August 1 to 8 2008

Ja, swaer

Imagine, if you will, President Jacob Zuma on the first day in office after his inauguration as South Africa’s new president in 2009. What is the first order of business?

The first order of business is self-congratulation: the improbable has become possible and the possible has become reality. The president has won the media battle by convincing the public that he is the victim of a conspiracy, that the judiciary is indeed racist and biased — except when the president is acquitted on rape charges or his corruption case is struck off the roll — and that Parliament has no business investigating the arms deal, corruption or anything else related to it. As the empire strikes back following the palace revolution at Polokwane, the alliance is where is should be — in the thick of things, influencing and making policy.

The second order of business is payback: to all to whom the president is deeply indebted, literally or figuratively, the president must confer promised benefits for unwavering loyalty. There are Cabinet positions to be had, premierships, DG posts, as well as state tenders and other investment opportunities that need to be allocated and awarded.

The third order of business is settling scores: to those who had the temerity to oppose the people’s choice or who did not support Zuma, there will be a reckoning.

If we are lucky, the new president and the ANC will have used the time ahead of the election to develop a plan of action that is radical enough to transform government to ensure that the multiple crises we face in state and society will be dealt with systematically.

We need a strategy that will ensure our constitutional order is taken ­seriously and not simply regarded as a piece of paper to which some pay lip service and which others attack with impunity or for expediency. If not, and as we may discover in future, the alliance and president of the ANC simply have old wine in new bottles to offer, we deserve the government we get and elect. — Innocent Buthelezi, Dube, Soweto

Is Jacob Zuma going to tolerate the misbehaviour of his supporters, particularly that of Cosatu and the ANC Youth League, if he becomes president? I doubt it. Zuma is definitely going to be on a collision course with them. He is going to find himself in the same position President Thabo Mbeki was in during his tenure — being at odds with the tripartite alliance partners.

The problem is that Zuma owes his political survival and claim to power to his notorious supporters. One hopes that he will be able to manage these hot heads, though it appears he doesn’t have the balls to call them to order.

Zuma is a dubious character: he allows his supporters to make shocking statements publicly in his name. Remember the ‘kill for Zuma” statement recently made by that clown called Julius Malema in the presence of JZ? Msholozi failed to rebuke the senseless Malema. What message did the ANC leader convey to the world? That it is okay for his so-called supporters to make reckless and irresponsible statements in his name?

What is of concern to me — and probably to others — is the silence of leaders of good moral standing within the ANC. I’m talking about the likes of Cyril Ramaphosa and Pallo Jordan, to name but two. Do they approve of what is happening within the ruling party? If not, why are they quiet? Whatever has happened to principled leadership? — Thabile Manga, via email

Media promotes Western agenda

South African media played a ‘fourth estate role” on behalf of the world superpowers.

The behaviour displayed by the media since the xenophobic violence broke out shows that our media are aggressively promoting the foreign policy of the Western superpowers.

Their counter-revolutionary conduct lent credence to the manner in which Robert Mugabe is dealing with the media, while making sure that NGOs are not funded by foreign agencies that destabilise the countries in which they operate.

Looking at the way the story was reported, one concludes that Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad was right to suggest that there is a third force involved. As expected from the unpatriotic South African media, they did not bother to employ their investigative skills to get to the bottom of this problem.

To the black brothers and sisters who were at the camp and refused to have their fingerprints taken, you are a disgrace to the African people. You have allowed your masters to use you to undermine a black government.

I am disappointed at the manner in which the ANC has dealt with this issue. It seems the ANC is not aware that these people are hoisting the flags of Western superpowers in their quest to prove that, after 300 years of colonialism and apartheid, a black person is not fit to govern. The ANC should make it clear to these criminals that when their members were in exile they submitted to the authorities of the host countries.

The so-called victims did not want to cooperate with home affairs to have their fingerprints taken so that they can get some form of identification. These people are not victims but criminals who do not want to be identified. In Sepedi we say: ‘Phukubje ya tshela moedi ke mpsana.” Loosely translated it means that when you are a visitor in another country you submit to the authorities in that country. — Stephen Mashatola, Rosebank

Komphela is right about SA sport

Someone once said that blacks are the biggest stumbling blocks to transformation in this country. They act as gatekeepers and will defend the most indefensible in this country. Those that have the guts to speak on transformation issues are insulted, vilified and denigrated in our media. Jimmy Manyi, Norman Arendse, Leonard Chuene, Butana Komphela and so on. The list is endless. We need to face up to the fact that in this country nothing is done voluntarily. Although sometimes unfortunate, people have to scream and shout and government has to introduce legislation and so forth.

The favour that we can do to ourselves is to support all the necessary transformation initiatives without someone having to scream at us, or introduce a law to comply. Unfortunately, people who are tasked with decision-making find these uncomfortable, which then should make the process of screaming and ‘interference” a natural process.

Although the approach (if reported correctly) might not be the desirable one, Komphela is right to interfere in sport. We need to deracialise our sport, which is an eyesore at the moment. One cannot believe that the Springboks are an African national team. Moss Mashishi would do himself a favour by not orchestrating a constitutional crisis by arrogantly claiming that he will refuse to appear before the sports portfolio committee. The sooner he is removed the better for sports transformation in this country. — Patrick Rampai, Polokwane

Shameless beneficiary of evil forces

Your correspondents are surprised that Peter Chingoka has been added to the list of Zanu-PF insiders whose bank accounts have been frozen by the European Union. Zimbabwe Cricket has been allocated millions of dollars by the ICC. Where has it gone? Players have been threatened, paid a pittance and driven to despair. Grounds are in disarray. Despite a bloated administration, matches have been cancelled because of a lack of the basics. The game has been destroyed.

And it gets worse. Chingoka’s diatribes have shocked ICC officials and provincial politicians from both main parties. He survives because his father served as Robert Mugabe’s police commissioner and because he has friends in high places. He is a shameless beneficiary of evil forces and it’s high time he was exposed. — Peter Roebuck

President Thabo Mbeki has made his critics eat a humble pie. Mbeki, a visionary to the core, has always maintained that Zimbabweans will find a solution to their problems. This drew criticism from Afro-pessimists and opportunists who seized the moment to heap scorn on Mbeki. But he was not fazed by this.

Mbeki finally saved the day, as we saw the leaders of the warring factions, Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai shaking hands, paving the way for a peaceful solution to the crisis. We have realised that Mbeki’s quiet diplomacy does work, contrary to what we have been told by some people, especially the Western politicians and some media. Mbeki deserves credit for his tireless efforts in bringing about stability in Zimbabwe.

He is one African leader whose legacy will be etched in the annals of history, despite some who are trying to rubbish all the good work the man has done. As they say: ‘You cannot keep a good man down.” — Vukani Mbhele, Pinetown

Surely if Tsvangirai is negotiating a power-sharing government with Zanu-PF he no longer has the mandate to represent the MDC and would now be considered to be representing the ‘MNC ‘ (Movement for Negotiated Change)? Power sharing in any democracy is done by proportional representation, not by negotiation.

By suggesting that the MDC negotiate a deal with Zanu-PF it is obvious that Mbeki does not respect the principles of democracy and is therefore not at all sincere.

Nelson Mandela did not negotiate power-sharing with the apartheid government; he negotiated for a free, one-man, one-vote election and proportional representation.

Tsvangirai should step down if he wishes to negotiate. He should stand aside, fold his arms and let the economy remove the current leadership. — Johann Braunstein

Your allegations are baseless

After reading your article (July 11) on a report on the xenophobic attacks in Ekurhuleni, I immediately took steps to get a copy of it. Serious allegations were levelled at our Take Charge Campaign, community police forums (CPF) and community patrollers.

Having carefully studied the report I see no evidence to corroborate your claim that the Take Charge Campaign is ‘improperly monitored” or has ‘horribly gone wrong”. No specific CPF structure or individual is mentioned. The allegations are baseless.

CPFs are community structures that require our constant support. Care should be taken when levelling criticism at them. The department constantly monitors their work and where problems are identified prompt steps will be taken. — Margaret-Ann Diedricks, head of Gauteng department of community safety

M&G responds: We did not use names of individuals involved, though we had them on record.

A waste of power

There must be hundreds of thousands of illegal electricity connections in this country. Illegal users have no monthly account to pay and use power without restraint. A relative recently saw a two-plate stove in a house occupied by foresters in Gauteng, where both plates were red-hot during the day, and no food was being cooked. The stove was left on day and night in cold weather to warm the house.

My domestic helper, whose husband is a minister and refuses to have an illegal connection, buys electricity vouchers. Many of her neighbours have illegal connections, allegedly installed by Eskom employees in their spare time.

Apart from the fact that municipal employees can be ‘persuaded” not to disconnect the legal connections of their friends living within the old suburbs, when their accounts are overdue, imagine the daily value of illegal connections throughout the country. Our economy is in jeopardy, but I suppose that potential voters must not be upset. — CH Williams, KwaZulu-Natal

A waste of power
Shaun De Waal’s review of The Dark Knight (Friday, July 25) does a disservice to the film — and readers — by ignoring the key moral issues skillfully raised in what is not just-another-action-film. The Dark Knight has unexpected subtleties and surprising cerebral depth amid the only slightly above-average special effects and action in this long, but gripping film. It challenges our stereo­types about criminality and asks hard questions about when violence is justified in defence of an ill-defined greater good — the order in which the various storylines are concluded speaks volumes about the filmmakers’ true intent. Don’t be misled by De Waal’s review. — Audrey Roy, via email

In brief

Squash — mostly a European contest? (Sport, July 25). I think not. Three of the top five players (including world number one, Amr Shabana) are Egyptian and one is Australian. Further, despite Pakistan’s current dearth of top players, it has dominated squash in decades past and will be back again. Finally, all continents other than South America are represented in the top 20. — Marius van Blerck, Cornwall Hill, Irene

The Scorpions are one of the few groups in the police force that really seem to be focused on the safety and security of all South Africa’s citizens. As an individual who invested much of his professional life in South Africa, I urge you to support the retention of the Scorpions as an integral force in fighting crime for our beloved country. — Les Switzer, professor emeritus, University of Houston, minister and chaplain, United Church of Christ

The arrest of Radovan Karadzic is a clear indication that the new Serbian government is determined to steer Serbia away from a past riddled with virulent nationalism and isolationism into a new era of reconciliation and greater European integration. These moves by Serbia’s new government are genuinely brave especially in light of the fact that it is just five years since Serbia’s former premiere, Zoran Djindjic, was assassinated on the streets of Belgrade after handing Slobodan Milosevic over to the International Criminal Court. — Stefan Simanowitz, London