Murders, rapes and robberies fell from April through September compared with the same period in 2006. The government has been battling one of the world's highest crime rates and struggling to make the streets safe before the 2010 World Cup. Figures from the South African Police Service showed that the murder rate had dropped by 6.6 percent while the rape rate fell by 3.6 percent. ''Murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and common robbery all decreased within, or almost within, the 7 to 10 percent reduction targets,'' the service said. But the rate of house robberies rose 7 percent and the rate of robberies at businesses climbed by 29 percent.
Source: New York Times
Friday, December 7, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Famous conservationist killed
Legendary South African conservationist Franz Richter, 80, was murdered on his Muldersdrift farm, west of Johannesburg, on Wednesday. His daughter Gaby Burgmer said Richter was shot in the head and chest on the property of the Heia Safari Ranch around 10am. "It is shocking. This is a senseless, brutal killing in our beautiful country," she said.
Burgmer said her father, who immigrated to South Africa in 1952 with only 20 pounds in his pocket, was the founder of the Ranch and became a "legendary" man.She said Richter was still fit and active and had many plans for conservation and tourism. She said he was an avid conservationist who lived by the motto "live in Africa with Africa".Police spokesperson Captain Emmanuel Ndlovu confirmed that Richter had been shoot by three men. Richter had also been robbed on an undisclosed amount of money, he said. The men left the scene on foot.
Source: IoL
Burgmer said her father, who immigrated to South Africa in 1952 with only 20 pounds in his pocket, was the founder of the Ranch and became a "legendary" man.She said Richter was still fit and active and had many plans for conservation and tourism. She said he was an avid conservationist who lived by the motto "live in Africa with Africa".Police spokesperson Captain Emmanuel Ndlovu confirmed that Richter had been shoot by three men. Richter had also been robbed on an undisclosed amount of money, he said. The men left the scene on foot.
Source: IoL
Friday, November 23, 2007
Report: Mbeki gets pay rise
The South African Parliament officially closed for the year on Thursday with MPs voting for a 7,6% salary increase for President Thabo Mbeki, to R1,27-million a year, backdated to April 1. It was far short of the nearly 60% increase from R1,18-million to R1,89-million recommended by the independent Moseneke Commission in its review of salary packages for public office-bearers.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Source: Mail & Guardian
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Worldwatch Report: Powering China’s Development
China has become a global leader in renewable energy. It is expected to invest more than $10 billion in new renewable energy capacity in 2007, second only to Germany. Most of this is for small hydropower, solar hot water, and wind power. Meanwhile, investment in large hydropower continues at $6–10 billion annually. A landmark renewable energy law, enacted in 2005, supports continued expansion of renewables as a national priority. China currently obtains 8 percent of its energy and 17 percent of its electricity from renewables— shares that are projected to increase to 15 percent and 21 percent by 2020.
Among renewable energy sources:
* Wind power is the fastest-growing power generation technology in China, having doubled in capacity during 2006 alone.While wind is still slightly more expensive than coal power, policies encourage competitive pressure on costs, and new mandates require power companies to obtain a minimum share of their power from wind and other renewables. China is home to more than 50 aspiring domestic manufacturers of wind turbines and a number of foreign producers.
* Solar power is still in its infancy in China, although a growing amount is used in rural areas and other off-grid applications. A large market for grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) is still several years away, once costs decline further. Already, China is a global manufacturing powerhouse for solar PV, third only to Japan and Germany, with huge investments in recent years and much more expected.
* China is the world’s largest market for solar hot water, with nearly two-thirds of global capacity. The country’s 40 million solar hot water systems mean that more than 10 percent of Chinese households rely on the sun to heat their water. When Chinese firms eventually turn to exporting, the lower costs of their units—seven times less than in Europe—could affect markets globally.
* Biomass power in China comes mostly from sugarcane wastes and rice husks, and has not grown in recent years. New policies will likely mean more biomass power from other sources, such as agricultural and forestry wastes. In addition, industrial-scale biogas, such as from animal wastes, is starting to make a contribution to power generation.
* Biofuels for transportation have received widespread attention in China. Ethanol is produced in modest amounts from corn, and biodiesel is produced in small amounts from waste cooking oil. The government plans to expand biofuels production from cassava, sweet sorghum, and oilseed crops, although the large-scale potential is limited. The greatest promise lies with cellulosic ethanol, which many expect to become commercially viable within 7–10 years. If China could use its vast cellulosic resource of agricultural and forestry wastes—up to half a billion tons per year—it might become a major ethanol producer after 2020.
It is likely that China will meet and even exceed its renewable energy development targets for 2020. Total power capacity from renewables could reach 400 gigawatts by 2020, nearly triple the 135 gigawatts existing in 2006, with hydro, wind, biomass, and solar PV power making the greatest contributions.More than one-third of China’s households could be using solar hot water by 2020 if current targets and policies are continued. Use of other renewables, including biogas and perhaps solar thermal power, will increase as well.
Source: Worldwatch Institute
Among renewable energy sources:
* Wind power is the fastest-growing power generation technology in China, having doubled in capacity during 2006 alone.While wind is still slightly more expensive than coal power, policies encourage competitive pressure on costs, and new mandates require power companies to obtain a minimum share of their power from wind and other renewables. China is home to more than 50 aspiring domestic manufacturers of wind turbines and a number of foreign producers.
* Solar power is still in its infancy in China, although a growing amount is used in rural areas and other off-grid applications. A large market for grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) is still several years away, once costs decline further. Already, China is a global manufacturing powerhouse for solar PV, third only to Japan and Germany, with huge investments in recent years and much more expected.
* China is the world’s largest market for solar hot water, with nearly two-thirds of global capacity. The country’s 40 million solar hot water systems mean that more than 10 percent of Chinese households rely on the sun to heat their water. When Chinese firms eventually turn to exporting, the lower costs of their units—seven times less than in Europe—could affect markets globally.
* Biomass power in China comes mostly from sugarcane wastes and rice husks, and has not grown in recent years. New policies will likely mean more biomass power from other sources, such as agricultural and forestry wastes. In addition, industrial-scale biogas, such as from animal wastes, is starting to make a contribution to power generation.
* Biofuels for transportation have received widespread attention in China. Ethanol is produced in modest amounts from corn, and biodiesel is produced in small amounts from waste cooking oil. The government plans to expand biofuels production from cassava, sweet sorghum, and oilseed crops, although the large-scale potential is limited. The greatest promise lies with cellulosic ethanol, which many expect to become commercially viable within 7–10 years. If China could use its vast cellulosic resource of agricultural and forestry wastes—up to half a billion tons per year—it might become a major ethanol producer after 2020.
It is likely that China will meet and even exceed its renewable energy development targets for 2020. Total power capacity from renewables could reach 400 gigawatts by 2020, nearly triple the 135 gigawatts existing in 2006, with hydro, wind, biomass, and solar PV power making the greatest contributions.More than one-third of China’s households could be using solar hot water by 2020 if current targets and policies are continued. Use of other renewables, including biogas and perhaps solar thermal power, will increase as well.
Source: Worldwatch Institute
Monday, November 19, 2007
Solly Mokoetle joins Telkom Media
Former SABC COO Solly Mokoetle has been appointed chief content officer of Telkom Media, the board confirmed on Friday, 17 November 2007. "We believe that Solly's vast experience in the broadcasting industry makes him the ideal candidate for the position and we are very excited to have him on board," said Telkom Media CEO Mandla Ngcobo.
Telkom Media was recently granted a commercial satellite and cable broadcasting licence by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA). The company is developing a set of digital media businesses, which include pay TV services via satellite and IPTV platforms, as well as a range of online content and ISP services.
Mokoetle has more than 25 years' experience within the media and broadcasting industry. He spent 13 years at the SABC and for the past seven years was the COO at the SABC and executive director of the SABC Board. Prior to that he was head of the SABC's Multi-channel Strategy Task Team. He also spent several years with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in both the regulatory and production environment.
Commented Jimi Matthews, head of news at Telkom Media, "Having worked with Solly in the past, I have the utmost respect for his integrity and his management style. He is a true broadcast professional who will bring strategic and operational leadership to the content business of Telkom Media."
Mokoetle, who has a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University Ottawa (Canada) and a variety of executive management program qualifications, sits as a board member of Input, the South African Post Office, Sentech, and as chairman of the African Broadcast Media Partnership (ABMP) against HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Source: Biz Community
Telkom Media was recently granted a commercial satellite and cable broadcasting licence by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA). The company is developing a set of digital media businesses, which include pay TV services via satellite and IPTV platforms, as well as a range of online content and ISP services.
Mokoetle has more than 25 years' experience within the media and broadcasting industry. He spent 13 years at the SABC and for the past seven years was the COO at the SABC and executive director of the SABC Board. Prior to that he was head of the SABC's Multi-channel Strategy Task Team. He also spent several years with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in both the regulatory and production environment.
Commented Jimi Matthews, head of news at Telkom Media, "Having worked with Solly in the past, I have the utmost respect for his integrity and his management style. He is a true broadcast professional who will bring strategic and operational leadership to the content business of Telkom Media."
Mokoetle, who has a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University Ottawa (Canada) and a variety of executive management program qualifications, sits as a board member of Input, the South African Post Office, Sentech, and as chairman of the African Broadcast Media Partnership (ABMP) against HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Source: Biz Community
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Thousands at Matatiele hearings
on 18 August 2007, Constitutional Court Judge Sandile Ngcobo declared that the part of the Twelfth Amendment Act of the Constitution that altered the boundaries of KwaZulu Natal was invalid because it was not adopted in a manner consistent with the Constitution.
Although the Eastern Cape held public hearings on the matter of Matatiele being incorporated into the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal did not. There was therefore not sufficient public participation in the legislative process, which was inconsistent with the Constitution. Ngcobo suspended the order of invalidity for 18 months for Parliament to adopt a new amendment to the Constitution if it wished to.
Matatiele-Maluti Mass Action Organising Committee chairman Mandla Galo said on Tuesday the organisation would be presenting 3 920 written submissions against the district's continued incorporation into the Eastern Cape. "The reasons for wanting to stay in KwaZulu-Natal are economic. The distance between Matatiele and Bisho is the same as going from Matatiele to Pretoria." He said most people in the district were oriented towards Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The opposition to being incorporated into the Eastern Cape went across the colour spectrum. "White business and farmers are behind us. I must sincerely thank them for giving their workers time off today to come here (to the stadium)."
Matatiele was incorporated into the Eastern Cape on 28 February 2007, hours before voting started in the local government election of 2006.
Source: News 24
Although the Eastern Cape held public hearings on the matter of Matatiele being incorporated into the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal did not. There was therefore not sufficient public participation in the legislative process, which was inconsistent with the Constitution. Ngcobo suspended the order of invalidity for 18 months for Parliament to adopt a new amendment to the Constitution if it wished to.
Matatiele-Maluti Mass Action Organising Committee chairman Mandla Galo said on Tuesday the organisation would be presenting 3 920 written submissions against the district's continued incorporation into the Eastern Cape. "The reasons for wanting to stay in KwaZulu-Natal are economic. The distance between Matatiele and Bisho is the same as going from Matatiele to Pretoria." He said most people in the district were oriented towards Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The opposition to being incorporated into the Eastern Cape went across the colour spectrum. "White business and farmers are behind us. I must sincerely thank them for giving their workers time off today to come here (to the stadium)."
Matatiele was incorporated into the Eastern Cape on 28 February 2007, hours before voting started in the local government election of 2006.
Source: News 24
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Shembe flock to Dube's funeral
Thousands of people mostly Shembe believers have started arriving at Ingogo Farm in Newcastle in northern KwaZulu-Natal for the funeral service of reggae star Lucky Dube.
The worshippers came in buses taxis, bicycles and private vehicles, singing hymns ahead of the funeral service which is expected to start shortly. Rastafarians are among the thousands of people who want to bid farewell to the international acclaimed reggae star. Last minute preparations are being made to the grave site where Dube is expected to be laid to rest. The burial will be a private affair.
Dube was gunned down in an apparent botched hijacking in Rosettenville ten days ago. He had just dropped off two of his seven children at their uncle's house when he was shot.
Dube recorded 22 albums in Zulu, English and Afrikaans in a 25-year period and was South Africa's biggest selling reggae artist.
Source: SABC News
The worshippers came in buses taxis, bicycles and private vehicles, singing hymns ahead of the funeral service which is expected to start shortly. Rastafarians are among the thousands of people who want to bid farewell to the international acclaimed reggae star. Last minute preparations are being made to the grave site where Dube is expected to be laid to rest. The burial will be a private affair.
Dube was gunned down in an apparent botched hijacking in Rosettenville ten days ago. He had just dropped off two of his seven children at their uncle's house when he was shot.
Dube recorded 22 albums in Zulu, English and Afrikaans in a 25-year period and was South Africa's biggest selling reggae artist.
Source: SABC News
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Call for better complaint mechanism for judges
The Ministry of Justice needs to speed up the formation of an appropriate complaints mechanism dealing with judges, the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (Nadel) said on Tuesday. This follows the controversy surrounding Cape Judge President John Hlophe.
The complaints mechanism should cover procedure to be followed and appropriate sanction in case of adverse findings. "Inasmuch as this matter leads to emotions, it is actually the time for reflection and to drawing of serious lessons from it. We can hardly afford the creation of an environment that discredits the judiciary, a fundamental pillar of our Constitution and democracy," said Nadel general secretary Xolani Boqwana in a statement. He said the commentary around the matter had put tremendous stress on the judiciary and the organised legal profession.
It had undermined democratic and constitutional institutions, in particular the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), it called into question the integrity and credibility of the chief justice, who presides over the JSC, and polarised the judiciary and the legal profession along racial lines. It had undermined transformation of these institutions, which depend on unity for progress. "The actions of Judge President Hlophe, as pronounced by the [the] JSC, proves that the judges are fallible and in the absence of an appropriate complaint mechanism, dealing with judges speedily and appropriately, the JSC will always be put in an invidious position, as in this case."
Nadel said it was inappropriate for judges and members of the legal profession to act or comment in a manner that undermined the judicial process. The JSC's pronouncement should be respected and it is the responsibility of lawyers and judges to ensure that the rule of law is respected. "These people cannot in the forum of the media tear down the integrity of the institutions bestowed with the responsibility of protecting and enhancing the rule of law."
On October 4 the JSC found that there was not enough evidence to proceed with a public inquiry relating to payments Hlophe received from a company, Oasis, and that impeachment proceedings would not be brought against him. However, the commission found that it was inappropriate for Hlophe to have given permission to Oasis to sue fellow Cape Judge Siraj Desai without disclosing his relationship with the company making the application.
The commission has been investigating complaints laid by Cape Town Advocate Peter Hazell against Hlophe after it emerged that the Cape judge president had been on a monthly retainer at Oasis Group Holdings and that he had, between 2002 and 2005, received R500 000 in fees from the company. The finding was described by some political parties as a "slap on the wrist" and retired Judge Johan Kriegler wrote in a newspaper that Hlophe was not fit to be a judge.
Following Kriegler's comments, nine senior advocates from the Cape Bar, some of them former acting judges, publicly called on Hlophe to quit. The move by Kriegler and the advocates drew adverse comment from the Black Lawyers' Association.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The complaints mechanism should cover procedure to be followed and appropriate sanction in case of adverse findings. "Inasmuch as this matter leads to emotions, it is actually the time for reflection and to drawing of serious lessons from it. We can hardly afford the creation of an environment that discredits the judiciary, a fundamental pillar of our Constitution and democracy," said Nadel general secretary Xolani Boqwana in a statement. He said the commentary around the matter had put tremendous stress on the judiciary and the organised legal profession.
It had undermined democratic and constitutional institutions, in particular the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), it called into question the integrity and credibility of the chief justice, who presides over the JSC, and polarised the judiciary and the legal profession along racial lines. It had undermined transformation of these institutions, which depend on unity for progress. "The actions of Judge President Hlophe, as pronounced by the [the] JSC, proves that the judges are fallible and in the absence of an appropriate complaint mechanism, dealing with judges speedily and appropriately, the JSC will always be put in an invidious position, as in this case."
Nadel said it was inappropriate for judges and members of the legal profession to act or comment in a manner that undermined the judicial process. The JSC's pronouncement should be respected and it is the responsibility of lawyers and judges to ensure that the rule of law is respected. "These people cannot in the forum of the media tear down the integrity of the institutions bestowed with the responsibility of protecting and enhancing the rule of law."
On October 4 the JSC found that there was not enough evidence to proceed with a public inquiry relating to payments Hlophe received from a company, Oasis, and that impeachment proceedings would not be brought against him. However, the commission found that it was inappropriate for Hlophe to have given permission to Oasis to sue fellow Cape Judge Siraj Desai without disclosing his relationship with the company making the application.
The commission has been investigating complaints laid by Cape Town Advocate Peter Hazell against Hlophe after it emerged that the Cape judge president had been on a monthly retainer at Oasis Group Holdings and that he had, between 2002 and 2005, received R500 000 in fees from the company. The finding was described by some political parties as a "slap on the wrist" and retired Judge Johan Kriegler wrote in a newspaper that Hlophe was not fit to be a judge.
Following Kriegler's comments, nine senior advocates from the Cape Bar, some of them former acting judges, publicly called on Hlophe to quit. The move by Kriegler and the advocates drew adverse comment from the Black Lawyers' Association.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Saturday, October 20, 2007
SA reggae's voice of freedom silenced
Lucky Phillip Dube, one of the greatest South African musicians of our generation and arguably one of the best reggae artists in the world, has been shot to death.
Source: Pretoria News
Source: Pretoria News
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
US rejects UN mercenary report
The U.S. government on Wednesday rejected a U.N. report that said the use of private security guards like those involved in the shooting deaths of Iraqi civilians amounted to a new form of mercenary activity.
The report by a five-member panel of independent U.N. human rights experts said the contractors were performing military duties even though they were hired to be security guards. The killing of 17 civilians in Baghdad last month by Blackwater USA guards underscores the risks of using such contractors, said panel chairman, Jose Luis Gomez del Prado of Spain.
A spokesman for the U.S. Mission to U.N. offices in Geneva released a statement Wednesday denying the security guards were mercenaries.
"Accusations that U.S. government-contracted security guards, of whatever nationality, are mercenaries is inaccurate and demeaning to men and women who put their lives on the line to protect people and facilities every day," the statement said.
"The security guards working for U.S. government contractors in Iraq and elsewhere protect clearly defined United States government areas, and their work is defensive in nature," it said.
Although the use of mercenaries is discouraged in international rules of conduct of war, the hiring of foreign soldiers by one country for use in a third is specifically illegal only for the 30 countries that ratified a 1989 treaty. The U.S. and Iraq are among the many countries that never signed the accord.
"The trend toward outsourcing and privatizing various military functions by a number of member states in the past 10 years has resulted in the mushrooming of private military and security companies," the U.N. panel's report said.
The "tremendous increase" in the number of such companies -- including those working for the U.S. State and Defense departments -- has occurred in Afghanistan and Iraq, said the report, which will be presented to the U.N. General Assembly next month.
A joint U.S.-Iraqi panel has been created to review the practices of security companies, and Congress has opened inquiries into the role of the contractors. Multiple U.S. investigations into the Baghdad shooting are under way.
Gomez del Prado said the panel has been studying the use of contractors for two years and found that they were being hired from all over the world.
Experts from the panel visited Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Fiji to look into recruiting and training practices by the private contractors.
Source: USA TODAY
The report by a five-member panel of independent U.N. human rights experts said the contractors were performing military duties even though they were hired to be security guards. The killing of 17 civilians in Baghdad last month by Blackwater USA guards underscores the risks of using such contractors, said panel chairman, Jose Luis Gomez del Prado of Spain.
A spokesman for the U.S. Mission to U.N. offices in Geneva released a statement Wednesday denying the security guards were mercenaries.
"Accusations that U.S. government-contracted security guards, of whatever nationality, are mercenaries is inaccurate and demeaning to men and women who put their lives on the line to protect people and facilities every day," the statement said.
"The security guards working for U.S. government contractors in Iraq and elsewhere protect clearly defined United States government areas, and their work is defensive in nature," it said.
Although the use of mercenaries is discouraged in international rules of conduct of war, the hiring of foreign soldiers by one country for use in a third is specifically illegal only for the 30 countries that ratified a 1989 treaty. The U.S. and Iraq are among the many countries that never signed the accord.
"The trend toward outsourcing and privatizing various military functions by a number of member states in the past 10 years has resulted in the mushrooming of private military and security companies," the U.N. panel's report said.
The "tremendous increase" in the number of such companies -- including those working for the U.S. State and Defense departments -- has occurred in Afghanistan and Iraq, said the report, which will be presented to the U.N. General Assembly next month.
A joint U.S.-Iraqi panel has been created to review the practices of security companies, and Congress has opened inquiries into the role of the contractors. Multiple U.S. investigations into the Baghdad shooting are under way.
Gomez del Prado said the panel has been studying the use of contractors for two years and found that they were being hired from all over the world.
Experts from the panel visited Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Fiji to look into recruiting and training practices by the private contractors.
Source: USA TODAY
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Ernesto "Che" Guevara
There was no person more feared by the company (CIA) than Che Guevara because he had the capacity and charisma necessary to direct the struggle against the political repression of the traditional hierarchies in power in the countries of Latin America.— Philip Agee, CIA agent
By December 1964, Che Guevara had emerged as a "revolutionary statesmen of world stature" and thus traveled to New York City as head of the Cuban delegation to speak at the United Nations. During his impassioned address, he criticized the United Nations inability to confront the "brutal policy of apartheid" in South Africa, proclaiming "can the United Nations do nothing to stop this?" Guevara then denounced the United States policy towards their black population, stating:
"Those who kill their own children and discriminate daily against them because of the color of their skin; those who let the murderers of blacks remain free, protecting them, and furthermore punishing the black population because they demand their legitimate rights as free men — how can those who do this consider themselves guardians of freedom?"
Source: Wikipedia
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Prosperity, identity, democracy
The December national conference of the ANC is an event of central significance for all South Africans. The ANC played the leading role in South Africa's transition to democracy and has been the massively dominant player in our first decade of freedom. Conference delegates will therefore be making decisions that touch and indeed shape the lives of the nearly 50-million citizens of our country.
While much speculation has understandably been focused on which individuals will be elected to key leadership positions, this citizen is much more interested in what the conference will say and do about how our country is to be governed. I am even more interested in the vision that emerges of the South Africa the ANC wants to build in this second decade of freedom. In particular three aspects of that vision interest me. These relate to prosperity, identity and the quality of our democracy.
The years since 1994 have seen dramatic and impressive improvements in the state of the South African economy. Our new democracy inherited a fortress economy on the verge of bankruptcy, in which the interest on national debt continued to rise each year, displacing all other spending priorities. High inflation, negative foreign reserves, a rapidly weakening exchange rate and an economy that was essentially ex-growth was the legacy. All this has changed in a way that should certainly qualify the economic management team for a global best-in-class award.
Impressive progress has also been made in extending basic services such as water, electricity, schooling and healthcare to millions previously existing on the periphery of our society. About 11-million people receive a social grant of one form or another, making South Africa's social support system one of the most comprehensive among developing countries.
That said, problems of both poverty and inequality exist and demand the nation's urgent and effective attention. The challenge for the next decade must be to translate sustained high levels of economic growth into increasing levels of productive employment.
If we are to meet the Millennium Development Goals set for 2014, we need to add about five million jobs, as well as address the issue of the working poor. In the tough and unsentimental global markets in which South Africa's very open economy must compete, most of our industries need to up their game, both to win and retain export markets, and to compete effectively against foreign participants in our domestic markets.
With regard to social services the critical challenge we face is about quality. Most children are in school. But what is the quality of their learning? Most citizens do have access to healthcare. But how effective is that healthcare? Intense challenges must be addressed in all aspects of our criminal justice system if we are to reduce the very real level of fear in which most South Africans conduct their daily lives.
None of these challenges can be met by government alone, even a government with the best possible policies and effective implementation.
All these critical challenges require a partnership between government, other actors in civil society and, crucially, the constructive activity of citizens themselves. These partnerships in turn require both some measure of shared goals and significant levels of mutual trust. This alone will achieve the increased levels of prosperity that will make a better life for all South Africans a reality rather than a dream.South Africa is in the very early stages of constructing a nation out of our fragmented and often bitter past. Central to this is the creation of a national identity that unites the subsets of South Africans.
Here, too, important progress has already been made and a promising foundation laid. Our national anthem consists of four of our national languages, and two important pieces of our musical heritage. More and more South Africans are able to sing all four stanzas. Our flag has captured the emotional loyalty of the vast majority of our people.
We still have a way to go. Our history indicates clearly that a good future will be the result of both unity and cooperation between all the peoples of our country -- all who live here and who want to live here.
Perhaps we need to develop a "pledge of allegiance" similar to that recited by all American school children at the start of each school day. The preamble to our Constitution provides good words. We need to encourage all South Africans to live the language of inclusive patriotism: in this regard "African" cannot be a synonym for "black".
Language is a critical tool in building a national identity. English will continue to be the lingua franca for much of our daily lives. However, vital and resourceful parts of our culture will continue to use the currency of what we often refer to as "vernacular" languages, which clearly include Afrikaans. In this regard we need a national project to encourage South African citizens to become multilingual. South Africans have a campaign culture. Can we not create a movement that encourages all South Africans to learn, at least to the degree of some conversational ability, a second language? This will be a particular challenge to English-language mother-tongue speakers. Their efforts will be well rewarded by the quality of their social interaction and they will quite literally define the parameters of a shared national identity.
The story of South African politics so far is the contest between the obviously desirable goal of greater national unity and the seduction of mobilising political power around sectional appeals. The way in which the delegates at Polokwane choose between these competing forces will have consequences for all South Africans.
What will the ANC conference do about the state of our democracy?
Here it seems two distinct challenges exist. What will be the quality of the internal debate within ANC structures? And how does the ANC see its role in the broader society?
On the first two, divergent trends are apparent. Over the course of this year very serious attempts have been made to offer the ANC, and the nation that it serves, serious debate. Policy documents have been made public which address all of the issues above, and more. ANC members and formations have been invited to engage with the critical issues in a spirit of free and real debate.
The contrasting trend, however, has also been evident. This has subsumed debate in the quest for power. Here what individual ANC members believed about the issues has become secondary to who they will support in election races. This is an inevitable tension in any political movement. The way in which it is resolved, though, shapes not only who gets power, but how those empowered use power.
The ANC was created as a parliament of the African people of South Africa. Today it also serves as the largest party in the Parliament.
Our Constitution sets out to build democratic institutions that have legitimacy and life beyond that of individual political movements.
Every member of Parliament, from whatever party, is part of this construction project. Democratic institutions have little real life outside the political culture that creates (and sometimes destroys) them.
We urgently need a culture that seeks and respects the robust contestation of ideas. No individual and no organisation has a monopoly on truth. Those who shut down debate with crude appeals to party or sectional loyalty do our Constitution, and the spirit of 1994, no favours.
Equally, debate and discourse can only thrive in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Opposition parties need to acknowledge the electoral support enjoyed by the ANC. They also need to treat the offices of our government with respect. It is their patriotic duty so to do. The ANC in turn needs to accept the decision of voters to elect representatives from organisations other than themselves. They need to treat opposition parties as part of the national and democratic project, who can and will make a contribution to building a better future. The recent respectful and constructive meeting between the South African president and the leader of the opposition is an encouraging start.
Source: Mail & Guardian
While much speculation has understandably been focused on which individuals will be elected to key leadership positions, this citizen is much more interested in what the conference will say and do about how our country is to be governed. I am even more interested in the vision that emerges of the South Africa the ANC wants to build in this second decade of freedom. In particular three aspects of that vision interest me. These relate to prosperity, identity and the quality of our democracy.
The years since 1994 have seen dramatic and impressive improvements in the state of the South African economy. Our new democracy inherited a fortress economy on the verge of bankruptcy, in which the interest on national debt continued to rise each year, displacing all other spending priorities. High inflation, negative foreign reserves, a rapidly weakening exchange rate and an economy that was essentially ex-growth was the legacy. All this has changed in a way that should certainly qualify the economic management team for a global best-in-class award.
Impressive progress has also been made in extending basic services such as water, electricity, schooling and healthcare to millions previously existing on the periphery of our society. About 11-million people receive a social grant of one form or another, making South Africa's social support system one of the most comprehensive among developing countries.
That said, problems of both poverty and inequality exist and demand the nation's urgent and effective attention. The challenge for the next decade must be to translate sustained high levels of economic growth into increasing levels of productive employment.
If we are to meet the Millennium Development Goals set for 2014, we need to add about five million jobs, as well as address the issue of the working poor. In the tough and unsentimental global markets in which South Africa's very open economy must compete, most of our industries need to up their game, both to win and retain export markets, and to compete effectively against foreign participants in our domestic markets.
With regard to social services the critical challenge we face is about quality. Most children are in school. But what is the quality of their learning? Most citizens do have access to healthcare. But how effective is that healthcare? Intense challenges must be addressed in all aspects of our criminal justice system if we are to reduce the very real level of fear in which most South Africans conduct their daily lives.
None of these challenges can be met by government alone, even a government with the best possible policies and effective implementation.
All these critical challenges require a partnership between government, other actors in civil society and, crucially, the constructive activity of citizens themselves. These partnerships in turn require both some measure of shared goals and significant levels of mutual trust. This alone will achieve the increased levels of prosperity that will make a better life for all South Africans a reality rather than a dream.South Africa is in the very early stages of constructing a nation out of our fragmented and often bitter past. Central to this is the creation of a national identity that unites the subsets of South Africans.
Here, too, important progress has already been made and a promising foundation laid. Our national anthem consists of four of our national languages, and two important pieces of our musical heritage. More and more South Africans are able to sing all four stanzas. Our flag has captured the emotional loyalty of the vast majority of our people.
We still have a way to go. Our history indicates clearly that a good future will be the result of both unity and cooperation between all the peoples of our country -- all who live here and who want to live here.
Perhaps we need to develop a "pledge of allegiance" similar to that recited by all American school children at the start of each school day. The preamble to our Constitution provides good words. We need to encourage all South Africans to live the language of inclusive patriotism: in this regard "African" cannot be a synonym for "black".
Language is a critical tool in building a national identity. English will continue to be the lingua franca for much of our daily lives. However, vital and resourceful parts of our culture will continue to use the currency of what we often refer to as "vernacular" languages, which clearly include Afrikaans. In this regard we need a national project to encourage South African citizens to become multilingual. South Africans have a campaign culture. Can we not create a movement that encourages all South Africans to learn, at least to the degree of some conversational ability, a second language? This will be a particular challenge to English-language mother-tongue speakers. Their efforts will be well rewarded by the quality of their social interaction and they will quite literally define the parameters of a shared national identity.
The story of South African politics so far is the contest between the obviously desirable goal of greater national unity and the seduction of mobilising political power around sectional appeals. The way in which the delegates at Polokwane choose between these competing forces will have consequences for all South Africans.
What will the ANC conference do about the state of our democracy?
Here it seems two distinct challenges exist. What will be the quality of the internal debate within ANC structures? And how does the ANC see its role in the broader society?
On the first two, divergent trends are apparent. Over the course of this year very serious attempts have been made to offer the ANC, and the nation that it serves, serious debate. Policy documents have been made public which address all of the issues above, and more. ANC members and formations have been invited to engage with the critical issues in a spirit of free and real debate.
The contrasting trend, however, has also been evident. This has subsumed debate in the quest for power. Here what individual ANC members believed about the issues has become secondary to who they will support in election races. This is an inevitable tension in any political movement. The way in which it is resolved, though, shapes not only who gets power, but how those empowered use power.
The ANC was created as a parliament of the African people of South Africa. Today it also serves as the largest party in the Parliament.
Our Constitution sets out to build democratic institutions that have legitimacy and life beyond that of individual political movements.
Every member of Parliament, from whatever party, is part of this construction project. Democratic institutions have little real life outside the political culture that creates (and sometimes destroys) them.
We urgently need a culture that seeks and respects the robust contestation of ideas. No individual and no organisation has a monopoly on truth. Those who shut down debate with crude appeals to party or sectional loyalty do our Constitution, and the spirit of 1994, no favours.
Equally, debate and discourse can only thrive in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Opposition parties need to acknowledge the electoral support enjoyed by the ANC. They also need to treat the offices of our government with respect. It is their patriotic duty so to do. The ANC in turn needs to accept the decision of voters to elect representatives from organisations other than themselves. They need to treat opposition parties as part of the national and democratic project, who can and will make a contribution to building a better future. The recent respectful and constructive meeting between the South African president and the leader of the opposition is an encouraging start.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Thursday, October 4, 2007
JSC: No impeachment proceedings against Hlophe
No impeachment proceedings will be instituted against Cape Judge President John Hlophe, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said on Thursday. Chief Justice Pius Langa said although the JSC members were divided on whether there was sufficient evidence to justify proceedings that could lead to impeachment, it was generally agreed the proceedings should not be pursued. "Ultimately the majority view was that there was not sufficient evidence to proceed with a public inquiry in regard to the main count of receiving payment from Oasis without consent from the minister," Langa said, briefing the media after a JSC meeting on Hlophe.
The commission, however, expressed dissatisfaction over some of the explanations it had received from Hlophe. "In addition, the JSC was unanimous in its view that it was inappropriate for the judge president to have given permission to Oasis to sue Judge Desai without disclosing his relationship with Oasis," Langa said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The commission, however, expressed dissatisfaction over some of the explanations it had received from Hlophe. "In addition, the JSC was unanimous in its view that it was inappropriate for the judge president to have given permission to Oasis to sue Judge Desai without disclosing his relationship with Oasis," Langa said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
JSC: No impeachment proceedings against Hlophe
No impeachment proceedings will be instituted against Cape Judge President John Hlophe, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said on Thursday. Chief Justice Pius Langa said although the JSC members were divided on whether there was sufficient evidence to justify proceedings that could lead to impeachment, it was generally agreed the proceedings should not be pursued. "Ultimately the majority view was that there was not sufficient evidence to proceed with a public inquiry in regard to the main count of receiving payment from Oasis without consent from the minister," Langa said, briefing the media after a JSC meeting on Hlophe.
The commission, however, expressed dissatisfaction over some of the explanations it had received from Hlophe. "In addition, the JSC was unanimous in its view that it was inappropriate for the judge president to have given permission to Oasis to sue Judge Desai without disclosing his relationship with Oasis," Langa said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The commission, however, expressed dissatisfaction over some of the explanations it had received from Hlophe. "In addition, the JSC was unanimous in its view that it was inappropriate for the judge president to have given permission to Oasis to sue Judge Desai without disclosing his relationship with Oasis," Langa said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Masetlha v President of the Republic of South Africa and Another
This morning, the Constitutional Court handed down judgment in the matter between Mr Masetlha, the former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and the President of the Republic of South Africa. The Court was called upon to decide whether two decisions taken by the President, one to suspend and the other to terminate Mr Masetlha’s employment as head of the NIA, was constitutionally permissible.
In a majority judgment, in which Langa CJ, Navsa AJ, Nkabinde J, O’Regan J, Skweyiya J and Van der Westhuizen J concurred, Moseneke DCJ held that the President’s power to appoint and dismiss is not exclusively located in the provisions of the Public Service Act, which provides for the manner and form of the service contract, but must be read in conjunction with the prevailing constitutional and legislative scheme, which implicitly confers on the President such power. He concluded that the President had the power to terminate the employment of the applicant under section 209 of the Constitution read with section 3 of the Intelligence Services Act.
In a minority judgment in which Madala J concurred, Ngcobo J held that under the Constitution the President has a duty to act fairly and that duty precludes the President from unilaterally altering the term of office of the head of the NIA. He held that this is a requirement of the rule of law which is one of the foundational values of our constitutional democracy. He found, however, that on the objective facts before the Court, there has been an irreparable breakdown of trust between the President and Mr Masetlha. Mutual trust, he held, is fundamental to the relationship between the President and Mr Masetlha. On the facts of this case, it is therefore not appropriate to re-instate Mr Masetlha in his former position.
In a separate judgement Sachs J concurred in the order made by the majority, and held that given the loss of the trust that lay at the heart of the specific constitutionally defined relationship between the President and Mr Masetlha, the termination of the appointment was not unlawful. Fairness further presupposed that appropriate concern be displayed for the reputational consequences of an incumbent who is about to be relieved of a high profile position in public life. Sachs J added that fair dealing could not be separated from civility, which, in a constitutional sense, involved more than just courtesy or good manners and was one of the binding elements of a constitutional democracy.
The Court also ordered the President to pay the applicant remuneration, allowances, pension and other benefits for the period starting on 22 March 2006 up to 1 December 2007, all of which must place the applicant in the same financial position that he would have been in but for the early termination of his term of office. The Court has made no order as to costs.
Source: The Constitutional Court
In a majority judgment, in which Langa CJ, Navsa AJ, Nkabinde J, O’Regan J, Skweyiya J and Van der Westhuizen J concurred, Moseneke DCJ held that the President’s power to appoint and dismiss is not exclusively located in the provisions of the Public Service Act, which provides for the manner and form of the service contract, but must be read in conjunction with the prevailing constitutional and legislative scheme, which implicitly confers on the President such power. He concluded that the President had the power to terminate the employment of the applicant under section 209 of the Constitution read with section 3 of the Intelligence Services Act.
In a minority judgment in which Madala J concurred, Ngcobo J held that under the Constitution the President has a duty to act fairly and that duty precludes the President from unilaterally altering the term of office of the head of the NIA. He held that this is a requirement of the rule of law which is one of the foundational values of our constitutional democracy. He found, however, that on the objective facts before the Court, there has been an irreparable breakdown of trust between the President and Mr Masetlha. Mutual trust, he held, is fundamental to the relationship between the President and Mr Masetlha. On the facts of this case, it is therefore not appropriate to re-instate Mr Masetlha in his former position.
In a separate judgement Sachs J concurred in the order made by the majority, and held that given the loss of the trust that lay at the heart of the specific constitutionally defined relationship between the President and Mr Masetlha, the termination of the appointment was not unlawful. Fairness further presupposed that appropriate concern be displayed for the reputational consequences of an incumbent who is about to be relieved of a high profile position in public life. Sachs J added that fair dealing could not be separated from civility, which, in a constitutional sense, involved more than just courtesy or good manners and was one of the binding elements of a constitutional democracy.
The Court also ordered the President to pay the applicant remuneration, allowances, pension and other benefits for the period starting on 22 March 2006 up to 1 December 2007, all of which must place the applicant in the same financial position that he would have been in but for the early termination of his term of office. The Court has made no order as to costs.
Source: The Constitutional Court
Monday, October 1, 2007
Pikoli's suspension 'sinister'
The shock suspension of South Africa's prosecutions head amid silence by President Thabo Mbeki has led to concerns of "sinister" dealings and government meddling in the country's justice system. Mbeki's integrity came under fire this week as his suspension of top prosecutor Vusi Pikoli was linked to the alleged pending arrest of national police commissioner Jackie Selebi, who is seen as an ally to the president.
With no reaction from Mbeki, analysts and opposition political parties fear Mbeki may have acted out of a desire to protect Selebi, also the president of international policing agency Interpol. Analyst Steven Friedman of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa said suggestions of political interference in the justice system was cause for serious concern. "If Selebi is not charged, clearly there will be a suggestion that the president got Pikoli out of the way to protect Selebi," he told AFP. Friedman said Mbeki's silence on the issue was damaging, bordering on disdainful, and created the impression that "something sinister is afoot". Selebi faced a raft of calls to quit last year when his friend, businessman Glen Agliotti, was charged with the mafia-style killing of mining magnate Brett Kebble.
Last Sunday, Mbeki suspended Pikoli due to what a government statement said was an irretrievable breakdown in his relationship with the country's justice minister. But news reports on Friday claimed Pikoli's suspension followed within days of Mbeki learning about Selebi's pending arrest, with the NPA believed to have obtained the warrant last week. Opposition political parties have called for Selebi's head, and for Mbeki to quell the speculation by breaking his silence on the alleged link between the two events. "If the speculation turns out to be correct, then we have a dilemma," said Human Sciences Research Council political commentator Adam Habib. "If the predident suspended Mr Pikoli on the grounds that he had issued a warrant for the commissioner's arrest, then it suggests that an invasion is being made into an independent institution's operations. "Intervening in the operations of the National Prosecuting Authority constitutes a violation of our constitution."
No confirmation has been forthcoming from the government, prosecutors or Selebi's office of reported claims that a warrant had been issued for the commissioner's arrest. Main opposition Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said in a statement on Friday it "seems clear that the suspension of Pikoli was motivated by the desire of President Mbeki to protect his close ally (Selebi)." "The implications of this development for our democracy are profound. "If true, this latest allegation ... points to the fact that we have entered the phase of an imperial Presidency, where the President appears to govern almost with impunity."
The weekly Mail and Guardian newspaper suggested in an editorial Friday that Pikoli's suspension pointed to political expediency impacting on crime-fighting. "Pikoli's suspension is closely intertwined with the ... investigation into Selebi's alleged links with organised crime," it said. "There is a persuasive view that Mbeki wishes to head this off before the ANC's Polokwane conference for fear of the political harm it might do him."
The ANC meets in Polokwane in the Limpopo province at year-end to elect a new leader, with Mbeki still in the running for a third term as party head. Main contender, ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma, is also in the national prosecuting authority's aim, ever since his financial advisor Schabir Shaik was convicted in 2005 of corruption and fraud in connection with bribes arranged for Zuma. Mbeki's spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga could not be reached for comment.
Source: News 24
With no reaction from Mbeki, analysts and opposition political parties fear Mbeki may have acted out of a desire to protect Selebi, also the president of international policing agency Interpol. Analyst Steven Friedman of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa said suggestions of political interference in the justice system was cause for serious concern. "If Selebi is not charged, clearly there will be a suggestion that the president got Pikoli out of the way to protect Selebi," he told AFP. Friedman said Mbeki's silence on the issue was damaging, bordering on disdainful, and created the impression that "something sinister is afoot". Selebi faced a raft of calls to quit last year when his friend, businessman Glen Agliotti, was charged with the mafia-style killing of mining magnate Brett Kebble.
Last Sunday, Mbeki suspended Pikoli due to what a government statement said was an irretrievable breakdown in his relationship with the country's justice minister. But news reports on Friday claimed Pikoli's suspension followed within days of Mbeki learning about Selebi's pending arrest, with the NPA believed to have obtained the warrant last week. Opposition political parties have called for Selebi's head, and for Mbeki to quell the speculation by breaking his silence on the alleged link between the two events. "If the speculation turns out to be correct, then we have a dilemma," said Human Sciences Research Council political commentator Adam Habib. "If the predident suspended Mr Pikoli on the grounds that he had issued a warrant for the commissioner's arrest, then it suggests that an invasion is being made into an independent institution's operations. "Intervening in the operations of the National Prosecuting Authority constitutes a violation of our constitution."
No confirmation has been forthcoming from the government, prosecutors or Selebi's office of reported claims that a warrant had been issued for the commissioner's arrest. Main opposition Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said in a statement on Friday it "seems clear that the suspension of Pikoli was motivated by the desire of President Mbeki to protect his close ally (Selebi)." "The implications of this development for our democracy are profound. "If true, this latest allegation ... points to the fact that we have entered the phase of an imperial Presidency, where the President appears to govern almost with impunity."
The weekly Mail and Guardian newspaper suggested in an editorial Friday that Pikoli's suspension pointed to political expediency impacting on crime-fighting. "Pikoli's suspension is closely intertwined with the ... investigation into Selebi's alleged links with organised crime," it said. "There is a persuasive view that Mbeki wishes to head this off before the ANC's Polokwane conference for fear of the political harm it might do him."
The ANC meets in Polokwane in the Limpopo province at year-end to elect a new leader, with Mbeki still in the running for a third term as party head. Main contender, ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma, is also in the national prosecuting authority's aim, ever since his financial advisor Schabir Shaik was convicted in 2005 of corruption and fraud in connection with bribes arranged for Zuma. Mbeki's spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga could not be reached for comment.
Source: News 24
Pikoli: Mabandla faced arrest
The head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Vusi Pikoli, was disrespectful towards President Thabo Mbeki and "arrogantly" threatened to arrest Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla for the obstruction of justice.
It was announced on Saturday that former Speaker of Parliament Frene Ginwala has been appointed to lead the task team or commission to probe what led to the "irretrievable breakdown" of relations between Pikoli and Mabandla. It was not immediately clear on Saturday how much time Ginwala would have for her probe, but it is believed Mbeki would prefer it to be dealt with as quickly as possible. This also comes as Pikoli's NPA deputies rally behind him. They are vowing to resign en masse if Pikoli is not returned. "I am totally unaware of a move like that. It's speculation I would rather not comment on," said NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali.
The threat to Mabandla came as she tried to get Pikoli to stop the execution of a warrant of arrest for national police commissioner Jackie Selebi last week.
Mbeki had asked her to convince Pikoli that the arrest would cause a national and international crisis for government given Selebi's presidency of Interpol.
Source: News 24
It was announced on Saturday that former Speaker of Parliament Frene Ginwala has been appointed to lead the task team or commission to probe what led to the "irretrievable breakdown" of relations between Pikoli and Mabandla. It was not immediately clear on Saturday how much time Ginwala would have for her probe, but it is believed Mbeki would prefer it to be dealt with as quickly as possible. This also comes as Pikoli's NPA deputies rally behind him. They are vowing to resign en masse if Pikoli is not returned. "I am totally unaware of a move like that. It's speculation I would rather not comment on," said NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali.
The threat to Mabandla came as she tried to get Pikoli to stop the execution of a warrant of arrest for national police commissioner Jackie Selebi last week.
Mbeki had asked her to convince Pikoli that the arrest would cause a national and international crisis for government given Selebi's presidency of Interpol.
Source: News 24
Sunday, September 30, 2007
I'll never be arrested - Selebi
National police chief and Interpol head Jackie Selebi has said he will never be arrested because a warrant does not exist, the early edition of the Sunday Times reported on Saturday. "I will never be arrested... If there is a warrant for me I will stand on the 10th floor of the Sandton Towers so that the Scorpions can arrest me," he told the newspaper.
Selebi was responding to numerous media reports citing reliable sources that the National Prosecuting Authority had obtained a warrant for his arrest last week. A search and seizure document was allegedly also obtained from the Pretoria High Court. "I am not bothered at all. For what must I be arrested? There is no such thing as a warrant. It does not exist. I will not comment on charges as there is no warrant," he said. The question of Selebi's possible arrest follows in the wake of the suspension of National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli by President Thabo Mbeki.
Mbeki suspended Pikoli on Monday, citing an irretrievable breakdown in the relationship between Pikoli and Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla. On Saturday night, Government Communication and Information System spokesperson Themba Maseko said Mbeki had appointed Frene Ginwala to conduct the inquiry into Pikoli's fitness to hold office. Maseko said the former National Assembly Speaker had been appointed in terms of section 12(6) of the National Prosecuting Act 32 of 1998. "It's (the inquiry) going to be under way soon. I need to meet with the doctor (Ginwala) first and will avail more details on Monday," he said. Maseko said he would address a press conference on Monday outlining the details and format of the enquiry.
Source: Polity
Selebi was responding to numerous media reports citing reliable sources that the National Prosecuting Authority had obtained a warrant for his arrest last week. A search and seizure document was allegedly also obtained from the Pretoria High Court. "I am not bothered at all. For what must I be arrested? There is no such thing as a warrant. It does not exist. I will not comment on charges as there is no warrant," he said. The question of Selebi's possible arrest follows in the wake of the suspension of National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli by President Thabo Mbeki.
Mbeki suspended Pikoli on Monday, citing an irretrievable breakdown in the relationship between Pikoli and Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla. On Saturday night, Government Communication and Information System spokesperson Themba Maseko said Mbeki had appointed Frene Ginwala to conduct the inquiry into Pikoli's fitness to hold office. Maseko said the former National Assembly Speaker had been appointed in terms of section 12(6) of the National Prosecuting Act 32 of 1998. "It's (the inquiry) going to be under way soon. I need to meet with the doctor (Ginwala) first and will avail more details on Monday," he said. Maseko said he would address a press conference on Monday outlining the details and format of the enquiry.
Source: Polity
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Has a Warrant been issued for Selebi ?
A warrant of arrest has been issued for national police chief Jackie Selebi, the SABC reported on Thursday.
The SABC is reporting the arrest was secured by suspended NPA head Vusi Pikoli last Thursday. President Thabo Mbeki suspended Pikoli from his job at the weekend, citing a "breakdown in relationship" with the Minister of Justice Brigitte Mabandla. The state broadcaster said it had "reliably learnt" that the National Prosecuting Authority had obtained the warrant. The SABC also reported the NPA secured a "search and seizure document" with the arrest.
NPS spokesperson Tlali Tlali would not comment on the report late on Thursday afternoon. "That is the SABC's story. We can't comment," he told Sapa. National police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said: "I have been with him (Selebi) all day. He has certainly not been arrested. I just spoke to him and he knows nothing about it."
News 24.com
The SABC is reporting the arrest was secured by suspended NPA head Vusi Pikoli last Thursday. President Thabo Mbeki suspended Pikoli from his job at the weekend, citing a "breakdown in relationship" with the Minister of Justice Brigitte Mabandla. The state broadcaster said it had "reliably learnt" that the National Prosecuting Authority had obtained the warrant. The SABC also reported the NPA secured a "search and seizure document" with the arrest.
NPS spokesperson Tlali Tlali would not comment on the report late on Thursday afternoon. "That is the SABC's story. We can't comment," he told Sapa. National police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said: "I have been with him (Selebi) all day. He has certainly not been arrested. I just spoke to him and he knows nothing about it."
News 24.com
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Mbeki to act against Selebi?
President Thabo Mbeki is about to act against National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi, the Cape Argus reported on Tuesday.
It was believed Mbeki was about to order an inquiry into allegations that Selebi, also the head of interpol, had links with crime syndicates, the paper said.
Mbeki's spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga is accompanying the President to the current UN General Assembly in New York, and declined to comment, referring enquiries to government communications head Themba Maseko.
However, Maseko was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday afternoon.
Citing independent sources, the Argus said the inquiry into the claims against Selebi would be Mbeki's second major step following the suspension on Monday of National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Vusi Pikoli.
Apparently, the third step would be a probe into private companies owned by apartheid-era security operators contracted by the police and Scorpions to do investigations.
A source told the Argus Mbeki was keen to clear the air about Selebi, whom he had been seen to be protecting since the allegations arose.
Selebi had denied having links to shadowy individuals who, in turn, had been linked to murdered businessman Brett Kebble.
The Argus said it understood that a file, compiled by a private security company on behalf of the Scorpions, was to be handed over to acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe - who took over from Pikoli.
Mpshe would then take a decision whether there was a prima facie case against Selebi, and, if there was, a full independent investigation would be ordered.
The probe would be headed by a judge, because both the police and Scorpions would be unacceptable - given that Selebi headed the police and the Scorpions' credibility was in question following Pikoli's suspension.
According to the sources, Mbeki acted against Pikoli because of his failure to control the Scorpions, the Argus said.
Source: News 24.com
It was believed Mbeki was about to order an inquiry into allegations that Selebi, also the head of interpol, had links with crime syndicates, the paper said.
Mbeki's spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga is accompanying the President to the current UN General Assembly in New York, and declined to comment, referring enquiries to government communications head Themba Maseko.
However, Maseko was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday afternoon.
Citing independent sources, the Argus said the inquiry into the claims against Selebi would be Mbeki's second major step following the suspension on Monday of National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Vusi Pikoli.
Apparently, the third step would be a probe into private companies owned by apartheid-era security operators contracted by the police and Scorpions to do investigations.
A source told the Argus Mbeki was keen to clear the air about Selebi, whom he had been seen to be protecting since the allegations arose.
Selebi had denied having links to shadowy individuals who, in turn, had been linked to murdered businessman Brett Kebble.
The Argus said it understood that a file, compiled by a private security company on behalf of the Scorpions, was to be handed over to acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe - who took over from Pikoli.
Mpshe would then take a decision whether there was a prima facie case against Selebi, and, if there was, a full independent investigation would be ordered.
The probe would be headed by a judge, because both the police and Scorpions would be unacceptable - given that Selebi headed the police and the Scorpions' credibility was in question following Pikoli's suspension.
According to the sources, Mbeki acted against Pikoli because of his failure to control the Scorpions, the Argus said.
Source: News 24.com
Monday, September 24, 2007
Mbeki suspends NPA boss
President Thabo Mbeki has suspended the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Vusi Pikoli, the GCIS said on Monday. "This decision was taken on the basis of an irretrievable breakdown in the working relationship between the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and the NDPP," said Government Communications and Information System's spokesperson Themba Maseko. He said the suspension was in terms of Section 12 (6) (a) of the National Prosecution Act 32 of 1998.
Maseko said Mbeki considered the relationship between Minister Mabandla and the NDPP central to the effective administration of justice and the "smooth functioning" of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). "The relationship breakdown had adverse implications for the NPA and the functioning of the criminal justice system," he said. He said an enquiry would be instituted to investigate the functioning and role of the NDPP. Recommendations would then be made to the President.
Deputy National Director Mokotedi Mpshe has been appointed as acting director. "Government would like to reassure all South Africans that the functioning of the justice system will not be compromised, especially within the context of the collective challenge to fight crime," he said.
Source: News 24.com
Maseko said Mbeki considered the relationship between Minister Mabandla and the NDPP central to the effective administration of justice and the "smooth functioning" of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). "The relationship breakdown had adverse implications for the NPA and the functioning of the criminal justice system," he said. He said an enquiry would be instituted to investigate the functioning and role of the NDPP. Recommendations would then be made to the President.
Deputy National Director Mokotedi Mpshe has been appointed as acting director. "Government would like to reassure all South Africans that the functioning of the justice system will not be compromised, especially within the context of the collective challenge to fight crime," he said.
Source: News 24.com
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Majali named in audit of E Cape's missing R100m
he controversial Sandi Majali -- known for his role in the Oilgate scandal -- has been named in a forensic audit into the disappearance of more than R100-million meant for starving children in the Eastern Cape, the Sunday Times reported.
As the head of oil company Imvume Management, Majali was a central figure in the Oilgate debacle surrounding R11-million of taxpayers' money paid to the African National Congress as election funds ahead of the 2004 elections. He was also named in the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. The audit found that companies under Majali's control had been involved in the collapse of the R230-million school feeding scheme, and the Scorpions are now probing irregularities uncovered during the audit. The feeding scheme collapsed barely six months after being launched in June last year when it emerged that food was not getting to children at about 5 000 Eastern Cape schools, the Sunday Times reported.
Majali was in charge of four of six community cooperatives that were awarded tenders to distribute supplies to smaller cooperatives that would prepare and distribute the meals. The 51-page audit report, commissioned by Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela, found that Majali's cooperatives were irregularly awarded tenders, irregularly paid at least R6-million over four months and overpaid by R9-million.
By the time the scheme crashed, the Sunday Times said, the government had paid out R100-million -- and it is unclear where the rest of the R100-million went.
Source: Mail & Guardian
As the head of oil company Imvume Management, Majali was a central figure in the Oilgate debacle surrounding R11-million of taxpayers' money paid to the African National Congress as election funds ahead of the 2004 elections. He was also named in the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. The audit found that companies under Majali's control had been involved in the collapse of the R230-million school feeding scheme, and the Scorpions are now probing irregularities uncovered during the audit. The feeding scheme collapsed barely six months after being launched in June last year when it emerged that food was not getting to children at about 5 000 Eastern Cape schools, the Sunday Times reported.
Majali was in charge of four of six community cooperatives that were awarded tenders to distribute supplies to smaller cooperatives that would prepare and distribute the meals. The 51-page audit report, commissioned by Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela, found that Majali's cooperatives were irregularly awarded tenders, irregularly paid at least R6-million over four months and overpaid by R9-million.
By the time the scheme crashed, the Sunday Times said, the government had paid out R100-million -- and it is unclear where the rest of the R100-million went.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
FirstRand tax scheme was 'suspect'
Judge Jeanette Traverso, hearing FirstRand's urgent application for an interdict against the satirical magazine NoseWeek in the Cape High Court, said on Wednesday that there seemed to be little doubt that the tax-avoidance scheme at the heart of the case "is suspect".
Counsel for the applicant, Nick Maritz, denied that the scheme was illegal, and said the matter has never been decided by a court. He accused the publisher of NoseWeek, Martin Welz, of setting himself up as both judge and jury, and deciding on his own that it was illegal. Counsel for publishers Caxton Press, Theoniel Potgieter, said that nowhere has the bank ever claimed that the scheme is legal. "All they have ever said is that it was not proved to be illegal," he said. "That is not the same thing."
Judge Traverso also wondered in court how it was that FirstRand, against whom allegations in connection with the scheme have already been made by NoseWeek in the past, could claim to act on behalf of its clients. She told Maritz that it did not seem to her that the clause in the law relating to class actions covers FirstRand's actions. "What do these people have in common?" she asked. "They have in common that they are about to be defamed by NoseWeek," Maritz replied.
The bank is trying to prevent the magazine from publishing a list of prominent clients of the banks who were involved in a complicated tax-avoidance scheme drawn up by its former private banking arm, Ansbacher, The respondents, Welz and Caxton, argue that they would defend a defamation case by showing that what they say is true and in the public interest to publish.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Counsel for the applicant, Nick Maritz, denied that the scheme was illegal, and said the matter has never been decided by a court. He accused the publisher of NoseWeek, Martin Welz, of setting himself up as both judge and jury, and deciding on his own that it was illegal. Counsel for publishers Caxton Press, Theoniel Potgieter, said that nowhere has the bank ever claimed that the scheme is legal. "All they have ever said is that it was not proved to be illegal," he said. "That is not the same thing."
Judge Traverso also wondered in court how it was that FirstRand, against whom allegations in connection with the scheme have already been made by NoseWeek in the past, could claim to act on behalf of its clients. She told Maritz that it did not seem to her that the clause in the law relating to class actions covers FirstRand's actions. "What do these people have in common?" she asked. "They have in common that they are about to be defamed by NoseWeek," Maritz replied.
The bank is trying to prevent the magazine from publishing a list of prominent clients of the banks who were involved in a complicated tax-avoidance scheme drawn up by its former private banking arm, Ansbacher, The respondents, Welz and Caxton, argue that they would defend a defamation case by showing that what they say is true and in the public interest to publish.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Monday, September 17, 2007
Joburg hosts magistrates' summit
Speaking at the opening of a two-day Magistrates' Conference in Johannesburg deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke said that, "The biggest threat to the judiciary's independence could come from within the judiciary itself by those who failed to uphold ethics". At the conference, Moseneke, as well as Constitutional Court judge Albie Sachs, called on those within the judiciary to uphold ethics. The conference, which was the the first of its kind, looked at issues pertaining to magistrates, ranging from their appointments, to accountability, training requirements, ethics, institutional governance and enhancing the efficiency of the lower courts.
Moseneke said that judges should always, and not only in the discharge of official duties, act honourably and in a manner befitting judicial office. "That implies that all activities of a judge must be compatible with the status of a judicial office...a judge must comply with the law of the land," he said. While not pointing out any specific members of the judiciary, Moseneke said that "with deep sadness we are constrained to admit that a few judicial officers may have attracted the impression that complying with the law is dispensable. It is, however, not right to imagine that one or perhaps two swallows make a summer. The overwhelming majority of judicial officers meticulously honour their oath to office."
Minister for Justice Brigitte Mabandla said that the conference needed to explore whether the magistracy in substance and form was truly transformed from what it was during apartheid. "We need to ask whether there has been a change of mindset within society and the magistracy itself. We need to ask whether in reality the values enshrined in our constitution guide magistrates in their daily work," she noted. "Judicial decisions have a profound impact on society. Decisions that are seen as unfair by citizens have a cumulative impact on making society loathe, fear, distrust the bench as it was the case in the past," Mabandla said.
"In the new South Africa people look to the bench to give meaning to the Constitution. The judiciary, broadly speaking, and the magistracy in particular because it is the coalface of the delivery of justice, have the opportunity to entrench progressive values of good citizenship," commented the Minister.
Source: Polity
Moseneke said that judges should always, and not only in the discharge of official duties, act honourably and in a manner befitting judicial office. "That implies that all activities of a judge must be compatible with the status of a judicial office...a judge must comply with the law of the land," he said. While not pointing out any specific members of the judiciary, Moseneke said that "with deep sadness we are constrained to admit that a few judicial officers may have attracted the impression that complying with the law is dispensable. It is, however, not right to imagine that one or perhaps two swallows make a summer. The overwhelming majority of judicial officers meticulously honour their oath to office."
Minister for Justice Brigitte Mabandla said that the conference needed to explore whether the magistracy in substance and form was truly transformed from what it was during apartheid. "We need to ask whether there has been a change of mindset within society and the magistracy itself. We need to ask whether in reality the values enshrined in our constitution guide magistrates in their daily work," she noted. "Judicial decisions have a profound impact on society. Decisions that are seen as unfair by citizens have a cumulative impact on making society loathe, fear, distrust the bench as it was the case in the past," Mabandla said.
"In the new South Africa people look to the bench to give meaning to the Constitution. The judiciary, broadly speaking, and the magistracy in particular because it is the coalface of the delivery of justice, have the opportunity to entrench progressive values of good citizenship," commented the Minister.
Source: Polity
Friday, September 14, 2007
State of Anarchy
Since mid-2005, hundreds of civilians have been killed, more than 10 thousand houses burned, and approximately 212,000 persons have fled their homes in terror to live in desperate conditions deep in the bush in northern Central African Republic (CAR). Bordering eastern Chad and war-ravaged Darfur in Sudan, this area has been destabilized by at least two major rebellions against the government of President Franois Boziz.
The vast majority of summary executions and unlawful killings, and almost all village burnings, have been carried out by government forces, often in reprisal for rebel attacks. While both main rebel groups have been responsible for widespread looting and the forced taxation of the civilian population in areas they control -and rebels in the northeast have committed killings, beatings, and rape -their abuses pale in comparison to those of the Central African Armed Forces (Forces armes Centrafricaines,FACA) and the elite Presidential Guard (Garde prsidentielle, GP). As the International Criminal Court (ICC) begins investigations into atrocities committed during the 2002-2003 rebellion against former President Patass, it should also investigate possible war crimes under its jurisdiction committed in the current round of fighting.
This report documents the human rights abuses and breaches of international humanitarian law being committed in northern CAR and describes the make-up, origins, and aims of the most significant rebel groups. The Popular Army for the Restoration of the Republic and Democracy (Arme populaire pour la restauration de la Rpublique et la dmocratie, APRD) is active in the northwestern provinces of Ouham, Ouham-Pend, and Nana-Grbizi. The Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (Union des forces dmocratiques pour la rassemblement,UFDR) is most active in remote northeastern provinces of Bamingui-Bangoran and Vakaga.
In February and March 2007 Human Rights Watch researchers visited the majority of towns and villages affected, documenting summary executions, unlawful killings, beatings, house burnings, extortion and unlawful taxation, the recruitment and use of children as soldiers, and many other human rights abuses. Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed over 100 persons, including many victims and witnesses, local and regional government officials, military commanders, rebel officials, religious leaders, and representatives of local and international humanitarian organizations active in northern CAR.
Until quite recently there was little international awareness of the situation in northern CAR. However, in 2006, human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law began to receive some attention. The killings, village burnings, displacement, and humanitarian suffering are now occasionally reported in the international press and are the subject of increasing diplomatic notice, usually being seen as "spill-over" from the continuing crisis in Darfur.
Little attention, however, has been paid to the actual dynamics of conflict, which are largely home grown. The main rebel protagonists are Central Africans with local grievances. Human Rights Watch's research suggests that the degree of linkage with the situation in Darfur has been exaggerated. The APRD in the northwest is so poorly equipped that it is difficult to imagine it has foreign sponsorship. Human Rights Watch has found no other evidence of such support. Although there have been contacts between the UFDR and Sudan-sponsored Chadian rebels opposed to the Chadian President Dby based in the northeast of CAR in early 2006, foreign support does not appear to be a driving force behind this rebellion.
Neither has attention been paid to the issue of responsibility for human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law, nor to action to ensure accountability. The sorry fact is that the perpetrators of violence and abuse, the majority of them government soldiers, have so far enjoyed total impunity for acts that include war crimes.
The APRD Rebellion
The APRD rebellion in the northwest was launched almost immediately after controversial 2005 elections led to the election of General Boziz as President. These had excluded the candidacy of ex-President Patass, who had been overthrown by General Boziz in March 2003. The leadership of the APRD rebellion consists mostly of former Presidential Guards of Patass, himself from the region. The APRD has about 1,000 poorly equipped members, including 200 rebels armed with automatic weapons, and another 600 with home-made hunting weapons. They claim their aim is to engage in "dialogue" to address the political exclusion of Patass and his supporters and to improve the security situation in the northwest, rather than to overthrow the government.
One of the main grievances of the population of the northwest is lack of security. Armed bandits, known as zaraguinas or coupeurs de route, regularly attack villagers and have taken advantage of insufficient security provided by the state to increase attacks. The zaraguinas commonly kidnap children for ransom and regularly kill civilians during raids. Many cattle-herders from the Peulh ethnic groupin the northwest, particularly targeted because of their valuable livestock, have fled to the safety of larger towns and refugee camps in Chad. Along with the political grievances of former Patass supporters, the failure of the CAR security forces to protect local communities from banditry is an important element in the development of the APRD, and many local armed self-defense groups have merged into the rebel group.
The UFDR Rebellion
From October to December 2006, the UFDR rebel movement gained international attention by seizing military control of the major towns in the remote Vakaga and Bamingui-Bangoran provinces of northeastern CAR, right on the border of Sudan's Darfur region. The UFDR's bold military offensive led to French military intervention on behalf of the CAR government in December 2006, allowing the security forces to regain control of urban centers.
The UFDR rebellion has its roots in the deep marginalization of northeastern CAR, which is virtually cut off from the rest of the country and is almost completely undeveloped. Elements from the Gula ethnic group, many of them trained militarily as anti-poaching units, are at the core of the rebellion, citing grievances such as discrimination against their community and the alleged embezzlement by the CAR authorities of compensation funds received from the Sudanese government following clashes perpetrated by Sudanese nomads in 2002. As the rebellion has grown, a backlash of anti-Gula sentiment among government officials, the military, and the general population has developed. As a result, most of the Gula population has fled government-controlled areas in fear of retaliation.
A second element making up the UFDR is Boziz's own former colleagues, so-called ex-librateurs, who participated in his overthrow of former President Patass in 2003. They accuse Boziz of betraying his promises and failing to compensate them for their support.
Abuses by FACA and GP Forces
Since the beginning of the conflict in mid 2005 with rebel forces in northern CAR, the CAR security forces have committed serious and widespread abuses against the civilian population, including multiple summary executions and unlawful killings, widespread burning of civilian homes, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians, which have instilled terror in the civilian population. In most instances, these village burnings and killings were in direct response to recent rebel activity in the area and amount to unlawful reprisals against the civilian population. It is the FACA and GP that have been responsible for the vast majority of the most serious human rights abuses in the conflict, and they have carried out these atrocities in full confidence of impunity from accountability for their crimes.
During the course of its research, Human Rights Watch documented 119 summary executions and unlawful killings committed by government security forces in both the northwest and northeast (the vast majority in the northwest), including at least 51 committed since late 2005 by a single military unit, the Bossangoa-based GP unit, commanded at the time by Lieutenant Eugne Ngakoss.
Human Rights Watch believes that the killings it has documented are only a fraction of the total number of those committed by government security forces. Since the beginning of the conflict these are estimated to amount to many hundreds. Killings committed by security forces have often involved dozens of civilian deaths in a single day and have often included unspeakable brutality. For example, on February 11, 2006, a single GP unit killed at least 30 civilians in more than a dozen separate villages located along the Nana-Barya to Bmal road. On March 22, this same GP unit beheaded a teacher in Bmal, cutting off his head with a knife while he was still alive. Other civilians have simply "disappeared" in military custody, arrested and not seen alive again.
Since December 2005, government forces, particularly the GP, have also been almost solely responsible for the burning down of more than 10,000 civilian homes in northwestern CAR. Hundreds of villages across vast swathes of northern CAR have been destroyed. Troops arrive in villages and indiscriminately fire into the civilian population, forcing them to flee before burning down their homes, sometimes looting them first. In December 2005, GP forces burned down 500 to 900 houses in the Markounda area. A Human Rights Watch count in the Batangafo-Kabo-Ouandago-Kaga Bandoro area found a total of 2,923 burned homes, including more than 1,000 homes in the large market town of Ouandago alone. In some places every single home in every single village was burned. Similarly massive destruction can be found all around the town of Paoua, all the way east to Nana Baryahundreds of kilometers of villages destroyed by government security forces.
The reprisal and counterinsurgency tactics of the CAR security forces have affected the lives of over 1 million people and have forced an estimated 212,000 civilians to abandon their road-side homes and live deep inside the bush, too fearful to return to their burned villages in case of repeat attack. Another 78,000 have sought refuge in neighboring Chad and Cameroon. The level of civilian fear in northern CAR is palpable. People are simply not to be seen in many areas, hiding far away. At the sound of approaching cars, everyone flees, dropping their possessions, sometimes even abandoning babies in their haste.
Living conditions for the displaced are life-threatening. They have no access to clean water, are often desperately short of food supplies, and their widely dispersed shelters are beyond the reach of the humanitarian community. Educational facilities have been closed, and aside from mobile clinics run by international organizations in some areas, health care is non-existent.
Rebel Abuses
APRD rebels in the northwest have engaged in widespread extortion, forced taxation, kidnappings for ransom, and beatings of civilians, particularly in the Batangafo-Kabo-Ouandago area of Ouham province. In that area, particularly on the Batangafo-Ouandago road, almost all villages have been systematically looted of all livestock, and village leaders have been regularly kidnapped for ransom. APRD rebels also have large numbers of child soldiers in their ranks, some as young as 12. APRD commanders expressed willingness to Human Rights Watch to demobilize the child soldiers if the post-demobilization security of the children could be guaranteed.
During its investigation in the field, Human Rights Watch documented one summary execution by the APRD (the killing of Mohammed Haroon in June 2006, in Gbazera) and did not identify any cases of home-burning by the group. Human Rights Watch has not received any credible additional reports of summary killings or village burnings by APRD rebels from local or international human rights organizations or journalists. On June 11, 2007, APRD rebels fired upon a vehicle of the international humanitarian organization Doctors without Borders (Mdecins Sans Frontires, MSF), killing Elsa Serfass, an MSF nurse. While the APRD immediately apologized for the incident, saying it had been a "mistake," the persons responsible should be held to account.
Human Rights Watch's research found that UFDR rebels in the northeast have carried out widespread abuses against the civilian population. During attacks on villages and towns they have often indiscriminately fired at fleeing civilians, leading to unlawful killings. Meanwhile, UFDR rebels have been responsible for summary executions of captured civilians. From October to December 2006, the rebels carried out massive looting of the belongings and livestock of the civilian population in areas they controlled. There have been allegations of rape by UFDR rebels, although Human Rights Watch has only been able to corroborate one case-a woman raped by five UFDR rebels during their brief capture of Birao in March 2007. The UFDR also has child soldiers in its ranks, and Human Rights Watch found that some of them had been forcibly recruited.
The Need for Protection
Establishing credible mechanisms to protect the civilian population from abuses is fundamental to addressing the human rights crisis in northern CAR. The responsibility for civilian protection lies first and foremost with the CAR authorities: they must take immediate steps to end military abuses and to re-establish a functioning police force and court system that serve to protect the rights of the civilian population.
However, the international community can also do more. A stronger international protection presence in the north is urgently needed. There already is a substantial UN human rights presence in CAR, in the form of a 19-person human rights unit in the office of the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in the Central African Republic (Bureau d'appui des Nations Unies pour la consolidation de la paix en Rpublique centrafricaine, BONUCA), a long-standing UN peace support mission established in 2000. However, the human rights unit has been largely passive to date and does not effectively monitor or report on human rights abuses in the north. The UN should take the necessary measures, including changes to the mandate of the human rights section, to ensure that the BONUCA human rights unit effectively monitors and reports on human rights abuses in the north, in the same way that the human rights units of UN peacekeeping missions operate in neighboring Sudan and DRC.
If the UN Security Council moves ahead with the deployment of a UN protection mission to CAR and Chad, that mission should focus on the real protection needs of the civilian population of both countries, and not focus solely on neutralizing the "spill-over effect" of the Darfur crisis.
The Need for Accountability
The crimes being committed in northern CAR by government security forces are no secret inside the country. Local newspapers and radio frequently report them, opposition parliamentarians have prepared public reports documenting the atrocities, and diplomatic envoys regularly raise their concerns with President Boziz. Despite this, the government has not investigated, prosecuted, or punished a single military officer, or even publicly reprimanded them for any of the abuses. Even in the capital, Bangui, security forces carry out summary killings of suspected bandits and rebels with impunity. During Human Rights Watch's visit, two handcuffed Chadian rebel suspects were executed on the outskirts of Bangui by security forces. The commander of the most notorious of the units, Lieutenant Eugne Ngakoss of the Bossangoa-based GP unit that has killed dozens of civilians and is directly implicated in most of the village burnings in the north, remains a free man and an active duty military officer to date.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor's office is already involved in the CAR, having announced in May 2007 that they would investigate crimes committed in CAR during the 2002-2003 fighting, and that they would continue to monitor possible crimes committed during the current conflict. The investigations of the ICC in CAR should not, however, detract from the primary obligation of the CAR authorities to end impunity and bring about accountability for crimes committed by its armed forces and others. Ultimately, the crisis in northern CAR will only be resolved when law and order is restored, and the institutions of justice have the capacity to punish those who commit crimes against the civilian population, including members of the army and the elite GP.
The international community-particularly France, without whose direct military support the government of President Boziz would not survive-have an obligation to speak out about the abuses in northern CAR and to demand accountability for the crimes committed in northern CAR.
Source: Human Rights Watch
The vast majority of summary executions and unlawful killings, and almost all village burnings, have been carried out by government forces, often in reprisal for rebel attacks. While both main rebel groups have been responsible for widespread looting and the forced taxation of the civilian population in areas they control -and rebels in the northeast have committed killings, beatings, and rape -their abuses pale in comparison to those of the Central African Armed Forces (Forces armes Centrafricaines,FACA) and the elite Presidential Guard (Garde prsidentielle, GP). As the International Criminal Court (ICC) begins investigations into atrocities committed during the 2002-2003 rebellion against former President Patass, it should also investigate possible war crimes under its jurisdiction committed in the current round of fighting.
This report documents the human rights abuses and breaches of international humanitarian law being committed in northern CAR and describes the make-up, origins, and aims of the most significant rebel groups. The Popular Army for the Restoration of the Republic and Democracy (Arme populaire pour la restauration de la Rpublique et la dmocratie, APRD) is active in the northwestern provinces of Ouham, Ouham-Pend, and Nana-Grbizi. The Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (Union des forces dmocratiques pour la rassemblement,UFDR) is most active in remote northeastern provinces of Bamingui-Bangoran and Vakaga.
In February and March 2007 Human Rights Watch researchers visited the majority of towns and villages affected, documenting summary executions, unlawful killings, beatings, house burnings, extortion and unlawful taxation, the recruitment and use of children as soldiers, and many other human rights abuses. Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed over 100 persons, including many victims and witnesses, local and regional government officials, military commanders, rebel officials, religious leaders, and representatives of local and international humanitarian organizations active in northern CAR.
Until quite recently there was little international awareness of the situation in northern CAR. However, in 2006, human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law began to receive some attention. The killings, village burnings, displacement, and humanitarian suffering are now occasionally reported in the international press and are the subject of increasing diplomatic notice, usually being seen as "spill-over" from the continuing crisis in Darfur.
Little attention, however, has been paid to the actual dynamics of conflict, which are largely home grown. The main rebel protagonists are Central Africans with local grievances. Human Rights Watch's research suggests that the degree of linkage with the situation in Darfur has been exaggerated. The APRD in the northwest is so poorly equipped that it is difficult to imagine it has foreign sponsorship. Human Rights Watch has found no other evidence of such support. Although there have been contacts between the UFDR and Sudan-sponsored Chadian rebels opposed to the Chadian President Dby based in the northeast of CAR in early 2006, foreign support does not appear to be a driving force behind this rebellion.
Neither has attention been paid to the issue of responsibility for human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law, nor to action to ensure accountability. The sorry fact is that the perpetrators of violence and abuse, the majority of them government soldiers, have so far enjoyed total impunity for acts that include war crimes.
The APRD Rebellion
The APRD rebellion in the northwest was launched almost immediately after controversial 2005 elections led to the election of General Boziz as President. These had excluded the candidacy of ex-President Patass, who had been overthrown by General Boziz in March 2003. The leadership of the APRD rebellion consists mostly of former Presidential Guards of Patass, himself from the region. The APRD has about 1,000 poorly equipped members, including 200 rebels armed with automatic weapons, and another 600 with home-made hunting weapons. They claim their aim is to engage in "dialogue" to address the political exclusion of Patass and his supporters and to improve the security situation in the northwest, rather than to overthrow the government.
One of the main grievances of the population of the northwest is lack of security. Armed bandits, known as zaraguinas or coupeurs de route, regularly attack villagers and have taken advantage of insufficient security provided by the state to increase attacks. The zaraguinas commonly kidnap children for ransom and regularly kill civilians during raids. Many cattle-herders from the Peulh ethnic groupin the northwest, particularly targeted because of their valuable livestock, have fled to the safety of larger towns and refugee camps in Chad. Along with the political grievances of former Patass supporters, the failure of the CAR security forces to protect local communities from banditry is an important element in the development of the APRD, and many local armed self-defense groups have merged into the rebel group.
The UFDR Rebellion
From October to December 2006, the UFDR rebel movement gained international attention by seizing military control of the major towns in the remote Vakaga and Bamingui-Bangoran provinces of northeastern CAR, right on the border of Sudan's Darfur region. The UFDR's bold military offensive led to French military intervention on behalf of the CAR government in December 2006, allowing the security forces to regain control of urban centers.
The UFDR rebellion has its roots in the deep marginalization of northeastern CAR, which is virtually cut off from the rest of the country and is almost completely undeveloped. Elements from the Gula ethnic group, many of them trained militarily as anti-poaching units, are at the core of the rebellion, citing grievances such as discrimination against their community and the alleged embezzlement by the CAR authorities of compensation funds received from the Sudanese government following clashes perpetrated by Sudanese nomads in 2002. As the rebellion has grown, a backlash of anti-Gula sentiment among government officials, the military, and the general population has developed. As a result, most of the Gula population has fled government-controlled areas in fear of retaliation.
A second element making up the UFDR is Boziz's own former colleagues, so-called ex-librateurs, who participated in his overthrow of former President Patass in 2003. They accuse Boziz of betraying his promises and failing to compensate them for their support.
Abuses by FACA and GP Forces
Since the beginning of the conflict in mid 2005 with rebel forces in northern CAR, the CAR security forces have committed serious and widespread abuses against the civilian population, including multiple summary executions and unlawful killings, widespread burning of civilian homes, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians, which have instilled terror in the civilian population. In most instances, these village burnings and killings were in direct response to recent rebel activity in the area and amount to unlawful reprisals against the civilian population. It is the FACA and GP that have been responsible for the vast majority of the most serious human rights abuses in the conflict, and they have carried out these atrocities in full confidence of impunity from accountability for their crimes.
During the course of its research, Human Rights Watch documented 119 summary executions and unlawful killings committed by government security forces in both the northwest and northeast (the vast majority in the northwest), including at least 51 committed since late 2005 by a single military unit, the Bossangoa-based GP unit, commanded at the time by Lieutenant Eugne Ngakoss.
Human Rights Watch believes that the killings it has documented are only a fraction of the total number of those committed by government security forces. Since the beginning of the conflict these are estimated to amount to many hundreds. Killings committed by security forces have often involved dozens of civilian deaths in a single day and have often included unspeakable brutality. For example, on February 11, 2006, a single GP unit killed at least 30 civilians in more than a dozen separate villages located along the Nana-Barya to Bmal road. On March 22, this same GP unit beheaded a teacher in Bmal, cutting off his head with a knife while he was still alive. Other civilians have simply "disappeared" in military custody, arrested and not seen alive again.
Since December 2005, government forces, particularly the GP, have also been almost solely responsible for the burning down of more than 10,000 civilian homes in northwestern CAR. Hundreds of villages across vast swathes of northern CAR have been destroyed. Troops arrive in villages and indiscriminately fire into the civilian population, forcing them to flee before burning down their homes, sometimes looting them first. In December 2005, GP forces burned down 500 to 900 houses in the Markounda area. A Human Rights Watch count in the Batangafo-Kabo-Ouandago-Kaga Bandoro area found a total of 2,923 burned homes, including more than 1,000 homes in the large market town of Ouandago alone. In some places every single home in every single village was burned. Similarly massive destruction can be found all around the town of Paoua, all the way east to Nana Baryahundreds of kilometers of villages destroyed by government security forces.
The reprisal and counterinsurgency tactics of the CAR security forces have affected the lives of over 1 million people and have forced an estimated 212,000 civilians to abandon their road-side homes and live deep inside the bush, too fearful to return to their burned villages in case of repeat attack. Another 78,000 have sought refuge in neighboring Chad and Cameroon. The level of civilian fear in northern CAR is palpable. People are simply not to be seen in many areas, hiding far away. At the sound of approaching cars, everyone flees, dropping their possessions, sometimes even abandoning babies in their haste.
Living conditions for the displaced are life-threatening. They have no access to clean water, are often desperately short of food supplies, and their widely dispersed shelters are beyond the reach of the humanitarian community. Educational facilities have been closed, and aside from mobile clinics run by international organizations in some areas, health care is non-existent.
Rebel Abuses
APRD rebels in the northwest have engaged in widespread extortion, forced taxation, kidnappings for ransom, and beatings of civilians, particularly in the Batangafo-Kabo-Ouandago area of Ouham province. In that area, particularly on the Batangafo-Ouandago road, almost all villages have been systematically looted of all livestock, and village leaders have been regularly kidnapped for ransom. APRD rebels also have large numbers of child soldiers in their ranks, some as young as 12. APRD commanders expressed willingness to Human Rights Watch to demobilize the child soldiers if the post-demobilization security of the children could be guaranteed.
During its investigation in the field, Human Rights Watch documented one summary execution by the APRD (the killing of Mohammed Haroon in June 2006, in Gbazera) and did not identify any cases of home-burning by the group. Human Rights Watch has not received any credible additional reports of summary killings or village burnings by APRD rebels from local or international human rights organizations or journalists. On June 11, 2007, APRD rebels fired upon a vehicle of the international humanitarian organization Doctors without Borders (Mdecins Sans Frontires, MSF), killing Elsa Serfass, an MSF nurse. While the APRD immediately apologized for the incident, saying it had been a "mistake," the persons responsible should be held to account.
Human Rights Watch's research found that UFDR rebels in the northeast have carried out widespread abuses against the civilian population. During attacks on villages and towns they have often indiscriminately fired at fleeing civilians, leading to unlawful killings. Meanwhile, UFDR rebels have been responsible for summary executions of captured civilians. From October to December 2006, the rebels carried out massive looting of the belongings and livestock of the civilian population in areas they controlled. There have been allegations of rape by UFDR rebels, although Human Rights Watch has only been able to corroborate one case-a woman raped by five UFDR rebels during their brief capture of Birao in March 2007. The UFDR also has child soldiers in its ranks, and Human Rights Watch found that some of them had been forcibly recruited.
The Need for Protection
Establishing credible mechanisms to protect the civilian population from abuses is fundamental to addressing the human rights crisis in northern CAR. The responsibility for civilian protection lies first and foremost with the CAR authorities: they must take immediate steps to end military abuses and to re-establish a functioning police force and court system that serve to protect the rights of the civilian population.
However, the international community can also do more. A stronger international protection presence in the north is urgently needed. There already is a substantial UN human rights presence in CAR, in the form of a 19-person human rights unit in the office of the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in the Central African Republic (Bureau d'appui des Nations Unies pour la consolidation de la paix en Rpublique centrafricaine, BONUCA), a long-standing UN peace support mission established in 2000. However, the human rights unit has been largely passive to date and does not effectively monitor or report on human rights abuses in the north. The UN should take the necessary measures, including changes to the mandate of the human rights section, to ensure that the BONUCA human rights unit effectively monitors and reports on human rights abuses in the north, in the same way that the human rights units of UN peacekeeping missions operate in neighboring Sudan and DRC.
If the UN Security Council moves ahead with the deployment of a UN protection mission to CAR and Chad, that mission should focus on the real protection needs of the civilian population of both countries, and not focus solely on neutralizing the "spill-over effect" of the Darfur crisis.
The Need for Accountability
The crimes being committed in northern CAR by government security forces are no secret inside the country. Local newspapers and radio frequently report them, opposition parliamentarians have prepared public reports documenting the atrocities, and diplomatic envoys regularly raise their concerns with President Boziz. Despite this, the government has not investigated, prosecuted, or punished a single military officer, or even publicly reprimanded them for any of the abuses. Even in the capital, Bangui, security forces carry out summary killings of suspected bandits and rebels with impunity. During Human Rights Watch's visit, two handcuffed Chadian rebel suspects were executed on the outskirts of Bangui by security forces. The commander of the most notorious of the units, Lieutenant Eugne Ngakoss of the Bossangoa-based GP unit that has killed dozens of civilians and is directly implicated in most of the village burnings in the north, remains a free man and an active duty military officer to date.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor's office is already involved in the CAR, having announced in May 2007 that they would investigate crimes committed in CAR during the 2002-2003 fighting, and that they would continue to monitor possible crimes committed during the current conflict. The investigations of the ICC in CAR should not, however, detract from the primary obligation of the CAR authorities to end impunity and bring about accountability for crimes committed by its armed forces and others. Ultimately, the crisis in northern CAR will only be resolved when law and order is restored, and the institutions of justice have the capacity to punish those who commit crimes against the civilian population, including members of the army and the elite GP.
The international community-particularly France, without whose direct military support the government of President Boziz would not survive-have an obligation to speak out about the abuses in northern CAR and to demand accountability for the crimes committed in northern CAR.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Lekota: revolutionary songs ANC policy
ANC national chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota has defended his negative remarks about people singing freedom songs such as Umshini Wami, saying the issue was not about ANC Deputy President Jacob Zuma, but about policy. Speaking to journalists at a media briefing on Wednesday, the defence minister said although he was talking to a specific audience when the remarks were made, the essence of what he said was relevant to everybody. "These liberation and freedom songs are not pop songs, which we sing for personal entertainment here and there. "These are instruments of revolution, cultivated since the inception of our movement," he said. They had been sung with a purpose, and been used to advance the ANC's policies, to announce them, and popularise them.
The songs had changed as policy positions had changed as the ANC went through its phases of struggle. This was why the ANC national executive committee (NEC) - following the conclusion of the negotiations at Codesa - had stepped in when Peter Mokaba continued using slogans such as "kill the boer, kill the farmer", which clearly flew in the face of policy.
The ANC had to look at what it was it wanted to say to the people, Lekota said. "We have a responsibility to unite the people of this country. We carry the responsibility to unite these people and to reconcile them, and to focus their attention on the task of national upliftment and a better life for the people. "Leaders of the ANC, therefore, cannot behave like anybody else on the street. I want to see the ANC work in the interests of the people of South.
Source: IoL
The songs had changed as policy positions had changed as the ANC went through its phases of struggle. This was why the ANC national executive committee (NEC) - following the conclusion of the negotiations at Codesa - had stepped in when Peter Mokaba continued using slogans such as "kill the boer, kill the farmer", which clearly flew in the face of policy.
The ANC had to look at what it was it wanted to say to the people, Lekota said. "We have a responsibility to unite the people of this country. We carry the responsibility to unite these people and to reconcile them, and to focus their attention on the task of national upliftment and a better life for the people. "Leaders of the ANC, therefore, cannot behave like anybody else on the street. I want to see the ANC work in the interests of the people of South.
Source: IoL
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Eskom looks to nuclear plants
South Africa's largely coal-driven power utility Eskom has hit the limits of its capacity and aims to double output by 2025, with nuclear plants supplying more than a quarter of future energy compared with 6% now. Eskom's chief executive Jacob Maroga told a coal conference on Tuesday the state-owned firm would cut back on polluting coal-fired plants that have made South Africa the world's lowest cost electricity producer. "The issues we're faced with are costs and lead time, but the debate around global warming is key, because coal is a big contributor to carbon dioxide emissions," Maroga told the Coaltrans conference. "We can now finally say we have run out of surplus capacity."
Maroga said plans to boost output to 80 000 megawatts (MW) by 2025 would include adding 20 000 MW of nuclear-supplied energy as well as extra renewable capacity. The proportion of output from coal would fall below 70% by 2025 from 86% currently. "All over the world nuclear is coming back," he said. "Going forward the electricity prices we have will not be sustainable."
The two reactors at South Africa's Koeberg, Africa's only nuclear-fired facility, generate some 6% of the country's electricity, mainly used around Cape Town. Maroga said South Africa, one of the biggest producers of uranium, was building a multi-billion dollar new technology pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR), and has mooted building more conventional plants to add to Koeberg.Eskom was currently planning to expand yearly by 4%, to keep up with a projected 6% growth in the gross domestic product of Africa's biggest economy.
The company has already outlined a R150-billion spending programme from 2007 to 2011, with more to follow.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Maroga said plans to boost output to 80 000 megawatts (MW) by 2025 would include adding 20 000 MW of nuclear-supplied energy as well as extra renewable capacity. The proportion of output from coal would fall below 70% by 2025 from 86% currently. "All over the world nuclear is coming back," he said. "Going forward the electricity prices we have will not be sustainable."
The two reactors at South Africa's Koeberg, Africa's only nuclear-fired facility, generate some 6% of the country's electricity, mainly used around Cape Town. Maroga said South Africa, one of the biggest producers of uranium, was building a multi-billion dollar new technology pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR), and has mooted building more conventional plants to add to Koeberg.Eskom was currently planning to expand yearly by 4%, to keep up with a projected 6% growth in the gross domestic product of Africa's biggest economy.
The company has already outlined a R150-billion spending programme from 2007 to 2011, with more to follow.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Zuma 'not right in the head'
The supporters of African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma were fuming on Monday after the party's national chairperson, Mosioua Lekota, took off the gloves in the ANC succession race by suggesting that Zuma was "not right in his head" by persisting in singing the "Umshini Wami" (Bring me my machine gun) song after the armed struggle had been abandoned.
Lekota, who is also minister of defence, was quoted on SABC TV News on Sunday as saying the ANC had suspended the armed struggle during negotiations with the apartheid government and thereafter it was totally abandoned. He was addressing a function in Gauteng to commemorate the Delmas treason trial, where he and other anti-apartheid activists were tried. Lekota did not refer to Zuma by name but many of his backers saw his statement as an attack on Zuma as "Umshini Wami" was his popular song. 'We expect Lekota to rise above petty squabbles. He did not understand why a person "obhadlile ekhanda lakhe" (who is right in his head) could keep on saying "bring on my machine gun" when the armed struggle had long been abandoned.
Political analysts saw Lekota's statement as indicating "gloves-off" ahead of the important ANC conference in Limpopo in December. There were angry reactions from Zuma backers who described it as "unfortunate and uncalled for". ANC Youth League spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said Lekota had "stooped so low". "As the national chairperson of the ANC we expect Lekota to rise above petty squabbles. But we are not surprised because this is indicative of personal frustration on his side because as we discuss the future of the ANC and its leadership, his name does not feature anywhere.
'This song was sung by our cadres during difficult times in exile' "He thinks people have abandoned him and it confirms our assessment of him is correct in that he should not be included in any key leadership position," said Kodwa.
He warned that revolutionary songs should not be interpreted literally. We did not expect such a thing from the national chairman of the ANC. "This song was sung by our cadres during difficult times in exile. "When we sing it, we do so to remember those times and to ponder the future," he said.
Don Mkhwanazi, the chairman of the Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust, a body charged with raising defence funds for Zuma, urged that there was a need to understand the song in its correct context. The song, he said, was being used figuratively to reflect on the challenges still ahead for the country. "Because of what has happened in South Africa, the national democratic revolution is not complete yet. "We have arrived at a political destination but we have not really arrived at the promised land, where political and economic equity will be realised. The song actually means that we must be vigilant and vigorous in defending the gains that we have made because there are certain things that are beginning to fester, like perceived selective justice which is going to undermine the rule of law. No one wants to shoot anyone; we have passed the stage of shooting but we cannot stop to defend our gains," said Mkhwanazi.
Zuma's aide, Renjeni Munusamy, said she could not comment as Zuma was out of the country. Political analyst Nhlanhla Mtaka said with the ANC conference on the horizon, the country was entering an interesting time where people, formations and cabals would be tempted to attack their opponents at every opportunity. "Particularly with provinces announcing their nominations, some leaders might be tempted to fight for their names to be there. "The unfortunate part in this exercise is that it will be the image of the ANC that will be tarnished as senior ANC members enter the street fight ahead of Limpopo. "However, it will not be those who are vocal that will win the day but those who present themselves as statesmen in the midst of this raging political storm," said Mtaka.
The spokesperson for Lekota, Sam Mkhwanazi, could not be contacted for comment.
Source: IoL
Lekota, who is also minister of defence, was quoted on SABC TV News on Sunday as saying the ANC had suspended the armed struggle during negotiations with the apartheid government and thereafter it was totally abandoned. He was addressing a function in Gauteng to commemorate the Delmas treason trial, where he and other anti-apartheid activists were tried. Lekota did not refer to Zuma by name but many of his backers saw his statement as an attack on Zuma as "Umshini Wami" was his popular song. 'We expect Lekota to rise above petty squabbles. He did not understand why a person "obhadlile ekhanda lakhe" (who is right in his head) could keep on saying "bring on my machine gun" when the armed struggle had long been abandoned.
Political analysts saw Lekota's statement as indicating "gloves-off" ahead of the important ANC conference in Limpopo in December. There were angry reactions from Zuma backers who described it as "unfortunate and uncalled for". ANC Youth League spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said Lekota had "stooped so low". "As the national chairperson of the ANC we expect Lekota to rise above petty squabbles. But we are not surprised because this is indicative of personal frustration on his side because as we discuss the future of the ANC and its leadership, his name does not feature anywhere.
'This song was sung by our cadres during difficult times in exile' "He thinks people have abandoned him and it confirms our assessment of him is correct in that he should not be included in any key leadership position," said Kodwa.
He warned that revolutionary songs should not be interpreted literally. We did not expect such a thing from the national chairman of the ANC. "This song was sung by our cadres during difficult times in exile. "When we sing it, we do so to remember those times and to ponder the future," he said.
Don Mkhwanazi, the chairman of the Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust, a body charged with raising defence funds for Zuma, urged that there was a need to understand the song in its correct context. The song, he said, was being used figuratively to reflect on the challenges still ahead for the country. "Because of what has happened in South Africa, the national democratic revolution is not complete yet. "We have arrived at a political destination but we have not really arrived at the promised land, where political and economic equity will be realised. The song actually means that we must be vigilant and vigorous in defending the gains that we have made because there are certain things that are beginning to fester, like perceived selective justice which is going to undermine the rule of law. No one wants to shoot anyone; we have passed the stage of shooting but we cannot stop to defend our gains," said Mkhwanazi.
Zuma's aide, Renjeni Munusamy, said she could not comment as Zuma was out of the country. Political analyst Nhlanhla Mtaka said with the ANC conference on the horizon, the country was entering an interesting time where people, formations and cabals would be tempted to attack their opponents at every opportunity. "Particularly with provinces announcing their nominations, some leaders might be tempted to fight for their names to be there. "The unfortunate part in this exercise is that it will be the image of the ANC that will be tarnished as senior ANC members enter the street fight ahead of Limpopo. "However, it will not be those who are vocal that will win the day but those who present themselves as statesmen in the midst of this raging political storm," said Mtaka.
The spokesperson for Lekota, Sam Mkhwanazi, could not be contacted for comment.
Source: IoL
Monday, September 3, 2007
Over 9 000 SA youths to be trained as social workers
More than 9 000 unemployed youths will be trained as auxiliary social workers by 2010, the Department of Social Development said on Monday. Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya said the implementation of the training programme is part of an agreement of cooperation with Cuba's Minister of Labour and Social Security, Alfredo Morales Cartaya. "The youth will be trained and on completion be deployed in their communities to help us deal with the various social challenges such as assisting orphans and vulnerable children, alleviating the HIV and Aids [pandemic], vulnerable youth support and others," he said.
Cuba has developed a two-pronged work-training programme comprising a formal university-level programme and a rapid 12-month social work-training programme. As part of the implementation of the agreement, the Cuban programme will be replicated in South Africa to alleviate the shortage of social workers and create much-needed jobs as part of the Expanded Public Works Programme. "A rapid auxiliary social-worker training programme will surely help us deal with the critical shortages of social workers," said Skweyiya. He said the department will "train and absorb" 9360 auxiliary social workers by 2010.
Skweyiya was in Cuba to strengthen ties and formalise cooperation on social security, services to women, youth and children, community development, poverty alleviation and training of social service professionals. Departmental spokesperson Lakela Kaunda said youth from rural and poor communities will be favoured in the national recruitment programme.
The cooperation with Cuba will also include study tours and exchanges of technical expertise on policy development.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Cuba has developed a two-pronged work-training programme comprising a formal university-level programme and a rapid 12-month social work-training programme. As part of the implementation of the agreement, the Cuban programme will be replicated in South Africa to alleviate the shortage of social workers and create much-needed jobs as part of the Expanded Public Works Programme. "A rapid auxiliary social-worker training programme will surely help us deal with the critical shortages of social workers," said Skweyiya. He said the department will "train and absorb" 9360 auxiliary social workers by 2010.
Skweyiya was in Cuba to strengthen ties and formalise cooperation on social security, services to women, youth and children, community development, poverty alleviation and training of social service professionals. Departmental spokesperson Lakela Kaunda said youth from rural and poor communities will be favoured in the national recruitment programme.
The cooperation with Cuba will also include study tours and exchanges of technical expertise on policy development.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, August 31, 2007
Fidentia trio in court again
Piet Bothma, the suspended chief executive of the Transport Education Training Authority, appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court in connection with the Fidentia saga. It was Bothma's second court appearance. He was recently arrested as a third suspect in the affair.
Bothma was in the dock with Fidentia chief executive J Arthur Brown, and the company's former financial director, Graham Maddock, both of whom were arrested in March. Bothma was arrested on August 6, after he had flown to Cape Town with his attorney, Marco Martini, to surrender himself to the Scorpions.
The three appeared before magistrate Jesthree Steyn who, at the request of Scorpions senior counsel Bruce Morrison, postponed the case to February 12 next year. Morrison told the court the long postponement was needed to finalise the investigation, and to prepare the charge sheet. Attorney William Booth, who represents Brown, told the court he had no objection to the postponement, despite having at the previous hearing in May reserved the right to object to any further postponements for further investigation. Booth told the court: "Last time, I noted that I would object to any further postponement, requested by the State, for the purpose of finalising the investigation.
"I also said I would object if the defence had not at the present proceedings been furnished with the charge sheet. "I agree to the postponement to next year, but reserve the defence's rights to object if at the next hearing the defence has not yet been furnished with the charge sheet and other documents." Maddock was represented by attorney Cesare Baartman, who said he too would object if a further postponement was requested in February.
Technically, if the State again requests a postponement in February for further investigation, the defence will have the right to demand that the case be removed from the roll. If the case is then removed from the roll, it will amount to the withdrawal of charges, and the three will step out of the dock free men. The magistrate extended their bail: R1m in respect of Brown and Maddock, and R200 000 in respect of Bothma.
Source: News 24
Bothma was in the dock with Fidentia chief executive J Arthur Brown, and the company's former financial director, Graham Maddock, both of whom were arrested in March. Bothma was arrested on August 6, after he had flown to Cape Town with his attorney, Marco Martini, to surrender himself to the Scorpions.
The three appeared before magistrate Jesthree Steyn who, at the request of Scorpions senior counsel Bruce Morrison, postponed the case to February 12 next year. Morrison told the court the long postponement was needed to finalise the investigation, and to prepare the charge sheet. Attorney William Booth, who represents Brown, told the court he had no objection to the postponement, despite having at the previous hearing in May reserved the right to object to any further postponements for further investigation. Booth told the court: "Last time, I noted that I would object to any further postponement, requested by the State, for the purpose of finalising the investigation.
"I also said I would object if the defence had not at the present proceedings been furnished with the charge sheet. "I agree to the postponement to next year, but reserve the defence's rights to object if at the next hearing the defence has not yet been furnished with the charge sheet and other documents." Maddock was represented by attorney Cesare Baartman, who said he too would object if a further postponement was requested in February.
Technically, if the State again requests a postponement in February for further investigation, the defence will have the right to demand that the case be removed from the roll. If the case is then removed from the roll, it will amount to the withdrawal of charges, and the three will step out of the dock free men. The magistrate extended their bail: R1m in respect of Brown and Maddock, and R200 000 in respect of Bothma.
Source: News 24
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
SADC: Take Action to End Zimbabwe Rights Crisis
Government leaders gathered this week at a summit in Lusaka, Zambia should urgently press Zimbabwe’s government to end its broadscale attack on human rights, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today. Human Rights Watch called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to deploy human rights monitors to Zimbabwe to assess the situation.
The summit, which takes place on August 16 and 17, 2007 is expected to address the ongoing political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe. At an extraordinary summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in March 2007, SADC asked South African president Thabo Mbeki to mediate talks between the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Mbeki is expected to report back on the progress of the talks in Lusaka.
“SADC members must take strong and effective action to deal with one of the region’s most grave crises – Zimbabwe,” said Peter Takirambudde, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “SADC’s credibility as a real force for change on human rights is on the line here and its leaders should insist on tangible improvements in Zimbabwe.”
Human Rights Watch urged SADC to more explicitly incorporate human rights concerns in the mediation talks and set clear benchmarks for progress within a clear time-frame. The summit should make a public acknowledgement of ongoing human rights problems, Human Rights Watch said, and deploy SADC human rights monitors as an essential first step in protecting Zimbabweans from state brutality.
In the past, SADC has failed to extract concrete commitments on human rights from the government of Zimbabwe. Although serious human rights problems have plagued Zimbabwe for the past seven years, the conclusions issued after SADC’s past summits have failed to adequately reflect these problems. For example, the final communique of the extraordinary summit in Tanzania failed to mention the arrests and beatings of opposition and civil society leaders or the broader human rights situation in Zimbabwe.
The 13-page briefing paper, “A Call to Action: The Crisis in Zimbabwe – SADC’s Human Rights Credibility on the Line,” highlights priority areas of concern on human rights and proposes a number of actions to help tackle the crisis. The government of Zimbabwe has used methods against critics that range from intimidation, threats and harassment to physical attacks and torture. Hundreds of civil society activists – including human rights defenders, independent journalists and members of the political opposition – have been arbitrarily arrested and beaten by police and other security agents.
Police often use unnecessary and lethal force to violently disrupt peaceful protests. Recent examples highlighted in the memorandum include: the arrest and assault in police custody of more than 200 activists from the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) when they attempted to demonstrate against the Constitutional Amendment Bill in Harare on July 25, and the arrest and assault of up to 20 women from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) during peaceful protests in Bulawayo on June 6.
Human Rights Watch called upon SADC to send a clear, visible and unambiguous message from this week’s summit, repudiating the Zimbabwean government’s policy of political repression through laws and the unaccountability of Zimbabwe’s police, army and security forces.
“The political and human rights crisis in Zimbabwe, which threatens to destabilize the whole region, is crying out for urgent and effective leadership,” said Takirambudde.
“Only by addressing the human rights violations in Zimbabwe can SADC hope to nurture a political and economic revival in the country.”
Source: Human Rights Watch
The summit, which takes place on August 16 and 17, 2007 is expected to address the ongoing political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe. At an extraordinary summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in March 2007, SADC asked South African president Thabo Mbeki to mediate talks between the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Mbeki is expected to report back on the progress of the talks in Lusaka.
“SADC members must take strong and effective action to deal with one of the region’s most grave crises – Zimbabwe,” said Peter Takirambudde, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “SADC’s credibility as a real force for change on human rights is on the line here and its leaders should insist on tangible improvements in Zimbabwe.”
Human Rights Watch urged SADC to more explicitly incorporate human rights concerns in the mediation talks and set clear benchmarks for progress within a clear time-frame. The summit should make a public acknowledgement of ongoing human rights problems, Human Rights Watch said, and deploy SADC human rights monitors as an essential first step in protecting Zimbabweans from state brutality.
In the past, SADC has failed to extract concrete commitments on human rights from the government of Zimbabwe. Although serious human rights problems have plagued Zimbabwe for the past seven years, the conclusions issued after SADC’s past summits have failed to adequately reflect these problems. For example, the final communique of the extraordinary summit in Tanzania failed to mention the arrests and beatings of opposition and civil society leaders or the broader human rights situation in Zimbabwe.
The 13-page briefing paper, “A Call to Action: The Crisis in Zimbabwe – SADC’s Human Rights Credibility on the Line,” highlights priority areas of concern on human rights and proposes a number of actions to help tackle the crisis. The government of Zimbabwe has used methods against critics that range from intimidation, threats and harassment to physical attacks and torture. Hundreds of civil society activists – including human rights defenders, independent journalists and members of the political opposition – have been arbitrarily arrested and beaten by police and other security agents.
Police often use unnecessary and lethal force to violently disrupt peaceful protests. Recent examples highlighted in the memorandum include: the arrest and assault in police custody of more than 200 activists from the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) when they attempted to demonstrate against the Constitutional Amendment Bill in Harare on July 25, and the arrest and assault of up to 20 women from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) during peaceful protests in Bulawayo on June 6.
Human Rights Watch called upon SADC to send a clear, visible and unambiguous message from this week’s summit, repudiating the Zimbabwean government’s policy of political repression through laws and the unaccountability of Zimbabwe’s police, army and security forces.
“The political and human rights crisis in Zimbabwe, which threatens to destabilize the whole region, is crying out for urgent and effective leadership,” said Takirambudde.
“Only by addressing the human rights violations in Zimbabwe can SADC hope to nurture a political and economic revival in the country.”
Source: Human Rights Watch
Monday, August 13, 2007
Darfur force 'to be all-African'
Africa will provide all of the 26,000 peacekeepers to be sent to Sudan's Darfur region, the head of the African Union (AU) has said. AU chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said enough African troops had been promised for no outside help to be needed but he did not give details.
The UN had expected to call on Asian troops. Critics say Africa lacks enough trained troops for an effective force. Sudan's government has long opposed the involvement of non-African soldiers. It only agreed to a joint United Nations-AU force after months of negotiations. The UN Security Council resolution setting up the force said the troops would be mostly African but they would be under UN command.
UN spokesman Farhan Haq said that while there may be enough AU troops for the force, it was important to get the right mix of abilities on the ground. "It's not simply a question of raw numbers of troops - we're trying to find a good mix of skills," he told the BBC News website. "We're looking to make sure this force is robust, it's mobile, it's well-armed and equipped, so that it can carry out the full mandate that it needs to perform."
Speaking after talks in Khartoum with the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Mr Konare said: "I can confirm today that we have received sufficient commitments from African countries that we will not have to resort to non-African forces." He added that the "ball is now in the court of the UN" to provide funding for the force.
Mr Bashir, who has long argued that a UN-backed force would be a violation of Sudan's sovereignty and could worsen the situation there, backed Mr Konare's plan. "[We] support the AU force, which consolidates the efforts of the Sudanese government to ensure security, peace and stability in Darfur," he said after their meeting. Mr Konare did not give a breakdown of the countries offering to supply more personnel, leading correspondents to question the viability of an all-African force.
BBC Africa analyst David Bamford said it was unclear where so many African troops would come from. Senegal and Malawi have promised to send peacekeepers to Darfur, while the AU has said that Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria have also promised to contribute.
Hafiz Mohamed from lobby group Justice Africa said Sudan would be able to manipulate AU troops - as he said they had been doing with the 7,000 AU troops already in Darfur. "This will affect the whole credibility of the new resolution," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
Mr Konare's announcement came just days after the UN published a list of Asian countries it said had already committed troops and police officers to a Darfur force. UN officials said the joint AU-UN force would be "predominantly African", but confirmed that countries including Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh had pledged personnel.
According to a UN resolution, the composition of the force must be decided by 30 August. At least 200,000 people are believed to have died and more than two million have been left homeless in Darfur since fighting broke out in 2003. Sudan's Arab dominated government, and the pro-government Janjaweed militias, are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population - although the UN has stopped short of calling it genocide. Sudan has always denied backing the Janjaweed militias and argued that the problems in Darfur were being exaggerated for political reasons.
Source: BBC
The UN had expected to call on Asian troops. Critics say Africa lacks enough trained troops for an effective force. Sudan's government has long opposed the involvement of non-African soldiers. It only agreed to a joint United Nations-AU force after months of negotiations. The UN Security Council resolution setting up the force said the troops would be mostly African but they would be under UN command.
UN spokesman Farhan Haq said that while there may be enough AU troops for the force, it was important to get the right mix of abilities on the ground. "It's not simply a question of raw numbers of troops - we're trying to find a good mix of skills," he told the BBC News website. "We're looking to make sure this force is robust, it's mobile, it's well-armed and equipped, so that it can carry out the full mandate that it needs to perform."
Speaking after talks in Khartoum with the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Mr Konare said: "I can confirm today that we have received sufficient commitments from African countries that we will not have to resort to non-African forces." He added that the "ball is now in the court of the UN" to provide funding for the force.
Mr Bashir, who has long argued that a UN-backed force would be a violation of Sudan's sovereignty and could worsen the situation there, backed Mr Konare's plan. "[We] support the AU force, which consolidates the efforts of the Sudanese government to ensure security, peace and stability in Darfur," he said after their meeting. Mr Konare did not give a breakdown of the countries offering to supply more personnel, leading correspondents to question the viability of an all-African force.
BBC Africa analyst David Bamford said it was unclear where so many African troops would come from. Senegal and Malawi have promised to send peacekeepers to Darfur, while the AU has said that Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria have also promised to contribute.
Hafiz Mohamed from lobby group Justice Africa said Sudan would be able to manipulate AU troops - as he said they had been doing with the 7,000 AU troops already in Darfur. "This will affect the whole credibility of the new resolution," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
Mr Konare's announcement came just days after the UN published a list of Asian countries it said had already committed troops and police officers to a Darfur force. UN officials said the joint AU-UN force would be "predominantly African", but confirmed that countries including Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh had pledged personnel.
According to a UN resolution, the composition of the force must be decided by 30 August. At least 200,000 people are believed to have died and more than two million have been left homeless in Darfur since fighting broke out in 2003. Sudan's Arab dominated government, and the pro-government Janjaweed militias, are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population - although the UN has stopped short of calling it genocide. Sudan has always denied backing the Janjaweed militias and argued that the problems in Darfur were being exaggerated for political reasons.
Source: BBC
Friday, August 10, 2007
Mauritania made slavery illegal
In August 2007, Mauritania’s parliament voted to make slavery illegal. It is a sad comment on the longevity and resilience of slavery that this occurred on the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the British Empire. This is not the first time that slavery has been outlawed in Mauritania. It was first declared illegal in 1905 and as recently as 1981.
Although numbers are difficult to establish, the Mauritanian advocacy group, SOS Slavery, estimates that as many as 600,000 people - about 20 per cent of the population - in the arid West Africa country could be enslaved. In the past, the Mauritanian government adopted an ambiguous stance. At times, it denied that slavery existed. Activists were unlikely to receive cooperation, and the use of the word ‘slave’ was discouraged.
The new government of President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdellahi (installed in April) has tried to change this. Mauritania’s new arrangements make provision for prison terms of 10 years for slaveholders. Promoting or defending slavery carries a two-year term. Slavery is, in theory at least, illegal and punishable. Slavery is now near-universally acknowledged as an appalling violation of human rights - indeed, denial of the right to live free is arguably the greatest human rights violation of all. It is also one depressingly common to cultures throughout history. But changing laws alone is not enough. If Mauritania is to deal with it effectively, some lessons can be learned from history. Acknowledgement that slavery exists represents a notable advance. One study notes: "The most important lesson of all past interventions is that you can’t fight slavery if you don’t name it ‘slavery’."
For Mauritania’s ban on slavery to succeed, it must ensure that laws against slavery are enforced. The trans-Atlantic trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807. The British Navy - then the world’s most powerful - attempted to intercept slave-carrying vessels, and enslavers faced arrest and punishment. Mauritania, one of the world’s poorer countries, will need to find the personnel and legal capacity - police, prosecutors and government inspectors - to enforce the law. It must also back change in law with change in culture and values. The British abolitionists fought a long campaign to convince people of the immorality of slavery. This was ultimately successful: The common view slowly changed, leading a slavery supporter to comment glumly that "the stream of popularity runs against us". Abolitionists pursued this through petitions and boycotts, and appeals to religious convictions the population. Periodic slave rebellions testified to their case.
According to Mauritanian activists and ex-slaves, the institution is so deeply woven into culture that slaves need little coercion: In the words of Mr Boubakar Messaoud of SOS Slavery: "We have achieved what the American plantation owners dreamed of - the breeding of perfectly submissive slaves." One slave told an interviewer: "God created me to be a slave, just as He created the camel to be a camel." These views must change. Unless freed slaves are helped to become self-sufficient, their future will be abject poverty. Opportunities in Mauritania are limited, and slaves have little education.
Former slaves face a stark choice upon emancipation: To go to the streets with no money or stay with their owners on whatever terms. Most choose to stay. In the US, slaves became “sharecroppers” who worked small plots on landowners’ estates, were paid a pittance - if at all - and kept in perpetual debt through charges for food, clothes and supplies. Previous emancipation in Mauritania failed largely because steps were not taken. This one will be nothing more than a re-branding exercise unless laws and enforcement change the slave-master relationship. The government should provide literacy and skills training to give freed slaves a chance to make use of their freedom.
Source: South African Institute of International Affairs
Although numbers are difficult to establish, the Mauritanian advocacy group, SOS Slavery, estimates that as many as 600,000 people - about 20 per cent of the population - in the arid West Africa country could be enslaved. In the past, the Mauritanian government adopted an ambiguous stance. At times, it denied that slavery existed. Activists were unlikely to receive cooperation, and the use of the word ‘slave’ was discouraged.
The new government of President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdellahi (installed in April) has tried to change this. Mauritania’s new arrangements make provision for prison terms of 10 years for slaveholders. Promoting or defending slavery carries a two-year term. Slavery is, in theory at least, illegal and punishable. Slavery is now near-universally acknowledged as an appalling violation of human rights - indeed, denial of the right to live free is arguably the greatest human rights violation of all. It is also one depressingly common to cultures throughout history. But changing laws alone is not enough. If Mauritania is to deal with it effectively, some lessons can be learned from history. Acknowledgement that slavery exists represents a notable advance. One study notes: "The most important lesson of all past interventions is that you can’t fight slavery if you don’t name it ‘slavery’."
For Mauritania’s ban on slavery to succeed, it must ensure that laws against slavery are enforced. The trans-Atlantic trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807. The British Navy - then the world’s most powerful - attempted to intercept slave-carrying vessels, and enslavers faced arrest and punishment. Mauritania, one of the world’s poorer countries, will need to find the personnel and legal capacity - police, prosecutors and government inspectors - to enforce the law. It must also back change in law with change in culture and values. The British abolitionists fought a long campaign to convince people of the immorality of slavery. This was ultimately successful: The common view slowly changed, leading a slavery supporter to comment glumly that "the stream of popularity runs against us". Abolitionists pursued this through petitions and boycotts, and appeals to religious convictions the population. Periodic slave rebellions testified to their case.
According to Mauritanian activists and ex-slaves, the institution is so deeply woven into culture that slaves need little coercion: In the words of Mr Boubakar Messaoud of SOS Slavery: "We have achieved what the American plantation owners dreamed of - the breeding of perfectly submissive slaves." One slave told an interviewer: "God created me to be a slave, just as He created the camel to be a camel." These views must change. Unless freed slaves are helped to become self-sufficient, their future will be abject poverty. Opportunities in Mauritania are limited, and slaves have little education.
Former slaves face a stark choice upon emancipation: To go to the streets with no money or stay with their owners on whatever terms. Most choose to stay. In the US, slaves became “sharecroppers” who worked small plots on landowners’ estates, were paid a pittance - if at all - and kept in perpetual debt through charges for food, clothes and supplies. Previous emancipation in Mauritania failed largely because steps were not taken. This one will be nothing more than a re-branding exercise unless laws and enforcement change the slave-master relationship. The government should provide literacy and skills training to give freed slaves a chance to make use of their freedom.
Source: South African Institute of International Affairs
Monday, August 6, 2007
Keen demand fuels global trade in body parts
Paul Lee got his liver from an executed Chinese prisoner; Karam in Egypt bought a kidney for his sister for $5Â 300; in Istanbul, Hakan is holding out for $30Â 700 for one of his kidneys.
They are not so unusual: a dire shortage of donated organs in rich countries is sending foreigners with end-stage illnesses to poorer places like China, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Colombia and the Philippines to buy a new lease of life.
Source: Mail & Guardian
They are not so unusual: a dire shortage of donated organs in rich countries is sending foreigners with end-stage illnesses to poorer places like China, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Colombia and the Philippines to buy a new lease of life.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Suspended Teta boss arrested
The suspended chief executive of the Transport Education Training Authority (Teta), Piet Bothma, has become the third person to be arrested in connection with the Fidentia affair. He appeared briefly in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Monday where he was released on R200 000 bail. Bothma has been charged with fraud and theft, and with corruption involving alleged kickbacks of just under R5m. He had earlier in the day flown down from Johannesburg with his attorney to report to the Scorpions' office in the city centre, where he was formally arrested.
Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown and financial director Graham Maddock were arrested in March, and are out on bail of R1m each.
Bothma was suspended from his Teta post in June. The State claims under the theft and fraud charges that he was part of a conspiracy with Brown, Maddock "and/or others" with regard to R200m that Teta invested with Fidentia Asset Management, now under curatorship. The corruption relates to an allegation that he got just under R5 million in unlawful kickbacks in the process. His attorney, Marco Martini, said neither he nor Bothma had any comment at this stage. "At this stage we're waiting to see a formal charge sheet," he said. Bothma will be in the dock alongside Brown and Maddock at their next court appearance on August 31.
Scorpions prosecutor Bruce Morrisson told the court the State did not object to bail, and that the amount had been agreed on by the State and defence. He said Bothma had co-operated with the Scorpions over his arrest, and had at the time of his arrest not given any false information. As part of his bail conditions, Bothma has been ordered to surrender all travel documents, and to seek Scorpions permission if he wants to leave South Africa. He has also been barred from communicating with any Teta board members, officials or employees. It is understood that the Scorpions are hoping to make further arrests in the case.
Source: News 24
Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown and financial director Graham Maddock were arrested in March, and are out on bail of R1m each.
Bothma was suspended from his Teta post in June. The State claims under the theft and fraud charges that he was part of a conspiracy with Brown, Maddock "and/or others" with regard to R200m that Teta invested with Fidentia Asset Management, now under curatorship. The corruption relates to an allegation that he got just under R5 million in unlawful kickbacks in the process. His attorney, Marco Martini, said neither he nor Bothma had any comment at this stage. "At this stage we're waiting to see a formal charge sheet," he said. Bothma will be in the dock alongside Brown and Maddock at their next court appearance on August 31.
Scorpions prosecutor Bruce Morrisson told the court the State did not object to bail, and that the amount had been agreed on by the State and defence. He said Bothma had co-operated with the Scorpions over his arrest, and had at the time of his arrest not given any false information. As part of his bail conditions, Bothma has been ordered to surrender all travel documents, and to seek Scorpions permission if he wants to leave South Africa. He has also been barred from communicating with any Teta board members, officials or employees. It is understood that the Scorpions are hoping to make further arrests in the case.
Source: News 24
Friday, July 27, 2007
Jailed policeman accuses De Klerk
An apartheid-era South African security police commander says ex-President FW de Klerk knew of gross human rights violations during his term of office. Eugene de Kock, jailed for his role in killing anti-apartheid activists, made the accusation a day after Mr De Klerk said that his conscience was clear. Talking from his prison cell to a radio station, he said the ex-president's hands were "soaked in blood".
De Kock said he was prepared to testify in court against Mr de Klerk. He claimed he could list exact instances where the country's last white president gave the order for specific killings. De Kock was nicknamed "Prime Evil" for his role in ordering the killing and maiming of dozens of anti-apartheid activists, often using very cruel methods. He is serving two life sentences in a maximum-security prison in Pretoria.
On Thursday, Mr de Klerk denied ever condoning the elimination of anti-apartheid activists or any other gross human rights violations during his term of office, which began in 1989 and ended in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became president. "I have not only a clear conscience, I am not guilty of any crime whatsoever," Mr de Klerk said while addressing the media in Cape Town. "I have never myself approved murder or the random killing of anybody, or gross violations of human rights."
There has been speculation about Mr de Klerk's knowledge of human rights violations during his term of office since news first broke last week that his former Police Minister, Adriaan Vlok, would face charges relating to the poisoning of the then secretary general of the South African Council of Churches, Reverend Frank Chikane, in 1989. Mr Vlok has admitted to approving the poisoning of the former church leader as well as other human rights violations. He publicly sought forgiveness by washing Rev Chikane's feet in his office last year.
Source: BBC
De Kock said he was prepared to testify in court against Mr de Klerk. He claimed he could list exact instances where the country's last white president gave the order for specific killings. De Kock was nicknamed "Prime Evil" for his role in ordering the killing and maiming of dozens of anti-apartheid activists, often using very cruel methods. He is serving two life sentences in a maximum-security prison in Pretoria.
On Thursday, Mr de Klerk denied ever condoning the elimination of anti-apartheid activists or any other gross human rights violations during his term of office, which began in 1989 and ended in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became president. "I have not only a clear conscience, I am not guilty of any crime whatsoever," Mr de Klerk said while addressing the media in Cape Town. "I have never myself approved murder or the random killing of anybody, or gross violations of human rights."
There has been speculation about Mr de Klerk's knowledge of human rights violations during his term of office since news first broke last week that his former Police Minister, Adriaan Vlok, would face charges relating to the poisoning of the then secretary general of the South African Council of Churches, Reverend Frank Chikane, in 1989. Mr Vlok has admitted to approving the poisoning of the former church leader as well as other human rights violations. He publicly sought forgiveness by washing Rev Chikane's feet in his office last year.
Source: BBC
Jailed policeman accuses De Klerk
An apartheid-era South African security police commander says ex-President FW de Klerk knew of gross human rights violations during his term of office. Eugene de Kock, jailed for his role in killing anti-apartheid activists, made the accusation a day after Mr De Klerk said that his conscience was clear. Talking from his prison cell to a radio station, he said the ex-president's hands were "soaked in blood".
De Kock said he was prepared to testify in court against Mr de Klerk. He said Mr de Klerk's hands were "soaked in blood", and claimed he could list exact instances where the country's last white president gave the order for specific killings. De Kock was nicknamed "Prime Evil" for his role in ordering the killing and maiming of dozens of anti-apartheid activists, often using very cruel methods. He is serving two life sentences in a maximum-security prison in Pretoria.
On Thursday, Mr de Klerk denied ever condoning the elimination of anti-apartheid activists or any other gross human rights violations during his term of office, which began in 1989 and ended in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became president. "I have not only a clear conscience, I am not guilty of any crime whatsoever," Mr de Klerk said while addressing the media in Cape Town. "I have never myself approved murder or the random killing of anybody, or gross violations of human rights."
There has been speculation about Mr de Klerk's knowledge of human rights violations during his term of office since news first broke last week that his former Police Minister, Adriaan Vlok, would face charges relating to the poisoning of the then secretary general of the South African Council of Churches, Reverend Frank Chikane, in 1989. Mr Vlok has admitted to approving the poisoning of the former church leader as well as other human rights violations. He publicly sought forgiveness by washing Rev Chikane's feet in his office last year.
Source: BBC
De Kock said he was prepared to testify in court against Mr de Klerk. He said Mr de Klerk's hands were "soaked in blood", and claimed he could list exact instances where the country's last white president gave the order for specific killings. De Kock was nicknamed "Prime Evil" for his role in ordering the killing and maiming of dozens of anti-apartheid activists, often using very cruel methods. He is serving two life sentences in a maximum-security prison in Pretoria.
On Thursday, Mr de Klerk denied ever condoning the elimination of anti-apartheid activists or any other gross human rights violations during his term of office, which began in 1989 and ended in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became president. "I have not only a clear conscience, I am not guilty of any crime whatsoever," Mr de Klerk said while addressing the media in Cape Town. "I have never myself approved murder or the random killing of anybody, or gross violations of human rights."
There has been speculation about Mr de Klerk's knowledge of human rights violations during his term of office since news first broke last week that his former Police Minister, Adriaan Vlok, would face charges relating to the poisoning of the then secretary general of the South African Council of Churches, Reverend Frank Chikane, in 1989. Mr Vlok has admitted to approving the poisoning of the former church leader as well as other human rights violations. He publicly sought forgiveness by washing Rev Chikane's feet in his office last year.
Source: BBC
Monday, July 2, 2007
Chad leader's son killed in Paris
The son of Chad's President Idriss Deby has been found dead in Paris after apparently being forced to inhale the chemicals from a fire extinguisher. The body of Brahim Deby, 27, was found in the car park of his block of flats. An extinguisher was found by his body. An autopsy report said he had likely been asphyxiated by "white powder". Police have launched a murder inquiry.
Brahim Deby was last year sacked as a presidential advisor after a conviction for drugs and weapons possession. His body was found in a corridor between the parking lot and the stairs leading to the flats in Courbevoie, west of Paris. An initial autopsy report concluded he had been "asphyxiated, probably by the white powder he was sprayed with", a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office in the western suburb of Nanterre said. The source of the powder is believed to have been the fire extinguisher found near the body. A head wound found on Deby's body had not caused his death, the prosecutor's office said. "He clearly died a violent death," the spokeswoman said. "We are going on the hypothesis of murder."
President Idriss Deby came to power in a coup in 1991. Rebels trying to oust him last year attacked the capital, N'Djamena, before being repulsed with French military aid. A few months later, Mr Deby won elections boycotted by the opposition, who complained of fraud.
A spokesman for the rebel group, the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) spokesman Makaila Nguebla told Reuters news agency that Brahim Deby's conduct had prompted many top Chadian officials to join the rebellion. "He is at the root of all the frustration. He used to slap government ministers, senior Chadian officials were humiliated by Deby's son."
Source: BBC
Brahim Deby was last year sacked as a presidential advisor after a conviction for drugs and weapons possession. His body was found in a corridor between the parking lot and the stairs leading to the flats in Courbevoie, west of Paris. An initial autopsy report concluded he had been "asphyxiated, probably by the white powder he was sprayed with", a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office in the western suburb of Nanterre said. The source of the powder is believed to have been the fire extinguisher found near the body. A head wound found on Deby's body had not caused his death, the prosecutor's office said. "He clearly died a violent death," the spokeswoman said. "We are going on the hypothesis of murder."
President Idriss Deby came to power in a coup in 1991. Rebels trying to oust him last year attacked the capital, N'Djamena, before being repulsed with French military aid. A few months later, Mr Deby won elections boycotted by the opposition, who complained of fraud.
A spokesman for the rebel group, the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) spokesman Makaila Nguebla told Reuters news agency that Brahim Deby's conduct had prompted many top Chadian officials to join the rebellion. "He is at the root of all the frustration. He used to slap government ministers, senior Chadian officials were humiliated by Deby's son."
Source: BBC
Sunday, July 1, 2007
PRECIOUS METALS ACT 37 OF 2005
The purpose of the Precious Metals Act is to provide for the acquisition, possession, smelting, refining, beneficiation, use and disposal of precious metals; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
Offences and penalties
(1) Any person who-
(a) contravenes section 4(1) or (3), 5(1) or (2), 7(5) or (6), 8(6), (7) or (9), 9(5), (9) or (10) or 11(1) or (2);
(b) buys unwrought or semi-fabricated precious metal without having satisfied himself or herself that the vendor thereof is lawfully entitled to sell or dispose of such metal; or
(c) maliciously places any unwrought or semi-fabricated precious metal in the possession or on the premises of any other person with intent that such other person may be convicted under this Act, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one million rand or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 20 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(2) Any person who-
(a) contravenes section 4(4), 7(8) or (9), 8(4) or (10), 9(7), (8), (10) or (11), 10(1) or (2), 13 or 15(1) or (2) or 22(1);
(b) being an authorised dealer contemplated in section 14(1), buys unwrought or semi-fabricated precious metal from any person who has not produced a licence, permit or certificate as provided in that section;
(c) being an authorised dealer contemplated in section 14(1), fails to obtain and retain the certificate contemplated in section 14(2); or
(d) fails to comply with any lawful request to produce and exhibit the register or proper books of account required to be kept by him or her in terms of this Act, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand rand or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(3) If any person convicted in terms of subsection (1) or (2) is at the time of his or her conviction the holder of a licence, permit or certificate contemplated in this Act, he or she shall forfeit such licence, permit or certificate and any right of renewal thereof for such period as the court convicting him or her may direct.
Source: SABINET
Offences and penalties
(1) Any person who-
(a) contravenes section 4(1) or (3), 5(1) or (2), 7(5) or (6), 8(6), (7) or (9), 9(5), (9) or (10) or 11(1) or (2);
(b) buys unwrought or semi-fabricated precious metal without having satisfied himself or herself that the vendor thereof is lawfully entitled to sell or dispose of such metal; or
(c) maliciously places any unwrought or semi-fabricated precious metal in the possession or on the premises of any other person with intent that such other person may be convicted under this Act, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one million rand or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 20 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(2) Any person who-
(a) contravenes section 4(4), 7(8) or (9), 8(4) or (10), 9(7), (8), (10) or (11), 10(1) or (2), 13 or 15(1) or (2) or 22(1);
(b) being an authorised dealer contemplated in section 14(1), buys unwrought or semi-fabricated precious metal from any person who has not produced a licence, permit or certificate as provided in that section;
(c) being an authorised dealer contemplated in section 14(1), fails to obtain and retain the certificate contemplated in section 14(2); or
(d) fails to comply with any lawful request to produce and exhibit the register or proper books of account required to be kept by him or her in terms of this Act, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand rand or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(3) If any person convicted in terms of subsection (1) or (2) is at the time of his or her conviction the holder of a licence, permit or certificate contemplated in this Act, he or she shall forfeit such licence, permit or certificate and any right of renewal thereof for such period as the court convicting him or her may direct.
Source: SABINET
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