When politicians miss the point

The 53rd ANC conference is under way; a few hours in and the oddity that is the modern politician has shown itself. The provincial secretary of the ANC in the Western Cape, Marius Fransman, turned down the opportunity to serve on the (incredibly powerful) National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC. He stated that his reason for such action was so that he could rather stay in the Western Cape and unify the party in order to continue the fight to dislodge the Democratic Alliance from power. Rather than saying to the ANC that he would stay in the Western Cape to ensure that the needs of the people are met and that poverty would be reduced and jobs created, his main focus is to oust the opposition. Strange, and here I am thinking that politicians were there to serve the people and to provide 'a better life for all'. Have I missed the point of a public servant, or have they?

How can you run the country if you cannot run your own conference?

The 53rd African National Congress Conference begun on Sunday 16 December 2012, several hours late. This is the 100 year celebration of the ANC as well as the key decider of policy and leadership for the ruling party of our country and they cannot get their own house in order. In the lead up to the National Conference the provincial and regional branches of the ANC had to meet, register, and decide on their choices for the leadership positions within the ANC. Sounds like a simple process. However, to their eternal disgrace, the ANC could not even run their own provincial election process. The Limpopo, Western Cape, and North West branches could not even get their conferences finished in time in order for their representatives to be chosen. The top brass within the ANC had to call a special resolution to allow these provinces to hand in their nominations late. Even with this concession, the Free State branch of the ANC struggled with infighting and disputes to such a degree that it took a Constitutional Court ruling to call the voting null and void, and as such, throw out the election results. As it currently stands, the Free State branch will not be represented at the National Conference. If the ANC leadership claim the above shambles as provincial bickering and infighting, however, the start of the conference has blown this excuse out the water. Not only did the conference start several hours late, but the accommodation, transport, accreditation, meals and internet access were not running properly, if at all. It appears as if the only section running smoothly was the smoker’s tent, run by British American Tobacco South Africa. If this is how the ruling party runs their own house, I beg you, how can they run a country?

Has the ANC just expelled their most principled leader?

The word ‘principled’ and politician do not often go hand in hand. More often than not they flip-flop from one ideology and stand point to another as it suites the political landscape and their personal ambitions. We see this time and time again from ANC politicians but not Julius Malema. Malema felt that the ANC under Thabo Mbeki was dishonouring the poor and the regular card-carrying members of the ANC and he was open about it. At one stage he went so far as to call Mbeki (the then President of the country and the ANC) a cockroach. He was praised by many in the ANC for standing up for democracy and for the poor. Turn the clock forward to 2012 and you see the same Malema; standing up for what he believes are failings in the ANC and saying that under Zuma the ANC has become a dictatorship. Many in the ANC were happy to let Malema rant when it suited them, however, now that he has turned on them, his behaviour is unacceptable. I believe that his behaviour has always been unacceptable but he has not changed his view on the political landscape in the country. Malema stands by his statement that the disciplinary charges against him are politically motivated and I would have to agree. His principles have not changed but under Mbeki he was praised, under Zuma he is expelled. While most of the leaders in the ANC base their decision making on political expedience, Julius Malema bases his decisions on the principles he believes in. This would lead me to believe that the ANC have just expelled their most principled politician. What do you think?

Does our government have a financial plan?

The Chinese Communist party recently came out with the three main principles that they believe were essential to sustained economic growth, they were as follows; Property rights as the foundation, the rule of law as a safe guard, and morality as a support.

What is interesting about this is that these principles are the self-same as those that led to Europe and Americas industrialisation and economic prosperity. If these things led to the growth of the new emerging power-house and the growth of the existing powerhouses of Western Europe and America, surely we should be listening.

However, our government seems to have ignored these and wants to forge ahead on a counter-productive mission. Firstly, the protection of property rights is constantly being eroded in South Africa through the expropriation of land, the continued questions of land redistribution and the constant escalation of taxes on property owners. Secondly, the rule of law in South Africa is becoming a joke; with our top cops being convicted of crime to the ANC challenge of the independence of the courts, we are fast becoming lawless state. Finally, the moral fibre of our country is seriously in decline; gang rape, murder, and widespread corruption are but a few of the scourges ripping apart our moral fibre.

This paints a bleak picture of the economic future of this country and if our government is intelligent they will pay heed to the successes of other countries. If they do I believe we have the potential of achieving incredible growth in order for there to be a better life for all.

The ANC is asking some honest questions

There has been a political furore since an article published in the City Press on Sunday 04 March 2012. It quotes a discussion document by the African National Congress (ANC) that mentions a desire to relook at some of South Africa’s key policies decided in the early 1990s when our constitution was written. Things such as private land ownership, ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ with regards to land redistribution, independence of the judiciary, the power of the Constitutional Court etc have all been raised.

Many spheres of the media and opposition have jumped on this and acted as if this is ANC policy. What they have neglected to mention is that while these questions may seem a bit outlandish and frightening for South Africa let us see it for what it is: a discussion document. The ANC has a long history of asking tough questions that no one else wants to ask. They also have a long history of rugged debate. All the ANC is doing here is asking questions for discussion and I laud them for questioning things that are seen as sacrosanct and untouchable. We are a developing country in every sense of the word: economic and political, and when we stop asking questions we die.

Also, some of the questions asked in the ANC discussion document are very self-reflective, such as their inability to provide services and the view that they are becoming a party seen as plundering the coffers of the state. Why is it that the media and the opposition parties are not mentioning these?

If some of the discussions mentioned in the document were to become policy I would be the first to disagree, however, in the mean time let us praise the ANC for their honest appraisals of themselves and the country. I say “Well done ANC for asking some honest questions”

Why I won’t be protesting the tolls with COSATU

In the media as well as on this blog there has been a lot of time given to the tolling of the Highways around Gauteng. Now that the government has added R5.75 billion to the coffers of South African Road Agency limited (SANRAL) the tolls will now be 30c per kilometre for passenger vehicles.

I previously stated that I was considering joining the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) protest, which will now be taking place on the Wednesday 7 March. I have decided not to join the protest action for the following reasons:

1.COSATU has called the protest a joint protest against the tolls and labour broking. While my stand on the tolls is the same as COSATU my stand on Labour broking is at odds with theirs. I do not want to be seen as protesting both.

2.COSATU are protesting against the government but they are alliance partners with the ANC and are in government. I feel they are misleading the public by calling a protest against government policy. If COSATU disagrees so vehemently against government policy they should remove themselves from the alliance.

3.If we are not happy with the government we have the power to get a new one; voting is the real driver of change. Rather than protest I will be using the power I have to bring about change, I suggest you do to


That is why I won’t be protesting with COSATU. What will you be doing?

Define African language

In the last few weeks there has been a furore over the choice of languages in schools in South Africa

The debate can be summed up as this:
1. All 11 official languages should be given equal status in schools
2. The languages of the colonial era should not have promotion above African languages
3. Learners should be free to study in their home language as this allows them to perform better

I have an opinion on the three arguments above:

1. You may or may not be aware that there is a teaching crisis in South Africa. The truth is that we simply do not have enough teachers. Schools are under-resourced and the number of teachers qualifying simply cannot keep up with the demand, never mind go to reducing the deficit. There simply are not enough teachers to teach Math, Science, biology etc, never mind languages. If the government wants students to learn in their home language then they should be producing teachers for such a job.

2. I would like to clear up a misconception: Afrikaans is not a colonial language, it is an African language. It was created in South Africa, developed in South Africa, and is spoken nowhere else than in South Africa (well, in some parts of Namibia, but the last time I checked Namibia was in Africa). I am not sure how else one would define an African language other than the description I have given above. The government keeps saying that children should learn an African language but they say Afrikaans is not acceptable. The politicians in this country need to remove themselves from the emotion surrounding the Afrikaans language and apply the same principles to each African language.

3. I have a friend who teaches at a school for the deaf. I asked her for an opinion of whether or not it would be more beneficial for her students to just learn in sign language or whether they should learn in English. Her answer was that the students would grasp the concepts quicker if they were taught only in sign language but that if they were taught that way they would not be able to function in any other sector of society other than the deaf community. If we are to educate students who can function in an increasingly globalised world they will need to communicate in a universal language, and whether we like it or not, that language is English.

What are you views?