Who is setting the political tone in South Africa?

One of my frustrations in the political landscape of South Africa has been that the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has been battling for a platform to talk about their policies and successes, and when they did get their chance, all they did was to criticise the ruling African National Congress (ANC), rather than talk about themselves. This was not healthy for democracy in our country. However, if you have been paying attention to the political scene you would have noticed something very interesting: in the last year or so the DA has been driving the political merry-go-round. They have been incredibly aggressive in their drive to get their policies into the public domain and to create their own future for the party. While they endeavoured to get their message out, they never had the platform to spread the word. The ANC has proved to be an unlikely source of the biggest possible platform for the DA. Recently, The DA’s ‘Know your DA’ campaign has got the most airplay from high-ranking ANC politicians, and this has given the DA a huge platform to respond, and talk of their history. Furthermore, the ANC visited Midvaal, the only opposition run municipality in Gauteng, and made all sorts of outlandish accusations against the DA; the DA was given a platform to respond and share the truth that Midvaal is the best run municipality in Gauteng. Finally, the ANC has called on Barack Obama to refuse the key to the city that will be given to him when he visits Cape Town, citing that the DA does not care for the poor. All this has done is led to the DA being given a platform to share how they provide more for the poor than any city run by the ANC. Add to that the fact that The ANC do not seem able to move past a continuous stream of scandals and you have a situation where the DA is the party that is dictating the political tone and the ANC is on a continuous backpedal. Exciting times lay ahead for democracy in South Africa

No, Chief Justice Mogoeng, transformation is not the first priority, Justice is

A Judicial Services Commission (JSC) report has recently been leaked to the media stating that if a judge needs to be appointed and there are only white male candidates available, the position should remain absent until a suitable candidate is found One would think that a statement such as this would be vehemently denied by Chief Justice Mogoeng, whose primary job is to see justice served in our country. However, our Chief Justice has come out openly and said that while it is sad that the document was leaked, he sees no problem with the statement being made. Essentially Justice Mogoeng is saying that he would rather there be no justice than justice be served by a white male. While this is racism of the highest order and should be despised on every level, this is not the worst part of the statement. The greatest tragedy is the corrosion of the rights of the average citizen of South Africa If a judging position sits vacant, or if an inferior candidate is put in place, then the citizens of South Africa will, quite simply, not have access to justice. The real loser is not the white candidate who is applying for a job, it is the average South African who has been a victim of crime, and every victim of crime has a right to justice. While I agree with the need for transformation, it cannot be at the expense of the rights of every citizen in our country In a country as riddled with crime as ours is, I would have to say to the Chief Justice that actually no, transformation is not the first priority, Justice is.

Disgraced South African politicians cannot resign

In many countries in the world a politician will be forced to resign, or resign voluntarily due to poor performance or mistakes. In South Africa, this is not the case. Over the last few months we have had a few stark examples of South African politicians who have failed dismally in their provision of services and their ability to act professionally and show a decent level of management. I can think of two examples (among a list of very many). The first is the Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga. Consistently the Education department fails in a myriad of areas including: textbook delivery, teacher performance, abuse of children in schools and teacher absenteeism. Despite all these and many others the minister refuses to resign. Why? The second is Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega. Following the scandal that was the death of protesting miners at Marikana , having been shot by the police, Riah Phiyega has been disgraceful in her response. It is so obvious that she has absolutely no idea of how to run the police, no idea of the structures and procedures required, and no desire to take responsibility for the worst police brutality since apartheid. Despite this, she refuses to resign. Why? My opinion is that in other nations politicians get their positions based on expertise, experience, and desire to serve. In South Africa, politicians get their positions based on party loyalty, regardless of ability. If a minister in another country resigns they still have their skills and experience, which will allow them to get another job. In South Africa, if ministers are not in government they will more than likely not be employable anywhere else. If they resign, they join the rank and file of the rest of the unemployed in our country, as so quite simply, they cannot resign. It is a matter of urgency that the government begin employing people with the necessary skills required or we will continue to slide into mediocrity.

Municipalities need to be held accountable

How can Companies be subject to the Consumer Protection Act, but not the government? Recently the government of our country did what governments are supposed to do; protect its people. The government realised that many consumers were being abused and taken advantage of by companies and so they introduced the Consumer Protection Act. This Act is revolutionary worldwide and is the most advanced form of protection for the consumer from unscrupulous service providers. There is a catch here: the government, particularly municipalities, are not subject to the provisions made in the Act. This is completely ridiculous. The government, through the municipalities, is the biggest provider of services in the country. Add to that, it has one of the poorest records of service delivery for any organisation or company in the country. One of the main provisions of the Act is that the consumer does not have to pay for services that have not been provided, or poorly provided. How can it possibly be that municipalities are exempt from this? In court today this hypocrisy is being challenged by AfriForum and we are very fortunate as a country to have institutions such as this group who are prepared to fight the battles for the ‘small guy’ who sometimes are not even aware of the discrepancies in our law. For me, it makes no sense for municipalities to be exempt and I trust that the courts see the same.

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?