COSATU Media Monitor Thursday 3 July 2008 - COSATU Daily News

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Brian Sokutu

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From: "Brian Sokutu" <Br...@cosatu.org.za>

Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 12:29:01 +0200

Local: Thurs, Jul 3 2008 6:29 am

Subject: COSATU Media Monitor Thursday 3 July 2008

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COSATU <http://groups.google.com/group/COSATU-Daily-News/web/cosatu-media-mon...> Media Monitor

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“COSATU <http://groups.google.com/group/COSATU-Daily-News> Daily News”

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Congress of South African Trade <http://www.cosatu.org.za/> Unions
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Compiled: Brian Sokutu
<mailto:patr...@cosatu.org.za> br...@cosatu.org.za

Tel. 011 339 4911
Fax. 086 603 9667

Spokesperson: Patrick Craven,
<mailto:patr...@cosatu.org.za> patr...@cosatu.org.za

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COSATU Media Monitor

A digest of media reports - not the views of COSATU
Thursday 3 July 2008

CONTENTS

1. Zimbabwe

1.1. <http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti...> Demonstration shows solidarity with ordinary Zimbabweans
1.2. Zimbabwe: Cosatu to Host Border Blockade At Beit Bridge Saturday
1.3. Zim: 'SA govt must speak out'
1.4. Zimbabwe: After AU Summit, Opposition Faces Tough Options

2. Workers’ issues
2.1. SAfrican miners union sets August 6 strike date
2.2. Furniture workers go on strike

3. SABC
3.1. Mpofu rejects mediation
3.2. Zikalala hearing soon
3.3. South Africa: Time for SABC to Wrap it Up and Get Real
3.4. South Africa: Groups Unite to Give Country a True Public Broadcaster
3.5. Parliament fast-tracks ANC bill on SABC board

4. Alliance politics

4.1. Nzimande wades into Malema saga
4.2. IFP stands firm on Vavi apology
4.3. Mantashe to deal with 'kill for Zuma' stand-off
4.4. South Africa: ANC Women Scramble for Top Post

5. South Africa
5.1. Dreaded R word is warning to watch our Ps and Qs
5.2. Black business fights Chinese BEE ruling
5.3. Charging Zuma would be bad for business

1. Zimbabwe

<http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/index.php> 1.1. <http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti...> Demonstration shows solidarity with ordinary Zimbabweans

Special correspondent, The Zimbabwean, 3 July 2008

LIMPOPO - The Congress of South African Trade Unions in Limpopo is to hold a demonstration on Saturday (July 5) at the Beitbridge border post in support of the people of Zimbabwe.

‘As a Federation, we will continue to act in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe until such time that they are able to determine their own leaders under conditions that are conducive to a free and fair elections,' said Jan Tsiane, COSATU Provincial Secretary.

<http://allafrica.com/> allAfrica.com1.2. Zimbabwe: Cosatu to Host Border Blockade At Beit Bridge Saturday

Alex Bell, SW Radio Africa (London), 2 July 2008

South Africa's Trade Union federation, COSATU, has organised a demonstration in solidarity with Zimbabweans, to protest against the illegitimate government headed by Robert Mugabe.

The federation said in a statement that it is mobilising it's members, civil society and Zimbabweans living in South Africa "in solidarity with our fellow trade unions and the people of Zimbabwe", beginning with a demonstration and border blockade at the Beit Bridge.

The federation slammed the one-man run off election, shortly after Robert Mugabe was sworn in as President on Sunday, and called on African governments to refuse to recognise Mugabe as a legitimate head of state and to bar him from attending meetings of the African Union or SADC.

COSATU said: "It would be a disaster for Africa if its highest representative bodies, AU and SADC, were to recognise the outcome of such an 'election' and the Mugabe government as legitimate. We urge the African governments not to recognise the Zimbabwean government and cancel all invitations to it to attend continental and international meetings."

The statement also read: "The federation reiterates it's call on the workers in South Africa, SADC, Africa and the world over, as well as all progressive citizens of the world, to work towards a total isolation of Mugabe and his government. We are calling on all our unions and those around the world to make sure that they never ever serve Mugabe anywhere, including at airports, restaurants, shops, etc. Further we call on all workers and citizens of the world never to allow Mugabe to set foot in their countries."

COSATU's Patrick Craven told Newsreel on Wednesday that the time has come "to bring even more pressure on the leaders of the African countries to stop recognising Mugabe's government". Craven said the only form of administration that should be accepted is a "transitional administration made up in proportion to the votes cast in the March elections".

Craven added that Saturday's demonstration will send out a clear message that people "will not accept the term of office by a leader who has lost credibility not only in Zimbabwe, but in the world at large".
He said the demonstration is also vital to show the Zimbabwean people that there are people in the world who are "fully in support of them and that they are not alone or isolated. On the contrary it is their so called president who is now internationally isolated".

<http://www.news24.com/News24/Home/0,,,00.html> 1.3. Zim: 'SA govt must speak out'

News24, 2 July 2008

Johannesburg - The South African government must speak out on the crisis in Zimbabwe because President Thabo Mbeki is constrained from doing so, the Congress of SA Trade Unions said on Wednesday.

"Cosatu appreciates the role that President Thabo Mbeki has been playing as a mediator," said spokesperson Patrick Craven.

He said Cosatu also appreciated the constraints this imposed on his public statements.
"A mediator must not be perceived to be aligned with one or another of the contending parties."
He said Cosatu feels "however that it is now time for the government to speak out, on behalf of all the people of South Africa, in defence of democracy and human rights."

The elections held on June 27 were clearly not free and fair, said Craven.

Unacceptable outcome

"We urge the government to add its voice to theirs to state publicly that it cannot accept the outcome of the 'elections'."

A democratic solution to the Zimbabwe crisis must be found through intervention by the African Union, the New Partnership for Africa's Development and the Southern African Development Community.
The credibility of these institutes were otherwise at stake, said Craven.

The AU, Nepad and the SADC needed to "condemn and disown" the human rights violations and violence in the country, the illegitimate election processes and the censorship of the media.

"It would be a disaster for Africa if its highest representative bodies, AU and SADC, were to recognise the outcome of such an 'election' and the Mugabe government as legitimate."

Zimbabwe should have all its invitations to attend continental and international meetings banned.

Protest, border blockade

Cosatu said it would be mobilising its members, civil society and Zimbabweans living in South Africa for a protest and border blockade at the Beit Bridge border post on Saturday.

Craven also said the congress was trying to isolate Mugabe.

"We are calling on all our unions and those around the world to make sure that they never ever serve Mugabe anywhere, including at airports, restaurants, shops, etc.

"Further we call on all workers and citizens of the world never to allow Mugabe to set foot in their countries."

<http://allafrica.com/> allAfrica.com1.4. Zimbabwe: After AU Summit, Opposition Faces Tough Options

Kitsepile Nyathi, The Nation, 3 July 2008

Tough choices await Zimbabwe's opposition in the coming few months after African Union leaders refused to condemn President Robert Mugabe's controversial re-election in favour of calls for a government of nationality unity.

Expectations were high that the AU summit that ended in Egypt on Tuesday would declare the controversial June 27 one candidate poll that secured the 84-year old leader's sixth consecutive term illegitimate.

This could have paved the way for the formation of a transitional government that would lead to a free and fair election in the shortest possible time.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which seized control of parliament from Mr Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF in the March election elections for the first time since independence has already made it clear that it would not accept anything short of a transitional government.

The stance is likely to alienate the MDC from its backers in Africa but will certainly find favour with Western powers that have taken a tough stance against Mr Mugabe, analysts said.

Zanu PF made overtures to the opposition soon after its leader's pyrrhic victory but the ruling party made it made it clear that the proposed dialogue would never be on equal terms.

"Others have suggested talks to form a government of unity between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. Mugabe says so himself," said Mr Methuseli Moyo, an analysts writing for a UK based Zimbabwean online publication.

"This is Mugabe's culture. He first brutalises his opponents, defeats them and then plays the magnanimous winner and calls them to talks.

"He did this with the late Vice President (and former PF Zapu leader) Joshua Nkomo, who he persecuted and decimated his supporters for six years and later "pardoned" them when they had no option but to join him.

"In case Tsvangirai and his party decide to unite with Mugabe, I feel bound to remind them of the dangers that await them in trying to achieve true and fair unity with Mugabe."

In 1987, Mr Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF and Dr Nkomo's PF Zapu signed a unity accord after post independence disturbances resulted in the death of more than 20,000 civilians.

The government deployed a crack North Korean trained army unit that allegedly targeted opposition supporters and PF Zapu leaders.

The run-up to the June 27 presidential election was characterised by massive state sponsored violence that forced the leading contender Mr Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC who had humbled Mr Mugabe in the first round to withdraw from the race.

Although it was at a lower scale, the violence drew parallels with the early 1980s disturbances and many feel that by joining Mr Mugabe in a government of national unity, the opposition would be repeating mistakes made by its predecessors.

"My own experience with Mugabe tells me the US, EU and Tsvangirai strategy of "no compromise" would be the best," Mr Moyo added.

"It is grim, painful, but fast and will deliver a free, just and democratic Zimbabwe in months.
"Talking to Mugabe will merely prolong the suffering of the people. Progress will only be made when he feels his succession strategy is safe or when he is cornered."

Some feel that Zimbabweans have lost everything they had in the last 10 years of economic meltdown and would not mind even if the economy collapsed totally, so that Mr Mugabe is pushed out of office.

2. Workers’ issues

2.1. SAfrican miners union sets August 6 strike date

James Macharia, Reuters, 2 July 2008

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's biggest miners union said on Wednesday it would down tools on August 6 in a national strike that could halt production in the world's biggest source of platinum and major gold producer.

The strike has been called by the umbrella COSATU labour federation to protest job losses linked to the country's power crisis, the soaring prices of food, fuel and interest rates.

The 320,000-strong National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the biggest affiliate of COSATU among other trade unions, has vowed to support the strike, in what may be a major showdown between unions and the authorities over the state of the economy.

The NUM said it would hold a series of protests in South Africa's nine provinces, starting on July 9 to July 23, culminating in the national stay away by its members.

The regional protests would kick off in the KwaZulu Natal province where the port city of Durban is located and end in Gauteng, in Johannesburg, South Africa's commercial hub.

"We want to send a very strong message that the poor are part of this society which puts electricity, food and everything beyond their reach," Frans Baleni, NUM's General Secretary said.

"Fuel costs have skyrocketed making it difficult for workers to move from the mines to see their families," he said.

Recent rate hikes have also made life unbearable for workers, "driving thousands into shack life as they can no longer afford their houses while the price of basic food is unaffordable sending millions into starvation," Baleni said.

He called on all NUM's members to get behind the strike.

The miners may incur losses that would be difficult to make up, while metal prices may jump on supply fears, analysts said.

"Clearly the metals that may be affected are the ones that South Africa accounts for a significant portion of world supply, such as PGMs like platinum and rhodium," Anwaar Wagner, Cape town-based resource analyst at Old Mutual Investment Group said.

STAY AWAY

Roger Baxter, head negotiator at the Chamber of Mines, which represents the country's big miners said: "We would be very very disappointed if the strike goes ahead. If its going to be a full stay away, it will add to the losses incurred by the sector after it shut down in January."

South Africa has suffered electricity shortages since the start of the year as power utility Eskom [ESCJ.UL] struggles to generate enough power to meet demand, causing a five-day shut down of all the country's mines.

Some miners have warned of output cuts and job losses.

Baxter said no jobs had so far been lost due to the power woes, but with most mines still operating at only 90-95 percent of normal power requirements, and forecasting lower output, analysts said that job cuts may still be on the cards.

The power shortages have dented economic growth, which fell to a 6-1/2-year low of 2.1 percent, quarter-on-quarter, in the first three months of 2008, with total mining production dropping 22 percent, unnerving investors and the government.

Further to that, Eskom was allowed to hike tariffs by 27.5 percent for the company's 2008/09 financial year, pinching consumer pockets even more.

South Africa's central bank has raised its repo rate by 5 percentage points to 12 percent since June 2006 to try tame soaring inflation, while fuel prices at the pump are at a record high, heaping a further strain on the country's working class.

2.2. Furniture workers go on strike

Dispatch, 3 July 2008

EMPLOYEES of furniture manufacturing companies downed tools yesterday because they were tired of earning a “loaf of bread an hour”.

More than 4000 members of the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union (Ceppwawu) embarked on the strike after wage negotiations with employers in the bargaining council for furniture had failed. The striking workers are from 90 companies in Gauteng, North West and the Free State.

They include Edblo, Metz Bedding, Restonic, Sleepworld, Woodstuff and Douphin. The union said its members equated the R9-an-hour they earned to a loaf of bread.

Mxolisi Cekwana of Ceppwawu said members would continue with the strike until their demands were met.

“We want 13 percent but they are offering eight percent. That is unreasonable and way below inflation,” he said.
“The cost of living is too high, food prices have increased, the petrol price is increasing today,” Cekwana said.

An employee at Hartman and Keppler – a father of one from Soweto who insisted on being identified only as S’phiwe – said he had been earning R9 an hour for the past eight years.
This amounted to R320 a week before deductions.

“I have to work overtime so that I can earn at least R1000 a month. I live in Soweto and spend R400 on transport every month. I cannot afford to buy the furniture that I make,” he said. Elliot Rabothata said he had been working for Sealy for 25 years but earned less than R4000 a month.
The workers from Hartman and Keppler complained about racism, which they said was rife in the furniture-making industry.

They said that white employees earned more although they did the same job. They also said that white employees were given a chance to study and they were not.
Douglas Smith, a manager at Hartman and Keppler , said he was not interested in commenting. — The Sowetan, Avusa Group News

3. SABC

3.1. Mpofu rejects mediation

Article By:

iAfrica.com, 3 July 2008

The SABC board says its mediation attempts with suspended group chief executive Dali Mpofu have been blocked by his insistence that his suspension be lifted before negotiations, SABC news reported on Wednesday.

Board chairperson Khanyisiwe Mkhonza told the public broadcaster that the board had already suggested names of potential mediators to facilitate the process.
The suspension issue is also due to be considered by the Johannesburg High Court next week.
Meanwhile, the board indicated it would have concluded its internal investigation into news head Snuki Zikalala's suspension by the time his case came up again before the CCMA next week, the SABC reported. Sapa

3.2. Zikalala hearing soon

IOL, 2 July 2008

An arbitration meeting between the SABC's suspended news head Snuki Zikalala and the broadcaster's management will be held next week, the SABC said on Wednesday.

Spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) hearing would be held on Monday.

Zikalala applied for a hearing against what he termed as "an unfair labour practice" following his suspension by SABC group chief executive officer Dali Mpofu in May .

Mpofu had alleged that Zikalala had leaked confidential company documents. – Sapa

3.3. South Africa: Time for SABC to Wrap it Up and Get Real

Chris Moerdyk, Bizcommunity, 2 July 2008

The rather pathetic political posturing over the SABC is slowly strangling the credibility and performance of the national broadcaster and the way things are going right now everyone, especially viewers and listeners, will be the losers.

The situation at present is ludicrous, childish and smacks so heavily of political brown-nosing that if it weren't so serious, it would be hysterically funny. [Yesterday's Johannesburg High Court case between thrice-suspended SABC group CEO Dali Mpofu and the SABC board had been postponed yet again until Tuesday, 8 July 2008, but the journalists, camera crews and photographers who had arrived to cover the proceedings had not been informed of this.]

Think about it. Late last year the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communication went through the process of selecting a new SABC board. The House of Assembly approved its choice. President Mbeki approved it choice. The board sat down and started to get down to busies.

Political posturing

Then came the political upheaval of Polokwane and suddenly everybody was doing an about face. Suddenly, the board members the Portfolio Committee had chosen weren't good enough because the new ANC order just didn't like the fact that Mbeki had gone ahead and confirmed its appointment without checking with the ANC NEC first.

So the Portfolio Committee did an about turn and passed a motion of no confidence in the SABC board.
Which is a bit like a husband and wife trying desperately for years to start a family and when a baby was finally conceived, the husband started pushing for an abortion because he'd suddenly decided he wanted to buy a two-seater sports car instead.

Untenable

Then, of course, we have the pro and anti-Mpofu factions getting in on the act and this situation, along with an ANC hierarchy that can't seem to make its mind up about it all, has made life and the prospect of efficient governance at the SABC absolutely untenable.

Chairperson Kanyi Mkonza is an honest person trying to do the job for which she was appointed. She and her board have, in the very short and troubled time they have had, given a clear indication that they want to get the SABC running in a businesslike way. More so, I would suggest, than any of their predecessors.
Frankly, given the political infighting and posturing they haven't a hope in hell of achieving anything except ulcers and grey hair.

Credibility

But, the damage that is being caused is not only to political egos and the efficiency of the board. The real damage is to the performance and credibility of the SABC.

The news coming out of Auckland Park these days has less credibility than it did in the apartheid years. But, as they say in the infomercials, that's not all.

Programming quality is suffering as well. Mainly because with all the hoo-hah it is hardly surprising that employees from top management down to the lowest functionaries are getting more depressed and insecure by the day. Not to mention the poor folk who have to sell advertising and sponsorships - it must be very difficult to do a selling job for an organisation that is been seen to be embroiled in a fracas of a level more commonly found on the playing fields of kindergartens.

Just driving past SABC headquarters one can almost smell the decaying stench of discontent.

Mbeki won't agree

It is time for all concerned to start behaving alike adults. Either Parliament must give the present board the go-head to do what is best for the SABC and not best for political wish lists. Or, they must start all over again and appoint another board. This however, will not go down well with anyone but the ANC because any new board will be seen to be nothing more than ANC appointees and, in any event, the process will run into trouble because it will need presidential approval and, for the life of me, I cannot see Mbeki agreeing to any new appointments in place of what he chose in the first place.

And one cannot leave this situation until the elections next year. By then the damage might be far too great.

I know this sounds like pie in the sky,. but if everyone concerned from Parliament to the ordinary people of this country wanted to do what is best for SABC, they would appoint a board of broadcast specialists and businesspeople. The present chairperson is one of the first that I can remember who has any broadcast experience - her appointment was a step in the right direction and would have worked if the politicians hadn't been so selfish.

Chris Moerdyk is a corporate marketing analyst and advisor and former head of strategic planning and public affairs at BMW SA. He spent 16 years in ad agencies ending up as resident director of Lindsay Smithers FCB (KwaZulu-Natal). He pioneered and was the first editor of the media and marketing pages in the Saturday Star. Moerdyk is a specialist contributor to Bizcommunity.com.

3.4. South Africa: Groups Unite to Give Country a True Public Broadcaster

Wilson Johwa, Business Day, 3 July 2008

POLITICAL meddling at the SABC, along with its present crisis of governance, has prompted several civic organisations to launch a bid to return the national broadcaster to the public.

Groups including Sangonet, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre , the Freedom of Expression Institute , the Media Monitoring Project, Oxfam, the Open Society Foundation, the National Consumer Forum and the University of the Witwatersrand's journalism and m edia studies department met last month to set up a committee to lead efforts to reclaim the broadcaster.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is also keen on getting involved.
"We've had much longer disagreements with the SABC. Their coverage of labour and working class issues is not consistent with a public broadcaster, particularly if you contrast it with their coverage of business," says Cosatu's Patrick Craven.
The parties intend identifying strategies for dealing with the immediate crisis evident in the tussle between the SABC's board and management.

They also seek to make recommendations on amendments to the Broadcasting Act as well as to look into the ownership structure, including the appointment of the board and adoption of a fresh charter.
The SABC is one of the most fought-over institutions in SA, reflecting varying sectional grievances as well as wider political and social interests. "We're a very difficult country to provide broadcasting for -- we're multiracial, multicultural and multilingual," says media attorney Justine Limpitlaw.

The present battle mirrors the factionalism in the African National Congress (ANC).

"The reason why the infighting is permeating to the SABC board is because the SABC is anything but a public broadcaster," says Bantu Holomisa, leader of the opposition United Democratic Movement , who supports the civic campaign.

Ironically, with an election approaching next year, the struggle for control of the SABC is something of a throwback to the '90s when a public campaign created the impetus for transformation of the SABC in time for the 1994 polls.

"We're back to a time when the state has developed significant controls over the SABC," says Jeanette Minnie, one of the activists involved in the old fight and also associated with the new initiative.
The head of the journalism department at Wits University, Anton Harber, says: "I think there is a realisation that you can't just rely on those in power.

"You need the public to get out there and demand to assert its rights. One of those rights is to have a public broadcaster that behaves like a public broadcaster."

Civil society wants the ANC to recommit itself to the principle of a public broadcaster, which they argue is also in the interests of the party.

"The lesson of the previous era is that a state broadcaster controlled by politicians has low credibility," Harber says.

Established in 1936, the SABC was for many years a monopoly national broadcaster controlled by the National Party government, until the Broadcasting Act paved way for its corporatisation.

With 19 radio stations and four television outlets, the SABC is one of the biggest broadcasters in Africa. Viewers and listeners span much of the continent. Despite growing competition within SA, the SABC is still the broadcaster of choice. Up to 25-million South Africans tune into the SABC every day.

Even then, the SABC has never been able to shake off claims of favouring the ANC. But allegation of political interference worsened under President Thabo Mbeki's administration.

In addition to self-censorship and selective news coverage, the corporation was rocked by the blacklisting scandal which revealed that selected political commentators were proscribed from the airwaves.

The civic groups recognise that if the SABC is to be reclaimed, several flaws have to be addressed. For instance, part of the present governance crisis is blamed on the Broadcasting Act which is unclear on the appointment and removal of executive board members.

But Harber says the SABC is largely structurally sound. "The problem is that its not being run by people who assert the independence it needs to be a public broadcaster. So it's a question of implementation rather than structure," he says . Greater clarity is also sought on the role of the Independent Communication Authority of SA, which has been silent on the SABC saga.

3.5. Parliament fast-tracks ANC bill on SABC board

Linda Ensor, Business Day, 3 July 2008

CAPE TOWN — In a rare parliamentary occurrence, a controversial bill proposed by a portfolio committees is scheduled to be gazetted this week.
It proposes amendments to the Broadcasting Act to allow for the removal of directors from the SABC board.
Normally government departments prepare draft legislation which is then submitted to Parliament for consideration. However, because of the rushed parliamentary schedule ahead of next year’s elections, African National Congress (ANC) members of the committee took the initiative.
ANC committee members have been on a collision course with the board since President Thabo Mbeki demanded the inclusion of three of his supporters — Christine Qunta, Gloria Serobe and Andile Mbeki — on the short list of candidates compiled by the committee late last year. The ANC forced through the adoption of a no-confidence motion on the board, but did not get backing for this to be put before the full National Assembly.
Communications committee chairman Ismail Vadi said that in terms of parliamentary rules, the public must be accorded three weeks to make submissions — probably until July 25 — and the public hearings likely to start on August 5 would also be necessary.
Vadi said there was a weakness in the act which did not include adequate provisions for the removal of board members or the entire board.
He said the draft amendment bill sets out objective grounds for removal including misconduct; the inability to perform functions efficiently; absence from three consecutive board meetings without permission and without good cause; and having undisclosed financial interests.
Vadi said the removal provisions were based on those in the constitution relating to chapter nine institutions.
Under the draft bill, SABC board members could only be removed on the recommendation of the National Assembly. While the process of removal was under way they could be suspended by the president, but he would have to remove members or dissolve the board if the assembly recommended it.
The bill also provides for the president to establish an interim board consisting of executive board members and a maximum of four other people. The chairman and deputy chairman would be designated by the president from the nonexecutive directors.
While agreeing on the need to include removal provisions, Democratic Alliance communications spokeswoman Dene Smuts opposed the bill. The Inkatha Freedom Party criticised the “undue haste”.
Even though Parliament will be in a long pre-election recess, National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete could still appoint an ad hoc committee to consider the dismissal of SABC board members if she decided to do so.
Mbeki could delay signing the bill into law for as long as he wanted to, but would be likely to come under attack from the ANC should he single out this bill out of the whole batch he is likely to receive towards the end of September.

4. Alliance politics

4.1. Nzimande wades into Malema saga

Communist leader attacks rights body

S’Thembiso Msomi, The Times, 3 July 2008

SA Communist Party leader Blade Nzimande has become the latest ANC alliance leader to lash out at the Human Rights Commission for threatening to act against the party’s Youth League president, Julius Malema.
The HRC set yesterday as the deadline for Malema to publicly apologise for his June 16 remarks, in which he said his organisation was prepared “to take up arms and kill” for ANC president Jacob Zuma.
After consultations with the ANC yesterday, the HRC agreed to resolve the matter next Wednesday.
However, the HRC was hit with a letter from Nzimande in which he accused the commission, established in terms of the constitution, of behaving like a “kangaroo court”.
Nzimande’s remarks echo similar criticism from the ANC Youth League and trades union federation Cosatu.
The HRC has given Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi 14 days to apologise for making statements similar to those of Malema at the funeral of a trade unionist more than a week ago.
A defiant Cosatu said this week that Vavi would not apologise.
In his regular Internet column yesterday, Nzimande said he was concerned about the way in which the HRC had handled the cases. “In both the cases … it is indeed deeply disturbing that the HRC never afforded any of these comrades an opportunity to be heard. The HRC simply issued an instruction for them to apologise within 14 days, based on information exclusively from media reports.
“This is indeed very serious. Institutions like the HRC cannot operate by way of simply taking what is in the media, formulate an opinion without engaging the relevant persons, and make a public judgement that they are indeed already guilty!
“This is a very serious violation of the constitution, laws of natural justice and the very spirit and the letter of the act governing the HRC, and practically turns the HRC into a kangaroo court,” Nzimande said.
He said he was concerned because there “is a dangerous practice that is creeping into some of our legal institutions” of “public, judgmental statements about individuals being made without first hearing the individual’s side of the story”. — Additional reporting by Sashni Pather

4.2. IFP stands firm on Vavi apology

Sowetan, 3 July 2008

The IFP yesterday said it was disappointed that Cosatu felt there was no need for its general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi to apologise for his “kill for Zuma” statement.
IFP safety and security spokesman Velaphi Ndlovu said the view by Cosatu was disappointing. He said the crime statistics released this week once again confirmed that South Africans were living in an extremely violent society.

“It is therefore reckless when leaders like Julius Malema and Vavi start making ‘shoot to kill’ comments…,” Ndlovu said.

“Dying for a revolution is heroic, but killing for a cause is murder. They should understand the difference and apologise.” – Mhlaba Memela

<http://www.pretorianews.co.za/index.php> Pretoria News4.3. Mantashe to deal with 'kill for Zuma' stand-off

Sapa and Political bureau, 3 July 2008

ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe is dealing with the stand-off between the SA Human Rights commission and the ANC Youth League over the kill for Zuma comments made by the league's president Julius Malema.

Meanwhile the SAHRC has extended by a week its deadline for Malema to apologise.
ANCYL secretary general Vuyiswa Tulelo said the league handed its report on Malema's comments to Mantashe yesterday.

"He told us that he would be dealing with the matter from now on and that all queries should go through his office," Tulelo said yesterday.

SAHRC chairman Jody Kollapen said yesterday that his organisation had agreed to talk to the ANC about the matter. "They have indicated that it was never their intention to incite violence and that they would like to engage with the commission. We responded by saying that we have no problems engaging with the ANC," Kollapen said.

He said yesterday afternoon's original deadline set by the commission for an apology from Malema had been postponed to July 9.

SAHRC spokesman Sello Hatang said the ANC had written to the commission asking it to withdraw the ultimatum but the commission had rejected this.
Youth League spokesman Zizi Kodwa reiterated there was no need to withdraw the statement as Malema had already clarified the issue.

"He has already clarified the statement so many times and there is no need to withdraw the statement."
Meanwhile, the SACP entered the fray yesterday accusing the SAHRC of behaving like a "kangaroo court".

The commission's demand that Malema and Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi retract their "kill for Zuma" statements was a violation of the law, said SACP secretary-general Blade Nzimande.
This was because the commission had not yet interviewed the two leaders. "In both the cases ... it is deeply disturbing that the HRC never afforded any of these comrades an opportunity to be heard.
"This is a very serious violation of the constitution, laws of natural justice and the very spirit and the letter of the act governing the HRC, and practically turns the HRC into a kangaroo court," Nzimande said.

The way the investigation was being conducted threatened to undermine the HRC's track record.
He said the commission ran the risk of becoming biased towards elites, who happened to have access to the media and legal resources.

"Such actions unjustifiably unleash the always 'battle ready' media lynch mob, without observance of any due process as contained in our constitution, thus severely prejudicing the individuals concerned," Nzimande said.

4.4. South Africa: ANC Women Scramble for Top Post

Hajra Omarjee, Business Day, 3 July 2008

A BATTLE between supporters of African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma is expected to unfold at the ANC Women's League (ANCWL) national conference in Mangaung this week, as party veterans Angie Motshekga and Bathabile Dlamini contest the post of league president.

Dlamini, the ANCWL's outgoing secretary-general, and Motshekga, Gauteng education MEC and a member of the league's outgoing national executive committee, were instrumental in overturning the league's support for President Thabo Mbeki ahead of the ANC's conference in December last year.

Although the ANCWL's outgoing president, Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is a close ally of Mbeki, the league came out in support of Zuma ahead of his successful bid for the party leadership.

Mapisa-Nqakula has not been nominated for re-election as league president.

ANC leaders who spoke to Business Day this week dismissed suggestions that former league president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela would emerge as a compromise candidate in the race between Motshekga and Dlamini. Although Madikizela-Mandela reportedly said yesterday she was available for nomination, sources said "it would be a tough ask" for anyone to get nominated from the floor.

"It means Angie's supporters and Bathabile's supporters would have to fold into each other and give their support to Madikizela-Mandela. It would be a tough ask," an ANC national executive committee (NEC) member said yesterday.

In is understood that Dlamini -- who was originally the driving force behind the Motshekga's campaign -- was only recently persuaded to contest the presidential election.

Those close to the Motshekga campaign accuse "powerful factions" in the ANC's Gauteng structures of "manipulating" Dlamini.

"Bathabile is highly respected. She ensured that the ANCWL came out in support of Zuma. But she is the one who persuaded Angie to stand in the first place. We seriously suspect that those who convinced Bathabile to stand are serving their own interests," a source close to Motshekga's campaign said.
An ANC Gauteng leader said this week that "factions in the province" were "driving a campaign" against Motshekga because her "ascendency" in the league would threaten ANC Gauteng chairman Paul Mashatile's prospects .

Mashatile is first in line to replace Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa should the ANC win the general elections next year. But Dlamini supporters denied claims she had been "manipulated", saying yesterday that she was the "best person" to lead the league.

"She is her own woman. She does not need to be manipulated," an ANCWL Limpopo leader said.
Motshekga supporters have nominated Dlamini as her deputy, while Dlamini supporters want ANC Gauteng deputy chairperson Nomvula Mokonyane as the league's deputy president.
Motshekga faced an embarrassing loss to Mashatile during the Gauteng ANC's elective conference last year, while Dlamini embarrassed the ANC when she was forced to leave Parliament after admitting to fraudulent abuse of her travel privileges.

5. South Africa

5.1. Dreaded R word is warning to watch our Ps and Qs

Business Report, 3 July 2008

The dreaded R word - recession - has has risen from the ashes of South Africa's longest economic upswing since World War 2. Interest rates and rocketing food and fuel prices have forced consumers to cut back on non-essentials and focus their wallets on ensuring that they have food and shelter and can get to and from work.

While it is not certain that the economic growth rate will turn negative for the two successive quarters required for a recession to be called, there can be no doubt the good times are over and will take a while to return.

This leaves investors with a lot to ponder.

If one assumes the economy is resilient and that the fundamental drivers of growth - a growing black middle class that needs to catch up with its white counterpart in terms of televisions, cars and fridges, a rich resource base and South Africa's position as a springboard for the rest of the continent - then it follows that there is no point exiting the market completely, even if one's paper wealth is falling at a frightening rate.

It also means there will be great buying opportunities as share prices fall, but buyers will need nerves of steel to accurately call the market's bottom and pile in once more.

But while things are gloomy at home, South Africa's business and political communities can look to Botswana to see how to woo investors, and to Zimbabwe to see how to turn them off completely.

When prominent figures like ANC Youth League head Julius Malema and Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi advocate killing to protect a man they consider the guardian of the revolution and then refuse to apologise when told to do so by a real guardian of this democracy, the SA Human Rights Commission, we sound more like Zimbabwe than Botswana. We should take note of this - foreign investors certainly will.

Printing zeroes

When Zimbabwe won independence from Britain in 1980, a Zimbabwean dollar was worth more than a US dollar. Twenty-eight years and one president later, it will take more than Z$20 billion to buy one US dollar in direct bank buying - and that is barely enough to buy a loaf of bread. Inflation is estimated to be near 4 000 000 percent.

German banknote producer Giesecke & Devrient has been supplying the specialist paper that has sustained Zimbabwe's hyperinflation, although political pressure - apparently in the form of a phone call from German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier - this week forced the firm to stop supporting President Robert Mugabe's regime.

Giesecke & Devrient, a family-owned Bavarian business, is reported to have also supplied the paper that enabled Germany's own hyperinflationary spiral in the 1920s, when workers, paid several times a day, hurriedly handed the wages to their spouses before it became worthless. In the space of a year, prices in the European nation rose 8.54 billion times. Its effects laid the basis for Adolf Hitler's rise to power.

If hyperinflation depends on the printing of new money at a feverish rate, then Giesecke & Devrient - which prints euros for European banks - has played a central role in the extreme hardship faced by millions of Zimbabweans.

Zimbabwe's central bank governor, Gideon Gono, says there is "no need to commit suicide" over the withdrawal, which applies immediately, but won't say how he plans to cope with the paper deficit.

The development could provide a short lull in Zimbabwe's mad spiral of price increases. But Harare will no doubt do everything it can to find a replacement for Giesecke & Devrient.

Only an overhaul of monetary policy can save the day.

Change course, SAA

SAA's decision to withdraw its well supported daily flights between Cape Town and Frankfurt in October, while increasing those to both Frankfurt and Munich from Johannesburg, has puzzled the travel industry and horrified tourism authorities, who point out that the Cape is our premier destination for overseas leisure travellers and that Germany is the second-biggest source market for these.

Tourism authorities say it is well known that organisers of international conferences and incentive tours look for destinations that have direct flights. Their first reaction was that the national carrier must be short of aircraft.

But if SAA is increasing the number of flights to Germany from Johannesburg, this cannot be the reason for the change.

Airports Company SA (Acsa) cannot be anxious to attract international passengers away from Cape Town, since the general manager of OR Tambo International Airport recently said serious overcrowding at the Gauteng airport was due to the rapid growth of passenger numbers.

And Acsa's general manager at Cape Town International Airport has supported efforts to attract more foreign airlines to an international terminal that has been enlarged at a cost of millions of rands.

In the absence of any other explanation, it can only be that SAA wants to increase passenger numbers on its flights between Cape Town and Johannesburg, although these still seem to be well supported.

Cape Town travel agents, who have no axe to grind since they would presumably gain by making more bookings for clients connecting from Johannesburg than on uncomplicated direct flights, forecast that SAA will lose passengers to other airlines, since Capetonians have always been reluctant to change flights in Johannesburg.

And there is no lack of competition. Two German airlines, Lufthansa and LTU, offer direct flights from Cape Town in the summer months: Lufthansa to Frankfurt and LTU to Munich and Dussseldorf.

And Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and KLM all offer indirect flights between Cape Town and a number of German cities.

The decision seems a potentially disastrous one for SAA, by costing it passengers, and for Cape Town's thriving conference and incentive tourism markets.

Perhaps the airline will think again?

Edited by Quentin Wray. With contributions by Ingi Salgado and Audrey D'Angelo

5.2. Black business fights Chinese BEE ruling

Groups unite to reject what they say is a negation of apartheid suffering and struggle

Mazola Molefe and Tamlyn Stewart, The Times, 3 July 2008

Black business groupings have vowed to fight the reclassification of South African Chinese as coloured, which allows them to qualify for empowerment deals.
At a news briefing yesterday, the organisations vowed to challenge the High Court ruling that the 10 000-strong ethnic Chinese community be included in the definition of “black people”, allowing them to benefit from economic-empowerment and employment-equity legislation.
Buhle Mthethwa, president of the National African Federated Chambers of Commerce, said: “As black business and professional organisations, we reject both the substance and process that was followed leading to this shocking judgment.
“This judgment, in our view, revises a long-held historical view of the democratic struggle in South Africa.”
Sandile Zungu, executive chairman of Zungu Investments Company, compared apartheid to Nazism.
“Black people need to jealously guard their history as they were victims of the apartheid era just as the Jews were victims of the Holocaust,” he said.
Dupree Vilakazi, president of the National Black Business Caucus, said: “If Chinese are now part of the BEE deal then Jews, who were also victimised during the apartheid era, should automatically qualify for these benefits.”
The groups represented at the press conference, in Sandton, also included the Black Management Forum, the Black Lawyers’ Association and the Black Business Executive Circle.
But Patrick Chong, chairman of the Chinese Association of South Africa, said the court application was to get recognition of the status of Chinese people before 1994.
“They were part of the oppressed grouping in South Africa and want to be recorded as such in history.”
Chong dismissed suggestions that Chinese South Africans would swoop in on empowerment deals.
“The number of Chinese people who will benefit from BEE deals, I can probably count on one hand,” he said.
“There is obviously a major fear among the black business community that the Chinese are going to come in and take all the BEE deals. I would probably fall pregnant before that happens — that’s how far-fetched that is,” Chong said. Lerato Ratsoma, MD of empowerment consultancy Empowerdex, said the perception that every Chinese person now qualified for BEE deals must be corrected.
“They must have been South African citizens pre-1994, and there are not that many Chinese people who do qualify,” she said.
“They [black South Africans] are unlikely to lose out much because most of the larger companies want to do BEE deals with groups that represent the majority. That’s why the majority [of deals] are being done with South African black people.”
The Chinese community and the government seem not to have factored in a possible backlash at the awarding of the BEE-eligible status.
Chong said: “I think [the Chinese community] will be hurt that people have no respect for what we’re trying to do to get recognition.”
He said Chinese South Africans felt “non-existent” and wanted to feel part of the country.
Nafcoc’s Mthethwa said black businesses were extremely disappointed with the government, particularly the departments of labour and of trade and industry, for failing to oppose the legal application by the Chinese.
Busani Mabunda, of the Black Lawyers ’ Association, called the government’s decision “irrational ” and said black organisations had instructed attorneys to study the judgment with a view to exploring legal action.
The association was calling on black political parties to reject the “inexplicable ” court decision, Mabunda said.
Empowerdex ’s Ratsoma added that the “government would have been aware there would be resistance to the decision because during the struggle era people didn’t see many Chinese people [in the struggle].
But, under apartheid, Chinese people were still discriminated against, and I think that might be why government didn’t oppose the motion”.
Mthethwa noted: “The identification of Africans, coloureds and Indians as major beneficiaries of broad-based black economic empowerment and employment equity is based on a sophisticated socioeconomic analysis that took into consideration poor access to quality education, lack of economic access and poor living conditions.
“We are disappointed in our government’s failure to consult major stakeholders on this history-defining court case. As major black business organisations we were not appraised of this case until we read about the judgment in the media.”
The government originally opposed the application by the Chinese, but in April decided not to oppose the motion in court.
Martyn Davies, executive director of the Centre for Chinese Studies, at the University of Stellenbosch, said the comments from black business yesterday were “very unfortunate” and “downright foolish”.
Davies said: “It’s very inflammatory language. [Chinese people] were discriminated against. To say they were not is extremely flawed.”
The backlash had taken the Chinese community by surprise, he said.
The ruling by the Pretoria High Court last month was the culmination of an eight-year battle by the association to get South African Chinese included as a racial category disadvantaged by apartheid.

5.3. <http://www.thetimes.co.za/Business/BusinessTimes/Article1.aspx?id=792400> Charging Zuma would be bad for business

Sipho Pityana, Sunday Times, 29 July 2008

As graduates, we are expected to pioneer new ideas, concepts, approaches and programmes. Our ability to do this depends on our readiness to raise difficult questions, chart unconventional paths and withstand criticism. Allow me to raise just two urgent challenges among many that we confront in our current conjuncture.

The first pertains to the efficacy of dragging the ANC President Jacob Zuma through the courts at this time. For a country that is in transition and faced with serious domestic and international challenges, there are many who would argue that to persist with the pending charges is not only extravagant, but reckless and foolhardy. This in a context in which there would be a universal and immediate recognition for the need to respect the constitution and the rule of law.

As a country, we opted for a constitutional state where the law is supreme and all are equal before it. It is a system which we believed would promote fairness and equality and provide safeguards against abuse. It captures our vision for the country and provides the framework for good governance and establishes institutions that uphold our values and protect our democracy.

Its primacy is to serve the public good. As a rules-based system, it provides for certainty and predictability. In the same vein, it is not a straitjacket, but provides flexibility to the extent that the public interest is served. There can be no doubt that we must protect the rule of law in our society for all these reasons and more.

There are many instances where our legal system has been given to such flexibility and accommodation: the granting of conditional amnesty to many who were involved in apartheid’s gruesome crimes, the Mark Thatcher deal with the prosecution authorities that saw him extradited from the country, the settlements that are reached with the Revenue Service by many caught on charges of tax evasion, and many other similar cases.

The slapping on the wrist of Adriaan Vlok and his apartheid partners in crime is another example where the legal framework allows the state, through the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, to determine both on the facts of law and after considering public interest whether to prosecute or not. It is doubtful whether public interest would be served by charging Zuma.

His election at the ANC’s elective conference in December was both a result of his own popularity and a consequence of one of many errors of judgement of his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki. There are many who, in the face of Mbeki’s insistence on remaining president of the ANC, thought our democracy would be best served by a change of leadership. Many among them were not necessarily supporters of Zuma. This, notwithstanding the unsavory revelations in the courts of Zuma’s indiscretions.

Very few would doubt that the ANC is likely to win the next election. Consequently, its president would succeed Thabo Mbeki as the country’s next leader.

Under normal circumstances, this period of transition would allow for the new leader to prepare for such an eventuality. The ANC would define the new focus as it has done in its January annual statement. Civil society, business, foreign governments and others would engage the new leader with a view to influence policy direction and the programme of the new government.

The prospect of a trial makes for a leadership vacuum where the president of the country is a lame duck and his possible successor has the cloud of a possible trial and conviction hanging over his head. This, in a context in which we need serious engagement on key public policy issues.

The five key challenges that we are keen to engage on include:

 The grotesquely inefficient and dysfunctional state at all three spheres of government which have a seriously negative impact on business and society;

 The serious crisis in the management of the country’s security which has reduced our country to a haven of organised crime syndicates. This is the biggest threat to any progress we may have made on the transformation of the economy;

 There has to be a fundamental review of our economic policy to ensure focus on employment and poverty alleviation;
 Our public health and education systems are in desperate need of an urgent and drastic turnaround;
 Our energy policy has evidently failed us and suggests a severe lack of capacity to sustainably grow the economy beyond its traditional 3% to 5% threshold.

In light of these daunting challenges, the answers to which would be complex, leadership, certainty and undivided attention are paramount. To have the time and energy of not only Zuma , but also that of the entire ANC leadership and members consumed in efforts to keep him out of jail is extravagant.
There are many who are also concerned that the trial would possibly undermine public order and stability and erode public confidence not only in the judiciary, but also in the law enforcement institutions.

The timing of the start of the trial in August is politically difficult. This would be about the period when the ANC would nominate candidates who would make it on the list of prospective MPs and MPLs for the 2009 elections. Every single member who has such ambitions would want to use this as an opportunity to pledge solidarity with and loyalty to Zuma.

Consequently, the numbers seen around the protest marches outside the courts during the previous trials of Zuma would multiply manyfold.

The trial would probably overlap with the period of elections, where the integrity of our prosecution institutions and possibly the judiciary would be dragged into the political debates. It is also more than likely that the trial would continue long after parliament would have had to elect a president for the country. Would a newly elected, ANC-dominated parliament elect Zuma as the country’s president even though he would still be on trial?

During this period, the real focus on key issues that matter ... would be lost.
The crisis of confidence in the country would set in. The price of political instability would begin to show in the economy as skills and capital flights become real. Is this the price that the country should be prepared to pay for the price of a conviction against Zuma?

The second pertinent question is how we manage transition from one political dispensation to another.
In the South African context, this change is likely to manifest in different shades of leadership from the same political party in light of the fact that the ANC is likely to remain in power for a long time to come.
The events of the ANC’s Polokwane elective conference testify to this fact. Its aftermath will be a change of both provincial and national governments in 2009 and the inevitable shifts in the leadership of the civil service and other state institutions including parastatals.

In most developing societies, state power is the be-all and end-all.

Consequently, change arising therefrom often results in sociopolitical instability and sometimes violent conflict. This is usually a result of limited opportunities outside of state power. Fortunately, in our society, there are vast opportunities outside our politics and state.

These include academia, NGOs, private sector businesses and many more, including the option of taking up positions abroad. How should such a transition be facilitated?

Should the current incumbents be approaching prospective employers to explore possibilities of jobs when they exit the state system? To what extent would such endeavours on their part open them up to demands for favours that could see them facilitating special dispensation for prospective employers?
On the other hand, should business and other institutions outside of the state system not be providing a soft landing for these individuals in the interests of stability and smooth transition?

Business in particular tends to be very opportunistic. Its tendency is often to associate with those connected to the powers-that-be, not with those who may have fallen out of favour.

Add to this the public unease with what is perceived to be a tendency to pander to former political leaders and public servants. The perception that they often land top private-sector positions and lucrative BEE deals is a source of resentment. This is what sparked calls for a cooling off period.
However , the flip side must be about fair compensation for those affected.

I dedicate this honorary degree to my mother Ruth Pityana who brought me up single handedly to be an independent open- minded fearless and empathetic person. She started her working career as a domestic worker and ended it as a founder and principal of a nursing college. She died suddenly in February this year, a resident in the suburb where she worked as a domestic worker. She conquered adversity, broke the barriers to human progress and gave selflessly to the advancement of our society.
Amongst you here today, I see many who have a similar background to hers, do not be discouraged by what may appear to be daunting hurdles ahead. All you need is courage, determination, perseverance and resilience and your education will benefit you immensely.

Sipho Pityana is executive chairman of Izingwe Holdings, a director of companies and a member of the Millennium Labour Council. This is an edited version of an acceptance speech when he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Vaal University of Technology