their job, and if they don’t have the evidence to convict Zuma, they should let it pass.
On the other hand, how can Schabir Shaik be guilty if Zuma is not? And why did Zuma go out of his way to get the courts to stop the NPA from getting evidence from Mauritius?
If you are innocent and have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. Let those who accuse you look like fools when the court date comes up.
Zuma’s allies should stop protecting him, and rather push for an early trial so that the case can be concluded quickly. The newly elected deputy president of the ANC, Kgalema Motlanthe, once said he wished the matter could be finalised.
Some Zuma supporters say President Thabo Mbeki is also implicated in crimes related to the arms deal. If Zuma is not alone, they should both be charged.
I hope ANC Youth League leader Fikile Mbalula will contain himself and help us to remain calm and allow the law to take its course.
We must also advise Cosatu’s leaders to ensure ‘there is no blood on the courtroom floor”. If someone had been charged who has no political connections it would do nothing for that person, even if he or she is a Cosatu member.
I actually hope Zuma becomes the president of the country. But if he does, it will be interesting to see what he does about Shaik, his former financial adviser and friend. Will he give him a presidential pardon? And will he be firm with his allies if they step out of line? — Kaizer Xiphuxa, Johannesburg
Selebi has stepped down from his position as president of Interpol out of ‘respect for the institution”. He obviously has no such respect for his job as South Africa’s chief of police, a position he still holds. — Edward Mitchell, Gillitts, Durban
Mandy Rossouw (January 11) quotes an ANC national executive committee insider as saying that the new ANC leadership ‘know that if JZ walks into court, he won’t leave a free man, as he won’t win the case”. This is tantamount to admitting that he has very serious charges to answer, which are not just trumped up.
There appear to be attempts to have his forthcoming trial nullified. Is there is one set of rules for the politically connected and another for the person in the street? — A Coles, Fish Hoek
Selebi’s affidavit in support of his ill-founded and abortive application to avoid arrest and prosecution contains the following statement: ‘I am advised that according to the principles in our law an accused person should only be arrested if no other means exist to secure his presence in court.”
This sage legal advice must have been given to Selebi after the arrest of Gerrie Nel. How else can one explain the way the police handcuffed Nel in front of his family and took him in?
It is a little worrying, also, that our top policeman needed legal advice on the purpose of an arrest. — Jonathan de Wet, Ballito
Green tax breaks needed
One useful thing Yolandi Groenewald left out of her piece on living green is the lobbying of politicians (‘Aspirations to greendeur”, January 4).
For example, it’s the time of year when we’re asked to submit tips to Trevor Manuel. We should bombard him with requests to give tax breaks to homeowners who install solar water heating.
As Groenewald correctly states, in the current tax environment it’s cheaper to put up more coal-fired power stations.
We should also be campaigning to get road freight to bear its true cost. At present, heavy vehicles are heavily subsidised by private vehicles and taxpayers. Imagine a world where consumers of Windhoek Lager pay the true cost of hauling the product thousands of kilometres!
Another useful thing would be to get Viv Alberts to face up to the fact that research for his much-vaunted but unproved cheap photovoltaic technology was largely paid for by the South African taxpayer.
It is immoral if the technology was sold to Germany with a clause in the agreement that precludes its early use here. — Mike Young, Sedgefield
A big thank you to Groenewald for her article.
However, I would like to see the research showing that dishwashers use less water and electricity. I’m also concerned about the chemicals used in these machines. An ad had to be pulled last year which made that claim. — Tony McGregor
Beware Da Vinci code
Shaun de Waal did a fantastic job in capturing the essence of Karen Armstrong’s new book (January 11). Armstrong is a noted religious historian who attempts to represent various faiths in an exciting and sympathetic manner.
What perplexes me, however, is her much bandied-about comments on the New Testament canon. De Waal, presumably citing Armstrong, says the books were selected in the fourth century, and that John reworked the older gospels to show Jesus was divine.
It seems the Da Vinci Code’s reconstruction of history, specifically with regard to the New Testament, continues to hold sway in many circles.
Most biblical historians agree there was a degree of fluidity on the formation of the canon, yet not to the extent popularly claimed. By the end of the second century two lists appeared that reflect what was coming to be accepted across most Christian communities throughout the Roman Empire. The first was the Muratorian Canon, which contains almost all the books of our present New Testament, and second, a gospel list by early church father Origen, stating the four present gospels as those generally accepted and in circulation.
The present gospels were all written in the first century and the other gospels such as Thomas were composed in the early second century. To say that at Nicaea (AD325) Constantine and others selected the New Testament books is simply fanciful. They simply attested in an official setting, the first allowed by the Romans, what had already been accepted throughout the church.
With regard to John’s gospel, I’m not sure what is meant by saying he ‘reworked” the other gospels. Certainly Jesus’s words are more of a theological reflection on the events of Jesus’s life in John’s gospel, but he certainly didn’t rework the other gospels.
Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source but also certainly did not rework it. Here again the Da Vinci idea that the later gospels of Thomas and the other Gnostic gospels provide a more accurate picture of Jesus is at work again. Anyone who studies the books on their merits can see the New Testament books (specifically the synoptic ones) give a far more reliable picture of history and Jesus than the later ones, which were written at a later date under the influence of a very different religious framework. — Brian Macallan
Nuke power no answer
The International Atomic Energy Agency has revealed in a report that power generation through nuclear fusion cannot grow fast enough over the coming decades to slow climate change — even under the most favourable circumstances.
No new nuclear power station has been ordered in the United States for a quarter of a century, and only one is being built in Western Europe, in Finland. Meanwhile, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and Sweden have all pledged to phase out existing plants.
In 2002 the German Parliament was presented with an energy scenario according to which the country’s entire supply could be achieved through renewable energy, which naturally excludes nuclear power.
That year about 30 000 people were employed in the nuclear industry, while 53 000 people are now employed on wind power alone, and 120 000 in the renewable energy sector as a whole.
If densely populated and highly industrialised Germany can generate 100% of its power from renewable sources, why can’t South Africa? — Andrew Taynton, Linkhills, KwaZulu-Natal
Discomfort
The Selebi/Pikoli/Mbeki pot is starting to heat up with all parties now freely using the media to communicate their discomfort with each other. It’s funny how things can turn at the stroke of a pen; last year Jacob Zuma was shown to be corrupt and not fit to govern. Now he is the golden boy of editors, some of whom go to extreme lengths to show the JZ camp their support.
Some editors and columnist find it easy to suggest that President Thabo Mbeki must resign or be sacked before the end of his term of office. Ever since Polokwane, everything said by JZ is like a sweet melody as far as these editors are concerned. When last did you hear or read anything resembling criticism of JZ ever since Polokwane? Could it be that they are positioning themselves to please the new sheriff in town? How ironic; Mbeki is the new bad guy and JZ the new master puppeteer.
Yes, Mbeki lied and is applying double standards when it comes to the handling of Selebi and Vusi Pikoli. This is a man who was stripped of all the power he had when he was relegated to a mere ex officio member of the African National Congress NEC at Polokwane. It’s a war out there between the two camps, and Mbeki is protecting his own people. Do newspaper columnists think that Mbeki’s resignation would help ease the situation? All it would do is to give power to the other side. These are the last kicks of a dying horse. Mbeki has lost. Let him bow out with a bit of dignity. — Sidwell Ramoshaba, Pretoria
Congratulations, De Villiers and Saru
The appointment of Pieter de Villiers as Springbok coach is a noble move by the South African Rugby Union that all South Africans should duly welcome and celebrate. Indeed, rugby belongs to all of us.
The noise made by the reactionary forces and enemies of transformation must only be viewed as such: a big noise, full-stop. The call by Freedom Front Plus to the public and players to resist this noble move is a shame and regrettable.
Sport-loving South Africans know De Villiers’s solid rugby credentials. He played the game at respectable levels for Griqualand West and Boland, and coached too. Most recently he, just like his predecessor, Jake White, has led the Springbok junior team to major victories — the Under-21 World Cup win in 2005 (he also led them to the finals last year) and a stunning win at the International Rugby Board tournament in Romania last year.
Saru must be congratulated for taking a bold step in the right direction that helps transforming this country into a truly non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society. The new leader is on the wing; watch this space! — Philani Nongogo, Meyerspark, Tshwane
In brief
As a jazz lover, I was pleased clarinettist Tony Scott was included in the obituary list in the M&G‘s December 21 edition but I would also have liked to have seen the names of Michael Brecker and Joe Zawinul. Max Roach (83), drummer, bandleader and composer, should definitely not have been omitted. An architect of (be)bop who cared about this country, he included a lament for the Sharpeville killings on his classic 1960 album, We insist! Freedom Now Suite. — Nigel Vermaas, Hout Bay
We are survivors of a violent armed robbery committed in the sanctity of our home. Like thousands of other South Africans, we live in terror of being murdered or raped (especially in front of our children), hijacked and robbed. We have no confidence in President Thabo Mbeki or the police, whose head is facing charges of corruption. — Michaela Shell
In a recent article you refer to the many Jewish soldiers who served Germany with distinction in World War II (M&G Online, January 10). Obviously, German Jews served Germany only in World War I. — Henry Shields, Cape Town
Helen Zille claims, because of Tony Yengeni’s appointment to the ANC’s national executive committee, that the party ‘is being taken over by criminals”. She shows her true colours by lambasting our freedom fighters, who merely made mistakes and suffered the consequences. At least Tony Leon campaigned on issues, rather than attacked personalities. — Mothusi Kwena, Montshioa
When will “previously disadvantaged” persons or areas become advantaged? After, all the ANC has been in power for more than 10 years and has done absolutely nothing for these persons — except for squandering billions of taxpayers’ money of football stadiums (white elephants), which could have easily alleviated the plight of at least 500 000 persons through housing and so forth. — Taxpayer, Heidelberg, Gauteng
Regarding your item ‘Two in KZN eaten by giant crocodile” (M&G Online, January 9 2008), you are sensationalising this story and misleading readers with the phrase ‘eaten alive”. You should know that very few animals eat their victims alive. Live and struggling prey is both a danger and an inconvenience to the predator. Crocodiles lack slicing teeth and must dismember their drowned and often decomposing prey by rolling and twisting pieces off. Their prey is, thankfully, very dead when being eaten. However, I must accept that ‘eaten alive” may have more appeal to your ghoulish readers. — Steve Dee