Congress of the People in the Mother City

Archive for August, 2009


I have a Dream!

In Speeches on August 29, 2009 at 10:23 am

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.

One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now.

This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.

We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: “For Whites Only.” We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest — quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering.

Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”2

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day — this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!


The real issue is one of gender not racism

In Discussion on August 28, 2009 at 8:40 am

Let me start off by saying that Caster Semenya is a chick until proven a dude. OH hang on, she has been proven to be a chick by her parents, her teachers, her friends mind you.

The screams of racism that have been leveled at the IAAF have been a bit excessive. However one can understand why this would be our first line of attack. The problem with screaming racism every time one has been affronted causes some to turn a deaf ear because they start thinking, “Oh boy, here we go again,” even when the claims of racism are in fact legitimate. It is a disserves to fight against racism. The key with racism is to know when to shout racism. I am not so naïve to claim that there may be no elements of racism within IAAF.

Let me start off by saying how incredibly proud I am of Caster Semenya. She did a sterling job. And she is so young, far too young to be going through this global spectacle. I have been incredibly proud of the manner in which she carried herself and still managed to win with all that focus on her. I felt personally affronted at the end of her race when the commentators talked her as though it was an obligation, then they promptly talked about the silver medalist and bronze winners as if they were the real winners. I was tempted to claim racism, then I realized they were British, they praised the bronze medalist as if she was the winner, this was the case during the medal presentation too.

When Semenya ran for her provinces, several provinces lodged complaints because they suspected that she was male. Tests came back proving that she is in fact a young girl. According to news reports, Limpopo Athletics secretary Leon Bammau, a gender test was conducted on Semenya after an appeal was lodged by National Secondary School’s Championships in 2007. He said the test results confirmed she was a female. Then a second appeal was lodged by two provinces with regards to Semenya’s gender in the same year.

He said a basic test was also conducted and it proved Semenya was a female. “A physical test was conducted on whether she has a female part. We did what we thought was necessary, thereafter there was no complaint.” Of course no one accused any of these provinces of racism when they wanted proof that she is in fact a girl.

This is not an issue of racism. It is a new and unnecessary and dehumanizing debate on gender. If anything, those who have tried to dehumanize have done nothing but turn her into a national hero. If she carries on in this dignified manner I suspect she will become an international one too. She deserves to be. Not many young people could endure the pressure she has undergone these past few days.

Many of us confusing the issue. It’s about gender.

As Limpopo Athletics secretary Leon Bammau, said, “A physical test was conducted on whether she has a female part. We did what we thought was necessary, thereafter there was no complaint,” why then does the IAAF want to conduct more tests to prove whether she is female or not? How then do we define what a female is if having female organs is not enough?

If we are truly honest with ourselves we will admit that we did think that she appeared and sounded like a man. Even so, she was not the only female athlete to resemble a man. When looking at the 100 and 200 metre sprinters, I remember saying to myself, “I wouldn’t want to meet any of those in a dark alley,” in fact, now that I think about it, in any alley. There is a difference between saying someone appears like a man and questioning their gender. I never questioned Semenya’s gender, nor that of the other female runners because it is something I have seen over and over again.

I even had a persecution complex initially. I thought, first they tried to prevent Oscar Pistorius from running because they claimed that he had an unfair advantage. It was all rather strange that a man with no legs had an advantage. By the time he won his case he hadn’t time to train for his races because he had spent so much time in court. It was just ridiculous.

If the IAAF was racist, then how do we explain the success of so many black athletes? Do we turn a blind eye? Are we going to call it anti-South Africanism perhaps?

A British newspaper claims to have access to Semenya’s preliminary test results. The test results allegedly prove that Semenya has more testosterone than the average woman. Even if that is the case, how did they gain possession of the tests? For arguments sake, let’s assume that she does in fact have more testosterone than the average woman, does that mean she ought to be disqualified for having a genetic advantage?

Professor Tim Noakes on Kaya Fm said on the issue, then how do you decide who has an unfair genetic advantage? According to Noakes, some women will have more testosterone then they get that advantage. He stated that most top athletes do in fact have a genetic advantage above others. What if Bolt is found to have superior genetic coding? Should he then be disqualified as well? I just wonder, what if she has more testosterone then the average professional female athlete but less than the male professional athlete? How do they decide what the thresh hold is? All I have to say to the IAAF and those bloody Australians, “Leave Caster alone!”

A friend of mine put it very well when she said, (yes, she’s a she and I won’t be needing a gender testing thank you) “I’m peeved that the Australians were the cause of this saga, how quickly they forget how we rallied behind Kathy Freeman!” Hear, hear!

Semenya first came to the prying eyes of the I.A.A.F. this year when she cut more than seven seconds off her best time of 2008. They then investigated possible doping violations but found nothing. Well, I say just because she pulled off a Superwoman effort doesn’t mean she’s not a woman.


The real revolution shall not be televised

In Editorials on August 27, 2009 at 11:03 pm

As I watched in the television the political drama the ANC populists staged at Johannesburg airport, when our athletes came from participating in IAAF championships, it became clear to me they were building a propaganda machine along the lines of Zanu-PF by indoctrinating the minds of the people. The trick is about scapegoating and deflecting attention away from the real issues we’re faced with, like service delivery protests by hyping up the Semenya’s incident; orchestrating people’s racial anxieties and fears, asking them to have hope in unspecific things and lies.

My friend and I discussed what was needed for our country to enter a more progressive and developmental mode. We came to conclusion that we need a highly intelligent, extremely eloquent leader with a clear idea of what is needed to be done make our economy more vibrant. He probably will have to be someone with no fear of intimidating passé politics, especially those of the Liberation Movement (LM). He / she must have nothing to prove, which means he/she must be someone already successful in career and well off moneywise.

Where would you get such a perfect candidate, asked my friend. He’ll have to come from obscurity. In modern politics every man’s past disqualifies him from high public office. After the current administration I can assure you people will no longer be in a mood for the devils they know.

“My question to you, are YOU starting to organize a movement such as the one you say we need? Personally I think the answer lies in a small aristocratic youth league that is not aligned with a political party (as you yourself say) – a real youth league that is concerned not about party image but about the people of our country.” Another friend asked through the internet. What is becoming obvious is that people, young people of progressive minds especially, have become fed up with our political leaders across the board. This includes that of our own party Cope.

We listened to the cloying vulgarisateur, Malema, and the rest of snobbish loghorrhoea of Winnie Mandela. We asked ourselves what had gone wrong? And ended up putting the blame on ourselves. We spent too much time not caring for political things, which allowed the worse to rise to the top on the public arena.

We talked about the corrosive impact on our country’s psyche, the growing disdain for excellence; whether in education, culture, or politics, was having. The demands for excellence are labelled elitist by the populist. Ignorance is glamorised as a sign that one is closer to the people, and has not forgotten their roots.

We came to a conclusion that we need an enlightened (I always feel nervous using this term, after all Lenin and Mao were avowed disciples of an Enlightenment ideology, and so is Mugabe) citizenry who understand their rights and can see in seed the dangers to their liberty. The citizenry that is able to sieve wheat from chaff in political rhetoric. Citizens that’ll be able to pull themselves out the current deadening psyche that’s the combination of millenarian hopes and age-old resentments otherwise know as sense of entitlement.

We also said we were in dire need of independent opinion makers who are not prepared to sell their souls to shenanigans of power or money. Those who’ll not give ideological sanction to bad behaviour of powerful and greedy men, making the field of journalism look like its open to the highest bidder by prostituting their pens.

When later that night I sat to read once again the words of another journalists who had chosen the seduction of power over sincerity I was reminded of Samgrass from Brideshead Revisited. [As most know, Samgrass was the don at the rich man’s table, the brilliant chatterer, who moved among dinner tables to impress ignorant men who had not read as much as they had.] Modern Samgrasses fret their talent as vulgarisateur chatterboxes; cloyingly boastful, even excusing the cruelty of powerful men with a stroke of a pen. Of course they are tedious and infelicitous. They betray the progressive spirit of the people. They are of much concern to me because if there’s one thing I’ve learnt in my few months in close contact is that a puppy that feeds on vixen milk sooner or later develops qualities of a wolve.

What is required is “To defend the truth, to articulate it with humility and conviction, and to bear witness to it in life are therefore exacting and indispensable forms of charity.” This is the call the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his recent encyclical, CARITAS IN VERITATE. Indeed let us be charitable to one another, and our government, but let us stand firm in the truth, even when it is out of season castles of clay, or with public opinion. Let’s stand firm for what we believe even against the tide.

A short lesson in history takes us to July 1905, when Lenin in his writing, Two Tactics of Social – Democracy in the Democratic Revolution, described the tasks that then faced the Bolshevik Party; “Undoubtedly, the revolution will teach us and will teach the masses of the people. But the question that now confronts a militant political party is: shall we be able to teach the revolution anything? Shall we be able to make use of the correctness of our Social-Democratic doctrine, of our bond with the only thoroughly revolutionary class, the proletariat, to put a proletarian imprint on the revolution, to carry the revolution to a real and decisive victory, not in word but in deed, and to paralyse the instability, half-heartedness and treachery of the democratic bourgeoisie?”

In a way the challenge today is directed more to the black middle class, the only people who have potential power to turn the tide of the decaying spirit in our country. Will they listen? The choice might seem difficulty, between nostalgia and liberation movement gone haywire; or principle. Liberty is the most revolutionary doctrine that sometimes must develop by vaunting bad tradition to preserve a good principle. This is the paradox of a traditional black person that is intensified by unconditional belief in our constitution and bill of rights.

The real revolution is never really expressed by populist language which always catches things by the tailcoats. The real revolution, as Alexander Solzhenitsyn saw, starts in the hearts and minds of men of goodwill, and run like a double edged sword through an irrepressible fight for human dignity. The real revolution is about freedom and liberty even against collective psyche if it be necessary.

As I watched the orchestration of anger at Johannesburg airport on TV I was reminded of something H.G. Wells once said about “the facile assumption that the people at a disadvantage will be stirred to anything more than chaotic and destructive expressions of resentment.” The real revolution has a tendency of confounding revolutionaries, and, as the saying go, it shall not be televised.


We are getting worse, not better

In Discussion on August 27, 2009 at 10:58 pm

I hope my observation is not skewed. I pray I’m wrong. My observation is: Precedence is set and the wagon of moral rot is moving at high speed. I have also observed that, our current leaders are not quotable, they mostly hit from the heap.

What lesson can we ever learn by alleging that Whites are racists, for the mere fact that any of them has not managed to head for the airport in a particular day. What for example would this lesson teach our children who are watching and learning from both our words and action?

The present South African political leadership is uninteresting and uninspiring. We currently simply operate from a materialistic point of view. Our words and deeds show little in as far as our vision and anticipated future is concern. It only demonstrates that we are indulging in the present.

I look at Caster Semenya’s reaction at the handling of her unfair treatment by the IAAF and share her dumbfound. I personally was extremely disgusted by the treatment, and I cried regionalism. By all measures, IAAF really treated Caster in a manner that is inhumane and unacceptable. However, events showed that our political leaders acted worse with opportunistic and cold disregard for her plight, concentrating only on political point scoring. To take such a sensitive event and turn it into a party political campaign is disgusting.

Let me twist Biko’s words and say, the greatest weapon of the economically well off is the mind of the poor, especially the unprepared mind. It became obvious at Johannesburg airport that had devised a political strategy to brainwash the unasuspecting; to make themselves appear to be the protectors of African dignity. This is a psychological damaging tactic that wants to say to our people: You are poor because white people don’t like you! You are poor because white people are stealing your ability, your talents and your wealth. So indeed, we as the Black government are not the problem, but whites are the problem.

It is the ANC’s unwritten policies to use racial bashing as a weapon of fighting political battles. The usage of this racial language cannot possibly be to educate, advance, motivate, encourage and develop South Africa. The racial lingo serves to redirect the attention of our people from the failures of the government to fulfil their promises, so the people will think the problem lies with the whites and the so called black elites who support the new consensus for real change in our country. So long as the people are preoccupied with issues of race they’ll see the Liberation Movement as their messiah and remain loyal to it. They recall that it was the ANC that defeated the scourge of apartheid.

It is no coincidence that the ANC and its alliance partners get preoccupied with racism wherever there’s pressure of their failing governance, like the recent service delivery protests. The racial lingo ROBS the poor of their dreams and abilities because; they are encouraged to keep blaming Whites. This distracts them of better planning to shape the present in a way that will impact the future positively and demand real change from their leaders. Those in power keep promising and the poor keep hoping.

Indeed there are still Whites who are racist; the economy is in the hands of the white minority. All this is the information that is known to all of us. I’m in no way going to dispute it. The majority of people in South Africa are black and I believe that they deserve a bigger cut of the economic share. How we go about doing that is another issue.

My logic tells me that to turn around the situation we have to emphasise on education, entrepreneurship, discipline, ethics in governance, moral regeneration and productive patriotism. It would be better to encourage unity against poverty; cut the racial lingo and focus on improving people’s lives. It does not mean we should avoid confronting and solving racial issues where we can. We could start by encouraging white people too to be part of those who rally behind the poor.

As it is now we are disintegrating by the lead of our government; our words are shallow and lack wisdom. Instead of inspiring us to better our lives, our leader’s words frustrate us and inspire our racial anger; make us feel guilty, inefficient, in adequate and unpatriotic. They make us hate, not love, aggressive not humble.
Our leadership have failed to inspire a mentally attitude to build our lives. It does not encourage us to feel capable and able. In short, they do not inspire hope in us.

Our political leaders in general are mostly approaching issues two dimensionally. They seem to be draining their energy focusing on trying to get into government, rather than focusing on shaping the thinking of the South Africans so that South Africans can be self sufficient. Even those that are within the ruling party, who are level headed like JZ, make statements which are merely meant to appeal to the public, rather than words that can transform and inspire the public.

Maybe you are asking, what exactly are you looking for?

“Being black is not a matter of pigmentation – being black is a reflection of a mental attitude,” said Steve Biko when he was almost Malema’s age. Compare the wisdom of their words and see which do you find wanting. We must just accept that we have taken a wrong turn and are in need to stop and reassess ourselves. We need to make a quick U turn. We need to reshape the way we see the world.

A friend recently asked me I have a feeling that the current leadership we have cannot make the turn we wish to make. This call for a completely different way of doing things. Like Nelson Mandela said we need new hands.

The change we need can be agitated by individuals outside the formal organizations that are stifled with power struggles and bureaucracies. The situation calls for the modern radicals that will portray an unapologetic attitude. People who are not primarily motivated by wanting to be in government. These are the type of activists that will be able shake the core of the society and return it to its original form.

Fearless, ruthless, principled and dangerously motivated by the eager to see the lives of South Africans improve for the better. Maybe we can turn the tide and start to be better.


COPE STATEMENT ON FALSE REPORTING BY MSIMELELO NJWABANE

In News on August 26, 2009 at 8:42 pm

More than one occasion, a journalist named Msimelo Njwabane has written articles that distort the truth about issues in COPE. Despite our attempts to engage him on these factual inaccuracies, he remains unwilling to correct them. The Congress of the People therefore wishes to set the record straight with respect to these, so that the public is properly informed.

Mr. Njwabane stated in an article last week that the Congress Working Committee (CWC) of COPE “condemned” certain members in the Eastern Cape for their alleged unruly behaviour. The CWC did no such thing as we were not in a position to judge members behaviour from Johannesburg. We attempted to engage Mr. Njwabane on this issue, but realised our efforts were to no avail. Despite the press statement we made, he continues to insist that the CWC made such a damning statement.

In yesterday’s newspaper he alleged that COPE leaders could not be reached for comment on the story he has written. He has the contact details of Phillip Dexter, Head of Communications for COPE, but has made no effort to contact him or any other member of COPE leadership.

He also alleges that COPE leaders “fled” an angry mob in a black BMW. The only person who was driven in a black BMW, around the corner to fetch a car, was Phillip Dexter.

He had the name of the restaurant wrong, the list of leaders who attempted to address the issues at that venue wrong, and has reported a number of other distortions of the truth that reveal that his only intention is to paint COPE and some of its leaders in a negative light.

This is unfortunate, because the meetings held in the province over the last few days have been important. COPE is facing challenges in the Eastern Cape, but the leadership are making a genuine and sincere effort to address these. This includes frank discussions, but not of the nature described by Mr. Njwabane. His version of the facts are clearly based on dubious sources who want to create the perception of a party in disarray.

That he is so transparent in his political agenda is perhaps a blessing, as the public will always be able to see through the facade of propaganda masquerading as journalism.


FRUITFUL MEETING OF OPPOSITION PARTY LEADERS

In News on August 26, 2009 at 6:10 pm

MEDIA STATEMENT ISSUED BY BANTU HOLOMISA, MP ON BEHALF OF PARTY LEADERS: Leaders and representatives from the opposition political parties (DA, COPE, IFP, ID, UDM, FF+, ACDP and UCDP) in Parliament met this morning.
We had a fruitful meeting and discussed various issues of mutual interest and concern.

As a result, we have resolved to establish a small committee to develop and draft a framework for our future cooperation, flowing from previous discussions on issues of mutual interest in the Multi-party Forum. This committee will also include the Whips of the various parties to develop proposals on how we can cooperate on issues inside Parliament.

It is our common goal to ensure that multi-party democracy is strengthened and the threat of one-party dominance is averted. In that spirit, we have agreed to continue meeting on a regular basis to ensure that the question of cooperation that have been referred to the abovementioned committee will be seriously considered.

We also had the opportunity to discuss the upcoming meeting between ourselves and President Zuma. Without limiting the forthcoming discussion, we have agreed that we share the following concerns, which today was suggested in writing to the President’s office for inclusion in the agenda:

a. The appointment of the Chief Justice;

b. The need to release the Donen Report;

c. Service delivery protests;

d. Constitutional/democratic concerns regarding: Party funding, the level of the IEC’s independence, the Media (especially the SABC), and creating an enabling environment for participatory democracy.

Enquiries:

Bantu Holomisa, MP

UDM President

082 – 552 4156

Oilgate: Zuma, Motlanthe and Sexwale must step downShare

In Discussion on August 25, 2009 at 1:55 pm

The Sunday Times has again resorted to sensationalist reporting of the Oilgate Scandal as though its revelations were something unknown to the public. The public may not know the recommendations by the Donen Commission but it is privy to scandalous details relating to payments of surcharges to Saddam Hussein’s regime in contravention of the UN Security Council Resolution 986 relating to the Iraqi Oil-for-Food Programme, involvement of top ANC officials, namely Jacob Zuma, Tokyo Sexwale, Kgalema Motlanthe and Mendi Msimang, donation of R11 million to the ANC, and all other unsavoury dealings with the murderous regime of Saddam Hussein.

It is difficult to decipher what the Sunday Times intended to achieve with rehashing the same allegations that had been reported ad nauseum in previous years. Running with the headline “The report Mbeki and Zuma hid from you” one can only arrive at the conclusion that the Sunday Times intended to embarrass those mentioned in the Donen Commission report if the primary intention was not to boost sales. The behaviour of the Sunday Times borders on “gutter journalism”.

Despite the theatricals by the Sunday Times the Oilgate scandal does not seem to have been given due consideration by the law enforcement authorities. The involvement of certain personalities, such as Sandile Majali and Tokyo Sexwale, who are directors of companies; and who in terms of the Companies Act have fiduciary duties of good faith and the duty to act with necessary care and skill when performing their duties. It is important to establish whether their actions were consistent with the provisions of the Companies Act, and/or subsequent amendments thereof.

The involvement of Imvume Management (Pty) Ltd, led by Sandile Majali, in the Oilgate scandal has been widely reported. The 2005 UN Independent Inquiry Committee report on the corruption relating to oil-for-food programme mentioned companies, which Majali and Sexwale were directors of, as having been involved in this corruption. Sexwale is a director of Mocoh Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd, which according to the abovementioned UN report paid about $575,000 in surcharges (read “kickbacks”) to the Saddam Hussein’s government in respect of the oil contract valued at about $185 million. It is reported that Sexwale had pleaded ignorance to payments made by Mocoh in violation of the UN sanctions against Iraq. It appears that Sexwale may have neglected his duties as a director of Mocoh, which is rather shameful.

Another company linked to Majali, Montega Trading (Pty) Ltd, is reported to have been levied $464,000 of surcharges which they never paid; but correspondence between Majali and representatives acting on behalf of the Iraqi government suggest that there was intention to make such payment.

When responding to allegations of paying surcharges to the Iraqi government, lawyers acting on behalf of Imvume indicated that Majali was initially unaware of the requirement by the Iraqi oil company to make payment of surcharges. His lawyers claim that when Majali became aware of these requirements and their contravention of the the UN sanctions arrangements and the Oil-for-Food Programme, Majali “had no intention at all of paying any surcharges at all, whether in respect of the Montega account or otherwise.”

These lawyers appear to have been economical with the truth since Majali had in 2002 written a letter to Iraq’s Minister of Oil Amir Rasheed confirming details of the meeting he and Kgalema Motlanthe (then ANC Secretary General) had held with the former deputy president of Iraq Tariq Aziz. Majali stated in his letter that, “we [Majali, Msimang and Motlanthe] proposed to settle the outstanding amounts of $464,000 in two equal instalments of $232,000 from the proceeds of the two liftings that were negotiated in favour of Imvume…” Based on the content of this letter, there was a clear intention on part of Majali, with the full blessing of the ANC, to violate the UN sanctions against Iraq.

In September 2001 Majali had written a letter to Khalid Tabra, an Iraqi businessman who led the Iraq Friendship Association which was a front for Hussein’s Ba’ath Socialist Party, which confirmed the active involvement of the ANC in this corruption and blatant violation of the UNSC resolution 986.

In the letter Majali said, “we believe there is an need to move speedily towards the implementation of the suggested programmes especially the implementation of an effective political programme that will result in an effective strategy geared towards campaigning for the lifting of sanctions and the embargo that have inflicted pain and suffering to the people of Iraq.”

In the same letter, Majali said, “We further believe that a joint effort between the ANC and the Arab Ba’ath Party will add a lot of value towards achieving the common political objectives.”

Jacob Zuma in 2002 hosted a banquet for Tariq Aziz and it was at this lavish occasion that he condemned sanctions against Iraq in line with keeping the promises made by Majali a year earlier that South Africa will “campaign for the lifting of sanctions and the embargo” against Iraq.

The involvement of the ANC in these controversial acts which was in direct breach of the UNSC resolution; and surely this needs further investigation. It is appalling that the ANC by virtue of running government had represented the continent at the UNSC while being directly involved in flouting adopted its resolutions. Individuals who are currently in government who may have been directly or indirectly involved in the corruption relating to Oil-for-Food Programme. The request by the Democratic Alliance for Jacob Zuma to act on the Donen Commission report may not receive due attention as Zuma’s party is implicated in this corruption; and Zuma himself cannot plead ignorance to the involvement of the ANC in this corruption.

The honourable and logical thing is for Zuma, Motlanthe and Sexwale to step down as their direct or indirect involvement in this matter is an embarrassment to the country. Countries like India after the release of the UN report fired their government officials after learning of their involvement in this corruption. Zuma had been preaching the anti-corruption gospel since ascending to power; and it is time that he stands true to his word and resign along with his colleagues. The Hawks should investigate any possible criminal wrongdoing on part of the directors of all companies whose involvement in the Oil-for-Food Programme corruption was reported on the UN report, as well as current or previous government officials who had been involved; and charges be brought against them in terms of the section 35 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

Jacob Zuma had promised to crack down on corruption and there is no better moment than now to start cleaning his own [Luthuli] House. We have for long now been subjected to his empty rhetoric. We who are concerned about the level of corruption that has plagued this country hope and wish there will be no employment of political mechanisations to protect prominent individuals from criminal prosecution. The principle of “equality before the law” should be upheld and justice should prevail, otherwise we remain yet another country in Africa that is defined in unflattering terms.

Hands off Semenya

In News on August 25, 2009 at 12:29 pm

Press Statement release – 22 AUGUST 2009

The Congress of the People Women’s Forum took exception to the embarrassment caused by the International Association of Athletes Federation (IAAF) to the young promising South African woman, Ms Caster Semenya.

Why do the doubts come only after Ms Semenya had won the Gold Medal for South Africa, would this young woman’s physic been an issue had she not won the Gold or any medal at the World Athlete Championship? Have we not said enough is enough on discrimination of any kind for the people of South Africa? For how long will we continue to be looked down upon by the International World?

This embarrassment does not only affect Caster, but her family, Moletsi village and South Africa at large. Instead of this moment becoming the most joyful moment for the young lady, her family and her country, it has now been turned into one big Fiasco.

The young heroin couldn’t have made us more proud in South Africa as August is a special month in our country, a month to celebrate women, their successes and the challenges we still face. You are a special gift for this August month, congratulations you have made us Proud, Halala Ntombazana.


Zuma’s 100 days : a mixed bag

In Discussion on August 23, 2009 at 8:17 pm

A few things stand out when we look at Zuma’s first 100 days in office. There is clearly a willingness to do things differently. Whether this translates into actual recognizable government action is another issue all together. While there were many good and bad things in assessing the fist hundred days it’s important to assess the tone and style of governance that is being introduced, the response to service delivery as well as corruption.

The tone of Zuma’s presidency is therefore on the surface, that of a listening leader who involves stakeholders. You will recall that not so long ago Zuma was accused by many of singing a tune to each audience and never having a backbone on any matter other than to defer to the ANC. This song and dance approach to leadership has not really changed. Look at the BRT mess, the service delivery protests as well as the manner of how opposition parties are treated in parliament and you will realize that what Zuma says when he talks of an olive branch to opposition parties and listening more to communities still needs its test in practice.

A hundred days is perhaps too early to be conclusive about that. The dictatorial approach to the appointment of the SABC board as well as the botched process of consultation of the appointment of the Chief Justice, are mere examples of the road we still need to travel before we can say that Zuma intends taking more than just the ANC praise singers on board his administration.

In the civil service a massive purge in underway. Directors General who are suspected to be COPE sympathizers are being hounded out of their jobs by Ministers who want to be seen to be politically correct by Zuma. Trumped up charges are apparently on the cards to ‘deal’ with these ‘disloyal’ civil servants and ‘teach them a lesson’. It is something that is happening with Zuma’s full knowledge despite his assurances that civil servants will not lose their jobs.

Business dealings that are reliant on government funds are being cancelled where COPE business people are involved and there is an unwritten rule that if you desire a government contract you need to stay far from those that are seen as disloyal to the ANC. An atmosphere of heightened patronage has only deepened and it is shocking how many high ups in business are going along with this situation in order to secure their own business interests.

Working groups that were set up by the previous presidency have been abruptly dissolved. A good example of this is the youth working group that was convened by the former deputy president, task teams on ASGISA and JIPSA and many other advisory structures which were never requested for a closure or hand over report in many instances.

Zuma’s words that there will be continuity ring hollow as wholesale denigration of his predecessor’s initiatives is commonplace. The tactic of the ANC to keep Zuma out of the actual implementation of this strange form of ‘continuity’ fools no one. Even the religious community has not escaped this bizarre logic – a completely new religious structure led by Zuma’s favorite pastor McCauley has been set up with no consultation with the South African Council of Churches and the Muslim Judicial Council amongst other structures. The Religious leaders forum set up under Mbeki has been ignored in favour of what is feared to be a partisan religious structure assembled as a reward of some kind to Ray McCauley for giving Zuma an exclusive platform in that popular Church during the 2009 elections campaign.

Zuma’s communications machinery is well oiled. With lieutenants working flat out at both Luthuli House and the Union Buildings the media statement factory is in full production. Flying on SAA, opening a hotline in a month, visiting a slumbering mayor unannounced, telling teachers they must pull up their socks – all of these are good gimmicks whose only challenge is sustainability. Does Flying on SAA once in a blue moon for example save the tax payer a million rand a month that is being spent on Zuma’s security alone?

Credit must however be given to the media statement factory that sees Zuma meeting stakeholders on all sides of town and really making a public impact. The Siyabonga string of rallies is also a good way of going back to the electorate. There is a danger there of spending too much time appearing as ANC president instead of President of all. This is what the PR machinery must manage very carefully. It is for example inexplicable why Gwede Mantashe can even attempt to justify shouting at ministers – he has a hoard of inefficient provincial secretaries of the ANC to manage two of whom have had to go down with their executives recently due to the total failure of those structures. Zuma should not be allowing him to shout at his ministers in pubic no matter how aggrieved he may be at any given time.

Finally, the silence of Zuma on crucial issues until it is too late is a trait he must drop. This was the downfall of his predecessor speaking on something weeks after the water has flown under several bridges of public attention. In this regard the failure to give Sbu Ndebele sound advice as well as the failure to condemn the embarrassing threats to make the Western Cape ungovernable were a big let down. The recent pouring of scorn over the youth leagues pontification on economic policy and non- racialism however is a welcome unshackling of Zuma from the stranglehold of the youth league’s petulance.

*Tabane is Political Advisor to COPE parliamentary leader. He writes here in his personal capacity


Zuma’s 100 Days : Some critical reflections.

In Speeches on August 23, 2009 at 11:14 am

When Jacob Zuma was elected President of the Republic over 100 days ago, the leadership of the Congress of the People wished him well and, quite sensibly, decided to suspend all prior judgment of his suitability for the high office. We genuinely pledged our support to him. We have, however, been disappointed with a number of his early actions. His failure to use his position to unite the nation by acting more as SA’s, not the ANC’s, president has emerged as one of his biggest blind spots. Left unchecked, it could, like all blind spots, prove fatal.

Zuma failed to stop the blurring of lines between the party and state. On June 16, for example, he showed poor judgement when he appeared on the same state platform with Julius Malema, the ANC Youth League president, to launch the National Youth Development Agency. It was at that function where Malema demanded free education and a share of the 500 000 jobs promised by Zuma in his state of the nation address. This is dispiriting and divisive.

Similarly concerning is the practice of making ministers account directly to Luthuli House instead of – or in addition to – having to account to Zuma or Collins Chabane, his performance monitoring minister and architect of the new governance structure.

A more substantial matter that has dominated the first 100 days is: who’s running SA? What is clear is, it’s that it’s not Zuma; but a combination of defacto ‘Prime Minister’ Gwede Mantashe and the emboldened ANC’s alliance partners.

The issue of corruption continues to be a cloud that hangs shamefully over our body politic. If the report of SCOPA two weeks ago singling out over 2 000 civil servants for shady dealings through the government’s procurement system is a true reflection of the current status, we have to believe that there is a crisis. Again, the president has not made it a habit to speak out on corruption. We should hear his voice more when these terrible revelations are brought to the attention of Parliament. Given his controversial path to power, this is one area where he cannot send mixed signals. Sadly he does.

Related to ending corruption is the fight against crime. A lot has been said about the harsh actions that police must take. Zuma must take leadership in calming the nation down to understand that fight against crime is a national effort and cannot be won by police brutality or war talk. In fact, examples of countries where that strategy has only brought more violence abound. The danger of criminals attempting to out-arm the police is real and needs to be faced down. Unfortunately, the appointment of Bheki Cele as police commissioner, joining two other politicians, only served to underline that party loyalty still takes precedence over technical and professional competence.

Three months down the line we still have no transparency about what the establishment of such a huge cabinet is costing the tax payer. Nor what its deliverables are. Equally opaque are decisions informing the key appointments other than removing Mbeki’s appointments. For example, it is still not clear why Tito Mboweni refused to stay on after being reappointed and why the president or the government never defended him from verbal abuse by the ANC’s labour allies. Or, better still, why Dikgang Moseneke, the deputy chief justice, was overlooked for nomination to succeed Pius Langa as chief justice. Our suspicion – and we look forward to being proven wrong – is that independence of thought is not an attribute the president holds dear. We saw this also when the ANC resisted the appointment of Dr Mamphele Ramphele to chair the interim SABC board. Apart from this saga demonstrating continuing ANC intolerance, it showed the ANC up as refusing to accommodate divergence of views. The Presidents’ voice was muted while all this was being implemented in his name.

The establishment of the monitoring function was meant to produce performance contracts for ministers. In June, Zuma promised parliament that at the end of July all ministers will have performance contracts. We have not yet seen this come to pass. It is important that government is able to meet its own deadlines. We need to tone down the promises and get down to the business of implementation.

It was not all gloom. The agenda of SA on the international stage, while it was not with flying colors’, was also not a spectacular failure; SA was reasonably represented. It is hard to remember what the president said to the G8 leaders; nor what came out of his bilateral with US President Barack Obama or his foreign minister, Hilary Clinton. Still, thankfully, we have not had more embarrassments like the refusal to grant travel documents to the Daila Lama into our country. Our agenda remains unclear with the rebranded ministry but we admit that it is early days and that Zuma and the new minister in that areas of governance need more than just three months to determine a clear policy direction.

We must commend Zuma for his hands-on style whilst visiting stakeholders, teachers, municipalities. But is this sustainable into the future? If not, it will come back to bite his administration. People are impressed less by the gimmicks that make headlines; but more by the actions that improve their lives.

The problems of our country cannot be resolved by the ANC alone. The undertakings to work with other representatives of the people in parliament have to be followed through. We remain ready to work with Zuma for the good of all. But Zuma has to make the transition from being ANC president to being the nation’s leader.

Dr Mvume Dandala is COPE Parliamentary Leader.


WE HAVE AN ENORMOUS RESPONSIBILTY – WE DARE NOT FALTER

In News on August 20, 2009 at 8:55 pm

Many youth political organizations have paraded and dangled the “youth development” card that has yielded zero returns for young people of South Africa. I remain unconvinced of the real commitment of youth organization with succinct policy frameworks and implementation strategies aimed at addressing the monotonous attitude towards a ticking time bomb. Young people are active by nature, and do not have the patience to sit idle.

The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), which essentially, is the merger of the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the National Youth Commission is yet to hit groundwork. There are sceptics who because of previous delivery failures and an abysmal track record, doubt very much if this body will be effective.

I am of the view that, unless progressive youth formations pay significant attention to this body, it will remain another ANC stomping ground where cronyism and nepotism will be the order of the day as has been the case up to now. This body does not belong to one entity, it is ours, and depends on tax payer’s money to run effectively.

My reason for this statement is simple: how did the government allow for the board of the NYDA to be elected before a national election? Shouldn’t the process have waited until after the general elections where, political parties would receive a fresh mandate to be the custodians and guardians of all state programmes? How justifiable is the appointment of ANC Youth League Deputy President, Andile Lungisa, to be the head of NYDA? Why was the Congress of the People (COPE) Youth Movement excluded from this process?

We believe that the process should have epitomized true democracy regardless of political affiliations for the benefit of all young South Africans. It is of concern that hot on the heels of Andile Lungisa’s appointment, President Zuma appointed the next Chief Justice without following proper constitutional procedures. Should we be concerned?

More than the challenges we face as young people, South Africa is slowly spiraling to a soon to be quagmire if we, as the youth do not take charge and ownership of our country’s destiny. Currently, the country is operating at a rapidly declining current account deficit that will continue to do so unless young people come up with innovative business plans and proposals aimed at not only sustaining themselves, but contributing largely to the income stream of our country.

From an economic point of view, we believe that Enterprise Development is the answer. History has taught us that for many years, South African trade has benefited largely to the export of commodities such as diamonds, gold, platinum and agricultural products. Although demand for these has significantly dropped somewhat (except for agriculture which has its own environmental challenges internally and globally), we continue to rely on these commodities for the stability of our currency.

If one analyses the Canadian and Japanese economic model, it gives credence to COPE’s strategy for not only investing in our youth, but it encourages a culture of entrepreneurship and self-sustainability that would inevitably pay handsome dividends to the country’s developmental goals and agenda.

Both the above countries have invested significantly to enterprise development, and their economies are largely driven by SMME’s. The reality in South Africa is that relative to existing enterprises, we are not meeting labour demand, and this is one of the main contributors to lack of employment opportunities.

The challenge here is how do we, as young people bridge the gap or fill the vacuum to meet labour demand? The answer lies in creating sustainable and viable business opportunities where employment will be created through feasible opportunities within the medium to the long-term period.

I remain unconvinced that our labour movement has the capacity or interest to pay attention to this. This then, brings me to another highly contested terrain, Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) and Affirmative Action (AA).

It is not an illusion to acknowledge that BBBEE has been a somewhat controversially implemented policy with serious unintended consequences that need to be addressed if we are serious about broad based empowerment. Amongst all the confusion that existed, COPE has been lambasted for its stance in this regard, and we will always remain humble to public scrutiny.

I was fortunate to have been the facilitator of the economic plenary session at the COPE Gauteng Provincial Summit and a scribe at the National Congress economic plenary in Bloemfontein. Our stance as COPE has been unequivocal; BBBEE and AA are good policies and we support them without any contradiction. Our bone of contention is their application and implementation which has left much to be desired to date.

Whilst we also support the seven (7) key elements of BBBEE which are ownership, control, employment equity, skills development, preferential procurement, enterprise development and socio-economic development, the question remains: what monitoring measures and controls are there to ensure that these are adequately adhered to without short cuts?

It is important that bodies such as the Employment Equity Commission, lobby and advocacy groups such as NAFCOC and the BMF are fully recognized. We call upon the Employment Equity Commission to be made a full-time regulatory body aimed not only at putting statistics together and whistle blowing, but it is a body equipped with the power to take a tough consequential stance on ill-disciplined and anti-transformation transgressors. Although this body has done some good work, it has (up to now) merely been reduced to loud-mouths who name and shame, rightfully so, but have no powers to act decisively against those who do not take our laws and the general transformational agenda seriously.

Only the Minister of Labour is entrusted with any responsibility in this regard. Our suggestion to the powers that be is simply: regulate this body with full powers. This may inevitably lead to the amendment of the Employment Equity Act, which is justifiable in this case. That is what COPE means when it says: “let us review some of these policies.” A review does not mean a total disregard and scrapping of the policy.

What of our young, white counterparts? Again, if we are serious about protecting our gains and positively redressing the imbalances of the past, our young, white colleagues should create true transformational consortiums with fellow black people to ensure that these enterprises are truly reflective of the demographics of our country without reservations. Furthermore, such enterprises should adhere unequivocally to the 7 key elements of BBBEE.

In this manner, the question of broad based would be addressed, whilst, our young, white counterparts would have been accommodated in such dealings to also contribute to the national fiscus.

If we are serious about taking our country forward, it is our responsibility as young people of our land to ensure that enterprise development remains and must be a priority. The National Youth Development Agency is one such platform, if utilized correctly. It could elevate the role and plight of young people in alleviating poverty, creating opportunities and assisting in the reversal of the current account deficit through feasible and viable economic activities with a clear agenda that aims to make a significant contribution to our country’s problems.

One of COPE’s positions is that, funding should not only be the only solution, but enterprises who receive a capital injection or funding, should be monitored, audited on an ad-hoc basis, coached and mentored until such time that they are fit to run their own fiscal affairs.

Young people in rural areas need to be a top priority as well. It is true to say that whilst they must inevitably receive our attention, large corporate are not present in these areas, but COPE has a plan to revive the industrial sectors that were prevalent during the apartheid in places like Dimbaza in the Eastern Cape etc.., and improve labour conditions.

We also believe that a major financial injection is needed to resuscitate ailing agricultural schools to empower our young, rural colleagues with knowledge and skills to enable them to manage farms effectively when they ultimately take over to avoid the modis operandi of Zimbabwe. This would inevitably ensure that such farms continue to be productive as our people would be adequately equipped to manage our agriculture successfully. Factories and mostly textile industries in these areas would need to be resuscitated to create more employment opportunities.

It is concerning that COSATU has up to now, failed to address this matter. We do hope though, that Ebrahim Patel (Minister of Economic Affairs) and former General Secretary of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU), together with Rob Davis (Minister of Trade & Industry) and SACP Central Committee member, will provide the impetus and be the catalyst of our ailing industrial system.

Also, one of COPE’s agenda is to lead the way in the discussion that would introduce of technical schools at high school level. Artisans, engineers and technically qualified candidates are needed to revive our falling infrastructure, and by introducing these schools at a young age, it allows young people to begin to think technically without being stereotyped into entering some of the saturated professions, although these professions still remain important to the bigger national picture.

Statistics South Africa, from the research, “The Youth Of South Africa” where people aged between 15 and 65 were interviewed. The research paints a worrying picture regarding the state of the youth in our country. It stands as follows:

• Of just more than 15,9 million economically active citizens, 4,8 million (almost 1/3) were unemployed

• 3,4 million (70.8%) of the 4,8 million people who were unemployed were youth (between the ages of 15 and 35).

• Almost a third (29,2%: 1,5 million) of unemployed youth in South Africa fall into the internationally defined category of youth – persons between the ages of 15 and 24

• If race is taken into consideration, the majority of the unemployed youth (89,7%: 4,9 million out of 5,5 million) are young Africans. They face unemployment rates nearly nine times as high as their Colored, Indian/Asian and White counterparts

• African unemployment is consistently higher than unemployment for the other groups across the different age groups The most vulnerable group seems to be Africans between the ages of 25 and 34

• Nearly two thirds (65,5%: 3,6 million) of the unemployed youth do not hold a Grade 12 certificate

• The majority (90%: 3,2 million) of this group is African. It is clear that lack of education greatly affects employability

• Nearly a fifth (15,9%) of the employed youth hold a certificate, diploma or degree compared to only 4,6% of the unemployed, and qualifications are spread across certain fields of study [It should be noted however, that the unemployed do not hold the right kind of qualifications]

• 97% of the economically active white youth who hold qualifications in the business, commerce and management fields are employed, while only 53,3% of African youths with qualifications in the same field were successful to find employment

These are some of grave issues that as a youth movement, COPE must tackle and lead the pack in discussions and deliberations. We acknowledge that, we may need to partner with various youth formations, be it business, NGO’s etc…, but the reality is, the time is now for us to start to deal with tangible matters; bread and butter issue that affect the lives of ordinary young South Africans.

The youth of 1976 left an amazing legacy, and the question yet to be answered is what legacy are we, as the youth of 2009 going to leave behind? Our country is in dire need for young people to take us forward. The time is now, let us all pull forward, TOGETHER, to make South Africa the place it deserves to be.

Sipho Nghona is one of the National Spokespersons for COPE Youth Movement, serves on the Youth’s National Steering Committee. He is a founder member and inaugural Deputy Chairperson of the BMF Young Professionals, served in the Gauteng Youth Legislature between 2007 and 2008, and served in the ANCYL led youth team (including all youth formations) against xenophobia.


A Paridm shift in the way we think is urgently needed

In Discussion on August 20, 2009 at 8:51 pm

I have asked myself now and again, will we ever have a poverty free society? And if so, how can this poverty free society be achieved?

I have observed events unfold since 1994, and then I was optimistic that poverty will indeed be eradicated, and then I was convinced that the poor people of South Africa will be released from the shackles of poverty.

As the year went by and I saw one or two people leaving the rural communities to go and study at the prestigious universities like Wits and UCT, and then completing their studies and living enviable lives, I then was convinced that we were on the Wright track.

When some shacks were converted into eight roomed houses, and bicycles replaced by fancy German cars, I then remained optimistic.

I therefore have to ask myself if really, we are really on the correct path. Are we pursuing the correct paradigm? Are we properly philosophized?

What is that we are doing correctly and what is it that we are doing wrongly?

I came to a conclusion that, we have a wrong paradigm and we have for the most part of our lives listened to the wrong teachers. We have, through all these abandoned our own cultural teaching for the mere fact that they where not documented.

If we keep the paradigm we have now, then the poor will remain poor and the rich will get richer.

We were then attracted by fancy books nicely packed in book stores with fancy and shiny covers, well written with a high level of emotional agitation. Through this writing we build an imaginary world in our minds. The world of personal wealth, personal mastery and personal enrichment.

This of course exuberated by the movies we all go see on weekends that promote personal victories and magazines that reflect well refined individuals who attract the attention of the society.

We are now trapped in a paradigm that promotes personal success and enrichment at all costs.

We are characterized by rotten appetite for accumulation of personal wealth. We have learnt to call our neighbors lazy and ourselves hard workers.

To make things worse, our early cultural error is worsened rather than rectified. This error is the error that says, “If I can only take care of my biological family then I’m done”. This is an error that promotes and validates biological relationship more than any other, worsened by familiarisim.

This is why you will see the whole family working for Government and only people connected to those working for government getting JOBS and TENDERS from government.

I’m convinced that we need a complete paradigm change. It is no wonder we experience so much fraud and corruption in a government whose role was to care for and protect the poor. Because of this paradigm that says that Success is about self, people will do what ever it takes to look successful and to make those that they are biologically connected to look super.

This type of paradigm shifts our focus from being concern about the pain of others to being merely concern about our cravings and our wants.

The error we are in needs a different type of political leadership across Africa.

It needs a leader that cares.

In South Africa, when you Join politics, the first teaching is that, you are not here for personal gain but to serve and contribute selflessly. But as soon as people join the Government, they forget this teaching. They turn to focus on their own personal image and the wellbeing of their biological family and friends, forgetting that their main ROLE is not really to work, but to care for the society.

But, Bill Gates, Patrice Motsepe, Oprah Winfrey etc are lauded as the better of the human race, not on emphasis of what they have done for the World, but on emphasis on how much money they have manage to accumulate. This is a sickness of our era that consumes us all.

When the Government minister buys a R2.4 million car, he is not at that point thinking about people in Winteveld, he is not thinking about people in Huhudi, he is not thinking about people in Ha-Madikana, he is driven by the thinking that, he/she will look successful and respected, its Bill Gates wannabe syndrome.

Anthony Robbins taught us to be successful (Personal Mastery), Steven Covey taught us to be effective (Seven Habits of highly effective people), OG Mandingo teaches about the Richest Man in Babylon. And there are many examples of self-help books that promotes the fact that you need to succeed before you can help others.
Now, people are not ashamed to enrich themselves through the taxpayer’s money. They are not afraid to look rich on the expense of the poor.

We therefore need a paradigm overhaul.

We have indeed entered a very dangerous phase, while the people on the ground protest for service delivery, the ANC provinces are fighting to control the resources of those people and mostly they are not driven by the passion to serve the people, but by their eager to succeed and self-enrichment. Indeed the ANC government has produced millionaires. Since 1994, those well placed within the ruling party have made a killing; those who are not connected in the ruling party have really realized that, they have to work doubly hard to make it.

We need to start to say; I can’t eat, while my neighbor sleeps hungry. I refuse to drive a R1 million worth of car while there is a community without running water. This sounds like too much, but is not. We need to dedicate the next 15 years for poverty eradication. Politicians in government must trim down and use their own cars to go to work, live in their own hoses, like any other employee who lives on their salary.

When we say we don’t have the money to provide for free education, we must also say we don’t have money to maintain people’s extravagant life styles, or build extravagant stadiums that’ll soon be pink elephants. We must limit the cell phone budget of politicians, if Zimbabwe can do that why cant we do that, unless we have accepted that the poor deserve to live in the conditions they live in, and we don’t view their conditions as urgent because our own families are living a better life, our kids go to good schools and we have graduated from three meals a day, as we can spend as much as R2000.00 for food per day while some of the people we serve struggle to live on R6.00 a day.

The path we are on is not an African Way of Ubuntu.

We need to move from the paradigm of self enrichment to that of community success and prosperity. We need to start saying that my neighbor is my family, irrespective of their biological genes. To say if I can take a neighbor’s kid to school, I would have succeeded.

The Government must then be poverty alleviation machinery in the true sense of poverty alleviation.

It could have a list of extremely poor communities and their most urgent needs and the deadline on which those need must be met. And this information must be populated. It would be an action focused IDP.

Ministers can cut their benefits and a portion of their salary in dedication to a community or a school or a clinic etc.

The current politicians in government do not have the passion to serve the people; they are more focused on their own personal success, both Careerist and financial wise.

Even those who do well are mostly motivated by trying to look good in the eyes of the country, or to impress the president than anything else. That is why when they do something significant they the media to advertise themselves. We’ve fallen into a narcissist culture. If you give a deep personal scrutiny you will realize that they careless about the wellbeing of poor people.

This is an error in thinking.

The first thing to do fix is to force government officials to reside in the poorest community they serve. Mayor of Tshwane must go and live in Winterveld, rather than posh suburbs. So that he can be reminded of the conditions people live in daily. And people can bother her daily about their concerns.

The premier of Limpopo must go and live in Mohodi-ha Manthata, so that he can be reminded of the conditions that the people there live in.

As soon as that community is uplifted they must move to next poor community. Doing this and not ignoring other community, but imposing a constant reminder on our public servants that more needs to be done.

We need a different thinking, we need fresh leadership. President Jacob Zuma will wake up one day and realize that, he does not have the time like his exes Pres Mbeki and Pres Mandela. He will realize that talk is indeed cheap, and pretending to be doing something while you are doing nothing, it’s very dangerous.

There is a need to review government revenue and spending since 1994 to date to see if we cant do better in channeling resources towards alleviating poverty. Let’s build our communities and be proud of them.

We need a serious paradigm shift in the way we think.

Cope rates Helen Zille’s 100 days as a Premier

In Editorials on August 18, 2009 at 3:00 pm

The only meaningful assessment of the real work the Premier is doing can only be done in six month’s time, at the earliest, when the budget cycle determines departments show evidence of implementing the programmes they’ve adopted.

In the past 100 days we hope the Premier has, at the least, been able to investigate malfunctions on the government structures, and set up systems that’ll deal with them in order to speed up service implementation.

What we can say for sure that we didn’t like at the start of this Premier’s tenure is the continuation of the trend we saw in the city of Cape Town, where Coloured and African Head of Departments (HODs) were forced to resign through one reason or the other, and were replaced by white males. When you look at how the similar positions were filled in the Western Cape Premier’s office and other provincial department you can notice the similar trend continuing.

Besides that the Premier has shown impressive maturity in continuing with progressive drives to counteract unemployment that were started by the ANC government, like Expanded Public Works programmes. The Premier can do more in creating platform for enterprise programmes. We think the time has come for the Premier to call a bosberaad with major business in order to come up with ways of minimizing recession impact, and creating much needed jobs for our people.

The Premier mentioned encouraging investment on Fisheries on her Parliament opening speech. We are still highly awaiting clear programmes on that since we think this is one of the most important industry for this province. A 3 hector Abalone Farm, for instance, has capacity of employing up to 800 people. Imagine what, say 200 fishing farms, can do for our employment stats in the province.

We also think the Premier should come up with a unifying theme for this province. Ikapa Elihlumayo and Home for All did wonderfully in the past but now are terms most associated with the divisions that riddled the past provincial administration, and now tend to carry wrong connotations in some people’s minds.

All in all, Cope thinks madam Hellen Zille is proving to be a capable Premier. She’s vigorous, thrift, accessible, and serious about improving government efficiency. She’s making correct gestures, like cutting on unnecessary administration costs, including wasteful expenditure on entertainments and luxury transportation. She could do more in focusing on poverty alleviation, improving health and housing backlogs, tackling and crime standards.


Cope’s input on service delivery debate

In Speeches on August 18, 2009 at 2:59 pm

18 August 2009

Many reasons have been given for the current service delivery protests, but it is clear that the people on the ground are generally dissatisfied with the delivery of basic municipal services such as running water, electricity and toilets, especially in informal settlements. When you consider the growing number of people without these basic needs to sustain life it appears callous that there are people who think these expectations are unrealistic.

Unemployment (officially at around 23%), high levels of poverty, poor infrastructure, and the lack of houses add to the growing dissatisfaction in the poor communities. Of course there was another of irresponsible bloating of people’s expectations during the electioneering period. For instance, in Embekweni, at Paarl, just two months before elections, people were given houses and food parcels. A lot of noise was raised as about 40 houses were delivered to the people with the promise that more were soon to follow. But nothing was seen as a follow up; instead government officials tend to now avoid these areas as they burn with frustration and unfulfilled promises.

Ndike ndabuza ilungu lekomiti yesigqeba sikaceba khona phaya, uThembelani Zweni, ukuba zinto ingxaki zabo kwelasebe. Ungxunguphalo lwakhe lubonakele eqala ukuthetha. Ngaphezu kokunqaba kwenkonzo zophuhluso, nezo kuzilolongana, ubabaze ukunqaba koceba wabo. Uthi lizinyo lenkukhu; bamgqibela ukumbona ngexesha bekuza kuvotwa. Kezona intlanganiso zesigqeba baneminyaka uceba engasazibizi. Abantu abazi nokuba mabaye kubona bani xa benengxaki, into apha eyenza bavuthe ngumsido, ikhokhelele kuqhanqalazo. Abantu bathi bashiwe enyanyeni nezithembiso zaphambi kovoto ziphelele eboyeni ekwe zithukuthuku zenja. Bathi baqwalasela ukuba lento isoloko isenzeka oko baqala ukuvota ngo 1994; kwaye ngoku baphelelwe ngumonde.
[I recently asked a Ward Committee member there, Thembelani Zweni, if they have heard any reports about progress on promises and forthcoming plans. He told me the last they had anything resembling an official government meeting was about three years ago. And they last saw their Councillor just before the last elections. This is the kind of thing that makes local municipalities dysfunctional. People on the ground feel left on the lurch. And this has been a recurring theme with every elections since 1994. Signs are people are now losing patience.]

In Chatsworth at Malmersbury, for instance, they are still forced to use a bucket system; water and sanitation are virtually non existent. In their township of Lingelethu a Senior Secondary School has been squatting at a primary building. The principals there leave every three months due to frustrating working conditions; and you wonder why results in black schools are not improving.

The interesting thing is that when you investigate the issue a little you discover that the land to build the school was allocated as far back as five years ago; but somehow each year the funds for building are not available, and no explanation is given to the people who were promised the school. Can it be really correct Mr. Speaker that a township like Lingelethu, with a population that is over 6 thousand people, does not have a single senior secondary school? Let alone that fact, this is the only black senior secondary school from Atlantis to Springbok. We are failing our people, Mr. Speaker.

We know of the case of the land that was made available for a housing development in Vieldrift, for instance, only to be sold to private developers at the last minute because it happens to be prime land that is in much demand for private development. How do you expect people to be cheerful and upbeat about such things? Basic support for living must be our priority or we’ll get all else wrong.

I’m glad that the Secretary General of the ANC, Gwede Mantashe, as reported in the Mail and Guardian, has finally admitted that putting unqualified people, or inexperienced as he puts it, councillors is one of the things that is stunting service delivery in the municipalities they lead. It has also been realised that much too much money is spent in paying local official’s salaries and other administration cost. Most of this money is what should be invested on building infrastructure and service delivery.

And all the foolish talk about the third forces is nothing but a monkey’s branch. Of course most people will tolerate the conditions of any life they are used to so long as they do not see an external factor as its cause, or making the situation worse. This is why sudden downturns (e.g. in the economy or politicians getting rich) make things conspicuous, exposing major gaps between expectations and reality and resulting in present frustrations and discontent. The frustrated expectations and the attitude of not wanting to be accountable by most public figures are heading us towards an open revolt.

Thank You!

Tozama Bevu, MPL (Western Cape Legislature)

A Woman Speaaks

In Discussion on August 11, 2009 at 3:34 pm

Statement by the Congress of the People Women’s Movement in celebration of National Women’s Day
9 August 2009 – Women’s Day

INTRODUCTION:

This year we are 15 years in our Democracy and celebrating our National Women’s day as a public holiday. Today marks the 53rd anniversary of fearless Women marching to the Union buildings in Pretoria to demand that passes be abolished, making it clear that they will not be made slaves in their own country again.

We acknowledge and thank our government for respecting the legacy of those courageous women by declaring August 9th as a public holiday. We further commend the government for declaring the entire month of August Women’s month, a month where we celebrate the achievements of Women as well as intensify Women’s struggle for a new Agenda for Change and Hope for all.

The Congress of the People Women’s Movement this month will embark on common programmes in all provinces and localities. We would like to dedicate and volunteer one hour to assist in hospitals, old age homes and children homes. We want to give them love and hope for a new agenda. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the 1,3 million voters who voted for the Congress of the People in a short space of time.

The question we need to ask ourselves is how much progress has been made, 15 years in our democracy, in as far as empowering and improving the living conditions of Women.

Women still suffer gender discrimination in all levels when it comes to access to power and resources e.g employment, household, law, education, sexuality etc. Gender relations mainly privilege men and subordinate women.

Economically in S.A, as in all industrialised societies, women are generally employed in a fairly narrow range of occupations, which are subordinate to those of men in terms of pay, power and prestige. Black women mainly work in the least skilled, lowest paid and most insecure jobs of all, for example Domestic work.

We are aware that the position of women is improving, because there are few Women who are occupying senior positions either in Government or Private Companies, but there is still a lot which needs to be done as the majority of Women are still unemployed.

The reality is that although a lot of progress has been made, the majority of Women still bear the heaviest brunt of poverty; they are living in very poor conditions with little or no basic resources at all. They do not enjoy the fruits of freedom.

COPE is aware that many South Africans, in particular Women, are unemployed, and that their families face increased hunger and poverty because of the economic global meltdown. We will ensure the speedy establishment of the Women’s Development Fund to focus on funding and assisting Women to engage in productive economic activity.

Many Women are still trapped in abusive relationships and are victims of violence and rape. They have little or no say in matters relating to their sexuality, and are victims of HIV and AIDS, and unwanted pregnancies.

In 1954 the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) drafted the Women’s Charter demanding the total emancipation of Women. This charter led to the 1956 Union Building March. It is now more than half a century since the FEDSAW Charter, but Women still do not have total emancipation, they are still subjected to discriminatory practises.

Politically there has been an increase in Women’s representation in Parliament. Women in Parliament constitute 45%, the third highest rating in the world. This is a big improvement in 2004 South Africa was rated number 17th with 33% (132 out of 400 members) representation.

Despite some of the achievements, South Africa still has to confront a series of other problems, such as the need to accelerate and improve the social conditions of our people. We need to ensure that conducive conditions are created for Women, particularly in the Rural areas so that they can be able to be sustain themselves economically.

As COPE Women’s Forum we recognise and support the new Ministry for Women established by the new government. We will monitor and ensure the speedy establishment of the Department of Women, and will monitor that resources are allocated so as to help alleviate the plight of Women.

We will act as watchdogs and monitor that the policies and programmes for Women are implemented by the government. We will ensure that these policies and programmes are gender streamlined and that the declarations made at Beijing (Beijing Platform for Action) and that the SADC protocols are implemented.

As COPE Women’s Forum we will take a leadership role in building awareness on issues affecting Women in our society. We will be vocal on the declarations on Women’s transformation and Equality.

We will continue to engage and monitor the 2014 timeframes made by the new Ministry on Rural Development.

As COPE Women’s Forum we will be continue to build solidarity and support for Women Internationally who are victims of any form of oppression, therefore we would like to dedicate this year’s National Women’s Day to the Women in Darfur who have suffered under all forms of oppression for many years now. We hope that the Sudanese 2009 elections will bring change to those Women.

In conclusion, this is COPE’s first Women’s month celebration and we promise Women of South Africa that we will participate in all the programmes focusing at eliminating all forms of oppression against Women. We promise to intensify the new Agenda for Change and hope for all the Women of South Africa.

Issued by the Congress of the People Women’s MovementFor further information, please contact Kiki Rwexana on 082 658 6914 or Thandi Hamana on 083 298 4751.

President Zuma must withdraw his nomination for Chief Justice

In News on August 10, 2009 at 3:39 pm

JOINT STATEMENT BY HELEN ZILLE, MOSIUOA LEKOTA AND PATRICIA DE LILLE, LEADERS OF THE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE, THE CONGRESS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATS, AUGUST 7 2009

Section 174 (3) of Chapter 8 of the South African Constitution reads as follows:

“The President as head of the national executive, after consulting the Judicial Service Commission and the leaders of parties represented in the National Assembly, appoints the Chief Justice and the Deputy Chief Justice and, after consulting the Judicial Service Commission, appoints the President and Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.”

This is a critical constitutional requirement and central to it is the phrase: “…after consulting the Judicial Service Commission and the leaders of parties represented in the National Assembly”.

The idea of consultation is straightforward: it is the necessity that the President elicits and considers the advice of the leaders of all parties represented in the National Assembly before coming to a conclusion about his appointment. Obviously, that consultation is designed, therefore, to inform his decision.

This is borne out by both logic and precedent.

With regard to logic: To announce a candidate and then consult defeats the very purpose of consultation in the first place. It means the President has arrived at a conclusion prior to consulting and the process of consultation will have no effect on his decision – it would be a meaningless exercise. This, quite clearly, is not the intention of Section 174 (3). That section exists to ensure that the President – in an open, consultative and democratic manner – seek out and incorporate the considered opinion of all parties represented in a democratically elected Parliament, before arriving at a decision. Obviously, this is in the interest of best democratic practice.

With regard to precedent: For every other judicial appointment for which the Constitution requires the leaders of parties in the National Assembly to be consulted, since 1994, the Presidency has sought out the opinion of those parties prior to announcing a nominated candidate. This process was followed with regard to the candidates proposed for the Supreme Court of Appeals, earlier this year, and on every relevant occasion in the past.

Yesterday (6 August) the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported that President Zuma had nominated Constitutional Court Judge Sandile Ngcobo to replace Judge Pius Langa, who retires from the position of Chief Justice later this year.

The SAPA report stated that, in explaining his choice, President Zuma had said he had taken the decision “properly” and “objectively”. Importantly, it also reports the President as saying: “The fact of the matter is that I have appointed a judge that I believe is capable.”

This statement is unequivocal. Quite clearly, in President Zuma’s mind, by announcing Judge Sandile Ngcobo as his candidate, he had effectively made the appointment and had no intention of consulting before doing so, as the South African Constitution requires.

We can jointly confirm that none of us were consulted ahead of the President’s announcement yesterday.

On hearing the President’s announcement yesterday, the Democratic Alliance issued a statement setting out that the President was required by the Constitution to consult and that, as the DA had not yet been consulted, the Party was not prepared to comment.

This morning (7 August), at 9.10am, the Democratic Alliance received a facsimile (traditionally, the manner in which these matters are communicated) from the Presidency requesting our opinion, in terms of Section 174 (3) of the Constitution. Significantly, the facsimile is dated 5 August 2009. The DA’s records confirm no facsimile was sent on 5 August and that nothing else was received from the Presidency prior to today’s communication.

In other words, only after a statement was issued pointing out this fact that the Constitution required the Presidency to consult, did the Presidency send the relevant communication.

We can also confirm that the President has not consulted the Judicial Service Commission on this matter, as is required by the Constitution.

This is unconstitutional. If the point of consultation is to seek out opinion in order to inform one’s decision, it cannot be done after the fact. And it is absolutely apparent, both from President Zuma’s comments to the media and by the fact that no communication was received from the Presidency that he had made up his mind on this matter and considered Judge Ngcobo “appointed”, before he properly consulted, as required by the Constitution.

That the facsimile was backdated, suggests the Presidency now trying to rectify its mistake by consulting retroactively.

In light of this and the President’s failure to properly consult or act in the manner required by the Constitution, it is necessary for him to withdraw his statement and consult properly before arriving at a decision as to who his desired candidate is.

President Zuma has repeatedly given South Africa the assurance that he respects the Constitution, that he wishes to engage the opposition and that he is dedicated to upholding our institutions and ensuring best democratic practice. His attitude to this matter, however, suggests otherwise.

Issued by the Democratic Alliance, COPE and the Independent Democrats

In News on August 7, 2009 at 11:55 am

STATEMENT CONDEMNING THE ANC FOR FAILING TO ATTEND A CRUCIAL PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE MEETING, AND THE IMPACT ON JOB CREATION.

06 August 2009

The Congress of the People regards the absence of ANC MP’s at a scheduled parliamentary portfolio committee meeting as a display of flagrant disregard for their responsibility as governing party, and of parliament as an institution. The meeting therefore did not quorate, notwithstanding the fact that the meeting was duly called in terms of established procedure.

Only one member of the ANC arrived for a meeting of the Portfolio Committee where the Construction Industry Development Board members and officials had to present their strategic plan for the next five years. The impact of the financial crisis on job creation in the construction industry had to be assessed. The cancellation of the meeting means that the CIDB’s plans have to be put on hold.

The only other two members in attendance were COPE MP Paul Mnguni and a member of the DA, Mr Masango. A full delegation of the Public Works Department and the office of the Ministry of Public Works was also present.

It is widely accepted that Jacob Zuma’s aim of creating 500 000 new jobs by the end of the year is an ambitious goal at best, especially in the trough of the current financial crisis. For this target to even come close to being reached, it requires the conscientious commitment from all members of Parliament. The no-show by ANC members is tantamount to showing utter disdain for service, be it to ordinary people, or the executive. Furthermore, it shows that the ANC pays lip-service to political and financial accountability.

COPE believes this demonstrates the ANC’s lack of commitment to parliamentary oversight and value for money government. Not only did the cancellation of the meeting costs the tax payer thousands of rand of fruitless expenditure, it will no doubt have a knock-on effect on job opportunities in the construction sector beyond 2010.

For more information please contact Phillip Dexter on 082-453 4088 or Paul Mnguni 072 474 8778..

Statement on the President naming the Chief Justice designate, Judge Ngcobo

The Congress of the people is disturbed to learn of the President of the Republic naming Judge Ngcobo as the Chief Justice designate. While Ngcobo has a long legal career, the credentials and experience of the serving Deputy Chief Justice, Judge Moseneke, are impeccable. Judge Moseneke, a freedom fighter, has served time on Robben Island. He studied there and has demonstrated his ample skills and leadership working together with the current Chief Justice. COPE is there for concerned that what we have here is another political appointment, where the person best qualified for the job has been overlooked due to his independence and the fact that he has allegedly criticised an individual in the ruling party. Along with more recent appointments, this one establishes a trend that anyone who has criticised the President of the country will not hold any office in a government or independent institution. This trend leads only one way; downhill. We urge the President to reconsider this decision for the good of the country.

For further information please contact Phillip Dexter on 082-453408.


Coalition ‘won’t help Cope’

In Discussion on August 5, 2009 at 11:27 am

What would really constitute a powerful opposition party in South Africa? It is natural to say a coalition of all other opposition parties. Is it really that simple, seeing that the opposition parties in the last provincial and national elections scored 35%?

What makes it a good argument that coalition of all other political parties will ultimately score 51% in the election?

You may say people may have more confidence in the coalition since is a combination of parties with leaders of substance. What would DA bring to the table? Money? What would IFP bring to the table? KZN? What would ID bring to the table? The Coloured vote? And what would UDM bring to the table? Bantu Holomisa?

With all its money, DA is still failing to get the 20% the National Party got in 1994. IFP’s support is KZN has been dwindling. ID has lost its spark. And UDM has lost even its second spot in Eastern Cape. What is it that makes us think that all will change after a coalition?

Where does Cope feature in all of this? It has had no single elective conference. And all in all the party has not begun. Cope has indeed proven that it’s a party for all, based on the fact that the election results showed that Cope cress crossed all communities.

Cope has not yet given itself a chance to start and experience itself, and it is currently a perceptual party with massive potential. People mostly voted for Cope out of emotions and the fact that all other opposition parties had failed them dismally in the years that they had given them a chance. DA might have gained a lot of votes, but if you look deeper you will really find that a bulk of those votes was acquired in Western Cape and very little in the other parts of the country.

Cope is a very strong brand; it remains strong today, regardless of how the voters may feel. All Cope leaders have to do now is to rise up and show leadership. Absence of strong leadership could erode the Cope brand. We all know that the emergence of Cope was really made successful by the fact that it was founded by tried and tested leaders from the ANC. That is why Cope is more successful than “A Party”.

Is it not the time for the leaders of Cope to put overalls on and start building a party for the people, than to be closed up in boardrooms pre-occupied by coalescing with other parties? Cope must just swallow all other small parties and forget about a coalition.

Coalition is only attractive if our main focus is power and the financial reward that comes with it. Preoccupation with winning municipalities and provinces will bury Cope alive. Like Raymond Ackerman always emphasises, do what you love and the money will follow. I will rephrase that, care and protect the needs of the ordinary people and the power will follow. A focus on power is deadly, a focus on the upliftment and the betterment of people’s lives brings power to you.

Cope has got five years to prove itself. Rushing to win 2011 local elections in all expenses, will destroy the party in the long run. A focus must be on building structures and making sure that Cope becomes a self-oiled machinery that protects and fight for the needs of ordinary people.

If Cope does agree to a coalition with other parties, people will have no other choice but to think that Cope leaders are running for cover and to protect their parliamentary seats while leaving members and voters in the cold.

In fact, a coalition is likely to score less than 35% percent, as most Cope and IFP members would probably abandon this arrangement. This arrangement will in fact result in voter apathy and will give ANC an extra oomph to get 2/3 majority.

In reality Cope is stronger than the DA. The coalition will be base on perception by using bubbled figures. Cope’s setup is such that it could overthrow ANC without any coalition, especially if the focus is on the people and members and not on the leaders.

In reality, all of Cope’s perceived mistakes are not mistakes but the colours of a modern party. A decision to go into coalition will be the single greatest mistake Cope would make. It will amount to, as Simon said, electoral fraud.


Scrounging for Patronage

In Discussion on August 5, 2009 at 8:39 am

Although the eruption of sporadic community protests has become a permanent feature of South Africa’s political landscape – listening to the assortment of mumbo jumbo churned out by the ruling party leaders as they hopelessly attempt to find the source, you would swear that they have been throwing bones lately.

Their response clearly suggests that they have abandoned reality for a good bout of fantasy. Amazingly, none of them have pointed internally for the “third force”. There’s two significant issues that have intriguingly been disregarded in the service delivery protests media reports: Firstly, the theme song is Mshini wam, and this includes last year’s xenophobic attacks. Secondly, the chief agent provocateurs are ANC activists.

There may be compelling grounds for struggling ordinary people to take to the streets – 15 years into democracy but millions still live squalor, die from poverty diseases, no access to clean water, no sanitation, no electricity, deteriorating health care system and joblessness, amongst many others. However, the actual motive behind the current disruptions in the various townships has very little to do with non-delivery.

There are political opportunists who play politics with the plight of our people. The advent of democracy ushered immeasurable challenges for the ruling party. Among these was the emergence of a clumsy scramble for resources and patronage which, in turn, resulted in the formation various factions in the several provinces. There has hardly been any ideological contest at the centre of these rifts. At the heart of almost all of these tussles is the proximity to resources. Regrettably, for very many activists of the ANC – party membership and activism is a conduit to livelihood.

Unfortunately, over the past few years the over simplification of these clashes which portrayed them as mere Mbeki/Zuma contestations gave a somewhat misleading picture. Whilst many of them indeed found sanctuary in the respective camps during the period leading up to Polokwane – historically very many of these groups fell into the relevant cliques by default.

In his quest for power, one leader pulled together all those that considered themselves out of favour. They entrenched themselves in the political structures while the others were busy with the business of government. A new popular slogan was coined: “Dedelabanye” (Give way to others). This immediately gave a picture of a revolving door with a long queue of patronage seeking ANC activists – each impatiently waiting for a turn.

For example, in Gauteng media reports suggests that the current premier will now purge those aligned with the “Alex Mafia”. These reports indicate that an instruction has been issued for the removal of all the companies that had benefited from the “previous regime”. Not a word is said about the delivery record of the said companies and the possible disruption of services.

This, therefore, suggests that – now is the time for others to benefit. Mind you, this all follows the unexpected demotion of their provincial chairman with media which the media attributes to the offensive against the “mafia”.

Furthermore, in the period leading up to Polokwane various leaders of the ruling party condoned and justified these violent actions as political expediency reigned supreme. In places like Khotsong, leaders of the various factions of the ruling party played prominent roles in that area’s mayhem.

Although the government had extensively explained the controversial decision and subsequently won all the legal battles in this regard, the protesters case seemed too heavy on emotions and sentimental attachments to the more prestigious Gauteng. In the end, however, the protesters prevailed without any plausible explanation from the government. The new administration somersaulted after its political opponents were recalled.

The ANC generally did not do well during the elections and therefore its ability to dispense large scale patronage was seriously hampered. Whilst these may be the days of milk and honey for ANC activists in KZN who currently enjoy an unparalleled political harvesting season – the going is tougher for others elsewhere. This is why, perhaps, there’s unlikely to be serious political unrests in KZN.

Despite other political considerations in the dishing of patronage, the unprecedented performance of the ruling party during the elections in KZN has brought more job opportunities for party loyalists and good prospects of success for the imminent local government elections. Elsewhere, however, the ANC seats were seriously reduced resulting in some losing jobs.

The protests are nothing but the spillages of internal strife and groundswell of impatience from local community leaders who couldn’t be accommodated after in the April 22 elections. One ANC leader has asked a valid question: “How come are these protests not detected by the local ANC structures?”

The past elections have proven that, for now, that the ANC is the strongest community based organisation in South Africa. During the April elections the ANC used its local infrastructure, political machinery and unlimited access to finance to violently drive out COPE.

This was mainly in the same townships. Again, there’s no other destructive force that can organise these widespread actions throughout the country than the ANC. In almost all these protests councillors are the biggest casualties . Although they are at coal face of service delivery, they are policy makers – theirs is to make policies and monitor their implementation.

The assumption, therefore, is that these are ANC policies, not the individual councillor’s positions. The councils employ functionaries to implement these policies. However, senior council officials are in many cases always under suspension because there’s someone itching for the position.

If so, why are the protest not directed at the floundering ANC policies? For many of these community activists who have risen to prominence following the deployment of others to government – five years is too long a period. It is at this point that political mischief becomes a weapon of choice. The unemployed leaders of the ruling party no longer have patience as demonstrated in September 2008.

However, it will take the ruling party more than just charm, rhythmic dances and songs to get out of this situation. This shameful political culture was allowed to thrive for many years as the present leaders used it as a convenient weapon to smuggle the current leaders into power.

Our challenge as South Africans is to be cautious during this time and concentrate on building alternative structures. Furthermore, we must go back to the communities and expose this contemptuous political opportunism. We must put our people first not the ANC community activists who are scrounging for patronage.


The need for the realignment of our politics has become urgent

In Editorials on August 4, 2009 at 2:50 pm

It is undeniable that there has been some significant improvement in our people’s lives since the ANC took over governing from the apartheid regime. Why then these present service delivery riots all over the country? The reasons are many, but the one most damning roots come from the ANC’s electioneering flip-flopper politics; that is saying anything and everything in order to win the election.

The ANC, with the invidious help from its alliance partners, has been encouraging and bloating people’s unrealistic expectations. These flip-flopper politics became worse and ludicrous when the ANC found itself with its back against the wall during the foundation of Cope. They started buying people with food parcels and bribing them with indigent grants. This was, in a way, an admittance of their failures in giving anything of substance to our people in recent years.

I agree with Paul Trewhela that in the past fifteen years the ANC government has dismally failed in providing the majority of South Africans with good education. It has bungled up the health service [there are now promising signs with the proposed public health insurance but even that will avail nothing if the structural and effective management problems in the system are not improved].

The ANC government has failed to promote equitable distribution of economic income to reach the greatest possible number of people. It’s housing delivery has been inadequate, and land distribution a disaster waiting to happen. It has failed to create enough jobs to meet our demands even when our economy was growing at a reasonable rate, which makes it sound more like mockery and another evidence of its flip-flopper politics, when it now, during the recession, promises to create 500 000 thousand more jobs before the end of the year.

Taking into consideration these entire things one is left with only one conclusion, which is that the ANC government has lived up to expectations in the last fifteen years. The reasons for this are clear to those who have no vested interests on the party. It would have been even tolerable had these failures been only the consequent of lack of resources. But the resources are reasonable adequate in our country; it is the non utilisation of them to the premium that is the problem. This is due to inadequate civil service and corruption in the public sector.

The private sector itself, sadly, has not sufficiently come into the bandwagon of assisting the government to meet the service delivery mandate. Naturally you don’t expect the private to put their money when they do not see any value. So the government needs to demonstrate that investment to its programmes adds value to the development of the country by being efficient with taxpayer’s money.

To compound government failures we now hear calls from the ANC alliance partners for the nationalisation of mines. This, of course, is a continuation of empty rhetoric and flip-flopper politics that got us into this mess in the beginning. With these calls they want to send a panic message to mining companies in order to agree to release more BEE deals for the fat cats to grow extra necks. Most bigwigs within the tri-party alliance are aware that statism failed in all its global experiments. That statism is not healthy for the economy and democracy, nor is it adequate to manage the high expectations of the poor.

The reality of the matter is that the ANC’s failures affect and will pull all of us to the abyss with it. As another statesman once said; “When the poor rise, they’ll rise against us all.” The ANC, as long as it is a ruling party, is an albatross in all of our necks, whether we support it or not. Its demise is our own doom also. So the best we can do under the circumstances is to try and transcend politicking into discovering how best to extricate ourselves from this mess. The first directive would be for our public representatives to speak the truth!

The ANC needs to acknowledge to the people where it has failed them; and start putting out real solutions to them, not spin-doctoring that waste time with fishing for non existing third forces. These are tricks of a failing regime. Some of us have been saying that this country was perhaps one step from a flaring revolution for sometime now. This not because we are prophets, but from reading signs in the streets, especially on the townships.

The Second Coming is upon us, and what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? The ANC needs to wake up and smell the bread. These are not times for grubby politics or continuing with the blame game. These are no times for political calculation, stagecraft, opportunism, careerism, and duplicity that negate political integrity. Speak the truth and genuinely act on your words!

I was encouraged to read from the weekly letter of the leader of DA, Helen Zille last week. From her tone when explaining the service delivery riots at Masiphumelele townships in Cape Town it would seem she’s slowly realising that the only way out of this mess is by speaking the truth, and by adopting an attitude of political integrity in matching our words to our actions. Indeed we need such supple and energetic leadership in these trying times. We need leaders, if necessary, that’ll set their faces as flint against the failing revolutionary methods of struggle where necessary. That’ll give more than words, mere words, and move beyond platitudes and trivialities, which give an impression of philosophical weakness and indecisiveness in our present leadership.

There’s rapture for fresh politics that is growing out of a deep hunger for political integrity in our country. I’m not sure if I’m only talking about the new generation, but there’s a general deep yearning for smart, articulate, principled liberal leadership. Unfortunately it looks like the best the Zuma years will do is to deepen the hunger. We’re not seeing encouraging signs from the present national government. There’s continuation of deployment of unqualified loyal comrades to crucial civil position and so forth.

We keep hearing about talks about the National Democratic Revolution, which, even if it was relevant in organising against the apartheid regime, has now become impotent. Times have moved on, but the politics of the tripartite alliance are still lost in yesteryear and are not able to keep up with our social spirit. It is left to our own lights to strive for new freedoms, like revolutionising our human ideals and political integrity. Let those who recognise this need come together to take this country forward.

Some of us have waken up to the dangers the present political path of the tripartite alliance is going to take us to. Let us not behave too much like politicians, that “… set of men who have interests aside from the interests of the people, and who, to say the most of them are, taken as a mass, at least one long step removed from being honest men … I say this with greater freedom because, being a politician myself, none can regard it as personal.” So said Abraham Lincoln, when, as a state legislator in 1837, he rose to object to a Democratic resolution on the Illinois State Bank. May we too see the light.

Let’s build and coordinate

In News on August 4, 2009 at 8:03 am

Press statement of the Congress Working Committee of the Congress of the People 3 August 2009

The CWC of COPE met today at its Headquarters in Johannesburg. The meeting discussed a number of reports, including finances, relationships with other political parties, the progress on building the party, the program for National Women’s Day and governance issues. The meeting agreed that progress was being made in terms of consolidating the organisation financially as well as in terms of the branch, regional and provincial structures.

Good progress has also been made with the youth and women’s structures, but there is till much work to be done in terms of building the party and getting ready to fight the 2011 local government elections. The recent policy workshop was acknowledged as a success and preparations for the policy conference of COPE are well underway. A report was received on the outcomes of the workshop that identifies the key policy issues. Branches, regions and provinces will discuss these important policy matters in preparation for the conference.

The CWC supported the comprehensive program for celebrating National Women’s Day on the 9th August prepared by the COPE Women’s Forum. COPE calls on all its members and the public in general to participate in celebrating this important day. Details of the program will be communicated to the public in due course.

On the recent press reports relating to the ongoing discussion between COPE and other political parties, the CWC agreed that:

These interactions are not new and began in November 2008 at the time of the National Convention.
COPE has been interacting with most of the political parties in the country.

These discussions have been very wide ranging and positive. The discussions have included identifying issues, values and principles that are common to the parties as well as those where cooperation between the parties on issues of national interest, particularly the problems and challenges our communities face, is desirable.

These talks are going to continue for as long as the parties see value in them.

No agreement has yet been reached on a common platform or on unifying the parties, but there is a keen interest from COPE to pursue all the matters on the table.

The next meeting of the CWC will take place on the 17 August 2009.

For further information please contact Phillip Dexter on 082-453 4088.


Where Were You?

In Discussion on August 3, 2009 at 8:37 am

ADDRESS BY PRINCE MASHELE AT A CEREMONY HOSTED BY THE M&G TO CELEBRATE THE CONTRIBUTION OF 300 INFLUENTIAL YOUNG SOUTH AFRICANS

Master of Ceremonies, Mr Songezo Zibi;
The Editor-in-chief of the Mail and Guardian, Mr Nic Dawes;
Representative of Xstrata South Africa, Mr Eric Ratshikhopa;
The 300 influential young South Africans;
Invited guests;
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am humbled by the honour to address the cream of South African youth today.

To be selected by the Mail and Guardian amongst 300 Young South Africans people must take to lunch is a confirmation of the prestigious position you occupy individually in our society today.

As a collective, you are the best that our country has in 2009, and what we will have in the foreseeable future. You are to South Africa what an emerging sun represents at dawn.

I need not remind you that you are all youth leaders in different fields of our social, political and economic life. Those who are worried about South Africa’s future look at you for national inspiration and hope.

For that, you all deserve a round of applause!

While I am aware that you are here to celebrate your individual success stories, I would like to take advantage of your collective presence and pose a question I think future generations will ask later on in your lives: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

I raise this worrying question because I agree with the assertion made by Roberto Mangabeira Unger in his book, Democracy Realised, when he says:

The perversion of economic growth and its fruits begins when we attempt to make up for the scarcity of public goods by producing more private ones, and to find in the private consumption a barren solace for social frustration. (1998:7)

Who amongst you would argue that we have not yet reached a perverse stage in the evolution of post-apartheid South Africa, where the public sector is the worst preferred, and the private sector the most preferred?

Should anyone doubt if this is true, imagine how an average young South African would reply to the following questions:

• If you had a choice, would you like your mother to be treated in a public or private hospital?
• If you had the means, would you take your children to a private or public school?
• If you had a private option, would you go to the Department of Home Affairs for services?
• If you lived in a townhouse, would you trust the police or ADT to secure your private property?
• If you had to negotiate an ethical business transaction, would you prefer to talk to a politician or a private entrepreneur?

Those who would choose the private sphere as their answer to these critical questions must immediately be alerted that they are active participants in the construction of a private sub-state in South Africa!

A private sub-state is populated by people who choose to kill their conscience by conveniently turning a blind eye to the ills plaguing society. Yet the wealth and incomes generated by these private citizens owe a great deal to the sweat and toil of the suffering workers and the poor.

In his famous book, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Walter Rodney lamented this situation in post-colonial African states, focusing on the middle class. He said:

They squander the wealth created by the peasants and workers by purchasing cars, whisky, and perfume. (1972:19)

As the South African middle class, I am not sure if you do not, as Walter Rodney observed elsewhere in Africa, “squander the wealth created by the peasants and workers by purchasing cars, whisky, and perfume.”

But I am certain that, if the champions of the private sphere were to succeed, that would essentially mean the hastening of the very social perversion that Roberto Mangabera Unger wrote about.

The tragedy, however, is that at the peak of post-apartheid South Africa’s economic success in 2007, the Bureau of Market Research at the University of South Africa estimated the size of the black middle class – the so-called Black Diamonds – at 9.3 million.

We now know the economic difficulties the black middle class has fallen into, when the Reserve Bank raised interest rates sharply and the global economic crisis began to hit home.

Even if we were to combine the struggling Black Diamonds with the entire white population, we would still have to confront the painful reality that more than half of our country’s population live in poverty and cannot afford the services provided by the most preferred private sector.

It is these objective socio-economic conditions that divide our nation further into ‘us’ versus ‘them’. Those who are cushioned by the comfort and opulence of the private sphere continue to withdraw further and further into their private cocoons, while the poor are left to their own devices.

But the two worlds do, in many ways, interface in a manner that reinforces and continue to widen the chasm between the haves and have-nots. Those who have the means feel threatened by those who do not. The propertied class fortify their private spaces to protect themselves against the property-less.

It is against this background that British cultural theorist Terry Eagleton wrote the following in his book entitled After Theory:

It is not hard to imagine affluent communities of the future protected by watchtowers, searchlights and machine guns, while the poor scavenge for food in the waste lands beyond. (2003:22)

When Eagleton made this profound observation in 2003, he probably thought he was a prophet whose words would come to pass like a religious prophesy that waits for centuries to pass before it is proven right.

Little did Terry Eagleton know that, three years down the road (in 2009), a fellow like me would address 300 Young South Africans, among whom there would be those who already live in communities protected by watchtowers, searchlights and machineguns while the poor scavenge for food in the waste lands beyond.

I say all this not because I am bent on spoiling your special day, but as a desperate attempt to point out your historic responsibility towards the broader society.

• If you are a famous young writer, and you do not write about the plight of the poor, history will ask: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

• If you are a prolific young journalist, and you say nothing about corrupt politicians who embezzle public funds, posterity will ask: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

• If you are a flourishing young entrepreneur, and you do not contribute to the improvement of the lives of the destitute, future generations will ask: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

• If you are a singer, and you do not sing in defence of the downtrodden masses, history will also pose a question to you: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

It does not matter what kind of work you do, there is a role you can and must play to stop the perversion of our society. Your success will mean nothing if it is not connected with the general advancement of society!

For those of you who are Black and whose success is connected to the struggles waged by the masses of our people, Frantz Fanon has an important message for you:

… we who are citizens of the under-developed countries, we aught to seek every occasion for contacts with the rural masses. … We aught never to lose contact with the people [who have] battled for [their] independence and for the concrete betterment of [their] existence. (Wretched of the Earth, 1961:150-1)

If you do not take Fanon’s call seriously, the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ that already exists in our society will deepen its roots even further. You will fortify your private spaces without success. Criminals will not fail to reach wherever you live. ADT will not be enough to prevent the theft of your luxury sedan, the murder of your family members or the rape of your mothers, sisters and daughters.

We should indeed be wary of behaving as if the poor are powerless. When the gap between the poor, the middle class and the rich is allowed to widen its yawn, the poor always – and sometimes brutishly – have a way of outsmarting those who think they are educated and know it all.

Politically, the poor possess the disruptive capacity to disturb the untenable tranquillity of the educated elite. The destitute have it within their power to take over society in ways that leave the middle class kicking and screaming from the margins as if they are little children crying for help. As Roberto Mangabeira Unger reminds us once again:

The excluded … will not wait. They will strike back through politics, especially through the election of populist leaders, threatening to recommence the destructive pendular swing between economic populism and economic orthodoxy. (Ibid: 82)

Once this has happened, the educated class will be dismissed with derision, as if they have nothing to offer society. Society will be forced to celebrate mediocrity, and the slide into hopelessness can only be faster.

When mediocrity prevails, there will be circumstantial heroes whose heroism will be defended even if it means embarrassing society. Indeed, this hastens society’s collective descent into the abyss.

Once the poor have taken over, having been abandoned by the champions of the private sector, the public sector becomes a realm where corruption and inertia reign supreme! African and other countries that have gone down this road have, unfortunately, failed to make substantial reverse.

When the destitute strike back at the indifferent middle class and the rich, abnormality becomes normality; scorn is poured on sensibility; and rationality is subjected to demeaning ridicule.

When politics has reached this stage, the relationship between the authority of the office and the office bearer becomes tenuous. This is precisely what Herbert Marcuse refers to in his seminal book, A Study on Authority, when he says:

The dignity of the office and the worthiness of the officiating person no longer coincide in principle. The office retains its unconditional authority, even if the officiating person does not deserve this authority. (1972:16)

• Who amongst you does not know a youth leader whose authority does not coincide with that of his office?
• Who amongst you does not laugh or get embarrassed when some of our leaders speak on national TV?
• And who amongst you does not wish that some of our leaders were something close to Barack Obama?

If you have experienced this personally, it means that you agree with Unger when he says: “The excluded … will not wait. They will strike back through politics, especially through the election of populist leaders.”

If you find this situation familiar, you should then ask yourself the following question: How do I respond to Frantz Fanon when he says: “… we who are citizens of the under-developed countries, we aught to seek every occasion for contacts with the rural masses”?

If you do not ask yourselves this soul-searching question, you might find yourself unable to respond when future generations ask: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

I know that most of you are by now upset with me, that I have troubled your hearts and souls during an occasion where you were invited to celebrate your success stories.

I did this because I am convinced that the Mail and Guardian selected you to be among 300 influential, young South Africans because of the burden history has placed on your shoulders.

Like the Mail and Guardian, I see no person better than you to rescue our society from the yawning divide between the private and the public spheres of life.

I see no other group of young people better placed to lead me in all facets of South African life in ten, twenty years from now. And I also think you have an immediate responsibility to halt our country’s slide into hopelessness.

There is nothing magical you are expected to do that is beyond your already proven capabilities! All you need to do is to intensify the work that made it possible for you to be selected as part of 300 Young South Africans people must take to lunch.

But when you do it, keep in mind that future generations will one day ask: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

Congratulations, and thank you very much!

Prince Mashele is a political analyst


COPE(ing) after the 2009 elections: challenges and opportunities for the party

In Discussion on August 3, 2009 at 8:26 am

1. Introduction

Recent media articles speculating on the state of the Congress of the People have been a source of much interest to the public and members of the party. Most of these have exaggerated the challenges the party faces, particularly the internal issues that have been highlighted by so-called unnamed sources, such as alleged leadership battles, the supposed demoralization of membership and perceived factionalism. These views are obviously leaked to the press by people with an agenda to hurt or damage COPE. Nevertheless, others are on the record comments about real challenges that warrant consideration by the leadership of the party.

The recent resignations of 2 senior leaders of the party have added fuel to this situation. At the very least the party must respond to these issues, even those that are simply perceptions. In so doing, we must be open about the challenges without exaggerating these, but also not simply complain or throw our hands in the air, lamenting and painting doomsday scenarios. We must offer a way forward on how to address the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities, because despite what our critics and detractors may say, COPE is here to stay.

The Convention of November 2008 and the launch of Cope on December 16th thereafter altered the political landscape of South Africa. COPE answered a very real need in our society for a political party that will be able to rise to the challenges of our post-colonial, post-apartheid reality. COPE’s challenge is to define a political program and agenda that will secure the success of the national democratic project in our country.

This project faces a very real threat from forces that are either too focused on personal material gain to be loyal to that project, or have gotten lost in the mire of residual ideological positions that may seem at face value to represent a radical project for transformation, but in the end serve only to justify the very same accumulation regime they claim to want to transform.

2. The performance and state of the party since launching on 16 December 2008

At the Special Congress National Committee of 6-8 June 2009, the President of COPE, Mr. M.G.P Lekota, presented a frank critique of the party, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses and its performance. He pointed out that much had been achieved in the past 9 months and certainly in the 6 months since COPE’s launch:

The national convention was held and a successful campaign to defend the constitution was launched

The party was named, launched, branded and its presence established on the political landscape

By-elections at local government were contested and won
National elections were contested and seats have been won in all Provincial Legislatures and in the Parliament giving COPE elected representatives across the nation. In 5 provinces COPE is the official opposition

All of these achievements, in just 6 months, have reshaped the political landscape of the country. The ANC, to defend its share of the vote, launched an expensive campaign of unprecedented proportions to ensure it retained its level of electoral support. Estimates of what it spent range from anywhere between R250m to almost R1bn. The ruling party clearly panicked and went in to overdrive and even excessive demonstrations of its popularity and support. It also resorted to intimidation, violence, bribery and trickery to try to maintain its hegemony. The national official opposition to the ANC, the DA, similarly pulled out all the stops to ensure it retained its status. If nothing else, COPE made elected politicians reconnect with their constituencies.

The President also highlighted areas where COPE could have performed better. Among these were:

Fundraising from members of the party and supporters

Campaigns around problems the people of our country face, such as poor service, political intimidation, crime and other important issues
Policy coherence on certain policy issues, such as BEE and Affirmative Action

The timing of choosing our presidential candidate-it was left very late

The resultant vote of 7,4%-all feel we could have done better

The recent airing of views on issues such as the profile of the leadership of the party, alleged leadership battles within the party, the list process that has been challenged by some COPE members as having irregularities, the state of morale of the party and other similar issues, has been approached mostly from a negative standpoint. While there have been teething problems in establishing the party, these issues were all aired and addressed by the CNC strategic meeting of June this year.

For anyone to suggest post this meeting that these challenges will sink the party, is simply defeatist. This will only happen if we surrender and do not ensure a vibrant, democratic political life and culture in the party. This means that all members should be critical, debate issues and suggest solutions to challenges, but those that continually paint COPE as teetering on the brink of the abyss are not doing the organisation any good. Such talk demoralises the membership and distracts the organisation from its more important tasks.

3. The historical circumstances COPE was born under

In his analysis, the President highlighted the material conditions that had led to the formation of COPE. Among these, the most significant were:

The surprisingly quick deterioration of the national liberation movement after winning political power into a vehicle for personal accumulation, patronage and corruption that is even capable of deploying violence to ensure its grip on power is not loosened

The turn towards the manipulation of branches and conferences to elect leaders in the liberation movement, denuding it of a once strong democratic culture and making it an organisation controlled by a small, powerful but shadowy elite, who caucus in the kitchens of mansions to decide who will rule our country and pay for it with money donated by corporate South Africa

The failure of the liberation movement to transform itself into a modern. political party, making it an anachronistic organisation that seeks to apply outdated ideas and policies to a complex, challenging reality
The failure of the liberation movement to adequately address the basic problems the people face, whether in terms of poverty, unemployment, housing, basic services, and especially in terms of complex issues such as industrial strategy, trade policy and the like

The failure of opposition parties to fundamentally challenge the ANC and offer an alternative vision to the people of South Africa
Some of these factors played a part in creating a circumstance in which the then President of the Republic, Thabo Mbeki was removed in a putsch. The prelude to this was the rigged conference of the liberation movement that brought about a wholesale change in leadership, delivering the final death blows to a tradition and a culture of unifying the people of the country and promoting a new, foreign one of dividing them instead.

These objective conditions were also influenced by the fact that the mood in the country was one where a change was being looked forward to by many of its citizens. Before COPE, there has been a complete failure of any opposition party to offer a viable alternative to the ruling party. This meant that many South Africans felt it was time for a real change and a new, radical agenda to inspire our people to seek to change their own lives and not live waiting for the state to do it for them.

COPE was then formed in these circumstances and in record time was able to fight a general election. This start up period for COPE has been and still is a challenging one. Apart from the fact that all our structures have been interim, we have also had to defend the party against destructive forces intent on destroying our young party. For this reason we have to maintain maximum unity and ensure we mobilise our members and supporters behind our plan of action.

We have also worked within severe resource constraints, exacerbated by pressure from the ruling party discouraging people from supporting COPE through the threat of loss of business, jobs, livelihood and even social ostracisation. If there is one factor that has characterized COPE members and structures post the 2009 general election, it has been fatigue. Many of our members are physically, emotionally and financially exhausted.

Despite this, COPE continues to grow. How we address this fatigue, by acting in solidarity with one another, rather than competing for positions, in focusing on what we can do for the organisation, rather than what it can do for us, for example, is critical. It will determine the chances of, and degrees of, success or failure.

4. Vision and leadership are required

What we have to frank about is that, while in establishing COPE we have created a platform for hope and for change to inspire South Africans to demand better for and to do better themselves, there a number of critical challenges COPE must address. Among these are;

4.1 Consolidating the party organisationally and financially.

This is the primary task that the CNC identified, but we are currently being distracted from it by forces who are attempting to get COPE members to focus on mistakes and failures of the past that arose primarily from the circumstances within which COPE was formed. There is no doubt that some individuals have behaved opportunistically and badly during the formation period of COPE and this must be dealt with. But if the party focuses primarily on settling these grievances at the expense of moving forward, it will limit the potential of the organisation.

Already, a more coherent leadership has begun to emerge at national level and in the provinces, with a few exceptions. The challenge is to ensure this from branches upwards.

4.2 Consolidating the party ideologically.

This issue is important because there are important debates about whether COPE is a left, centre-left or centrist party. If COPE is to offer a clear alternative to the electorate, it must clarify this stance and clearly spell out the policies it proposes and popularise these. It must also ensure that it leads campaigns on these issues. For instance, there have been no campaigns around the issue of the independence of the SABC, the judiciary and similar issues. Now that Eskom has been given the green light to fleece consumers, what is COPE’s response, other than objecting to it? Will COPE allow the collapse of the health services nationally and local government in many areas to go unchallenged? These are critical issues that members must address. Clarifying this ideological position will go a long way towards ensuring the messages COPE communicates are coherent. This does not mean adopting a socialist or a capitalist ideology, but is more about orientating the party clearly towards the weak, the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized in our society.

4.3 Attracting all like-minded people to its ranks.

Many of these currently sit in the ruling party, the official opposition and in a range of smaller political parties. The reality is that COPE did not attract all of it’s natural base from these parties when it was formed. Many of them are trapped by the politics of the past; race-based constituencies, patronage and even fear and cannot leave the parties they are currently members of because of the electoral system. Many cannot leave because they will lose seats or jobs and incomes that go with these. They have been reduced to being people who whisper to us in corridors and say things like, ‘we are with you comrades’, but they do not join. We have to create an environment in which these people can freely join COPE.

4.4 Break the dominance of the ruling party over the state and sections of civil society.

This is important because the base of the ruling party, the hegemonic bloc that it leads, is fractured and very fragile. But COPE has not yet created a movement to take advantage of this. The ruling party is trapped in the logic of its own tangled, ideological incoherence. On the one hand it poses as a national liberation movement, claiming to represent the aspirations of the formerly oppressed and currently exploited Black majority, regardless of their class stratification. It simultaneously claims to privilege the interests of the poor, the working class, women, youth and people living with disabilities within this general orientation, but proposes both a racial or narrow nationalist perspective to resolve this, while allowing a stunted and even fake socialist perspective to exist alongside this. This dual strategy allows self-proclaimed socialist bloc and a trade union organisation to exist in a privileged relationship within the national liberation movement, despite it not implementing any socialist policies or programs. Indeed, its policies and its practice have resulted in the continued and even increased profit of monopoly and finance capital, much of which is now located off-shore. These policies have also resulted in widening inequality, continued high levels of structural unemployment, inflation that continually pressures households, along with high interest rates. The manufacturing base of the economy and its agricultural capacity have been systematically eroded, making the economy import dependent for both manufactured goods and food.

In short, the political economy of the apartheid era remains intact, save for three groups of beneficiaries of 15 years of ANC rule. One is a small, privileged group of Black business people, some of whom function as oligarchs in a comprador relationship between the ruling party and the state on the one hand and White controlled capital on the other. Ironically these White owned businesses, such as asset managers, control the pensions and savings of millions of Black workers. Despite this, the trade union movement does nothing about transforming this reality. The other is the Black managerial and professional class of people who have benefitted from employment opportunities in government and the private sector that has allowed them to enter the middle class strata of our society. The third group is the former ruling elite, partly the bourgeoisie and partly those who preserved its position, who continue to benefit alongside the new, emerging elite. This situation, exacerbated by the conditions of capitalist globalization, and now the current recession, is a toxic mix the ruling party has not even begun to offer a way out of. The challenge COPE has is to think out of the box and propose radical policies that will ensure a historical break with the current development trajectory of our country that perpetuates systematic underdevelopment and endemic poverty to finance a life of privilege for the few and super-profits for corporations.

4.5 Re-aligning the opposition.

This debate has started but has been couched in terms of a competition between the DA and COPE. Such a race would be disastrous for the opposition. In any case, it is clear that there are some ideological differences between these two parties. The DA, like the ANC, is very much a creation of the pre-apartheid era. It is a mixture of liberals, conservatives, modernist and even some right-wing social democrats. As such, its challenge to the ruling party is defensive. While it has fared well in elections and has increased its vote in every election, it has not yet offered a credible vision to the broader South African population and so cannot transcend the racial support base it has of mainly White voters, with some limited Coloured and Indian support.

Similarly, the UDM and the ID have successfully challenged the ANC and won seats in councils and parliament, these have remained regional parties, as have the IFP, the UCDP and others. The remnants of other liberation movements; the PAC and Azapo have continued to limp along without making any serious dent in the ANC support base, despite its manifest failures. This is a fertile ground for re-alignment, but it requires leadership and vision. Most importantly, the debate should be about values and outcomes to avoid returning to sterile debates on race and privatization, for example.

5. What is to be done?

The CNC of June adopted a plan of action that gives hope for the future to all South Africans and the possibility of change for the better. It entails, among other things;

a) Giving a full report on the electoral list candidate selection process to put this matter to bed once and for all
b) Launching our branches by the end of 2009, regions by mid 2010 and provinces by the end of 2010
c) Preparing for a policy conference in early 2010 and a national elective congress early in 2011. The focus on launching Voting District Branches cannot be over-emphasised, as this will be the basic unit that secures COPE a future electoral victory
d) Taking up issues where the ruling party is abusing its power and undermining the constitution and our laws-examples include the mismanagement of the SABC, Eskom and attempts to end its independence and the attempts to interfere with the judiciary, among others
e) Focusing on the areas where policy failures of the ruling party have exacerbated the problems South Africans face-the economic crisis, health services, education, the public service and local government, electricity pricing, the price of food and crime, among others
f) Further developing our policies in all these priority areas to ensure our interventions are problem solving ones. This requires quality research and analysis as well as sophisticated communications
g) Not allowing the party and its membership to be distracted from its program by those critics of the party,, or by those who seek to associate COPE with members of the ruling party
h) Using the platform in parliament and the provincial legislatures to define our role as a patriotic but vibrant opposition
i) Beginning contesting the 2011 and 2014 elections now
In other words, COPE needs to build a movement around itself. This movement must have the rural and urban poor, workers, youth women, people living with disabilities at its core, but also ensure that it is a party that attracts patriotic professionals and entrepreneurs to its ranks. COPE must build on its current non-racial profile and ensure racial minority groups are accommodated within the party in an organic manner.

These objectives will be achieved, not by whining about the election result, the challenges in the party or the difficult road ahead. They will also not be resolved by removing individual leaders from positions, as some commentators would have us believe. They will be the result of loyalty to the party and ensuring a culture of debate, discipline and democracy, as well as one of a collective leadership. Most importantly, COPE must clearly project the social democratic alternative to the current ruling party program. This consists of;

A partnership between the people and government for transformation
Placing an emphasis on poverty eradication through employment creation

Focusing on enterprise development in the manufacturing, agricultural and services sector of the economy

Bringing governance back in to the hands of the people, particularly at local level

Consistently fight cronyism, corruption and patronage

COPE has at least a year till the next elections for local government, where it must register a growth in support and 5 years till the next general election, where it must be able to convincingly contest for power. Whether it can or not depends on the membership of the party who must remain loyal to it and the leadership they choose to guide the organisation at branch, regional, provincial and ultimately national level. This leadership must remain rooted in the people, all the people of our nation.

Phillip Dexter is an MP and Congress of the People’s national spokesperson