Do the Guptas own Zuma

No Fear No Favour No Slavery

FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2013

The Gupta house of cards and the man called Gedleyihlekisa

No Fear No Favour No Cover-up please.......



RANJENI MUNUSAMY               SOUTH AFRICA                            3 MAY 2013  01:47

It took a statement from a rather cross Gwede Mantashe on Tuesday night to bring the whole Gupta house of cards tumbling down. From Wednesday, the political and diplomatic fallout from the illegal use of the Waterkloof Air Force Base by the Gupta family has been spectacular. Up to now, the Gupta overlords have been untouchable (in the non-Indian-caste sense) and nobody in the ANC or government would dare cross them. But this time, their bullying, waywardness, conceit and arrogance reached the point of no return. Their abuse of political connections has been exposed and the backlash in the entire country is unprecedented. By RANJENI MUNUSAMY.

Because this is such a special occasion, let’s go back to that great reference point in President Jacob Zuma’s life: the Schabir Shaik trial. The reason why Shaik and Zuma were both charged with corruption was because of the way they each abused their relationship for material gain. Shaik would flaunt his self-styled position as Zuma’s financial advisor to get ahead in the business world; Zuma would allow him to do so, as well as nod on cue in the presence of business people, in exchange for the privilege of having a sponsor on call. It was a mutually beneficial relationship and they both coasted along happily until the National Prosecuting Authority disrupted the party.

Their relationship, particularly according to the amended Corruption Act, was deemed to be corrupt and Shaik was sentenced to 15 years in prison as a result. Into the breach stepped the Gupta brothers, up to then a relatively unknown family who left India to set up base in Johannesburg some 20 years ago. And the Guptas made Shaik look like an amateur. They are highly ambitious, crusading businessmen who do everything on a grand scale. They commandeered Zuma’s family, his Cabinet, government departments and parastatals – and had no qualms about doing so.

From the start of the Zuma presidency, rumours have circulated about ANC leaders learning of their Cabinet appointments via the Gupta brothers and directors-general being summoned to the Guptas’ Saxonwold compound to receive instructions on how to direct major government contracts their way.

Despite media revelations about millions of rands from parastatals being channelled into the Gupta-owned The New Age newspaper through their business breakfasts, the arrangement has continued regardless, with Cabinet ministers on constant parade to keep the funds rolling in.

The Guptas seemed unfazed by bad publicity and allegations of illicit dealings. They conduct their business with an air of invincibility and are very forthright in the way they use their political connections.

They do not name drop, they instruct those whose names others drop what to do. They do so with the confidence of people who own the most powerful in the land.

While several high-ranking people in the state and the ANC have spoken off the record on the inordinate power wielded by the Gupta brothers, nobody has dared to openly break the sacred covenant of the goings on behind the high walls in Saxonwold. Those who have been exposed to their bullying and arrogance fear being victimised or losing their jobs due to the family’s proximity to the president and the ability to continuously use that relationship for their benefit.

And then the wedding came, and with it a moment in the time-space continuum when over-the-top becomes just too much.

It was designed to be an ostentatious spectacle, something which would get tongues wagging in South Africa and India. Weddings in India are normally grand and protracted affairs but the wedding of Vega Gupta and Aakash Jahajgarhia was meant to flaunt the family’s substantial riches and status as pseudo-royalty in a four-day extravaganza at Sun City, designed by the Gavin Rajah Concept. Apart from the lavish arrangements, dance and pageantry to rival a Bollywood production, it was to be a gathering of the Guptas’ elite political and business connections in South Africa and India.

About 200 guests, apparently including Indian ministers of state, were being flown to South Africa from New Delhi. Nothing wrong with booking flights for your wedding guests, nothing wrong with chartering a jet to fly them over either, nothing wrong with any of it, if you can afford it, of course. But with the Guptas, it couldn’t stop there – not with all their political connections in the South African state open to them.

They pulled strings, leaned on a few people, snapped their fingers andvoila! They managed to wangle clearance to land the Jet Airways A330-203 passenger jet at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria. When they were first denied permission to land at the national key point by the Department of Defence, they asked the Indian High Commissioner Virendra Gupta to get authorisation from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco). Speaking on SABC television on Thursday night the high commissioner said the arrangements were made to use Waterkloof for the arrival of the wedding guests for “security” and “convenience”.

When news broke of the jet landing at a national key point on Tuesday, there was no official response from government to explain the protocol and security anomaly. Although the media were asking questions, which opposition parties were bound to chase up on, the issue could probably have been kept shrouded under the legislation governing national key points, as has been the case with the president’s Nkandla residence.

But then, around 21:00 on Tuesday, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe issued a media statement which opened the sluice gates. Most ANC statements are issued in the name of the ANC national spokesman Jackson Mthembu. Only under special circumstances are they issued by the secretary general. The language in the terse three-paragraph statement was also vintage Mantashe – brash, minus any attempt at niceties. It was either written directly by him or dictated to someone by him.

“The African National Congress has learnt that guests of a family hosting some wedding at Sun City landed at the Waterkloof Airforce Base today,” the statement began, going on to explain that significance of a national key point.

“The African National Congress waited patiently for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), the body delegated with authority over the Waterkloof Airforce Base, to explain to the nation how these private individuals managed to land aircraft at Waterkloof. Up until now, no explanation has been forthcoming. The African National Congress, driven by the concern for the safety and sovereignty of South Africa, shall never allow a situation where our ports of entry and National Key Points are penetrated with impunity.

“We demand that those who are responsible for granting access to land aircraft in our country also explain the basis upon which such permission was granted, particularly to land at Waterkloof Airforce Base. Those who cannot account must be brought to book,” Mantashe said.

He went on to say that the ANC “will never rest where there is any indication that all and sundry may be permitted to undermine the Republic, its citizens and its borders.”

The ANC statement on the Gupta jet late on Tuesday was unprecedented. The ANC has never before been as forthright in demanding answers from the Zuma administration. It could be that Mantashe had simply had enough of the Guptas running the state and ruining his organisation and decided to stamp his authority on the situation.

There have also been rumours of a widening schism between the Zuma camp and Mantashe. This could have resulted in the ANC secretary general being less cautious about upsetting the president’s friends. It is also possible that Mantashe could have called Zuma to interrogate how this happened, as he is prone to do with ANC leaders when trouble is on the horizon. Zuma, obviously, would have denied knowledge or responsibility, prompting Mantashe to rattle cages in the state.

But Zuma is also an enigma in his relations with those close to him. He could have called the hit. He could have become angered that the Guptas used their proximity to him to muscle their way onto a military air base and decided to teach them a lesson.

Whatever the motivation, Mantashe cranked open the vault which houses the secret workings of the Gupta dynasty. Cosatu, the SACP and the ANC Youth League interim task team issued statements condemning the use of the airforce base and demanding answers as to how the violation of a national key point was allowed to happen.

In the state too, all sorts of investigations began, admissions were forthcoming and dramatic action taken in record time – never before witnessed in the Zuma administration.

By Thursday morning it became clear that five government departments were involved and needed to provide answers – Dirco, Home Affairs, Defence, the South African Revenue Service and the SAPS. While the first four would be involved in the landing and entry of the Indian nationals into the country, the SAPS was on the spot to explain why they were involved in escorting the guests to Sun City in blue-light convoys.

Dirco promptly suspended the chief of state protocol, Ambassador Bruce Koloane, who is alleged to have facilitated landing rights for the jet at Waterkloof. Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula ordered that the jet be removed from the airforce base and on Thursday afternoon it was pictured taking off.

Government has been unusually talkative on the matter. Departmental spokesmen have made themselves available for interviews and even Cabinet ministers who are difficult to pin down in times of crisis were speaking to the media.

During the post-Cabinet media briefing, Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane said the incident was “very serious” and high-level investigations were underway to get answers. Later Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa announced that he had instructed the national police commissioner, Riah Phiyega. to investigate the matter and admitted possible transgressions by police officials in the deployment of resources to the Gupta wedding.

“[There was also] possible abuse of SA Police Service (SAPS) blue lights… [There were] unconfirmed reports indicating that some of the vehicles used in transporting guests were not SAPS vehicles but private vehicles which were fitted with police blue lights,” Mthethwa said in a statement.

The Guptas, it would seem, just pushed too far this time. While they have been making a mockery of the South Africa state for a while by trading on their relationship with Zuma, they were caught out this time compromising a national security installation. It also seems that too many people in the alliance and in government were fed up with the special treatment for, and being pushed around by, the swaggering family.

Now that Mantashe has gone where no ANC man has gone before, there is a stampede behind him to lay bare the den of unsavoury dealings. After such a crass abuse of political connections to show off for a wedding, the Guptas will have a hard time scrambling back to the position of privilege. Once the guests have left, they will have to do some hard lobbying to crawl back into favour.

But all this will be dependent on the one man who hasn’t yet spoken on the issue, the man who gave the Guptas their free reign and quite possibly decided to trip them. Even the Guptas will never know if it was Zuma who rained on their parade.

He is not called Gedleyihlekisa (one who smiles while grinding his enemies) for nothing. DM

DAILY MAVERICK

COMMENTS BY SONNY

The Gupta's have given South Africa (Zuma / ANC) so much already that they seem to own South Africa.

They may own Zuma and the SA Government(anc).

They don't own one single citizen of this country.

Do all the Citizens and the poor of SA own a Sahara computer?

The answer is "NO" so they don't own the poor or their votes!

THEY MAY OWN INDIA.

SO, SEND THEM BACK TO WHERE THEY BELONG.

JEFF RADEBE AND THE WHOLE ANC GOVERNMENT IS NOW DOING WINDOW DRESSING FOR THE "ZUMA PARADE!"

For better or for worse : SA 1994 - 2013

No Fear No Favour No Warlords.........



RANJENI MUNUSAMY         SOUTH AFRICA 20 APRIL 2013  05:46

The statistics don’t lie – South Africa is undoubtedly a world away from the place it was 19 years ago when the ANC took power in the first democratic elections. Millions of people who were shut out of the government system now have access to basic services and the state machinery. But with all the rights guaranteed in the Constitution and the freedoms previously denied, why is South Africa such an unhappy, angry place in 2013? It is lacking two fundamental things it had in 1994 – qualities that separate an average country from an exceptional nation that South Africa has every right to be. By RANJENI MUNUSAMY.

A current refrain this past Freedom Day, as has been the case on previous anniversaries of South Africa’s first democratic elections, is that the country is a much better place than it was in 1994. Well, of course it would, and should, be. The year 1994 was by no means a measure of a normal country or even “ground zero”. It was the start of a journey to reverse the legacy of statutory discrimination and to construct a new country based on democratic principles. But in order to assess the gains of the democratic order, 1994 is the generally accepted baseline to work from.
In its Freedom Day statement, the African National Congress said the following:
“South Africa is a better place today than it was in 1994. Our society has been transformed in every sphere with increased education levels, greater access to water, electricity, sanitation and housing. Moving from an extremely low base, the senior certificate rate is at its highest at 73.9% in an inclusive education system. The number of graduates has doubled since 1994, more than 3.1 million houses have been built and more than 15.1 million people have benefited as a result of our comprehensive anti-poverty initiatives which have sought to expand the social security network through amongst others grants and labour-intensive public works programmes. We have turned the corner in the fight against HIV and Aids. Our fight against joblessness and unemployment continues.”
This was echoed by President Jacob Zuma in his address at the official Freedom Day celebrations in Pretoria on Saturday.
“As we look back at the road travelled since 1994, we recall that it has not been easy. It was never going to be easy. But we have made tremendous progress.
“We are a very humble nation. We do not boast about our achievements. We also tend to be highly critical of ourselves.”
He went on to cite statistics of water, electricity and housing provision, which show how government delivery has changed the face of South Africa.
“While income inequality remains high, the expansion of our social grants system from 2.7 million people in 1994 to 16 million currently has contributed to a significant reduction in the proportion of households living in poverty,” Zuma said.
Though 16 million people dependent on the social security system for survival is a burden on the state and therefore hardly something to boast about, this has dramatically reduced the rate of extreme poverty in the country. Yet until the economy starts consistently producing high numbers of sustainable jobs, the reliance on the social safety net will remain disproportionately high.
But according to the president, South Africa continues to “perform well” on the economic front. The economy has expanded by 83% over the past 19 years, and national income per capita has increased from R27,500 in 1993 to R38,500 in 2012 - an increase of 40%, Zuma said. Disposable income per capita of households has increased by 43% and total employment has increased by more than 3.5 million since 1994.
So why then are we not celebrating our tremendous success story and trumpeting these achievements, instead of the perpetual moaning about the state of the country?
The ANC’s alliance partner Cosatu, although acknowledging the discernible progress since 1994 in its Freedom Day message, gave some indication as to why the nation is restless.
“There is little doubt that there are valuable achievements that have been recorded by the ANC in the past 19 years, in the light of a negotiated settlement…
“However, it is also true to say that these social concessions have been to a large extent undermined by the rising cost of living, the rising unemployment rate and the widening wage gap. This has caused some of the biggest protests, with over 1.3 million workers going on strike yearly and over 40% of municipalities witnessing service deliver protests.
“The fact is, even though many have won access to these essential utilities, many cannot afford them, hence almost five million people have been experiencing water cut-offs due to continuous price-hikes. Despite the great wealth underneath the soil of South Africa, the country is placed in the top ten of the most unequal societies in the world. Almost half the population survives on less than 8% of national income. On the other side, in 2009, on average, each of the top 20 paid directors in the JSE-listed companies earned 1,728 times the average income of a South African worker,” Cosatu said.
But this is only part of the narrative as to why the delivery achievements since 1994 are being undermined. The past decade has seen the ruling ANC become completely consumed by internal battles and less concerned about the state of governance and delivery. Parallel to this has been the stark disconnect between the ANC leadership at various levels from the people they purport to serve.
This disconnect has manifested in flamboyant lifestyles of those in leadership positions, corruption and enrichment schemes to benefit the politically connected, abuses of power and neglect of responsibilities in the state. Scandal upon scandal in government has fed the perception that elected representatives have abandoned their election promises and operate in total disregard of those they promised to serve. The culture of impunity and lack of accountability when gross expenditure and failings in the state are exposed has cast South Africa in the mould of other African countries, which surrendered their hard-won freedoms for the benefit of a coterie of the political elite.
Adding to the gloom has been the extraordinary displays of public violence, from police brutality to sexual crimes, which have weighed heavily on the public psyche. During all these horrific incidents, the country needed exceptional leadership to soothe a worried nation and guide us to rediscovering our humanity. What we got was the bare minimum, acknowledgment after a time lapse that something bad had happened and expressions of sympathy.
Despite the remarkable progress that has been made in reversing the legacy of Apartheid, South Africa is more restless than ever before. In 1994, there was plenty of uncertainty and fear but there was also tremendous hope that the future would be better and brighter. That hope existed mainly because there was a brigade of outstanding leaders charting the course and coaxing the nation forward. There was a common covenant between the leaders and the people of South Africa that we could make the country great.
Hope and good leadership is missing from the current lexicon and this distorts perceptions about whether we were in a better place then or now, no matter what the statistics say. There was a hint of irritation from President Zuma on Saturday when he remarked on people being jaded and critical, saying they should instead be making suggestions about what could be done to improve the country.
But it is difficult to inspire a restless nation to co-operate, particularly one that feels neglected and disrespected. No amount of delivery figures can change that, only strong leadership can. The hope that propelled us forward in 1994 is long gone. And while in many ways we are so much better, the pervasive hopelessness makes us a whole lot worse. DM
Photo: President Jacob Zuma. (REUTERS/Noor Khamis)

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No Fear No Favours No Despots........

More than 16 killed after weekend attacks in Afghanistan

08 APR 2013 06:23 - EMMA GRAHAM-HARRISON

A suicide attack has claimed six lives and air attacks have killed 10 children over a weekend that served as a reminder of Afghanistan's conflict.

MORE COVERAGE

• Afghan attack kills US diplomat
• US army braces for pricey Afghan withdrawal
• Pakistan Taliban threaten to send Musharraf to 'hell' when he returns
• Taliban's Kabul bombing a message to US defence chief Hagel

On Saturday, an attacker detonated a vehicle full of explosives in the centre of Qalat just as a US military convoy passed the provincial governor and his entourage. The blast killed and seriously injured several people from both groups, including a young Kabul-based diplomat, Anne Smedinghoff.

Provincial governor Mohammad Ashraf Nasery was in the convoy, but was unharmed, local and Nato officialssaid over the weekend.

Separately, 10 children, an Afghan woman and a US civilian adviser to the Afghan intelligence agency were killed by air strikes during an hours-long battle in a remote part of eastern Kunar province on the same day, senior local officials said. "In the morning after sunrise, planes appeared in the sky and air strikes started and continued until evening," said tribal elder Gul Pasha, who is also the chief of the local council in Shultan, where the bombing happened.

A senior Taliban commander was in the house, but so were women and children between one and 12 years old who were members of his family, Pasha told the Associated Press by telephone.

"I don't think that they knew that all these children and women were in the house because they were under attack from the house and they were shooting at the house," he said.

Civilian casualties caused by foreign forces have been one of the most emotive and high-profile issues of the war in Afghanistan, prompting street protests and condemnation from officials including President Hamid Karzai.

They remain a frequent flashpoint for national anger, and earlier this year Karzai banned Afghan forces from calling in air strikes, although his order appears to have been ignored on the ground.

US press officer killed
The deaths came as the most senior US general, Martin Dempsey, chairperson of the joint chiefs of staff, arrived in the country to discuss long-term training plans for Afghan soldiers, who from this summer are expected be leading the fight against the Taliban.

Smedinghoff, the state department officer killed in Qalat, Zabul province, was a 25-year-old press officer from Chicago who had less than four months left to serve in Afghanistan. At the time of the attack she had been heading for a local high school to help deliver books. The US secretary of state, John Kerry, paid a personal tribute to Smedinghoff, who he met on a visit to Kabul less than a month earlier. She had been put in charge of organising the trip, a prestigious role for someone on only their second overseas assignment, and he remembered her as "vivacious, smart, capable", with great potential.

Her death was a reminder of the gulf between the values that the US supported and those of the Taliban and other groups fighting the government in Afghanistan, Kerry told diplomats in Istanbul, where he was visiting the consulate.

"I think there are no words for anybody to describe the extraordinary harsh contradiction of a young 25-year-old woman with all of the future ahead of her, believing in the possibilities of diplomacy, of changing people's lives, of making a difference, having an impact, who was taking knowledge in books to deliver them to a school, and someone, somehow persuaded that taking her life was a wiser course and somehow constructive, drives into their vehicle, and we lose five lives."

There were also tributes from journalists and others with whom Smedinghoff had worked. "Saddened by loss of Anne Smedinghoff whose commitment always impressed me. RIP Anne & your sacrifice to get books to Afghans appreciated," the prominent Afghan women's rights activist Wazhma Frogh said on Twitter.

"Anne was helpful and kind, going out of her way to assist. Tragic," the Wall Street Journal correspondentMaria Abi-Habib said on Twitter.

Taliban claims responsibility
Last year, a civilian working on a diplomatic passport for the US government's development arm, USAid, died in a suicide bombing in eastern Afghanistan. But the last US state department diplomat killed in Afghanistan was ambassador Adolph Dubs, who was shot during a botched kidnapping in 1979.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they had wanted to target either the government or a Nato convoy. "We were waiting for one of them," a spokesperson, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, told AP. "It was our good luck that both appeared at the same time."

The 18-hour battle with the Taliban in Kunar province broke out when a clearing operation led by local intelligence agency officers met with fierce resistance, said Wasifullah Wasifi, a spokesperson for the provincial governor. An investigation was under way into how the children and woman had died, Wasifi said. The Nato-led coalition said it was aware of allegations of civilian casualties in Kunar and was looking into them.

The killings followed a bloody Taliban assault in the country's west on Wednesday that killed 44 people in a courtroom in Farah province. The United Nations says civilians are being increasingly targeted.

In a statement posted online earlier on Saturday, Ahmadi said the Taliban would continue to target Afghan judges and prosecutors.

"The Islamic Emirate, from today onwards, will keep a close watch over courthouses, all its personnel and all those who try to harm Mujahideen and will deal with them the same as the judges and prosecutors of Farah. – Guardian News and Media 2013

Mail and Guardian

COMMENTS BY SONNY

The ILLUMINATI is waging war - EAST VS WEST.

Russia has to dump its old war stocks so they sponsor their past enemies against the West.

Putin and Zuma are Brothers in Arms via Bric's.

CORRUPTION WILL NEVER END IN AFRICA OR ON THE GLOBAL FRONT!

Zuma makes space for China's Xi in Nkandla

No Fear No Favours No Chinese expansion in South Africa........

President Xi Jinping and President Jacob Zuma


01 APR 2013 06:46 - MATTHEW BURBIDGE


The M&G can reveal that China's relationship with its smaller Brics cousin has just become a lot more cosy, with a rural residence for its president.

Diplomatic sources, who were not authorised to comment officially, told the Mail & Guardian that China's President Xi Jinping and President Jacob Zuma sealed a new bilateral deal on the sidelines of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) summit in Durban last week.

The deal provides for the aggressive enlargement of Zuma's rural homestead in Nkandla and will include a new residence for Xi, his family, and entourage.

The deal is apparently being kept under wraps. The Nkandlagate scandal came to light after a string of reports revealed that over R200-million would be forked out for infrastructural improvements at the president's private residence at Nxamalala in rural Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal.

The M&G has previously reported that there would be a clinic, as well as a helipad, medical clinic, bulletproof glazing and air-conditioning in certain residential units as well as a bunker at Nkandla. The upgrade is currently the subject of an investigation by public protector Thuli Madonsela, although a public works department report on alleged abuse of public funds during the upgrades found no signs of wrongdoing.

The plans for the expansion – which the M&G has seen – include a tea house and small tea estate, which is likely to thrive, given the area's high rainfall and fertile soil. The plans also provide for a small Chinese take-away.

Comment from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation was not immediately forthcoming.

Zuma, a prominent tea drinker, has often been seen sipping Rooibos and honey, said to be his favourite drink. It is not known whether Xi enjoys tea.

Main and Guardian

COMMENTS BY SONNY

This could be an "April fools Day Joke".

Or this could be the workings of a depraved despot or madman.

If true then, this is inviting Chinese and foreign expansionism in South Africa.

There will still be life after Zuma.

The Chinese already have a FOOTHOLD IN ZIMBABWE.

‘We ran out of ammo’ CAR

No fear No Favours No Conscience in politics............

‘We ran out of ammo’

31 March 2013 10:01

SA soldier pours water on the official version of the Central African Republic firefight

South African soldiers ran out of ammunition during a bloody battle in Bangui that left 13 of them dead and 27 injured.

Before they did, though, the increasingly desperate soldiers fired rocket-propelled grenades on groups of rebels who “stormed” them.

Many of the rebels were “only children”, an SA National Defence Force (SANDF) source close to the military’s controversial Central African Republic (CAR) deployment told City Press’ sister newspaper, Rapport.

“The rebels stormed our soldiers in groups, not at all like trained soldiers, and many of them were only children,” the source revealed.

The rebels’ age horrified South African soldiers, he added.

According to him, some of the most traumatised soldiers – all members of 1 Parachute Battalion – returned to their base earlier than the rest of their companions after the fighting in Bangui died down on Sunday.

Another anonymous source, a soldier who survived the battle, has revealed what happened on Saturday, and in the weeks leading up to the firefight.

His version of events is in sharp contrast to that offered by Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who says the media and military experts have lied about what happened during the battle.

The soldier confirmed what the defence force source said, and their version was backed up by foreign correspondents based in Bangui.

The soldier said some of the rebels he saw during the battle were “very, very young”.

After rebels took Bangui, news agency Reuters published photos of these young soldiers, described as “Seleka fighters”.

Reuters also confirmed to City Press that there are now many rebel soldiers in Bangui who are clearly very young.

Daniel Flynn of Reuters said: “Our correspondent in Bangui says there are many soldiers who look as if they are 14, 15 or, at most, 16 years old.

“In addition, some of them are on drugs or under the influence of alcohol.”

City Press questioned the new CAR leadership’s spokesperson, Eric Massi, by telephone about the presence of child soldiers in the Seleka forces.

Massi said: “This is something we are definitely opposed to, but it’s a difficult situation because we are assisted by several other groups in our fight against the Bozize regime.

“Those children are therefore not necessarily Seleka soldiers,” he said from Paris.

According to him, the new CAR government of self-appointed President Michel Djotodia will focus on the problem of child soldiers.

“We still have to determine what the situation is, but it’s not something we support. Children belong in school,” Massi said.

The Doctors Without Borders mission of Sylvain Groulx in Bangui confirmed to City Press that child soldiers are patrolling the streets of the country’s capital.

Groulx said: “The situation is improving every day, but there are still problems with the supply of electricity and water.”

Neither the South African ministry of defence nor the SANDF responded to repeated requests for comment throughout the week.

The South African soldier, who related the following story, asked to remain anonymous, even requesting that details of his age and rank be omitted to protect his identity.

He said: “Our mission assignments changed constantly. First we were told we were only there to train CAR soldiers, then we heard we had to protect South African property, and finally we were ordered to protect civilians in and around Bangui.”

The soldier also said his unit was upset about the lack of air support and that they ran out of ammunition during the battle, and did not receive further supplies.

“No one came to help us. No one came to give us new ammunition,” he said.

He was part of a patrol unit involved in heavy fighting about 50km from the South African base, from as early as Friday afternoon, against rebel forces as well as deserters from the CAR forces.

“There were very many of them, but we were only about 25 soldiers. It was very bad.”

SA National Defence Force spokesperson Brigadier-General Xolani Mabanga this week denied allegations that CAR troops turned against their South African allies, but the soldier says that is exactly what happened.

“I still greeted some of the guys earlier. We knew each other…then, on Friday, they suddenly opened fire on us with RPG-7s. They were still in CAR Defence Force uniforms, so it was very confusing.”

There was also a great deal of unhappiness, the soldier said, about food and stipends.

“From our deployment on January 2 to the end of the mission, we had to make do with rat packs (ration packs), because there was never a kitchen set up,” he said.

“It was terrible, because you can’t live for so long on that stuff.”

No proper kitchen had been set up despite numerous promises, he claimed.

The soldiers, who were first deployed in January, were also all very upset, because they did not receive the payment that was promised to them, he said.

“According to our contract, we had to get €67 (R793) per day while we were there, but then we only got €5 a day in cash.”

» This is the minister of defence’s version of events, outlined on Thursday during a ceremony at Pretoria’s Waterkloof Airforce Base.

Mapisa-Nqakula told the dead soldiers’ distraught relatives, who were there to formally receive the soldiers’ bodies, that the men had been on a “goodwill” mission and had died like heroes.

Speaking mostly in isiXhosa, she said: “We must never allow our enemy to divide us on our purpose of deploying our children to other countries.

“This was not the first deployment, and it will not be the last one. We will also deploy other children to another country. What is important now is how we honour our children.”

She stuck to the official government and military line, saying the soldiers were only in the CAR to train that country’s military.

“South Africa and its government had no other interests in the CAR except the agreement to train soldiers from the CAR.

“I am raising this because, now, the issue is: ‘What business interests were they protecting in the CAR?’

“Mothers and fathers, I am the one who signed off on that operation.”

The minister also vehemently denied that there had been a clash of interests between the military and President Jacob Zuma about the deployment.

She said there was no truth to reports that some soldiers wanted to return home, even before the battle.

“They fought without retreating. Those were not cowards. Your children are not cowards and that’s something that should make you very proud.”

She said that one day the story would be told of how many rebels – the unofficial estimate is more than 600 – died during the battle, which lasted for about 13 hours.

“Your children, at least from the pictures I’ve seen, were very young boys, but they were lions and they are heroes of our country. Those were your children, but, also, they had sworn that, as soldiers, ‘we will serve with pride,’” said Mapisa-Nqakula, who was flanked by Deputy Minister Thabang Makwetla and senior defence chiefs.

She repeatedly lauded the fallen soldiers as heroes and not “cowards” who died with wounds in their backs.

“In the black community, we grew up with the adage that says a man’s wound should not be on his back.”

Pointing to her forehead, she said: “A man’s wound should be here. We do not hear that your children died with wounds on their backs because they were running away.

“I’m trying to say, painful as it is, I want you to always remain with proud memories of your children.”

She also urged families not to stop their children from enlisting in the military, saying the country had to be defended.

Mapisa-Nqakula talked about her visit to the defence force’s training base in the CAR on January 13, a few weeks after fresh troops had been deployed there.

Some of the new troops had complained about the hot weather during their first days in the country, she said.

When she left, the troops saw her off with a “war cry”.

The soldiers – whom she fondly referred to as “my children” – were happy to be deployed to the CAR and to have an opportunity to use the skills they learned during training, she said.

CITY PRESS

COMMENTS BY SONNY

THE SICK SENSELESS LOSS OF LIFE IN AFRICA!

SA MERCENARIES ON THE PAYROLL OF ZUMA............ (OR THE SA TAX PAYERS SOCIETY)

"

We are not in the business of diamonds"

ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu on allegations that South Africa's military’s involvement in the Central African Republic had been affected by ANC-linked deals.

Zapiro: We're confident of our case with Zuma

25 OCT 2012 07:50 - VERASHNI PILLAY President Jacob Zuma has avoided acting on claims against Zapiro ahead of Mangaung but the cartoonist says he will remain involved with the battle. OUR COVERAGE Zapiro mirrors our society, warts and all Zapiro cartoon not 'serious' by any imaginative stretch MORE COVERAGE Zuma reduces claim against Zapiro for Lady Justice cartoon Learn respect, Zapiro With Mangaung around the corner, President Zuma's legal team seem to be doing all they can to avoid a damaging legal showdown with cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro over his Lady Justice rape cartoon. Zuma has entirely dropped his R1-million claim that the cartoon harmed his dignity, and reduced the claim of defamation from R4-million to R100 000, with an unconditional apology, media lawyer Dario Milo told the Mail & Guardian on Wednesday. The case will now go ahead on Monday. The dramatic changes to the claim come two years after various delays on the part of Zuma's lawyers. "It was due to start on Thursday and that date has been in place since February. But they've used the same tactic that they've used in other cases, where they sue and then they make all kinds of adjustments and changes – it was clear that they didn't want to go to court ahead of Mangaung," Shapiro told the M&G. "But we dug our heels in and said we had to get into court and we're confident of our case." Zuma first brought a claim against Shapiro for the cartoon in December 2010 – about two years after its publication in the Sunday Times on September 7 2008. There just hasn't seemed to be a good time for the president to take on Shapiro, or Zapiro, as his pen name goes. In 2009 it was election season, and a court appearance to explain how the cartoon had harmed his dignity and reputation would have caused a media circus akin to his 2006 rape trial, where the damaging statements he made in the dock about HIV/Aids and women continue to haunt him. With Zuma being pitted against his deputy Kgalema Motlanthe ahead of the ANC's elective conference in December, he now faces a similarly sensitive period where he would want to avoid a court appearance and the negative attention it might attract. In the cartoon, Zuma, who was acquitted of the rape charge in 2006, was shown loosening his trousers, while since-expelled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema, Congress of South African Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande and ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe held Lady Justice down, saying: "Go for it, boss." It was in reference to corruption charges being dropped against the controversial leader. Shapiro said he thought it was hilarious and ironic that Malema was now invoking the iconic "showerhead" motif that has dogged Zuma in his cartoons. While Malema was a fierce Zuma supporter at the time of the cartoon he has since led the charge against him in a series of damaging public appearances. "The morning when I opened the paper and saw a huge photo of Malema making the shower using his hands – my jaw dropped and I laughed out loud," said Shapiro. "And it's very ironic – he, of course, is one of the people in this drawing." ANC members in the anti-Zuma camp have begun using the showerhead sign during gatherings as a signal of their lack of support for Zuma. Party members are otherwise constrained from verbalising their preferences. "Some of the people in the drawing have split quite radically apart since then," said Shapiro. "Malema of course, but even Vavi who is someone I respect in some ways. I put him in there reluctantly, but he had to be there as he had said some heavy things in support of the dropping of corruption charges against Zuma. Since then he has criticised Zuma." But while Vavi was "very, very upset" at his inclusion in the cartoon, Shapiro said they have since had some good interactions. "We've spoken a number of times." Zuma was recently the subject of another fracas involving freedom of speech and the use of his image. The Spear, painted by Cape Town-based artist Brett Murray, depicted the president with his genitals exposed caused outrage, with ruling party supporters marching to have the painting removed. Milo said Monday's case was important. "It tests the balance between satire and freedom of speech ... It's quite a ground-breaking and unprecedented case." In June 2010 the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) found that the cartoon did not constitute hate speech, unfair discrimination or a violation of any human right enshrined in the Constitution, the M&G then reported. Dismissing the complaint by the Young Communist League and its national secretary Buti Manamela, the commission found that the cartoon expressed a level of free, open, robust and even unrestrained criticism of politicians by a journalist and had stimulated valuable political debate. "Although the SAHRC finds the cartoon and the words used in relation thereto probably offensive and distasteful, same falls short of and does not constitute hate speech, unfair discrimination under Promotion of Equality and the Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act or a violation of any fundamental human right contained in the Constitution," the commission's finding reads. Zapiro has previously pointed out that he believed Zuma and the others depicted in the cartoon had threatened the justice system. He said Malema had threatened to kill for Zuma if the case relating to his corruption charges went ahead. Vavi, depicted in the cartoon, had echoed Malema's pledge and Mantashe said there would be anarchy if the case continued. Judges of the Constitutional Court were also called "counter-revolutionary". Shapiro said at the time he felt that the "very real intimidation of the judiciary and of individual judges" justified his use of the metaphor. Two years later, Shapiro said he was keen to test these issues in a court of law. "It already has passed muster at the human rights commission. I was very confident, made my submissions, and they duly declared that it was in the realm of free speech and could not be called hate speech. But of course a court is a different situation but I think it's important at a time when freedom of expression is under threat that one can make very strong and sometimes harsh statements in cartoons. These should be protected by the Constitution." MAIL & GUARDIAN COMMENTS BY SONNY Zapiro the whole of South Africa supports YOU. That's more we can say for J Zuma. A man's folly rises above his dignity when it comes to public figures. Your pen makes you rise to the occasion, time after time! Good Luck, God speed.

ANC wants violent strikers reined in

ANC wants violent strikers reined in
August 24 2011 at 09:00am



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Jabulani Sikhakhane

THE ANC has condemned violence during strikes and called on its alliance partner, Cosatu, to rein in its affiliates.

The ruling party’s national executive committee (NEC) had expressed serious concern about violence during strikes, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said yesterday.

Mantashe was briefing journalists on the outcome of the NEC’s special four-day marathon meeting, which started last Friday and ended on Monday evening.

Violence, including the trashing of streets, assaulting of people and the looting of hawkers’ goods, undermined the rule of law and the objectives of strike actions, the ANC said in a statement that echoed Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant’s words during the chemical, metal and engineering workers’ strike last month.

The ruling party also called on Cosatu “to give effective leadership to its affiliates regarding strike action”.

Mantashe described as “criminality and not striking” the looting of goods from hawkers, whom he described as the poorest of the poor.

In condemning violence during strikes, the ANC joins business and the official opposition, who are now pushing for changes to labour laws to make it possible for unions to be sued for damages arising out of violence during strikes.

Business Unity South Africa, the umbrella business group, has said that applying for interdicts in the Labour Courts has yet to show results.


The DA’s proposed amendment will be debated by the parliamentary committee on Private Members’ Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions next Wednesday.

The Star

Comments by Sonny

The ANC created "Violence in SA' when it suited them.

Now they are running scared of the monsters they created!!

Similar to Mugabe in Zimbabwe!