David "DD" Mabuza's days as premier of Mpumalanga appear to be numbered as the ANC head office loses patience with his beleaguered administration. The ruling party has sent a sub-committee of its national executive committee (NEC) to the province to investigate complaints, including multimillion-rand government tenders which appear to be at the root of a fall-out.
An embattled Mabuza already suffered a huge blow when the ANC blocked his plans for a cabinet reshuffle. According to reliable party insiders, Mabuza was chastised by Luthuli House a week ago after he planned to reshuffle his cabinet and get rid of individuals who refused to toe his line. One of Mabuza's intended targets was Fish Mahlalela, the provincial chairman of the standing committee on public accounts. Mahlalela is believed to be investigating financial mismanagement by Mabuza's administration.
Top party officials said this week that plans to remove the powerful Mpumalanga premier - also known as the Hurricane - were well under way. The ANC's sub-committee, which is headed by NEC member Malusi Gigaba, is understood to be fed up with the "state of paralysis in the province". The sub-committee, after meeting regions and branches of the ANC in the province, will apparently recommend to ANC headquarters that Mabuza be recalled immediately for failing to show leadership.
This week the Democratic Alliance added fuel to the fire when it called for Mabuza's resignation after he denounced crime and corruption in his state of the province address but made no mention of a spate of murders and the purported existence of a hit-list of ANC officials. The hit-list, which is apparently linked to World Cup tender disputes, is now the subject of an official police investigation and has caused panic among politicians and government officials. Mabuza is further accused of failing to deal with tender irregularities.
The dissatisfaction with his leadership is further evident in a letter sent by ANC members to President Jacob Zuma in September last year, in which they accused him of ignoring glaring irregularities brought to his attention in a range of government departments. Mabuza is no stranger to controversy. In 1998 he resigned in disgrace as Mpumalanga MEC for education after his department illegally inflated the province's matric pass rate to 72.5% from 46%. While he was MEC for agriculture, he is alleged to have authorised the awarding of a R210-million tender to a company owned by his former wife, Ruth Silinda, even though her company had been suspended. Eyebrows have also been raised over the recent awarding of a R232-million tender to the Sizwengendaba-Laeveld Trekkers joint venture for the provision and maintenance of farm mechanisation and equipment in rural communities.
According to senior ANC members, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the provincial ANC Youth League, the MK Military Veterans' Association and ANC branches and regions are on the verge of open rebellion against Mabuza. But ANC spokesman Paul Mbenyane said he was not aware of any plans to remove Mabuza. "Our position is that DD Mabuza remains chairman of the ANC in Mpumalanga. He's got our full support," he said. "Structures of the ANC have the right to raise their problems about Mabuza with Luthuli House."
Mabuza's spokesman, Mabutho Sithole, also dismissed talk that Mabuza would be removed. "There are people who are spreading lies about the premier for their own personal gain," said Sithole.
Source: Times Live
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Kenya: Halt Anti-Gay Campaign
Kenya's government should act quickly to protect people accused of homosexual conduct and groups offering HIV/AIDS services from vigilante attacks, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Kenyan authorities.
The vigilante violence has hit Mtwapa, a coastal town northeast of Mombasa, in recent days and appears to be spreading to Mombasa and elsewhere. Human Rights Watch called on Kenya's government to speak out against the voices that incite hatred and foment the attacks.
"The government is sitting silent while mobs try to kill human rights defenders and assault people they suspect are gay," said Dipika Nath, researcher in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) rights program at Human Rights Watch. "Inaction is complicity, and silence can be lethal."
In late January, 2010, unsubstantiated rumors about a "gay wedding" scheduled for February 12 started circulating in Mtwapa, in Kilifi District. Local and national radio stations picked up the unconfirmed story. On February 7, several imams and muftis (Islamic scholars) told their congregations during Friday prayers to be vigilant and to "expose" homosexuals in Mtwapa.
On February 11, Sheikh Ali Hussein of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya and Bishop Lawrence Chai of the National Council of Churches of Kenya held a news conference. As reported by Daily Nation and by other witnesses who have spoken to Human Rights Watch, the two religious leaders demanded an investigation of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), a government health center that provides HIV/AIDS services to the community. They criticized the government for "providing counselling services to these criminals" and demanded that the KEMRI office in Mtwapa be shut down, the reports said.
Local activists told Human Rights Watch that, in a statement after the meeting, the religious leaders promised to "flush out gays." The Daily Nation reported that Chai is the leader of a network called "Operation Gays Out," whose actual numbers and aims are not known.
On February 12, an armed mob of 200 to 300 people surrounded the KEMRI health center. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that a man called "Faridi," an organizer of the mob, said a KEMRI staff member was homosexual because he wore a T-shirt promoting safer sex. In response, police who were at the scene took him and another KEMRI staffer into custody.
Earlier the same day, Faridi, with police, forcibly entered another private individual's home, claiming that the two people in the house were homosexual. Police took the two into custody, too. Local activists have informed Human Rights Watch that none of the men were charged and they have all since been released, and that the police were attempting to protect them from violence by taking them into custody.
The mob beat senseless another man who was approaching the health center and was about to set him on fire when the police arrived and took him into custody as well.
A large crowd gathered outside the police station where the five were being held. A religious leader addressed the mob, saying all homosexuals should be driven out of Mtwapa, and another speaker encouraged the mob to not bother bringing homosexuals to the police but rather to take the law into its own hands, witnesses said. Other speakers said that homosexuals had appeared in Mtwapa when KEMRI opened its offices there. Smaller groups reportedly went to the homes of other people suspected of being gay and threatened them.
Local sources told Human Rights Watch that the mob attacks appeared planned rather than spontaneous. According to reports received by Human Rights Watch, none of the attackers have been arrested.
Accounts of the attacks and arrests filled the front pages of the next day's local and national newspapers.
A mob attacked and severely beat up another KEMRI volunteer on February 13, and the police again took the victim into custody. The same day, a person was beaten up in Mombasa on suspicion of being gay, and a second person was attacked in Mombasa on February 16. Local activists are attempting to determine the condition and whereabouts of those victims.
Sheikh Ali Hussein declared on the radio on February 17 that Muslims would march in Mtwapa on February 19 to protest against homosexuality. Local activists fear the demonstration may extend to mosques along the coast, including in Mombasa.
"The police need to arrest the attackers and put a halt to what appears to be a coordinated nationwide attack on people perceived to be homosexual," Nath said. "The disruption of lifesaving HIV/AIDS work could mean a public health catastrophe as well as a human rights disaster."
The attacks and hate-mongering and the government's failure to act have spread fear in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, Human Rights Watch said. Several people have gone into hiding; others are preparing to flee their homes at a moment's notice.
The attacks on the health center risk exacerbating the HIV/AIDS epidemic not only among men who have sex with men, but among all Kenyans. HIV prevalence in Kenya is more than 16 percent, and more than 1.5 million Kenyans have died from HIV/AIDS-related illness.
Vigilante violence and panic promote an atmosphere in which any discussion of sexuality will be silenced, and vulnerable populations driven underground, Human Rights Watch said. KEMRI's Mtwapa offices have been closed since the attacks. There are plans to reopen the center, but KEMRI staff remain nervous about further attacks.
Although the declared reason for the six men's detention was to protect them, news reports said authorities asked the men to submit to forensic examinations to determine if they are homosexual. Five of them refused and the sixth consented and was examined, although no "evidence" of homosexuality is reported to have been found. Forensic medical examinations to "prove" homosexual conduct are archaic and discredited. If conducted without genuine consent, they may constitute torture or inhuman or degrading treatment, Human Rights Watch said.
Chapter V of the Constitution of Kenya guarantees to all Kenyans the rights to life, liberty, security of person, and privacy (articles 70, 71, and 72); articles 79, 80, and 81 protect individuals' freedom of expression, association and assembly, and movement. Article 82 protects against discrimination and states that "no law shall make any provision that is discriminatory either of itself or in its effect."
Section 162 of the Kenyan Penal Code punishes "carnal knowledge... against the order of nature" with up to 14 years in prison. This law is a relic of Kenya's colonial past, as Human Rights Watch has previously reported. British colonizers imposed laws to control social and sexual conduct, though some political and religious leaders now defend them as part of "authentic" culture and tradition.
The Penal Code's provisions contravene not only constitutional protections but international human rights standards. Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights prohibits discrimination on all grounds; articles 3 and 19 secure for all the right to equality; articles 5 and 6 guarantee the right to dignity and liberty; and articles 10 and 11 guarantee freedom of association and assembly.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee, which authoritatively interprets the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and evaluates states' compliance with its provisions, found in the 1994 case of Toonen v. Australia that laws criminalizing consensual homosexual conduct among adults violate the ICCPR's protections for private life and against discrimination. Further, article 9 of the ICCPR secures for all the right to liberty, security, and rights against arbitrary detention, and article 7 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders specifically secures the right to "develop and discuss new human rights ideas and principles and to advocate their acceptance."
The report of the special representative of the secretary-general on human rights defenders to the UN General Assembly specifically identifies human rights defenders from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex communities as being at particular risk and calls for greater state vigilance in protecting their rights.
Source: Human Rights Watch
The vigilante violence has hit Mtwapa, a coastal town northeast of Mombasa, in recent days and appears to be spreading to Mombasa and elsewhere. Human Rights Watch called on Kenya's government to speak out against the voices that incite hatred and foment the attacks.
"The government is sitting silent while mobs try to kill human rights defenders and assault people they suspect are gay," said Dipika Nath, researcher in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) rights program at Human Rights Watch. "Inaction is complicity, and silence can be lethal."
In late January, 2010, unsubstantiated rumors about a "gay wedding" scheduled for February 12 started circulating in Mtwapa, in Kilifi District. Local and national radio stations picked up the unconfirmed story. On February 7, several imams and muftis (Islamic scholars) told their congregations during Friday prayers to be vigilant and to "expose" homosexuals in Mtwapa.
On February 11, Sheikh Ali Hussein of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya and Bishop Lawrence Chai of the National Council of Churches of Kenya held a news conference. As reported by Daily Nation and by other witnesses who have spoken to Human Rights Watch, the two religious leaders demanded an investigation of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), a government health center that provides HIV/AIDS services to the community. They criticized the government for "providing counselling services to these criminals" and demanded that the KEMRI office in Mtwapa be shut down, the reports said.
Local activists told Human Rights Watch that, in a statement after the meeting, the religious leaders promised to "flush out gays." The Daily Nation reported that Chai is the leader of a network called "Operation Gays Out," whose actual numbers and aims are not known.
On February 12, an armed mob of 200 to 300 people surrounded the KEMRI health center. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that a man called "Faridi," an organizer of the mob, said a KEMRI staff member was homosexual because he wore a T-shirt promoting safer sex. In response, police who were at the scene took him and another KEMRI staffer into custody.
Earlier the same day, Faridi, with police, forcibly entered another private individual's home, claiming that the two people in the house were homosexual. Police took the two into custody, too. Local activists have informed Human Rights Watch that none of the men were charged and they have all since been released, and that the police were attempting to protect them from violence by taking them into custody.
The mob beat senseless another man who was approaching the health center and was about to set him on fire when the police arrived and took him into custody as well.
A large crowd gathered outside the police station where the five were being held. A religious leader addressed the mob, saying all homosexuals should be driven out of Mtwapa, and another speaker encouraged the mob to not bother bringing homosexuals to the police but rather to take the law into its own hands, witnesses said. Other speakers said that homosexuals had appeared in Mtwapa when KEMRI opened its offices there. Smaller groups reportedly went to the homes of other people suspected of being gay and threatened them.
Local sources told Human Rights Watch that the mob attacks appeared planned rather than spontaneous. According to reports received by Human Rights Watch, none of the attackers have been arrested.
Accounts of the attacks and arrests filled the front pages of the next day's local and national newspapers.
A mob attacked and severely beat up another KEMRI volunteer on February 13, and the police again took the victim into custody. The same day, a person was beaten up in Mombasa on suspicion of being gay, and a second person was attacked in Mombasa on February 16. Local activists are attempting to determine the condition and whereabouts of those victims.
Sheikh Ali Hussein declared on the radio on February 17 that Muslims would march in Mtwapa on February 19 to protest against homosexuality. Local activists fear the demonstration may extend to mosques along the coast, including in Mombasa.
"The police need to arrest the attackers and put a halt to what appears to be a coordinated nationwide attack on people perceived to be homosexual," Nath said. "The disruption of lifesaving HIV/AIDS work could mean a public health catastrophe as well as a human rights disaster."
The attacks and hate-mongering and the government's failure to act have spread fear in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, Human Rights Watch said. Several people have gone into hiding; others are preparing to flee their homes at a moment's notice.
The attacks on the health center risk exacerbating the HIV/AIDS epidemic not only among men who have sex with men, but among all Kenyans. HIV prevalence in Kenya is more than 16 percent, and more than 1.5 million Kenyans have died from HIV/AIDS-related illness.
Vigilante violence and panic promote an atmosphere in which any discussion of sexuality will be silenced, and vulnerable populations driven underground, Human Rights Watch said. KEMRI's Mtwapa offices have been closed since the attacks. There are plans to reopen the center, but KEMRI staff remain nervous about further attacks.
Although the declared reason for the six men's detention was to protect them, news reports said authorities asked the men to submit to forensic examinations to determine if they are homosexual. Five of them refused and the sixth consented and was examined, although no "evidence" of homosexuality is reported to have been found. Forensic medical examinations to "prove" homosexual conduct are archaic and discredited. If conducted without genuine consent, they may constitute torture or inhuman or degrading treatment, Human Rights Watch said.
Chapter V of the Constitution of Kenya guarantees to all Kenyans the rights to life, liberty, security of person, and privacy (articles 70, 71, and 72); articles 79, 80, and 81 protect individuals' freedom of expression, association and assembly, and movement. Article 82 protects against discrimination and states that "no law shall make any provision that is discriminatory either of itself or in its effect."
Section 162 of the Kenyan Penal Code punishes "carnal knowledge... against the order of nature" with up to 14 years in prison. This law is a relic of Kenya's colonial past, as Human Rights Watch has previously reported. British colonizers imposed laws to control social and sexual conduct, though some political and religious leaders now defend them as part of "authentic" culture and tradition.
The Penal Code's provisions contravene not only constitutional protections but international human rights standards. Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights prohibits discrimination on all grounds; articles 3 and 19 secure for all the right to equality; articles 5 and 6 guarantee the right to dignity and liberty; and articles 10 and 11 guarantee freedom of association and assembly.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee, which authoritatively interprets the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and evaluates states' compliance with its provisions, found in the 1994 case of Toonen v. Australia that laws criminalizing consensual homosexual conduct among adults violate the ICCPR's protections for private life and against discrimination. Further, article 9 of the ICCPR secures for all the right to liberty, security, and rights against arbitrary detention, and article 7 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders specifically secures the right to "develop and discuss new human rights ideas and principles and to advocate their acceptance."
The report of the special representative of the secretary-general on human rights defenders to the UN General Assembly specifically identifies human rights defenders from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex communities as being at particular risk and calls for greater state vigilance in protecting their rights.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Friday, February 26, 2010
Prominent mayor on 'hit-lists'
The family of Lassy Chiwayo, Mbombela (Nelspruit) Local Municipality mayor, wants him to quit politics because his name apparently tops three reported hit-lists that could be targeting whistleblowers The Mail & Guardian has been told that first list contains the names of 20 people who should be "shot and poisoned", the second names 10 people who should be "shot", while the third names six who should be "poisoned".
The lists are said to be circulating in Mpumalanga. "Obviously, your family will be concerned if your name is rumoured to be on a hit-list, especially taking into consideration that some of the people also alleged to be on the list have already been killed," Chiwayo said this week. "My family has asked me to reconsider my position in politics and to return to private business. I am worried about my children because I can't protect them 24 hours a day."
But he is not about to resign as mayor. "I joined politics at the age of 13 -- I came home one day wearing an Azapo T-shirt and my mom beat me. I didn't give up and I'm not about to do so now," he said. Before being deployed as ANC mayor, Chiwayo was a businessman involved in the Gautrain project. He said he had "no doubt" that some murders and the hit-lists were related to tenders and politics in the province. "I know for a fact that [former Mbombela speaker] Jimmy Mohlala was killed for being vocal about the 2010 Mbombela stadium tender irregularities," he said.
Mohlala was shot and killed outside his house in KaNyamazane on January 4 this year, a week before he was to testify about dismissed municipal manager Jacob Dladla's refusal to implement 361 council resolutions and his role in alleged tender irregularities linked to the Mbombela stadium. Mohlala also wanted fraud charges to be laid against the project managers, Lefika Emerging Equity.
The murder this year of senior government communicator Sammy Mphatlanyane could also be tender related. A police source said that Mphatlanyane's death outside his Nelspruit house on January 8 could have been linked to his refusal to award a R20-million tender from the provincial department of culture, sport and recreation to a friend of a prominent ANC leader in the province. Mphatlanyane was deputy director of communications in the department.
Mphatlanyane and Mohlala's names were on the 20-people hit-list, which was the first to surface. Chiwayo said the police should "leave no stone unturned" in tracking down the killers. "If the mastermind is within the ANC or holds a high position in the government, law enforcement should be even harsher," he said.
The name of Nelspruit service-station owner Thabo Theledi also appears on the lists. The police source said he was supposed to have been killed on Wednesday last week, but the killer had "chickened out". Theledi said he had no idea why his name should be on a hit-list. "I left politics a long time ago and I was just an ordinary ANC member. The last time I renewed my ANC membership was five years ago and I've been running my business solo."
Provincial police spokesperson Sibongile Nkosi said the police are still investigating the origin and credibility of the hit-lists. "It's possible that someone may have sent us a fake list just to derail and confuse the police in their investigation," Nkosi said. She said a number of people had been questioned about the two murders, but they had been released for lack of evidence.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The lists are said to be circulating in Mpumalanga. "Obviously, your family will be concerned if your name is rumoured to be on a hit-list, especially taking into consideration that some of the people also alleged to be on the list have already been killed," Chiwayo said this week. "My family has asked me to reconsider my position in politics and to return to private business. I am worried about my children because I can't protect them 24 hours a day."
But he is not about to resign as mayor. "I joined politics at the age of 13 -- I came home one day wearing an Azapo T-shirt and my mom beat me. I didn't give up and I'm not about to do so now," he said. Before being deployed as ANC mayor, Chiwayo was a businessman involved in the Gautrain project. He said he had "no doubt" that some murders and the hit-lists were related to tenders and politics in the province. "I know for a fact that [former Mbombela speaker] Jimmy Mohlala was killed for being vocal about the 2010 Mbombela stadium tender irregularities," he said.
Mohlala was shot and killed outside his house in KaNyamazane on January 4 this year, a week before he was to testify about dismissed municipal manager Jacob Dladla's refusal to implement 361 council resolutions and his role in alleged tender irregularities linked to the Mbombela stadium. Mohlala also wanted fraud charges to be laid against the project managers, Lefika Emerging Equity.
The murder this year of senior government communicator Sammy Mphatlanyane could also be tender related. A police source said that Mphatlanyane's death outside his Nelspruit house on January 8 could have been linked to his refusal to award a R20-million tender from the provincial department of culture, sport and recreation to a friend of a prominent ANC leader in the province. Mphatlanyane was deputy director of communications in the department.
Mphatlanyane and Mohlala's names were on the 20-people hit-list, which was the first to surface. Chiwayo said the police should "leave no stone unturned" in tracking down the killers. "If the mastermind is within the ANC or holds a high position in the government, law enforcement should be even harsher," he said.
The name of Nelspruit service-station owner Thabo Theledi also appears on the lists. The police source said he was supposed to have been killed on Wednesday last week, but the killer had "chickened out". Theledi said he had no idea why his name should be on a hit-list. "I left politics a long time ago and I was just an ordinary ANC member. The last time I renewed my ANC membership was five years ago and I've been running my business solo."
Provincial police spokesperson Sibongile Nkosi said the police are still investigating the origin and credibility of the hit-lists. "It's possible that someone may have sent us a fake list just to derail and confuse the police in their investigation," Nkosi said. She said a number of people had been questioned about the two murders, but they had been released for lack of evidence.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Selebi’s Zuma option
Pierre De Vos has reported on his Blog Constitutionally Speaking the ETV news reports that lawyers for Jackie Selebi are to approach Menzi Simelane, National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), in order to have the trial of Jackie Selebi stopped. According to De Vos, ETV news reports that Selebi will argue that there was a conspiracy against him and that the prosecution was tainted by prosecutorial misconduct.
In his article, he refers to section 179 of the South African Constitution and prosecution policy agreed to between the NDPP and the Minister of Justice.
According the De Vos, "If the ETV report is correct, it would present Simelane with his first real test. Will he act in the interest of justice with an eye towards securing the credibility of the NPA and the criminal justice system or will other factors persuade him to intervene in this matter? Only time will tell."
Source: Constitutionally Speaking
In his article, he refers to section 179 of the South African Constitution and prosecution policy agreed to between the NDPP and the Minister of Justice.
According the De Vos, "If the ETV report is correct, it would present Simelane with his first real test. Will he act in the interest of justice with an eye towards securing the credibility of the NPA and the criminal justice system or will other factors persuade him to intervene in this matter? Only time will tell."
Source: Constitutionally Speaking
‘We do not know where we belong’
ABDIRIZAK Abdullahi came to South Africa five years ago with only one dream – to live in peace away from the war, violence and terror in his homeland Somalia. But for the past 10 months Abdullahi and 179 fellow refugees have been living under “inhumane” conditions at the Riet Family Guidance Centre in Randfontein on the West Rand. They are forgotten refugees, displaced victims of the 2008 xenophobia attacks. Riet was supposed to provide temporary shelter for four months.
Their host, Ivan Kortje, the executive director of the centre, no longer wants them there but when he tried to have them removed last July he was stopped by a court interdict. He still does not know when they will leave. In the meantime, those who are supposed to be responsible are passing the buck.
Like thousands in his position, Abdullahi had to leave his home and belongings in Akasia, Pretoria, after the outbreak of xenophobic violence, which left 60 people dead and about 10000 foreigners displaced. He says: “When we were forced to run from our homes because of the violence, it reminded me of the time I left Somalia without my family. The war was raging and I left them there. I don’t know if they are still alive today.” The one thing he knows for sure, however, is that he wants to leave South Africa. Soon. In fact, he and a group of fellow Somali refugees attempted to do that last year but ended up in jail . Said Abdullahi: “We hired a few cars to cross into Botswana but when we arrived on the other side, we were arrested by Botswana police.” After unsuccessfully trying to negotiate with the Botswana and South African authorities, the group returned to South Africa and were shifted from one makeshift refugee camp to another.
Abdullahi spent 10 months in an Akasia camp. Then he and hundreds of others were moved to the Carroll Shaw Memorial Shelter in March last year. They stayed there for a month and were moved to Riet. Abdullahi says it has been a horrible experience since he fled his home in Pretoria. He reserves particularly harsh words for the United Nations high commissioner for refugees. “The UN brought us here but they have abandoned us. We have been sitting here hopeless. We can’t even leave the centre because we could get arrested for not having the proper papers,” he said. The conditions at the centre are atrocious. Their living quarters are in a squalid condition.
Sanitation is inadequate since all 179 people – including women and a number of new-born babies – have to share three toilets. There is one shower, without hot water. The sewerage system is dilapidated. Puddles of soapy water have formed in the entrance to the toilets. The refugees complain bitterly about the mosquitoes. Inside the sleeping quarters people are forced to sleep on the cold floor with a few blankets. Congolese refugee Mariah Mwala said Kortje took away the beds they were sleeping on seven months ago.
Kortje confirmed this. “They are not supposed to be here because they are not our responsibility,” he said. He said the government should take responsibility for the refugees because the centre was meant for abused women and children. Mwala showed us her tick- infested blankets. The centre does not provide any of the essentials because of what Kortje calls “budget constraints”. The saddest sight was seeing three new-born babies living under such harsh conditions. Their parents have not been able to access social grants for them because they do not have the correct refugee papers.
Jason Brickhill of the Legal Resources Centre, which blocked the removal of the refugees from the centre last year with a court interdict, said they were no closer to helping the refugees. The refugees are currently undergoing a series of interviews to assess their suitability for resettlement in other countries. Brickhill said the interviews would focus on the refugees’ personal details, skills, qualifications as well as to verify their status. Only after the interviews are completed will the UNHCR be able to approach countries willing to host them.
Abdi Farah, who also came to the country five years ago with Abdullahi, has almost lost hope. “We don’t know where we belong. Only God can help us now,” he says.
Source: The Sowetan
Their host, Ivan Kortje, the executive director of the centre, no longer wants them there but when he tried to have them removed last July he was stopped by a court interdict. He still does not know when they will leave. In the meantime, those who are supposed to be responsible are passing the buck.
Like thousands in his position, Abdullahi had to leave his home and belongings in Akasia, Pretoria, after the outbreak of xenophobic violence, which left 60 people dead and about 10000 foreigners displaced. He says: “When we were forced to run from our homes because of the violence, it reminded me of the time I left Somalia without my family. The war was raging and I left them there. I don’t know if they are still alive today.” The one thing he knows for sure, however, is that he wants to leave South Africa. Soon. In fact, he and a group of fellow Somali refugees attempted to do that last year but ended up in jail . Said Abdullahi: “We hired a few cars to cross into Botswana but when we arrived on the other side, we were arrested by Botswana police.” After unsuccessfully trying to negotiate with the Botswana and South African authorities, the group returned to South Africa and were shifted from one makeshift refugee camp to another.
Abdullahi spent 10 months in an Akasia camp. Then he and hundreds of others were moved to the Carroll Shaw Memorial Shelter in March last year. They stayed there for a month and were moved to Riet. Abdullahi says it has been a horrible experience since he fled his home in Pretoria. He reserves particularly harsh words for the United Nations high commissioner for refugees. “The UN brought us here but they have abandoned us. We have been sitting here hopeless. We can’t even leave the centre because we could get arrested for not having the proper papers,” he said. The conditions at the centre are atrocious. Their living quarters are in a squalid condition.
Sanitation is inadequate since all 179 people – including women and a number of new-born babies – have to share three toilets. There is one shower, without hot water. The sewerage system is dilapidated. Puddles of soapy water have formed in the entrance to the toilets. The refugees complain bitterly about the mosquitoes. Inside the sleeping quarters people are forced to sleep on the cold floor with a few blankets. Congolese refugee Mariah Mwala said Kortje took away the beds they were sleeping on seven months ago.
Kortje confirmed this. “They are not supposed to be here because they are not our responsibility,” he said. He said the government should take responsibility for the refugees because the centre was meant for abused women and children. Mwala showed us her tick- infested blankets. The centre does not provide any of the essentials because of what Kortje calls “budget constraints”. The saddest sight was seeing three new-born babies living under such harsh conditions. Their parents have not been able to access social grants for them because they do not have the correct refugee papers.
Jason Brickhill of the Legal Resources Centre, which blocked the removal of the refugees from the centre last year with a court interdict, said they were no closer to helping the refugees. The refugees are currently undergoing a series of interviews to assess their suitability for resettlement in other countries. Brickhill said the interviews would focus on the refugees’ personal details, skills, qualifications as well as to verify their status. Only after the interviews are completed will the UNHCR be able to approach countries willing to host them.
Abdi Farah, who also came to the country five years ago with Abdullahi, has almost lost hope. “We don’t know where we belong. Only God can help us now,” he says.
Source: The Sowetan
Promote white cop, SAPS told
In a landmark affirmative action case on Friday the Labour Court ruled that the South African Police Service should promote captain Renate Barnard to superintendent. Trade union Solidarity, on behalf of Barnard, approached the Labour Court to ensure Barnard's promotion. The court found in favour of Solidarity and Barnard and ordered the SA Police Service to pay the applicant's costs.
Solidarity general secretary Dirk Hermann said the judgment was a victory for all South Africans. "We are absolutely delighted. The judgment brought about a new direction in affirmative action," he said after the judgment was handed down. "This means for the police service that merit is also critical for affirmative action."Barnard, at the time of the dispute, was responsible for investigating priority and ordinary complaints against the SA Police service.
In 2005 a superintendent level position was created by the police to improve service to the public in view of handling complaints. In that year Barnard and six other applicants applied for the position. An interview panel gave her 86,7 percent for the interview and recommended her unanimously. "Captain Barnard was 17,5 percent better than the next applicant from the designated group. In view of this fact the interview panel recommended that should she not get the position, it will adversely affect service delivery," Hermann said.
However the SAPS divisional commissioner recommended that the position not be filled saying that her appointment would not promote representation. This, said Hermann, was despite the fact that Barnard was a woman and therefore part of the designated group in terms of the Employment Equity Act. After pursuing internal grievance procedures without success the case was referred to the Labour Court. Barnard, on Friday, wearing a teal ankle length dress told reporters outside the court how happy the ruling had made her. "It was not an easy road, but I am so relieved," she said. "Thank you to my father in heaven and to Solidarity."
The judgment stipulated that she would be promoted to the post of superintendent with effect from July 2006.
Source: IoL
Solidarity general secretary Dirk Hermann said the judgment was a victory for all South Africans. "We are absolutely delighted. The judgment brought about a new direction in affirmative action," he said after the judgment was handed down. "This means for the police service that merit is also critical for affirmative action."Barnard, at the time of the dispute, was responsible for investigating priority and ordinary complaints against the SA Police service.
In 2005 a superintendent level position was created by the police to improve service to the public in view of handling complaints. In that year Barnard and six other applicants applied for the position. An interview panel gave her 86,7 percent for the interview and recommended her unanimously. "Captain Barnard was 17,5 percent better than the next applicant from the designated group. In view of this fact the interview panel recommended that should she not get the position, it will adversely affect service delivery," Hermann said.
However the SAPS divisional commissioner recommended that the position not be filled saying that her appointment would not promote representation. This, said Hermann, was despite the fact that Barnard was a woman and therefore part of the designated group in terms of the Employment Equity Act. After pursuing internal grievance procedures without success the case was referred to the Labour Court. Barnard, on Friday, wearing a teal ankle length dress told reporters outside the court how happy the ruling had made her. "It was not an easy road, but I am so relieved," she said. "Thank you to my father in heaven and to Solidarity."
The judgment stipulated that she would be promoted to the post of superintendent with effect from July 2006.
Source: IoL
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Blue light victim to sue cops
The Cape Town man who was arrested for gesturing at President Jacob Zuma's blue light convoy is pressing ahead with a damages claim against the police, his lawyer said on Thursday. "This claim will be instituted in the high court and counsel has been briefed accordingly," said Port Elizabeth attorney Neil O'Brien. He also said the student, Chumani Maxwele, had been told by police to make a written apology to Zuma, and had not done so voluntarily.
Maxwele was arrested on February 10 by members of Zuma's VIP protection unit after gesturing - according to police, with his middle finger - at the convoy as it passed him on a Cape Town road. He was held overnight and released without being charged. Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa later released a sworn statement in which Maxwele apologised to Zuma and the police. However, O'Brien said that according to Maxwele, the "apology" was written on the instruction of a member of the police at the Mowbray police station. This was while he was still in detention, and after he had been denied the opportunity to contact an attorney. "Our client was told by the said member to write anything that would justify his release, and was promised that he would then be detained only for a few more hours," O' Brien said. "Our client was further told to insert at the end of the letter the following apology, to facilitate his release: 'Mr President JG Zuma, without any conditions attached, I apologise to you as well as to the Republic of South Africa'."
O'Brien said that for a charge of crimen injuria against Zuma to stand, Zuma himself would have to have been aware of and offended by Maxwele's behaviour. "In light of the fact that the president has denied any knowledge of the incident, there can be no question of any impairment of his dignity." Maxwele denied having criminal "records" for common assault and riotous behaviour. Though he had been charged with those offences, both charges were withdrawn.
Maxwele also denied pointing his middle finger at the president's convoy. "Our client merely waved the convoy on in response to the noise made by them," O'Brien said.
Maxwele was arrested on February 10 by members of Zuma's VIP protection unit after gesturing - according to police, with his middle finger - at the convoy as it passed him on a Cape Town road. He was held overnight and released without being charged. Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa later released a sworn statement in which Maxwele apologised to Zuma and the police. However, O'Brien said that according to Maxwele, the "apology" was written on the instruction of a member of the police at the Mowbray police station. This was while he was still in detention, and after he had been denied the opportunity to contact an attorney. "Our client was told by the said member to write anything that would justify his release, and was promised that he would then be detained only for a few more hours," O' Brien said. "Our client was further told to insert at the end of the letter the following apology, to facilitate his release: 'Mr President JG Zuma, without any conditions attached, I apologise to you as well as to the Republic of South Africa'."
O'Brien said that for a charge of crimen injuria against Zuma to stand, Zuma himself would have to have been aware of and offended by Maxwele's behaviour. "In light of the fact that the president has denied any knowledge of the incident, there can be no question of any impairment of his dignity." Maxwele denied having criminal "records" for common assault and riotous behaviour. Though he had been charged with those offences, both charges were withdrawn.
Maxwele also denied pointing his middle finger at the president's convoy. "Our client merely waved the convoy on in response to the noise made by them," O'Brien said.
Teenager jailed for 15 years after using Facebook to blackmail seven students into sex
An American teenager has been sentenced to 15 years in jail after posing as a girl on Facebook to blackmail seven classmates into sex. Anthony Stancl, 19, of Wisconsin, was accused of tricking more than 30 male classmates into sending him naked photos of themselves. He then used the photos as blackmail, threatening to post them online unless the students had sex with him. He forced at least seven of them into some sort of sexual activity with him in encounters that he documented with a mobile phone. Up to 300 photographs of underage males, some as young as 15, were found on Stancl's computer, police said. He had pleaded to two charges, including the repeated sexual assault of a child.
The investigation began after a 16-year-old boy told authorities he was being blackmailed into sex acts with Stancl. The boy, then 15, had exchanged explicit pictures of himself online with 'Kayla,' who later threatened to spread his picture throughout the school unless he agreed to the acts with Stancl. Stancl photographed those encounters, giving him fodder for further blackmail, detectives said. The boy agreed to at least four sex acts, but when 'Kayla' asked him for a nude photo of his brother he went to his parents and the police. Police identified 31 victims, each of whom exchanged nude photographs or videos with someone they thought was a female. More than half said the person with whom they communicated threatened to release the images unless they agreed to let the person's male friend perform sex acts on them.
The investigation overlapped with a separate case in which Stancl was accused of writing a bomb threat on a bathroom wall at the school in November 2008. He followed it up with an anonymous e-mail to two teachers that said, 'Good luck tomorrow. Boom.' Stancl admitted to detectives he sent the e-mail from the public library under a false identity. A charge of causing a bomb scare was among those dismissed as part of Stancl's plea agreement. Stancl showed no emotion yesterday as the sentence was handed down. He had faced up to 30 years in jail. Earlier, he told the court that he now empathises with what his victims went through.
Source: Daily Mail
The investigation began after a 16-year-old boy told authorities he was being blackmailed into sex acts with Stancl. The boy, then 15, had exchanged explicit pictures of himself online with 'Kayla,' who later threatened to spread his picture throughout the school unless he agreed to the acts with Stancl. Stancl photographed those encounters, giving him fodder for further blackmail, detectives said. The boy agreed to at least four sex acts, but when 'Kayla' asked him for a nude photo of his brother he went to his parents and the police. Police identified 31 victims, each of whom exchanged nude photographs or videos with someone they thought was a female. More than half said the person with whom they communicated threatened to release the images unless they agreed to let the person's male friend perform sex acts on them.
The investigation overlapped with a separate case in which Stancl was accused of writing a bomb threat on a bathroom wall at the school in November 2008. He followed it up with an anonymous e-mail to two teachers that said, 'Good luck tomorrow. Boom.' Stancl admitted to detectives he sent the e-mail from the public library under a false identity. A charge of causing a bomb scare was among those dismissed as part of Stancl's plea agreement. Stancl showed no emotion yesterday as the sentence was handed down. He had faced up to 30 years in jail. Earlier, he told the court that he now empathises with what his victims went through.
Source: Daily Mail
Malema woes worsen - 4 firms not on CIDB database
NONE of the four companies owned or directed by ANC Youth League president Julius Malema is registered with the Construction Industry Development Board. This means that Limpopo municipalities that gave him tenders did so illegally. They did not check with the CIDB before awarding the tenders. The CIDB is the construction industry regulatory body whose board reports to the minister of public works. SGL Engineering Projects, 101 JunJus Trading, Blue Nightingale Trading 61 and Ever Roaring Investments, of which Malema is a co-director, were not on CIDB’s database.
The CIDB was established through the Construction Industry Development Board Act No 38 of 2000.
“Public institutions are responsible for making sure that the companies they award tenders to are graded and regulated by the CIDB,” said spokesperson Katli Molise. According to the Act, no contractor may undertake, carry out or complete any construction works for public sector contracts, awarded in terms of competitive tender or quotation, unless he or she is registered with the CIDB and holds a valid registration certificate issued by the CIDB.
The CIDB requires employers of private and public sector projects to apply to the CIDB for the registration of a construction project within two working days from the date that the contractor’s offer to perform the construction work is accepted by the employer. Every organ of state must, subject to the policy on procurement, apply to the registrar of contractors. CIDB spokesperson Kotli Molise said it was up to a public institution to make sure that its contractors were graded by the CIDB. “Anyone can undertake to provide a construction service to a public institution, but they must comply with industry regulations,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Limpopo government will not take action against any municipalities that had allegedly given tenders to Malema before receiving a formal complaint. A weekend newspaper reported that Malema had benefited in tenders from several municipalities in the province. This was followed by allegations that Malema had got the tenders illegally by intimidating mayors and municipal managers that if they did not tow the line they would be fired. But Phuti Mosomane, spokesperson for Limpopo premier Cassel Mathale, said for as long as there had been no formal complaint lodged by anyone, then there would be no need for the government to act. “We have not received any formal complaint about the allegations of issuing of tenders illegally and there is no basis for us to act,” said Mosomane. He further challenged those with evidence to come forward. Asked if they did not care about government resources being looted in public view, Mosomane could only say “that does not arise because we are not aware of any irregularities being performed in any of our institutions”.
Sello Moloto, leader of the Cope in the Limpopo legislature, said they would lodge a complaint with MEC for local government and housing Soviet Lekganyane. His department is responsible for municipalities.
Source: The Sowetan
The CIDB was established through the Construction Industry Development Board Act No 38 of 2000.
“Public institutions are responsible for making sure that the companies they award tenders to are graded and regulated by the CIDB,” said spokesperson Katli Molise. According to the Act, no contractor may undertake, carry out or complete any construction works for public sector contracts, awarded in terms of competitive tender or quotation, unless he or she is registered with the CIDB and holds a valid registration certificate issued by the CIDB.
The CIDB requires employers of private and public sector projects to apply to the CIDB for the registration of a construction project within two working days from the date that the contractor’s offer to perform the construction work is accepted by the employer. Every organ of state must, subject to the policy on procurement, apply to the registrar of contractors. CIDB spokesperson Kotli Molise said it was up to a public institution to make sure that its contractors were graded by the CIDB. “Anyone can undertake to provide a construction service to a public institution, but they must comply with industry regulations,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Limpopo government will not take action against any municipalities that had allegedly given tenders to Malema before receiving a formal complaint. A weekend newspaper reported that Malema had benefited in tenders from several municipalities in the province. This was followed by allegations that Malema had got the tenders illegally by intimidating mayors and municipal managers that if they did not tow the line they would be fired. But Phuti Mosomane, spokesperson for Limpopo premier Cassel Mathale, said for as long as there had been no formal complaint lodged by anyone, then there would be no need for the government to act. “We have not received any formal complaint about the allegations of issuing of tenders illegally and there is no basis for us to act,” said Mosomane. He further challenged those with evidence to come forward. Asked if they did not care about government resources being looted in public view, Mosomane could only say “that does not arise because we are not aware of any irregularities being performed in any of our institutions”.
Sello Moloto, leader of the Cope in the Limpopo legislature, said they would lodge a complaint with MEC for local government and housing Soviet Lekganyane. His department is responsible for municipalities.
Source: The Sowetan
30-minute hijacking rampage
According to a report on Independant Online news, the Verwoerdpark Community Police Forum (VCPF) confronted a hijacking gang in Alberton, who were in the process of a 30-minute armed hijacking spree. A road chase develped, but the unarmed VCPF gave up the chase after the hijackers fired at them.
It is alarming that, according to the report, during the 30-minutes spree, in which the hijackers managed to hijack 3 vehicles, the participation of the SAPS appears to have been absent. It is reported that the police were later able to track one of the vehicles, and that it was the first time they had "experienced" mulitple hijackings by a single gang in such a short persion of time. For the VCPF, a member is said to have reported: "For many of us, being shot at for the first time was a bit of a wake-up call"
Source: IoL
It is alarming that, according to the report, during the 30-minutes spree, in which the hijackers managed to hijack 3 vehicles, the participation of the SAPS appears to have been absent. It is reported that the police were later able to track one of the vehicles, and that it was the first time they had "experienced" mulitple hijackings by a single gang in such a short persion of time. For the VCPF, a member is said to have reported: "For many of us, being shot at for the first time was a bit of a wake-up call"
Source: IoL
Malema compared to Hitler
The ANC Youth League said yesterday it had "closed the debate" on its leader Julius Malema's allegedly making millions off the government, while the SACP in the Western Cape likened him to a modern-day Hitler and a demagogue who looted state resources.
The Western Cape SACP said that by blaming the leaders of the ANC's Left allies for leaking information to the media about his business dealings, Malema was using the same tactics employed by Hitler in Nazi Germany, who besmirched communists when he sought right-wing support for his destructive programmes. Provincial secretary Khaya Magaxa said: "Malema as a right-wing chauvinist demagogue like Hitler makes noise appealing to the emotions of ordinary poor people in order to advance the agenda to loot state resources in a very poor province and poor municipalities in Limpopo."
Malema made a number of allegations while attempting to clear his name, claiming he had intelligence information "proving" the existence of a Sars hit list targeting lifestyle audits of top politicians who supported President Jacob Zuma's rise to power. According to the Mercury, the document was compiled by a former Sars employee. Michael Peega, 34, of Pretoria, who last year claimed he was part of secret Sars intelligence unit. Opposition parties are now demanding answers as to how Malema could come into possession of classified state information.
The Mercury reported this week that Malema bought his Sandown, Joburg, home last year for R3,6-million, and got a bond from Absa for only R1,5m. It also reported that the R1m home he bought in Limpopo in 2007 was - according to deeds office records - paid for in cash. Malema's claims that these homes were bonded are at odds with deeds office records. Malema could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Source: IoL
The Western Cape SACP said that by blaming the leaders of the ANC's Left allies for leaking information to the media about his business dealings, Malema was using the same tactics employed by Hitler in Nazi Germany, who besmirched communists when he sought right-wing support for his destructive programmes. Provincial secretary Khaya Magaxa said: "Malema as a right-wing chauvinist demagogue like Hitler makes noise appealing to the emotions of ordinary poor people in order to advance the agenda to loot state resources in a very poor province and poor municipalities in Limpopo."
Malema made a number of allegations while attempting to clear his name, claiming he had intelligence information "proving" the existence of a Sars hit list targeting lifestyle audits of top politicians who supported President Jacob Zuma's rise to power. According to the Mercury, the document was compiled by a former Sars employee. Michael Peega, 34, of Pretoria, who last year claimed he was part of secret Sars intelligence unit. Opposition parties are now demanding answers as to how Malema could come into possession of classified state information.
The Mercury reported this week that Malema bought his Sandown, Joburg, home last year for R3,6-million, and got a bond from Absa for only R1,5m. It also reported that the R1m home he bought in Limpopo in 2007 was - according to deeds office records - paid for in cash. Malema's claims that these homes were bonded are at odds with deeds office records. Malema could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Source: IoL
Constitutional Court upholds pardons decision
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday upheld a high court decision interdicting the president from granting pardons to perpetrators of political violence without first consulting victims.
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) member Ryna Albutt appealed against the decision in the Constitutional Court after it was handed down in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on April 29 2009. Albutt applied for pardon under a special dispensation introduced by former president Thabo Mbeki in 2007.
In a unanimous judgement, Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo found that the exercise of the power to grant pardon had to be rationally related to its purpose. Mbeki had hoped the special dispensation would achieve national unity and national reconciliation and said he would be guided by the criteria, principles and spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) amnesty process, Ngcobo noted. He held that, given the country's history, victim participation was the only rational means of contributing to national reconciliation and national unity.
Victims had to be given an opportunity to participate to determine the facts on which the pardon was based. Ngcobo emphasised that the court's finding applied only to pardons brought under the special dispensation and not to any other categories. He dismissed the appeal with costs.
The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation approached the high court for relief after Mbeki established the special dispensation process for applications by people convicted of politically motivated crimes, but who did not take part in the TRC. Mbeki established a Pardons Reference Group (PRG) on which each political party in Parliament was represented. The PRG was formally constituted on January 18 2008. It considered 2 114 applications for pardons and made recommendations to the president. From February 2008 to March 2009, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and other non-governmental organisations unsuccessfully tried to ensure victim participation, greater transparency and public disclosure. They then brought the high court application, which was found in their favour.
Albutt, who was jailed for an attack on black residents in Kuruman in Northern Cape, was joined in his challenge of the high court decision by the president and the justice minister.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) member Ryna Albutt appealed against the decision in the Constitutional Court after it was handed down in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on April 29 2009. Albutt applied for pardon under a special dispensation introduced by former president Thabo Mbeki in 2007.
In a unanimous judgement, Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo found that the exercise of the power to grant pardon had to be rationally related to its purpose. Mbeki had hoped the special dispensation would achieve national unity and national reconciliation and said he would be guided by the criteria, principles and spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) amnesty process, Ngcobo noted. He held that, given the country's history, victim participation was the only rational means of contributing to national reconciliation and national unity.
Victims had to be given an opportunity to participate to determine the facts on which the pardon was based. Ngcobo emphasised that the court's finding applied only to pardons brought under the special dispensation and not to any other categories. He dismissed the appeal with costs.
The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation approached the high court for relief after Mbeki established the special dispensation process for applications by people convicted of politically motivated crimes, but who did not take part in the TRC. Mbeki established a Pardons Reference Group (PRG) on which each political party in Parliament was represented. The PRG was formally constituted on January 18 2008. It considered 2 114 applications for pardons and made recommendations to the president. From February 2008 to March 2009, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and other non-governmental organisations unsuccessfully tried to ensure victim participation, greater transparency and public disclosure. They then brought the high court application, which was found in their favour.
Albutt, who was jailed for an attack on black residents in Kuruman in Northern Cape, was joined in his challenge of the high court decision by the president and the justice minister.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
VIP unit member is sentenced to two years
A MAGISTRATE presiding over a case of an SAPS VIP unit member yesterday took an unprecedented route by inviting the family of a man killed by the officer in a road accident to participate in determining a proper sentence.
Magistrate Mothilall Bissessar had found Constable Johannes Ramalope guilty of culpable homicide after the death of Kyle Harris in an accident at the intersection of Hendrik Potgieter and Jim Fouche roads in Roodepoort in June 2008.
Harris, a graduate from a medical school, was ready to start his career.
Bissessar hinted that the accident was a mistake, and was considering giving Ramalope a suspended sentence or a fine. He said Ramalope was young, had a bonded house and was a community worker while he had to satisfy the family who wanted a just sentence. After deliberation, he sentenced him to a two-year prison term suspended for five years.
Source: The Sowetan
Magistrate Mothilall Bissessar had found Constable Johannes Ramalope guilty of culpable homicide after the death of Kyle Harris in an accident at the intersection of Hendrik Potgieter and Jim Fouche roads in Roodepoort in June 2008.
Harris, a graduate from a medical school, was ready to start his career.
Bissessar hinted that the accident was a mistake, and was considering giving Ramalope a suspended sentence or a fine. He said Ramalope was young, had a bonded house and was a community worker while he had to satisfy the family who wanted a just sentence. After deliberation, he sentenced him to a two-year prison term suspended for five years.
Source: The Sowetan
Council jobs sold for cash
A MUSINA councillor and a former municipality employee have been arrested for allegedly selling Limpopo government jobs and possessing an illegal firearm. Musina police spokes-person Inspector Sydney Ringane said the two were arrested on Monday after a police investigation linked them to fraudulent activities. He said the two were investigated by the crime intelligence unit after they were suspected of charging money for government jobs.
Ringane said the former council employee, who worked as a human resources officer, resigned his position as when he realise d police were investigating him. The councillor, however, seems to have been oblivious of his pending arrest. Municipal spokesperson Wilson Dzebu confirmed the arrests but refused to be drawn into revealing details.
According to police, the arrests come weeks after job seekers were allegedly forced to bribe a council official so that they could be hired for an advertised road traffic police training programme. The traffic training programme is a government initiative aimed at poverty alleviation. The programme is aimed at people from very poor backgrounds and communities. But officials in Musina allegedly abuse the system for personal gain and force eligible beneficiaries to pay a sum of R1000 to be considered for the programme.
Police said the suspects were still waiting to be charged yesterday, while further allegations of elephant tusk smuggling surfaced against the two as well.
Source: The Sowetan
Ringane said the former council employee, who worked as a human resources officer, resigned his position as when he realise d police were investigating him. The councillor, however, seems to have been oblivious of his pending arrest. Municipal spokesperson Wilson Dzebu confirmed the arrests but refused to be drawn into revealing details.
According to police, the arrests come weeks after job seekers were allegedly forced to bribe a council official so that they could be hired for an advertised road traffic police training programme. The traffic training programme is a government initiative aimed at poverty alleviation. The programme is aimed at people from very poor backgrounds and communities. But officials in Musina allegedly abuse the system for personal gain and force eligible beneficiaries to pay a sum of R1000 to be considered for the programme.
Police said the suspects were still waiting to be charged yesterday, while further allegations of elephant tusk smuggling surfaced against the two as well.
Source: The Sowetan
Malema got tenders illegally– Moloto
FORMER Limpopo premier Sello Moloto says ANCYL president Julius Malema got government tenders in the province illegally. In an escalating war of words between the two sworn enemies and former comrades, Moloto alleged that Malema got the tenders by intimidating mayors and municipal managers. Moloto, now a Cope Limpopo MPL, said he could not have given any tenders to Malema under dubious circumstances. “It is obvious that Malema had been getting the tenders illegally. “He (Malema) got those tenders by intimidating mayors and municipal managers that they would lose their jobs if they did not approve the appointments of his companies,” he said. “Actually, since 2007 Malema used President Jacob Zuma’s campaign to intimidate everybody to give him tenders and that thing is continuing even now. “He said it publicly that he was working on a phone call by instructing people to give him tenders. People were told if they did not support Zuma they would not get tenders or government jobs,” Moloto said. He also said he was not upset by Malema’s comments. “I am not shaken, I got a breather last year when I went to Cope.” He said Malema hated him with a passion “based on the insults he has been hurling at me each time he is given air time on radio stations”.
Last night Malema reacted angrily to Moloto’s claims. “His allegations are unfounded. He was chairperson and premier and he had every right to take action against me if I intimidated anyone. Moloto is useless and a loser and he will go to his grave a loser.”
Moloto confirmed that he had put questions to the legislature based on villagers’ complaints that some projects were not being completed. He said it was a coincidence that the companies’ performance they were asked to look into had links to Malema. “We are not after Malema. It could have been any other person. It was not about Julius.”
Last night Malema reacted angrily to Moloto’s claims. “His allegations are unfounded. He was chairperson and premier and he had every right to take action against me if I intimidated anyone. Moloto is useless and a loser and he will go to his grave a loser.”
Moloto confirmed that he had put questions to the legislature based on villagers’ complaints that some projects were not being completed. He said it was a coincidence that the companies’ performance they were asked to look into had links to Malema. “We are not after Malema. It could have been any other person. It was not about Julius.”
Malema and the spy papers
Julius Malema's "intelligence document" was compiled by a former Sars employee - who is facing criminal charges but insists he was part of a sting operation. In an interview with the media following revelations of his business interests, Malema said he was in possession of a document listing the names of prominent political leaders who backed President Jacob Zuma's rise to power and were targeted for lifestyle audits. "I will make (the document) public, we just took it to the police to verify it," Malema told SAfm. He later told Metro FM last night that he would take the document to Zuma. "We received a document delivered in my office by anonymous fellows ... which has a long list of our names. There were instructions to people in Sars to investigate (me and) ... (deputy police minister) Fikile Mbalula and (Zuma's spokesman), Zizi Kodwa," he said.
Mbalula could not be reached, but Kodwa said even though he had not seen the document, he was aware of it. Although a cabinet minister anonymously told The Star last night that the document was "handled at the highest level", Ministry of State Security spokesman Brian Dube said Minister Siyabonga Cwele "does not know what Malema is talking about". Malema told e.tv that the document was compiled by "very senior people in Sars, very senior management, some of them in cabinet today" - a tacit reference to former Sars commissioner and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. Coincidentally, Gordhan called for lifestyle audits in his budget speech last week.
The Star was approached last year by a former Sars employee, Michael Peega, who claimed he was part of a secret intelligence unit in the revenue service established by Gordhan. The Pretoria-based Peega, 34, said Malema was referring to his document. Malema's spokesman, Floyd Shivambu, said they were yet to release the document, but refused to confirm that this was the same Peega report. Peega said part of their brief was to investigate the lifestyles and tax status of senior Zuma supporters. This was during 2007, when the ANC's succession battle reached its apex. Others on Peega's list included national police commissioner Bheki Cele. Cele, through his spokeswoman Nonkululeko Mbatha, said last year that he was aware of the document but had decided to treat it "as rumour". However, Peega was fired by Sars for allegedly getting involved in rhino poaching and is facing criminal charges. He claimed he was part of a sting operation, a claim denied by Sars. The revenue service fired him after he was arrested following an internal disciplinary hearing.
At that time, The Star could not establish the veracity of Peega's claims or Sars's denial. Contacted yesterday, Peega said he stood by the document. "I am not backing off. That's why I want (Sars) to confront me in public to say that this document is not authentic. I am 200 percent behind it," Peega said. Asked about the criminal charges, he said: "The case has not gone to trial, there have been postponements... I maintain what I told you, that (I was part of a sting operation)." Peega said they were given fake IDs to operate and place suspects under surveillance.
Peega, who was initially with the military's special forces, said other recruits in his units included former members of the defunct Scorpions and police. Sars's senior managers at the time dismissed Peega as a disgruntled employee and said the so-called intelligence unit was a legitimate department dealing with organised crime. The taxman showed The Star documents to illustrate that the unit was legitimate, audited and accounted for. Sars said at the time there was a different unit that conducted routine lifestyle audits, and not Peega's department.
Sars spokesman Adrian Lackay told The Star last night: "Sars has a proud record of integrity and applies the law with fairness, with impartiality, and equally to the affairs of all taxpayers."
Source: IoL
Mbalula could not be reached, but Kodwa said even though he had not seen the document, he was aware of it. Although a cabinet minister anonymously told The Star last night that the document was "handled at the highest level", Ministry of State Security spokesman Brian Dube said Minister Siyabonga Cwele "does not know what Malema is talking about". Malema told e.tv that the document was compiled by "very senior people in Sars, very senior management, some of them in cabinet today" - a tacit reference to former Sars commissioner and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. Coincidentally, Gordhan called for lifestyle audits in his budget speech last week.
The Star was approached last year by a former Sars employee, Michael Peega, who claimed he was part of a secret intelligence unit in the revenue service established by Gordhan. The Pretoria-based Peega, 34, said Malema was referring to his document. Malema's spokesman, Floyd Shivambu, said they were yet to release the document, but refused to confirm that this was the same Peega report. Peega said part of their brief was to investigate the lifestyles and tax status of senior Zuma supporters. This was during 2007, when the ANC's succession battle reached its apex. Others on Peega's list included national police commissioner Bheki Cele. Cele, through his spokeswoman Nonkululeko Mbatha, said last year that he was aware of the document but had decided to treat it "as rumour". However, Peega was fired by Sars for allegedly getting involved in rhino poaching and is facing criminal charges. He claimed he was part of a sting operation, a claim denied by Sars. The revenue service fired him after he was arrested following an internal disciplinary hearing.
At that time, The Star could not establish the veracity of Peega's claims or Sars's denial. Contacted yesterday, Peega said he stood by the document. "I am not backing off. That's why I want (Sars) to confront me in public to say that this document is not authentic. I am 200 percent behind it," Peega said. Asked about the criminal charges, he said: "The case has not gone to trial, there have been postponements... I maintain what I told you, that (I was part of a sting operation)." Peega said they were given fake IDs to operate and place suspects under surveillance.
Peega, who was initially with the military's special forces, said other recruits in his units included former members of the defunct Scorpions and police. Sars's senior managers at the time dismissed Peega as a disgruntled employee and said the so-called intelligence unit was a legitimate department dealing with organised crime. The taxman showed The Star documents to illustrate that the unit was legitimate, audited and accounted for. Sars said at the time there was a different unit that conducted routine lifestyle audits, and not Peega's department.
Sars spokesman Adrian Lackay told The Star last night: "Sars has a proud record of integrity and applies the law with fairness, with impartiality, and equally to the affairs of all taxpayers."
Source: IoL
COPE enters Malema spy papers fray
ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema has claimed that he has an "intelligence document" listing the names of prominent political leaders who backed President Jacob Zuma's rise to power, but who are now being targeted to be toppled. Interviewed on SAfm's After Eight Debate radio programme yesterday, Malema further claimed that preliminary investigations by the police had determined that the document was genuine. A probe was now under way, he said. Without naming any of the individuals said to be behind the alleged plot, Malema said intelligence officers had tipped off the youth league about the list and then passed it on to them. He had told Zuma about the existence of the list.
Under attack for his lavish lifestyle and links to companies that reportedly raked in millions through government contracts, Malema said he was the target of a smear campaign for not backing any of the ANC's leftist allies for leadership positions at the party's 2012 elective conference. He said he would not mind Sars conducting a lifestyle audit on him, but would have a problem if one was carried out as a result of political interference - "to further factional interests of certain people in the ANC" or the agendas of opposition parties like COPE, the DA and Independent Democrats. "I am saying so because we've got a document of a list of people - and I will make it public, we just took it to the police to verify it - who must be targeted. These people are still called Zuma people," Malema said.
He said he had told Zuma that KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize was one of the leaders being targeted. Mkhize on Monday denied any conflict of interest over government contracts worth millions of rands awarded to his wife, Dr May Mashego, and his daughter Nokulinda. Malema did not identify the intelligence officers who he claimed had handed over the document to him. "They (intelligence officers) found this to be very unacceptable and they thought they needed to alert us. We had to take it to the police to verify it, and so far we are satisfied with the investigation. "The preliminary report shows that this is an authentic document that deserves to be taken seriously. I told the president (on Monday) 'I will give you that report before I take it anywhere else'," Malema said. "There are still concerted efforts to try and discredit the leadership of the ANC and particularly those that are seen to be in the frontline in defence of President Zuma. "We are dealing with a concoction, a mix masala of a political environment which is polluted and people who have resorted to dirty tricks, and these dirty tricks failed before Polokwane and they will fail even now," said Malema. The DA is now likely to raise questions about Malema's claims in Parliament. DA national youth spokesman Khume Ramulifho said Malema's claim was "deeply problematic". "First, if the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) is giving its intelligence reports to the head of the ANCYL - a party-political position with absolutely no public duties or functions - this constitutes a fundamental conflation of party and state."
If Malema was referring to "some sort of parallel intelligence structure within the ruling party, this too is deeply problematic", Ramulifho said. The country's intelligence structures had been "systematically warped" to serve a number of political agendas in recent years and the immense power they wielded, the possibilities of abuse and the "highly sensitive issues" they dealt with were all reasons why the intelligence services were run by the state and not political parties, he added.
He would be asking DA MP colleague Theo Coetzee to raise the issue in the joint standing committee on intelligence to establish whether "NIA operatives are handing over secret dossiers to the ANCYL", and if so, whether any action was being taken against them. "One way or another, Julius Malema owes the South African public an explanation," he said.
The department of Police could not confirm yesterday whether the document had indeed been brought to the attention of the SAPS, but this was being investigated. Meanwhile, Young Communist League spokeswoman Gugu Ndima has denied her organisation was plotting against Malema.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Under attack for his lavish lifestyle and links to companies that reportedly raked in millions through government contracts, Malema said he was the target of a smear campaign for not backing any of the ANC's leftist allies for leadership positions at the party's 2012 elective conference. He said he would not mind Sars conducting a lifestyle audit on him, but would have a problem if one was carried out as a result of political interference - "to further factional interests of certain people in the ANC" or the agendas of opposition parties like COPE, the DA and Independent Democrats. "I am saying so because we've got a document of a list of people - and I will make it public, we just took it to the police to verify it - who must be targeted. These people are still called Zuma people," Malema said.
He said he had told Zuma that KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize was one of the leaders being targeted. Mkhize on Monday denied any conflict of interest over government contracts worth millions of rands awarded to his wife, Dr May Mashego, and his daughter Nokulinda. Malema did not identify the intelligence officers who he claimed had handed over the document to him. "They (intelligence officers) found this to be very unacceptable and they thought they needed to alert us. We had to take it to the police to verify it, and so far we are satisfied with the investigation. "The preliminary report shows that this is an authentic document that deserves to be taken seriously. I told the president (on Monday) 'I will give you that report before I take it anywhere else'," Malema said. "There are still concerted efforts to try and discredit the leadership of the ANC and particularly those that are seen to be in the frontline in defence of President Zuma. "We are dealing with a concoction, a mix masala of a political environment which is polluted and people who have resorted to dirty tricks, and these dirty tricks failed before Polokwane and they will fail even now," said Malema. The DA is now likely to raise questions about Malema's claims in Parliament. DA national youth spokesman Khume Ramulifho said Malema's claim was "deeply problematic". "First, if the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) is giving its intelligence reports to the head of the ANCYL - a party-political position with absolutely no public duties or functions - this constitutes a fundamental conflation of party and state."
If Malema was referring to "some sort of parallel intelligence structure within the ruling party, this too is deeply problematic", Ramulifho said. The country's intelligence structures had been "systematically warped" to serve a number of political agendas in recent years and the immense power they wielded, the possibilities of abuse and the "highly sensitive issues" they dealt with were all reasons why the intelligence services were run by the state and not political parties, he added.
He would be asking DA MP colleague Theo Coetzee to raise the issue in the joint standing committee on intelligence to establish whether "NIA operatives are handing over secret dossiers to the ANCYL", and if so, whether any action was being taken against them. "One way or another, Julius Malema owes the South African public an explanation," he said.
The department of Police could not confirm yesterday whether the document had indeed been brought to the attention of the SAPS, but this was being investigated. Meanwhile, Young Communist League spokeswoman Gugu Ndima has denied her organisation was plotting against Malema.
Source: Mail & Guardian
ANC must lay down the law on business interests or it will lose our confidence
According to the ANC, its Youth League president, Julius Malema has ‘broken no law' by tendering for state contracts and in so doing becoming a multi-millionaire. Of course they are correct because there is no law which prevents members of political parties or their spouses from doing business with the state. In addition, the ANC has no such internal party regulation. We know also that the ANC itself via its front company, Chancellor House has tendered for and won many lucrative state contracts. There have also been questions swirling around about Minister of Communications, Siphiwe Nyanda's business interests, to name but one other. That the ANC is able to respond in such a narrow, legalistic manner is however unhelpful. It seems entirely contradictory for it to speak out about a culture of acquisition and greed when its office-bearers and members are themselves using the state as the means to accumulate wealth rapaciously. The time has come for the ANC to grasp the nettle of the impact which money is having on the values of the party. Both former secretary-general, Kgalema Motlanthe and now, Gwede Mantashe have pointed this out in different ways and have tried to start a discussion within the party about declaration of members' business interests and conflicts of interest.
It is simple: senior members of the party and office bearers from branch level to national level should declare their business interests and there should be a ban on them or their spouses tendering for government contracts. In addition, the ANC should not be tendering for government contracts via Chancellor House.
Finance minister, Pravin Gordhan talked at length about ‘value for money' in his Budget speech last week. If the ANC does not institute internal party regulation, will the perception not continue to be held that the contracts awarded to Malema's companies were not the best ‘value for money' and were merely granted to his companies, because of who he is and / or undue influence being placed on officials to grant a senior ANC member contracts? One of the major stumbling blocks at local government level has, according to government's own report, been cadre deployment and the use of local government as a source of patronage to members of the ANC. Here is a moment for the ANC to follow its words with actions by creating rules of the game.
In addition, it is also time that government prioritized a centralized database for tenders ensuring full transparency in relation to who won what and who lost out and why?
Cosatu's idea of a ‘lifestyle audit' of ministers is a good one but it might not get us to the bottom of the reason for the excess which marks the lifestyles of many government ministers and party officials. Malema's lifestyle, quite apart from raising questions regarding the sources of his income goes further than simply ‘being bling'. It sheds an uncomfortable light on the shallowness of a political culture which provides a platform for the display of such an embarrassment of riches as a reward for mediocrity.
But there are also other worrying signs of excess around us. The arrest of Chumani Maxwele for raising the middle finger at the President's convoy, is an infringement on all of our right to freedom of expression. Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa has said that the student has laid a complaint and so the legal processes should be followed. This is an insufficient response. From the facts in the public domain, it was the heavy-handedness of the President's VIP unit which caused someone to be arrested - allegations are that a bag was put over his head and his house raided. The headlines seemed very reminiscent of the days when citizens in this country lived in fear of arbitrary police conduct. The moment is over-due for accountability in relation to the ‘blue light brigade' which takes over highways endangering ordinary citizens' lives while transporting politicians. This is a matter for Parliament to exercise oversight on urgently. It should use its powers to call the minister and those within the VIP Unit to account for the incident that day. It is also a matter which the President needs to provide clarity on. Is he aware of the incident which was committed in his name? If he is, does he believe that he is more equal than other citizens in this country? What are his views on the right of every citizen to freedom of expression?
The UCT students who last week protested against Maxwele's arrest were doing the right thing. The excesses of Malema and the President's VIP unit have in common an air of the ‘untouchable' about them. Both are stumbling blocks to the advancement of the right to equality as well as of a culture of accountability and must be resisted.
Source: Polity - Institute for Democracy in South Africa
It is simple: senior members of the party and office bearers from branch level to national level should declare their business interests and there should be a ban on them or their spouses tendering for government contracts. In addition, the ANC should not be tendering for government contracts via Chancellor House.
Finance minister, Pravin Gordhan talked at length about ‘value for money' in his Budget speech last week. If the ANC does not institute internal party regulation, will the perception not continue to be held that the contracts awarded to Malema's companies were not the best ‘value for money' and were merely granted to his companies, because of who he is and / or undue influence being placed on officials to grant a senior ANC member contracts? One of the major stumbling blocks at local government level has, according to government's own report, been cadre deployment and the use of local government as a source of patronage to members of the ANC. Here is a moment for the ANC to follow its words with actions by creating rules of the game.
In addition, it is also time that government prioritized a centralized database for tenders ensuring full transparency in relation to who won what and who lost out and why?
Cosatu's idea of a ‘lifestyle audit' of ministers is a good one but it might not get us to the bottom of the reason for the excess which marks the lifestyles of many government ministers and party officials. Malema's lifestyle, quite apart from raising questions regarding the sources of his income goes further than simply ‘being bling'. It sheds an uncomfortable light on the shallowness of a political culture which provides a platform for the display of such an embarrassment of riches as a reward for mediocrity.
But there are also other worrying signs of excess around us. The arrest of Chumani Maxwele for raising the middle finger at the President's convoy, is an infringement on all of our right to freedom of expression. Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa has said that the student has laid a complaint and so the legal processes should be followed. This is an insufficient response. From the facts in the public domain, it was the heavy-handedness of the President's VIP unit which caused someone to be arrested - allegations are that a bag was put over his head and his house raided. The headlines seemed very reminiscent of the days when citizens in this country lived in fear of arbitrary police conduct. The moment is over-due for accountability in relation to the ‘blue light brigade' which takes over highways endangering ordinary citizens' lives while transporting politicians. This is a matter for Parliament to exercise oversight on urgently. It should use its powers to call the minister and those within the VIP Unit to account for the incident that day. It is also a matter which the President needs to provide clarity on. Is he aware of the incident which was committed in his name? If he is, does he believe that he is more equal than other citizens in this country? What are his views on the right of every citizen to freedom of expression?
The UCT students who last week protested against Maxwele's arrest were doing the right thing. The excesses of Malema and the President's VIP unit have in common an air of the ‘untouchable' about them. Both are stumbling blocks to the advancement of the right to equality as well as of a culture of accountability and must be resisted.
Source: Polity - Institute for Democracy in South Africa
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Mandoza crash car scam
THE crashed car, in which kwaito star Mandoza was found a week ago, has led to the arrests of eight people. The car is registered in the name of a person who lives in Venda, Limpopo. His name is known to Sowetan. The Mini Cooper, in which the injured Mandoza was found, is believed to be registered under a false name.
Eight men were arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in an asset fraud syndicate after the crash. They appeared in court yesterday on fraud charges. The case was postponed to next week. They are Nkululeko Bobo Ncube, 33, (Mandoza’s friend), Dumisani Khumalo, 33, Nhlanhla Khumalo, 33, Danny Maposi, 40, Leesah Rah, 35, Ayanda Dladla, 29, Khumba Sibanda, 31, and Mzwandile Sibanda, 32.
At the crash scene in Weltevreden Park on the West Rand last week Ncube said he owned the car. Hawks spokesperson Musa Zondi said the men allegedly stole people’s identity books, took out loans at banks to buy properties and vehicles that were later resold. Police said Mandoza was in the back seat, while his friend – the alleged owner of the car – arrived on the scene 45 minutes later after the police had called him. Zondi said Mandoza was not linked to the investigation at the moment and was not arrested.
A case of reckless and negligent driving was opened last week. Zondi said asset and identity fraud was of great concern to the Hawks. The main case, he said, was in Silverton, Pretoria. He said it was possible that more people might be arrested as the investigations continued.
Source: The Sowetan
Eight men were arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in an asset fraud syndicate after the crash. They appeared in court yesterday on fraud charges. The case was postponed to next week. They are Nkululeko Bobo Ncube, 33, (Mandoza’s friend), Dumisani Khumalo, 33, Nhlanhla Khumalo, 33, Danny Maposi, 40, Leesah Rah, 35, Ayanda Dladla, 29, Khumba Sibanda, 31, and Mzwandile Sibanda, 32.
At the crash scene in Weltevreden Park on the West Rand last week Ncube said he owned the car. Hawks spokesperson Musa Zondi said the men allegedly stole people’s identity books, took out loans at banks to buy properties and vehicles that were later resold. Police said Mandoza was in the back seat, while his friend – the alleged owner of the car – arrived on the scene 45 minutes later after the police had called him. Zondi said Mandoza was not linked to the investigation at the moment and was not arrested.
A case of reckless and negligent driving was opened last week. Zondi said asset and identity fraud was of great concern to the Hawks. The main case, he said, was in Silverton, Pretoria. He said it was possible that more people might be arrested as the investigations continued.
Source: The Sowetan
Monday, February 22, 2010
Union rejects "Kebble-ism"
The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) on Monday supported a call by the Congress of SA Trade Unions for lifestyle audits of public representatives and leaders, as a "Kebble-ism" had taken root. "This call should be understood within the context of an embedded and deep-seated Kebble-ism within our movement, which hands out largesse in order to secure their own personal accumulation agendas," the union said.
The CWU said many were using the ANC and the state for wealth accumulation and "crass materialism". Its call comes amid a furore over reports that ANC Youth League president Julius Malema has accumulated million of rands from state tenders awarded to a company of which he was a director. "We reject the usage of public offices and leadership positions for ill-gotten wealth and exclusive parties in opulent suburbs by our public representatives and leaders," the union said. "We call on the revolutionary alliance as a leader of society to endorse the lifestyle audit as being called by Cosatu."
The CWU on the secretariat of the alliance to convene an urgent meeting for a political discussion on the development of a framework on lifestyle audits. "No amount of bullying, grandstanding, labelling and rhetorical radicalism should deter the movement from nipping in the bud this cancer of self-enrichment and crass materialism." The CWU welcomed the willingness shown by Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi to volunteer to open his closets "for all and sundry to see that he has nothing to hide". "We wish that all our leaders will emulate this revolutionary gesture by Comrade Vavi. We call on other genuine leaders of the working class and the poor to fear nothing."
Law enforcement agencies must move swiftly on those that are "barking the loudest" as they know exactly what it are that they are hiding, the union said.
Source: Times Live
The CWU said many were using the ANC and the state for wealth accumulation and "crass materialism". Its call comes amid a furore over reports that ANC Youth League president Julius Malema has accumulated million of rands from state tenders awarded to a company of which he was a director. "We reject the usage of public offices and leadership positions for ill-gotten wealth and exclusive parties in opulent suburbs by our public representatives and leaders," the union said. "We call on the revolutionary alliance as a leader of society to endorse the lifestyle audit as being called by Cosatu."
The CWU on the secretariat of the alliance to convene an urgent meeting for a political discussion on the development of a framework on lifestyle audits. "No amount of bullying, grandstanding, labelling and rhetorical radicalism should deter the movement from nipping in the bud this cancer of self-enrichment and crass materialism." The CWU welcomed the willingness shown by Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi to volunteer to open his closets "for all and sundry to see that he has nothing to hide". "We wish that all our leaders will emulate this revolutionary gesture by Comrade Vavi. We call on other genuine leaders of the working class and the poor to fear nothing."
Law enforcement agencies must move swiftly on those that are "barking the loudest" as they know exactly what it are that they are hiding, the union said.
Source: Times Live
I have nothing to hide, says Vavi
Zwelinzima Vavi, the man who called on President Jacob Zuma to introduce a lifestyle audit, says his life is an open book. "I want to lead by example. I have nothing to hide," he said on Sunday. He earns R42 000 a month and takes home R27 000. He pays R10 000 a month bond for his Morningside, Sandton, Joburg, house.
According to a deeds registry search, the house was bought for R2.9 million, and he and his wife have a R2m bond from Standard Bank. "I would not have been able to buy this house on my own; it was combined income from me and my wife," he said. Vavi also gets a housing subsidy from Cosatu. The registry shows Vavi owns a property in Birchacres with his ex-wife, Nikiwe, which they bought in 1995 for R150 000. It was bonded for the full amount and is paid off.
Vavi drives an Audi A6, which Cosatu bought for him four years ago and has no intention of changing it anytime soon.
He is not a director of any lucrative companies, but is a director of the Cosatu-linked Cubah Properties, and non-profit organisations the Chris Hani Institute and the 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee South Africa. He also gets additional income of R8 000 a month from the local organising committee as its director.
Vavi went into fits of laughter when asked about his favourite designer clothing label, saying: "I don't wear labels. I wear African shirts and union attire... "To functions like the Budget speech and opening of Parliament I wear suits."
Vavi said the principle for Cosatu was that ministers should submit to a lifestyle audit. "You will see the difference between a union salary and a minster's. But ministers' salaries are relatively modest compared with those of CEOs, who are doing heinous crime against the economy." His son attends a former Model C school and he pays R300 a month.
Source: IoL
According to a deeds registry search, the house was bought for R2.9 million, and he and his wife have a R2m bond from Standard Bank. "I would not have been able to buy this house on my own; it was combined income from me and my wife," he said. Vavi also gets a housing subsidy from Cosatu. The registry shows Vavi owns a property in Birchacres with his ex-wife, Nikiwe, which they bought in 1995 for R150 000. It was bonded for the full amount and is paid off.
Vavi drives an Audi A6, which Cosatu bought for him four years ago and has no intention of changing it anytime soon.
He is not a director of any lucrative companies, but is a director of the Cosatu-linked Cubah Properties, and non-profit organisations the Chris Hani Institute and the 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee South Africa. He also gets additional income of R8 000 a month from the local organising committee as its director.
Vavi went into fits of laughter when asked about his favourite designer clothing label, saying: "I don't wear labels. I wear African shirts and union attire... "To functions like the Budget speech and opening of Parliament I wear suits."
Vavi said the principle for Cosatu was that ministers should submit to a lifestyle audit. "You will see the difference between a union salary and a minster's. But ministers' salaries are relatively modest compared with those of CEOs, who are doing heinous crime against the economy." His son attends a former Model C school and he pays R300 a month.
Source: IoL
'Stop blaming apartheid for corruption'
Lax and corrupt public officials should stop blaming apartheid for their misdeeds, a senior government official has been quoted as saying in the ANC journal, Umrabulo, featured in The Sunday Independent. "Apartheid cannot be blamed every time some among them fail to discharge their responsibilities or get involved in corruption," said the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba.
Gigaba, who is also an ANC national executive committee member, said laxity in executing public service duty constituted corruption, but this could not be blamed on apartheid. "Most of the public servants employed in government today are not from the apartheid era, but were engaged during the democratic dispensation," he said.
Apartheid was inherently corrupt because it "was founded upon a corrupt value system that supported, spawned and was itself, in turn, sustained by corruption". "Sure, the legacy of apartheid could be blamed, but for how long?" he said.
Gigaba also rejected the argument that poverty caused corruption. "Even where they participate in corrupt activities, the poor are often the victims rather than the propellers of corruption." "Corruption is, after all, a conscious abuse of power for personal enrichment by those who have such power," he said. "The largest incidents of corruption in the public service occur among the senior management services among those that earn satisfactory salaries; where large accounts and budgets are controlled, and decisions taken. "It is at this level that huge tenders and contracts are issued and where kickbacks are often demanded for contracts and offered."
Gigaba called for a new type of public servant who could manage the conflict between private and public interest. Public servants' private business projects should not interfere with their duties as public officials. "We need to prevent and punish what is morally wrong and to encourage and reward all that is morally right," he said. "There is a need for the establishment of a professional meritocratic public service that is able to uphold the values and principles of democracy, good governance and Ubuntu, whilst sharing the ideology of development."
Gigaba's words come amid a series of service delivery protests - the latest in Siyathemba township in Balfour, Mpumalanga.
Source: IoL
Gigaba, who is also an ANC national executive committee member, said laxity in executing public service duty constituted corruption, but this could not be blamed on apartheid. "Most of the public servants employed in government today are not from the apartheid era, but were engaged during the democratic dispensation," he said.
Apartheid was inherently corrupt because it "was founded upon a corrupt value system that supported, spawned and was itself, in turn, sustained by corruption". "Sure, the legacy of apartheid could be blamed, but for how long?" he said.
Gigaba also rejected the argument that poverty caused corruption. "Even where they participate in corrupt activities, the poor are often the victims rather than the propellers of corruption." "Corruption is, after all, a conscious abuse of power for personal enrichment by those who have such power," he said. "The largest incidents of corruption in the public service occur among the senior management services among those that earn satisfactory salaries; where large accounts and budgets are controlled, and decisions taken. "It is at this level that huge tenders and contracts are issued and where kickbacks are often demanded for contracts and offered."
Gigaba called for a new type of public servant who could manage the conflict between private and public interest. Public servants' private business projects should not interfere with their duties as public officials. "We need to prevent and punish what is morally wrong and to encourage and reward all that is morally right," he said. "There is a need for the establishment of a professional meritocratic public service that is able to uphold the values and principles of democracy, good governance and Ubuntu, whilst sharing the ideology of development."
Gigaba's words come amid a series of service delivery protests - the latest in Siyathemba township in Balfour, Mpumalanga.
Source: IoL
Masking the enemy within
For two weeks the African National Congress (ANC) came face to face with the enemy within -- the contradictions within the glorious movement. It had to deal with a president who most ANC members would defend to the bitter end but who constantly springs surprises on them -- the most recent of which was a love child and an extramarital affair.
The party did its best to mop up the worst of the mess, but made it clear to Zuma that the ANC was gatvol and had reached its limit. ANC leaders refused to rush to his defence as they usually do, instead grinding their teeth in an uncomfortable silence that surrounded the party on this issue.
ANC MPs could not hide their discomfort with the president. During his State of the Nation address they applauded him civilly, but there was none of the abundant enthusiasm that signalled Zuma's first such address in June 2009.
Their response to the State of the Nation debate on Monday was even more telling. DA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip climbed into an already tense Zuma like no other leader has done before, asking Zuma if he had even bothered to read the speech before he delivered it. Trollip also had the audacity to ask Zuma whether he had been "set up" by his advisers and whether he realised the importance of this speech.
Extremely harsh words from Trollip, but the silence from the MPs spoke more loudly. Everyone in the ANC benches sat stoically watching Trollip speak and not even a whisper was raised about the opposition berating Zuma in such a crude and personal manner. Zuma also did not take Trollip on in his reply on Tuesday, even though he seemed significantly more confident and defiant than he was during his State of the Nation address.
His advisers argue that he would not stoop to Trollip's level, but perhaps it is simpler than that: he had nothing with which to defend himself. But the rest of his response on Tuesday was simple and straightforward. He spoke from the heart about difficult topics like Julius Malema and nationalisation and seemed to say things he really believed in. His MPs royally repaid him for that: the applause was overwhelming and senior MPs rushed to his side to congratulate him. And when Cope MP Mluleki George was kicked out of the house for refusing to say sorry for a comment, it gave them something they could all rally behind -- an enemy outside.
With some of Zuma's dignity among his peers restored, the ANC could focus on the opposition and milked the ill-advised "fuck you" from DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard for all it was worth. And they proved again that, for the ANC, economy, poverty and underdevelopment are key challenges. But the most difficult task that the movement faces is looking at itself honestly.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The party did its best to mop up the worst of the mess, but made it clear to Zuma that the ANC was gatvol and had reached its limit. ANC leaders refused to rush to his defence as they usually do, instead grinding their teeth in an uncomfortable silence that surrounded the party on this issue.
ANC MPs could not hide their discomfort with the president. During his State of the Nation address they applauded him civilly, but there was none of the abundant enthusiasm that signalled Zuma's first such address in June 2009.
Their response to the State of the Nation debate on Monday was even more telling. DA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip climbed into an already tense Zuma like no other leader has done before, asking Zuma if he had even bothered to read the speech before he delivered it. Trollip also had the audacity to ask Zuma whether he had been "set up" by his advisers and whether he realised the importance of this speech.
Extremely harsh words from Trollip, but the silence from the MPs spoke more loudly. Everyone in the ANC benches sat stoically watching Trollip speak and not even a whisper was raised about the opposition berating Zuma in such a crude and personal manner. Zuma also did not take Trollip on in his reply on Tuesday, even though he seemed significantly more confident and defiant than he was during his State of the Nation address.
His advisers argue that he would not stoop to Trollip's level, but perhaps it is simpler than that: he had nothing with which to defend himself. But the rest of his response on Tuesday was simple and straightforward. He spoke from the heart about difficult topics like Julius Malema and nationalisation and seemed to say things he really believed in. His MPs royally repaid him for that: the applause was overwhelming and senior MPs rushed to his side to congratulate him. And when Cope MP Mluleki George was kicked out of the house for refusing to say sorry for a comment, it gave them something they could all rally behind -- an enemy outside.
With some of Zuma's dignity among his peers restored, the ANC could focus on the opposition and milked the ill-advised "fuck you" from DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard for all it was worth. And they proved again that, for the ANC, economy, poverty and underdevelopment are key challenges. But the most difficult task that the movement faces is looking at itself honestly.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Zuma's call for dialogue on morality welcomed
The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) has welcomed President Jacob Zuma's call for a national dialogue on morality and morals. "President Zuma's proposal is a timely one. It is for all South Africans to participate in a collective responsibility for our future," the SACBC said in a statement. "As a nation, we have been reaping the fruits of attitudes -- social, economic, moral and political -- that have undermined and continue to undermine what common values and principles of behaviour we shared in the recent past to achieve our new South Africa."
The elements of a legacy which were beginning to emerge under the leadership of former president Nelson Mandela and his generation of leaders had been substantially squandered. "It is quite clear that at present we are floundering -- directionless and clueless as to where we are going as a country," the SACBC said. "Given the current depth of polarisation along social, economic and political lines, we propose that the starting point be the foundational principle that the human person, and every human person, has intrinsic and inalienable value. All else in any code of morals must take its lead from that basic principle."
Source: Mail & Guardian
The elements of a legacy which were beginning to emerge under the leadership of former president Nelson Mandela and his generation of leaders had been substantially squandered. "It is quite clear that at present we are floundering -- directionless and clueless as to where we are going as a country," the SACBC said. "Given the current depth of polarisation along social, economic and political lines, we propose that the starting point be the foundational principle that the human person, and every human person, has intrinsic and inalienable value. All else in any code of morals must take its lead from that basic principle."
Source: Mail & Guardian
Vavi on state contracts
Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has called for all career politicians - and their spouses - to be banned from doing business with the government. And three ANC Youth League branches have leapt to the defence of their president, Julius Malema, in the wake of reports that he has earned R140-million through state-awarded contracts. The ANC Youth League in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape said Malema had broken no laws by doing business with the government.
The campaign to expose his business dealings was being driven by factionalism within the ANC and racism, the provincial structures said. "We reaffirm that the constitution of the country allows for all citizens... to engage in legitimate business activity... for as long as the country's economic establishment is structured in the manner it is, young people of this country should not be penalised for seizing the opportunities brought about by this kind of economic dispensation," said Mpumalanga league secretary Isaac Mahlangu.
It was reported at the weekend that Malema had scored tenders worth R140m, mainly with municipalities in his home province of Limpopo. Vavi, who has called for lifestyle audits to be done on politicians and public officials, said the ANC, Cosatu and the SACP should develop guidelines banning members and their spouses or relatives from benefiting from state tenders. "We have to say 'how do we avoid a conflict of interest?' Even if someone is not directly involved in the business, maybe it's your wife or husband... it can't be okay that a minister, a premier, a mayor or a councillor's wife does business with the government that you lead. There should be an outright ban on people's representatives doing business with the government," Vavi said.
Mahlangu said the revelations about Malema's contracts were in part an intensification of dirty lobbying ahead of the ANC Youth League's national congress in 2011 and the ANC's elective conference in 2012. Malema is expected to be challenged by his deputy, Andile Lungisa, at the youth league congress, while the league is backing Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula to replace Gwede Mantashe as ANC secretary-general in 2012.
ANC Youth League Northern Cape secretary Dikgang Stock said the organisation was outraged and flabbergasted by reports on Malema's lifestyle. "These flaccid media reports are a poor attempt to ferment ferocious opposition to our programme of action that includes the redistribution of wealth of this country to the poor, including our firm, unwavering call for the nationalisation of the lucrative mining industry.
ANCYL Gauteng provincial secretary Thabo Kupa said attempts to discredit Malema would not succeed. "President Malema is a political activist who is a child of the working class and a poor family. His work for the poor is well known to everyone, therefore any attempt by forces that connive with capital to discredit him has never and will not succeed," he said. Kupa said it was malicious to associate with corruption the attempts by young black people to succeed in business.
ANC spokesman Brian Sokutu said Malema had not broken any laws by engaging in business with government. "Comrade Malema is neither a member of Parliament or a cabinet minister and he has therefore not breached any law or code of ethics by being involved in business," he said.
Source: IoL
The campaign to expose his business dealings was being driven by factionalism within the ANC and racism, the provincial structures said. "We reaffirm that the constitution of the country allows for all citizens... to engage in legitimate business activity... for as long as the country's economic establishment is structured in the manner it is, young people of this country should not be penalised for seizing the opportunities brought about by this kind of economic dispensation," said Mpumalanga league secretary Isaac Mahlangu.
It was reported at the weekend that Malema had scored tenders worth R140m, mainly with municipalities in his home province of Limpopo. Vavi, who has called for lifestyle audits to be done on politicians and public officials, said the ANC, Cosatu and the SACP should develop guidelines banning members and their spouses or relatives from benefiting from state tenders. "We have to say 'how do we avoid a conflict of interest?' Even if someone is not directly involved in the business, maybe it's your wife or husband... it can't be okay that a minister, a premier, a mayor or a councillor's wife does business with the government that you lead. There should be an outright ban on people's representatives doing business with the government," Vavi said.
Mahlangu said the revelations about Malema's contracts were in part an intensification of dirty lobbying ahead of the ANC Youth League's national congress in 2011 and the ANC's elective conference in 2012. Malema is expected to be challenged by his deputy, Andile Lungisa, at the youth league congress, while the league is backing Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula to replace Gwede Mantashe as ANC secretary-general in 2012.
ANC Youth League Northern Cape secretary Dikgang Stock said the organisation was outraged and flabbergasted by reports on Malema's lifestyle. "These flaccid media reports are a poor attempt to ferment ferocious opposition to our programme of action that includes the redistribution of wealth of this country to the poor, including our firm, unwavering call for the nationalisation of the lucrative mining industry.
ANCYL Gauteng provincial secretary Thabo Kupa said attempts to discredit Malema would not succeed. "President Malema is a political activist who is a child of the working class and a poor family. His work for the poor is well known to everyone, therefore any attempt by forces that connive with capital to discredit him has never and will not succeed," he said. Kupa said it was malicious to associate with corruption the attempts by young black people to succeed in business.
ANC spokesman Brian Sokutu said Malema had not broken any laws by engaging in business with government. "Comrade Malema is neither a member of Parliament or a cabinet minister and he has therefore not breached any law or code of ethics by being involved in business," he said.
Source: IoL
Chronology of Events in the Trial of Charles Taylor
March 3, 2003
The Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, David Crane, signs and files the indictment against Charles Taylor while he was sitting president of Liberia.
March 7, 2003
The Trial Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone confirms the indictment against Charles Taylor and orders it to remain under seal.
June 4, 2003
The Prosecutor unseals the indictment while Charles Taylor was attending peace talks with other African leaders in Ghana. African heads of state seek to convince Mr. Taylor to step down as president of Liberia in order to bring the Liberian conflict to a peaceful conclusion.
July 23, 2003
Lawyers on behalf of Charles Taylor file a Motion made under protest and without waiving of immunity accorded to a head of state President Charles Ghankay Taylor, requesting that the Trial Chamber quash the approved indictment of March 7, 2003.
July 28, 2003
The prosecution files a Response to the defense Motion to quash the indictment against Charles Taylor.
July 30, 2003
Defense lawyers for Charles Taylor file a Reply to the Prosecution’s Response to the Applicant’s Motion made under protest and without waiving of immunity accorded to a head of state President Charles Ghankay Taylor.
August 11, 2003
Charles Taylor steps down as president of Liberia and went into exile in Calabar, Nigeria.
December 4, 2003
Interpol issues a “Red Notice” (international arrest warrant) for Charles Taylor while he was an asylee in Calabar, Nigeria
May 31, 2004
The Appeals Chamber dismisses the Motion brought on behalf of Charles Taylor on July 23, 2003 that challenged his indictment on the grounds of sovereign immunity and extraterritoriality.
March 6, 2006
Prosecutors file a Motion for leave to amend the indictment against Charles Taylor
March 16, 2006
The Trial Chamber approves an amended indictment, reducing the counts in the indictment against Charles Taylor from 17 to 11.
March 29, 2006
Charles Taylor is apprehended by Nigerian authorities after a request for his arrest from Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. He is flown to Monrovia, where he was arrested by United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in Liberia. On the same day, he is transferred to the custody of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
April 3, 2006
Charles Taylor made his initial appearance before Special Court for Sierra Leone judges in Freetown. He pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
June 16, 2006
UN Security Council Resolution 1688 clears the way for Taylor to be tried in The Hague instead of Freetown, saying that his presence in the sub-region was “an impediment to stability and a threat to the peace”.
June 30, 2006
Charles Taylor was transferred to The Hague, where his trial would be conducted by Special Court for Sierra Leone judges.
June 4, 2007
The Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Steven Rapp, makes his opening statement in The Hague. Charles Taylor refuses to attend the trial and dismisses his legal team, saying that he did not have enough resources for the preparation of his defense. The trial is adjourned until new counsel was assigned to him.
January 7, 2008
Charles Taylor’s trial begins in earnest as the prosecution called its first witness to testify. The prosecution’s first witness was Ian Smillie, an expert witness on diamonds in the West African sub-region. Charles Taylor’s new team of lawyers, led by British practicing lawyer Courtenay Griffiths QC make their first appearance in court.
May 14, 2008
Charles Taylor’s former vice president Moses Blah commences his testimony as a witness for the prosecution. Mr. Blah was led in evidence by the then Chief Prosecutor Stephen Rapp.
May 15, 2008
Charles Taylor’s former Vice President, Moses Blah, testifies about the death/execution of RUF commander Sam Bockarie, allegedly by security forces loyal to Charles Taylor.
May 19, 2008
Charles Taylor’s defense counsel Courtenay Griffiths commences the cross-examination of former Liberian president Moses Blah.
May 21, 2008
Former Liberian President Moses Blah concludes his testimony as a witness for the prosecution.
January 30, 2009
The last prosecution witness, a double amputee, testifies about his ordeal in the hands of Sierra Leonean rebels during the January 1999 rebel invasion of the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown. In all, prosecutors led a total of 91 witnesses, 58 of whom were crime base witnesses, 29 insider (linkage) witnesses and four expert witnesses. In addition, written statements were admitted from four crime base witnesses and reports were admitted from two additional expert witnesses.
February 27, 2009
Prosecutors close their case against Charles Taylor.
April 7, 2009
Charles Taylor’s defense lawyers make an oral submission of “No Case to Answer or Motion for Judgment of Acquittal” to the judges stating prosecutors had failed to prove their case against Mr. Taylor.
April 11, 2009
Prosecutors make an oral response to the defense oral submission of “No Case to Answer/Motion for Judgment of Acquittal.”
May 4, 2009
The Trial Chamber dismisses in its entirety the defense application of “No Case to Answer/Motion for Judgment of Acquittal.”
July 13, 2009
The defense opens their case with an opening statement by Charles Taylor’s defense counsel, Courtenay Griffiths. Mr. Griffiths says that Mr. Taylor was not guilty of the charges against him and that the trial was a conspiracy by western countries, specifically the United States and the United Kingdom, to effect regime change in Liberia.
July 13, 2009
Charles Taylor takes the witness stand and commences his testimony as a witness in his own defense.
July 17, 2009
Charles Taylor in his testimony alleges CIA involvement in his jail break from a Massachusetts prison.
July 21, 2009
Charles Taylor testifies that he did not know about the establishment of the RUF, the rebel group that he is accused of helping to establish and supporting to wage war in Sierra Leone.
July 27, 2009
Charles Taylor testifies that the international community consented to his contacts with the RUF while he was president of Liberia. He said that all such contact was geared towards bringing peace to Sierra Leone.
July 31, 2009
Charles Taylor in his testimony accuses the United Nations of linking him with RUF rebels in Sierra Leone.
September 30, 2009
Charles Taylor calls allegations against him as “racist” and says that his trial is part of a regime change policy by Western countries.
November 10, 2009
Defense counsel Courtenay Griffiths concludes the direct-examination of Charles Taylor. Lead prosecutor Brenda Hollis immediately commences the cross-examination of Mr. Taylor.
December 1, 2009
Judges grant a prosecution request to use new evidence in the cross-examination of Charles Taylor. Such new evidence, the judges say, must be disclosed to the defense before their use in court.
December 7, 2009
The court takes an early Christmas break as judges grant the defense more time to study the documents disclosed as new evidence by prosecutors for the cross-examination of Charles Taylor.
January 11, 2010
Prosecutors resume the cross-examination of Charles Taylor.
February 5, 2010
Prosecutors conclude the cross-examination of Charles Taylor.
February 15, 2010
Defense lawyers commence the re-examination of Mr. Taylor.
February 19, 2010
Charles Taylor concludes his testimony as a witness in his own defense, telling the judges that prosecutors have not proved their case against him.
February 22, 2010
Charles Taylor’s first defense witness, a Gambian national who obtained Liberian citizenship Mr. Yanks Smythe, commences his testimony.
Source: Open Justice Initiative
The Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, David Crane, signs and files the indictment against Charles Taylor while he was sitting president of Liberia.
March 7, 2003
The Trial Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone confirms the indictment against Charles Taylor and orders it to remain under seal.
June 4, 2003
The Prosecutor unseals the indictment while Charles Taylor was attending peace talks with other African leaders in Ghana. African heads of state seek to convince Mr. Taylor to step down as president of Liberia in order to bring the Liberian conflict to a peaceful conclusion.
July 23, 2003
Lawyers on behalf of Charles Taylor file a Motion made under protest and without waiving of immunity accorded to a head of state President Charles Ghankay Taylor, requesting that the Trial Chamber quash the approved indictment of March 7, 2003.
July 28, 2003
The prosecution files a Response to the defense Motion to quash the indictment against Charles Taylor.
July 30, 2003
Defense lawyers for Charles Taylor file a Reply to the Prosecution’s Response to the Applicant’s Motion made under protest and without waiving of immunity accorded to a head of state President Charles Ghankay Taylor.
August 11, 2003
Charles Taylor steps down as president of Liberia and went into exile in Calabar, Nigeria.
December 4, 2003
Interpol issues a “Red Notice” (international arrest warrant) for Charles Taylor while he was an asylee in Calabar, Nigeria
May 31, 2004
The Appeals Chamber dismisses the Motion brought on behalf of Charles Taylor on July 23, 2003 that challenged his indictment on the grounds of sovereign immunity and extraterritoriality.
March 6, 2006
Prosecutors file a Motion for leave to amend the indictment against Charles Taylor
March 16, 2006
The Trial Chamber approves an amended indictment, reducing the counts in the indictment against Charles Taylor from 17 to 11.
March 29, 2006
Charles Taylor is apprehended by Nigerian authorities after a request for his arrest from Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. He is flown to Monrovia, where he was arrested by United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in Liberia. On the same day, he is transferred to the custody of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
April 3, 2006
Charles Taylor made his initial appearance before Special Court for Sierra Leone judges in Freetown. He pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
June 16, 2006
UN Security Council Resolution 1688 clears the way for Taylor to be tried in The Hague instead of Freetown, saying that his presence in the sub-region was “an impediment to stability and a threat to the peace”.
June 30, 2006
Charles Taylor was transferred to The Hague, where his trial would be conducted by Special Court for Sierra Leone judges.
June 4, 2007
The Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Steven Rapp, makes his opening statement in The Hague. Charles Taylor refuses to attend the trial and dismisses his legal team, saying that he did not have enough resources for the preparation of his defense. The trial is adjourned until new counsel was assigned to him.
January 7, 2008
Charles Taylor’s trial begins in earnest as the prosecution called its first witness to testify. The prosecution’s first witness was Ian Smillie, an expert witness on diamonds in the West African sub-region. Charles Taylor’s new team of lawyers, led by British practicing lawyer Courtenay Griffiths QC make their first appearance in court.
May 14, 2008
Charles Taylor’s former vice president Moses Blah commences his testimony as a witness for the prosecution. Mr. Blah was led in evidence by the then Chief Prosecutor Stephen Rapp.
May 15, 2008
Charles Taylor’s former Vice President, Moses Blah, testifies about the death/execution of RUF commander Sam Bockarie, allegedly by security forces loyal to Charles Taylor.
May 19, 2008
Charles Taylor’s defense counsel Courtenay Griffiths commences the cross-examination of former Liberian president Moses Blah.
May 21, 2008
Former Liberian President Moses Blah concludes his testimony as a witness for the prosecution.
January 30, 2009
The last prosecution witness, a double amputee, testifies about his ordeal in the hands of Sierra Leonean rebels during the January 1999 rebel invasion of the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown. In all, prosecutors led a total of 91 witnesses, 58 of whom were crime base witnesses, 29 insider (linkage) witnesses and four expert witnesses. In addition, written statements were admitted from four crime base witnesses and reports were admitted from two additional expert witnesses.
February 27, 2009
Prosecutors close their case against Charles Taylor.
April 7, 2009
Charles Taylor’s defense lawyers make an oral submission of “No Case to Answer or Motion for Judgment of Acquittal” to the judges stating prosecutors had failed to prove their case against Mr. Taylor.
April 11, 2009
Prosecutors make an oral response to the defense oral submission of “No Case to Answer/Motion for Judgment of Acquittal.”
May 4, 2009
The Trial Chamber dismisses in its entirety the defense application of “No Case to Answer/Motion for Judgment of Acquittal.”
July 13, 2009
The defense opens their case with an opening statement by Charles Taylor’s defense counsel, Courtenay Griffiths. Mr. Griffiths says that Mr. Taylor was not guilty of the charges against him and that the trial was a conspiracy by western countries, specifically the United States and the United Kingdom, to effect regime change in Liberia.
July 13, 2009
Charles Taylor takes the witness stand and commences his testimony as a witness in his own defense.
July 17, 2009
Charles Taylor in his testimony alleges CIA involvement in his jail break from a Massachusetts prison.
July 21, 2009
Charles Taylor testifies that he did not know about the establishment of the RUF, the rebel group that he is accused of helping to establish and supporting to wage war in Sierra Leone.
July 27, 2009
Charles Taylor testifies that the international community consented to his contacts with the RUF while he was president of Liberia. He said that all such contact was geared towards bringing peace to Sierra Leone.
July 31, 2009
Charles Taylor in his testimony accuses the United Nations of linking him with RUF rebels in Sierra Leone.
September 30, 2009
Charles Taylor calls allegations against him as “racist” and says that his trial is part of a regime change policy by Western countries.
November 10, 2009
Defense counsel Courtenay Griffiths concludes the direct-examination of Charles Taylor. Lead prosecutor Brenda Hollis immediately commences the cross-examination of Mr. Taylor.
December 1, 2009
Judges grant a prosecution request to use new evidence in the cross-examination of Charles Taylor. Such new evidence, the judges say, must be disclosed to the defense before their use in court.
December 7, 2009
The court takes an early Christmas break as judges grant the defense more time to study the documents disclosed as new evidence by prosecutors for the cross-examination of Charles Taylor.
January 11, 2010
Prosecutors resume the cross-examination of Charles Taylor.
February 5, 2010
Prosecutors conclude the cross-examination of Charles Taylor.
February 15, 2010
Defense lawyers commence the re-examination of Mr. Taylor.
February 19, 2010
Charles Taylor concludes his testimony as a witness in his own defense, telling the judges that prosecutors have not proved their case against him.
February 22, 2010
Charles Taylor’s first defense witness, a Gambian national who obtained Liberian citizenship Mr. Yanks Smythe, commences his testimony.
Source: Open Justice Initiative
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Malema's lifestyle sponsored by govt tenders
ANC Youth League president Julius Malema's lavish lifestyle is being bankrolled by lucrative government contracts awarded to his companies, the Sunday Times reported. Some of the multimillion-rand tenders awarded to Malema's companies were from his home province Limpopo, the paper reported. Citing official tender and government documents, the paper reported that Malema's companies were awarded more than 20 contracts, each worth between R500 000 and R39-million between 2007 and 2008. One of the companies, a small engineering firm, was awarded more than R130-million worth of tenders in just two years.
SGL Engineering Projects, which Malema co-owns with Lesiba Gwangwa, was awarded projects ranging from road and pavement construction to bulk water supply and upgrading cemeteries. While public documents reveal that some of the projects were completed on schedule, the majority of them were not, the paper reported.
Malema is believed to have used his share of the profits to finance two luxury homes worth about R4,6-million. Contacted for comment regarding the tenders by the Sunday Times, Malema said: "What gives you the power to ask me that question? Let me tell you, I do not owe you any answer, to be honest. I am not accountable to you ... I am accountable to the ANCYL and ANC. My organisations have never raised any concerns about those things". Malema went on to say: "There is no law that says politicians can't be businessmen". ANCYL spokesperson Floyd Shivambu declined to comment on the story, saying he hadn't seen the paper. "I can't comment on things I haven't seen even if you can explain [the article]. Call me on Sunday when I have seen the story," Shivambu said.
The ANC and the youth league have demanded a retraction and an apology from the Star newspaper for a report on Malema's lifestyle. "These reports are not only far-fetched, but they are also untrue as much as they are deceitful," the ANC and ANC Youth League said in a joint statement. "In our view they are meant to tarnish the good name and image of the ANC Youth League president."
The Star reported that Malema bought a three-bedroom home in Sandown, Johannesburg, for R3,6-million in December last year. He had another home in Polokwane for which he paid R1-million. The ANC and ANCYL also dismissed as untrue the newspaper's claim that Malema earned a salary of about R20 000 a month, but did not reveal his actual salary.
ANC spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi said in a telephonic interview that the party did not dispute that Malema used a number of cars. However, Mnisi said Malema had only "one car in his name". According to the Star, Malema owns a black Mercedes-Benz AMG, which retails at R734 000, but has been seen driving an Aston Martin and a red Range Rover Sport. He attended a University of the Witwatersrand lecture on Thursday in a brand-new white Range Rover -- with no number plates -- which sells for R1,2-million.
The ANC and ANCYL have threatened to take the matter to the press ombudsman unless the newspaper publicly apologises to Malema. "We will support any action on the side of the president of the [youth league] Comrade Julius Malema against the newspaper in defence of his name, image and integrity. "It is very unfortunate that a newspaper as reputable as the Star would stoop so low by reporting so inaccurately about the personal affairs of any person including Comrade Julius Malema ... We will also want to be provided reasons, through the apology that we are demanding, as to the actual intentions of the Star newspaper and its reporter of putting to the public so inaccurate information bordering on defaming the youth league president."
Source: Mail & Guardian
SGL Engineering Projects, which Malema co-owns with Lesiba Gwangwa, was awarded projects ranging from road and pavement construction to bulk water supply and upgrading cemeteries. While public documents reveal that some of the projects were completed on schedule, the majority of them were not, the paper reported.
Malema is believed to have used his share of the profits to finance two luxury homes worth about R4,6-million. Contacted for comment regarding the tenders by the Sunday Times, Malema said: "What gives you the power to ask me that question? Let me tell you, I do not owe you any answer, to be honest. I am not accountable to you ... I am accountable to the ANCYL and ANC. My organisations have never raised any concerns about those things". Malema went on to say: "There is no law that says politicians can't be businessmen". ANCYL spokesperson Floyd Shivambu declined to comment on the story, saying he hadn't seen the paper. "I can't comment on things I haven't seen even if you can explain [the article]. Call me on Sunday when I have seen the story," Shivambu said.
The ANC and the youth league have demanded a retraction and an apology from the Star newspaper for a report on Malema's lifestyle. "These reports are not only far-fetched, but they are also untrue as much as they are deceitful," the ANC and ANC Youth League said in a joint statement. "In our view they are meant to tarnish the good name and image of the ANC Youth League president."
The Star reported that Malema bought a three-bedroom home in Sandown, Johannesburg, for R3,6-million in December last year. He had another home in Polokwane for which he paid R1-million. The ANC and ANCYL also dismissed as untrue the newspaper's claim that Malema earned a salary of about R20 000 a month, but did not reveal his actual salary.
ANC spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi said in a telephonic interview that the party did not dispute that Malema used a number of cars. However, Mnisi said Malema had only "one car in his name". According to the Star, Malema owns a black Mercedes-Benz AMG, which retails at R734 000, but has been seen driving an Aston Martin and a red Range Rover Sport. He attended a University of the Witwatersrand lecture on Thursday in a brand-new white Range Rover -- with no number plates -- which sells for R1,2-million.
The ANC and ANCYL have threatened to take the matter to the press ombudsman unless the newspaper publicly apologises to Malema. "We will support any action on the side of the president of the [youth league] Comrade Julius Malema against the newspaper in defence of his name, image and integrity. "It is very unfortunate that a newspaper as reputable as the Star would stoop so low by reporting so inaccurately about the personal affairs of any person including Comrade Julius Malema ... We will also want to be provided reasons, through the apology that we are demanding, as to the actual intentions of the Star newspaper and its reporter of putting to the public so inaccurate information bordering on defaming the youth league president."
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, February 19, 2010
Zuma condemns Niger coup
President Jacob Zuma on Friday condemned the military coup in Niger, which he said posed a security threat to the region. He said: "I wish to add our voice in condemning the coup that occurred in Niger yesterday (on Thursday) and wish to remind the Niger military that the African Union completely rejects any unconstitutional transfer of power. "It undermines the continent's resolve to consolidate democracy and poses a peace and security threat in the region, as witnessed in Niger".
South Africa supports mediation efforts by the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Zuma added. "I call on the Niger military leadership to respect the ECOWAS intervention and abide by the country's constitutional principles on the transfer of political power," he said.
Niger's new military rulers deployed tanks and trucks mounted with machine guns around the presidential palace on Friday after toppling strongman Mamadou Tandja and sacking the government the day before in a deadly coup.
Source: News 24
South Africa supports mediation efforts by the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Zuma added. "I call on the Niger military leadership to respect the ECOWAS intervention and abide by the country's constitutional principles on the transfer of political power," he said.
Niger's new military rulers deployed tanks and trucks mounted with machine guns around the presidential palace on Friday after toppling strongman Mamadou Tandja and sacking the government the day before in a deadly coup.
Source: News 24
Union slams Malema
While a Cosatu-affiliated union leader described Julius Malema as part of a "marauding gang" threatening to destabilise the ANC, the youth leader in turn warned the federation's Zwelinzima Vavi to stop demanding lifestyle audits. At the centre of it all is a low-intensity war triggered by succession tensions ahead of the ANC's 2012 national conference, following skirmishes over the 2007 conference.
The youth league wants to replace ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe with Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula. This has angered Cosatu and the SA Communist Party as they see the coup intentions as motivated by anti-communist sentiments. Irvin Jim, general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has questioned President Jacob Zuma's silence while Mantashe was being attacked by Malema. Jim intimated that Zuma had failed Mantashe by not defending him.
Numsa singled out Malema and accused him of causing divisions within the alliance. Jim warned Malema that he would have to work very hard to remove Mantashe. "We know that he (Malema) has been one of the people among the ANC Youth League, which is not a class organisation, who have been talking. "We sat down and analysed what has been said and we will defend the ANC because we believe that it is not the property of unscrupulous individuals who are only interested in their wealth and tenders," said Jim. He said a number of alliance members wanted communists and trade unionists out of the alliance.
Numsa said the ANC in the provinces was being used for financial gain - and cited that all provincial ANC conferences had been contested in the quest for power over government tenders. "There's a network of marauding gangs who don't sleep and they impose their hegemony on others... and they do as they wish. "The ANC is not an organisation of tsotsis (thugs) who would sit in shebeens and decide to put their friends as leaders. "Mantashe is being eaten alive and Malema should have been reprimanded," said Jim. "Those who've said Mantashe must go are threatening to weaken, fragment and destabilise this movement. Enough is enough," said Jim. He said Malema was not the only ANC leader to have been booed in public, referring to the jeering of the youth league president by SACP delegates in Limpopo last year.
Numsa questioned why the ruling party had drafted a report to the ANC national executive committee on the booing of Malema but had failed to do the same when former President Thabo Mbeki and his deputy Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka were booed while in office. "When Julius is booed at the SACP, there must be a report, but Terror (Lekota) got booed in Polokwane, Thabo (Mbeki) was booed in KwaZulu-Natal including Phumzile (Mlambo-Ngcuka) and there was no report," said Jim.
The union also backed the SACP's call that all the names of people, including politicians, who applied for state tenders should be made public to prevent the "depletion" of taxpayers' money. Cosatu general secretary Vavi wants politicians' lifestyles to be audited to expose their inexplicable wealth.
At a meeting between Cosatu and the ANC Youth League leadership yesterday, Malema apparently told Vavi that his demand for audits would expose some of the leaders in the left "who pretend to be working class". According to an insider, Malema said the so-called Left leaders were not as clean as they appeared to be.
Source: IoL
The youth league wants to replace ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe with Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula. This has angered Cosatu and the SA Communist Party as they see the coup intentions as motivated by anti-communist sentiments. Irvin Jim, general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has questioned President Jacob Zuma's silence while Mantashe was being attacked by Malema. Jim intimated that Zuma had failed Mantashe by not defending him.
Numsa singled out Malema and accused him of causing divisions within the alliance. Jim warned Malema that he would have to work very hard to remove Mantashe. "We know that he (Malema) has been one of the people among the ANC Youth League, which is not a class organisation, who have been talking. "We sat down and analysed what has been said and we will defend the ANC because we believe that it is not the property of unscrupulous individuals who are only interested in their wealth and tenders," said Jim. He said a number of alliance members wanted communists and trade unionists out of the alliance.
Numsa said the ANC in the provinces was being used for financial gain - and cited that all provincial ANC conferences had been contested in the quest for power over government tenders. "There's a network of marauding gangs who don't sleep and they impose their hegemony on others... and they do as they wish. "The ANC is not an organisation of tsotsis (thugs) who would sit in shebeens and decide to put their friends as leaders. "Mantashe is being eaten alive and Malema should have been reprimanded," said Jim. "Those who've said Mantashe must go are threatening to weaken, fragment and destabilise this movement. Enough is enough," said Jim. He said Malema was not the only ANC leader to have been booed in public, referring to the jeering of the youth league president by SACP delegates in Limpopo last year.
Numsa questioned why the ruling party had drafted a report to the ANC national executive committee on the booing of Malema but had failed to do the same when former President Thabo Mbeki and his deputy Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka were booed while in office. "When Julius is booed at the SACP, there must be a report, but Terror (Lekota) got booed in Polokwane, Thabo (Mbeki) was booed in KwaZulu-Natal including Phumzile (Mlambo-Ngcuka) and there was no report," said Jim.
The union also backed the SACP's call that all the names of people, including politicians, who applied for state tenders should be made public to prevent the "depletion" of taxpayers' money. Cosatu general secretary Vavi wants politicians' lifestyles to be audited to expose their inexplicable wealth.
At a meeting between Cosatu and the ANC Youth League leadership yesterday, Malema apparently told Vavi that his demand for audits would expose some of the leaders in the left "who pretend to be working class". According to an insider, Malema said the so-called Left leaders were not as clean as they appeared to be.
Source: IoL
Lifestyles Of The Rich And Infamous
In sunny Malibu a real estate agent named Neal Baddin helps the playboy son of one of the world's most corrupt leaders buy a $30 million mansion. Teodoro Nguema Obiang lives off money taken from the coffers of Equatorial Guinea, a tiny but oil-rich country where most people endure repression and grinding poverty. But Baddin doesn't ask who Obiang is, or where he might have gotten $30 million. He just collects his generous commission. And he's not alone. In Oklahoma a company called IATS facilitates Obiang's purchase of a $38.5 million Gulfstream jet - after a rival company had already turned down his obviously tainted money.
Does all of this sound like it should be legal in America? Well, it is. In a meticulously documented report, U.S. congressional investigators recently showed how legal loopholes and lax regulations let foreign kleptocrats treat America like a carefree shopping paradise while their people starve back home. Neither Baddin nor IATS had any legal obligation to know who Obiang was or where his money came from. That's a problem.
This is not just about obscene displays of luxury. The same corruption that pays for Obiang's extravagant lifestyle fuels abuse and poverty in countries around the world. In places like Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria - both countries featured in the Senate report and where Human Rights Watch has thoroughly documented gross mismanagement and corruption - people are trapped in poverty while basic health and education systems are gutted and political violence and repression are fueled by official greed.
It's not supposed to be this way. The Patriot Act introduced controls designed to prevent U.S. institutions from facilitating money laundering and other abuses of the financial system. And the Bush administration's ambitious anti-kleptocracy initiative was supposed to make the U.S. a more hostile place for corrupt politicians and their stolen money.
The Senate report shows just how inadequate these efforts have been. Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria's vice president at the time, transferred $40 million in "suspect funds" into the U.S. with the help of his fourth wife. Meanwhile, American University in Washington, D.C., accepted $14 million for consulting services from offshore corporations linked to Abubakar without asking who the companies were or knowing where the vice president got the money. Pierre Falcone, a notorious arms dealer who is currently in prison in France, had free access to more than 30 U.S. bank accounts for nearly two decades. Omar Bongo, the late president of Gabon, brought $1 million in shrink-wrapped bills into the U.S. without bothering to declare it to customs and then gave the money to his daughter, an unemployed student. For a while she kept the money in a safe deposit box in a U.S. bank.
But it's the easy relationships between corrupt officials and their U.S. business partners that really should attract scrutiny. Banks, lawyers, real estate agents and others have made hefty profits off their partnerships with some of the world's biggest looters and most repressive politicians. Here, some of the stories that emerge from the Senate report border on the lurid: Take the case of Michael Jay Berger, a Beverly Hills lawyer who helped Obiang outmaneuver inadequate anti-money-laundering laws. Berger seemed to enjoy the perks of being a kleptocrat's henchman.
In private e-mails obtained by Senate investigators, he gushes about being invited to an exclusive party where Obiang impressed guests by producing a live white tiger ("SO COOL!" Berger wrote). In another e-mail Berger thanks Obiang for taking him to a party at the Playboy Mansion where he got the "VIP treatment" and "met many beautiful women." Not a bad life. But back in Equatorial Guinea one in every five children dies before the age of 5, mostly from easily preventable causes.
This month Berger was standing in front of a Senate subcommittee, pleading the fifth. Like the Senate report itself, that moment was a good start in the right direction. But now it is up to the Obama administration to decide if it wants to deal with the problems unearthed by the report. The government should take up all of the report's recommendations. Congress should pass new legislation to close the loopholes, starting with the Energy Security Through Transparency Act. That legislation would require companies to disclose payments to foreign governments and unravel some of the secrecy that allows corruption to take root. Government agencies should also make better and more ambitious use of the regulatory authority they already have. Let Obiang take his money and his tiger somewhere else.
Even Neal Baddin, Obiang's former realtor, seems to agree. He told the Senate that when it comes to fighting money-laundering, he and other realtors need "guidance on what to look for, what to do and how to do it." The U.S. government should provide that guidance.
Source: Humn Rights Watch
Does all of this sound like it should be legal in America? Well, it is. In a meticulously documented report, U.S. congressional investigators recently showed how legal loopholes and lax regulations let foreign kleptocrats treat America like a carefree shopping paradise while their people starve back home. Neither Baddin nor IATS had any legal obligation to know who Obiang was or where his money came from. That's a problem.
This is not just about obscene displays of luxury. The same corruption that pays for Obiang's extravagant lifestyle fuels abuse and poverty in countries around the world. In places like Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria - both countries featured in the Senate report and where Human Rights Watch has thoroughly documented gross mismanagement and corruption - people are trapped in poverty while basic health and education systems are gutted and political violence and repression are fueled by official greed.
It's not supposed to be this way. The Patriot Act introduced controls designed to prevent U.S. institutions from facilitating money laundering and other abuses of the financial system. And the Bush administration's ambitious anti-kleptocracy initiative was supposed to make the U.S. a more hostile place for corrupt politicians and their stolen money.
The Senate report shows just how inadequate these efforts have been. Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria's vice president at the time, transferred $40 million in "suspect funds" into the U.S. with the help of his fourth wife. Meanwhile, American University in Washington, D.C., accepted $14 million for consulting services from offshore corporations linked to Abubakar without asking who the companies were or knowing where the vice president got the money. Pierre Falcone, a notorious arms dealer who is currently in prison in France, had free access to more than 30 U.S. bank accounts for nearly two decades. Omar Bongo, the late president of Gabon, brought $1 million in shrink-wrapped bills into the U.S. without bothering to declare it to customs and then gave the money to his daughter, an unemployed student. For a while she kept the money in a safe deposit box in a U.S. bank.
But it's the easy relationships between corrupt officials and their U.S. business partners that really should attract scrutiny. Banks, lawyers, real estate agents and others have made hefty profits off their partnerships with some of the world's biggest looters and most repressive politicians. Here, some of the stories that emerge from the Senate report border on the lurid: Take the case of Michael Jay Berger, a Beverly Hills lawyer who helped Obiang outmaneuver inadequate anti-money-laundering laws. Berger seemed to enjoy the perks of being a kleptocrat's henchman.
In private e-mails obtained by Senate investigators, he gushes about being invited to an exclusive party where Obiang impressed guests by producing a live white tiger ("SO COOL!" Berger wrote). In another e-mail Berger thanks Obiang for taking him to a party at the Playboy Mansion where he got the "VIP treatment" and "met many beautiful women." Not a bad life. But back in Equatorial Guinea one in every five children dies before the age of 5, mostly from easily preventable causes.
This month Berger was standing in front of a Senate subcommittee, pleading the fifth. Like the Senate report itself, that moment was a good start in the right direction. But now it is up to the Obama administration to decide if it wants to deal with the problems unearthed by the report. The government should take up all of the report's recommendations. Congress should pass new legislation to close the loopholes, starting with the Energy Security Through Transparency Act. That legislation would require companies to disclose payments to foreign governments and unravel some of the secrecy that allows corruption to take root. Government agencies should also make better and more ambitious use of the regulatory authority they already have. Let Obiang take his money and his tiger somewhere else.
Even Neal Baddin, Obiang's former realtor, seems to agree. He told the Senate that when it comes to fighting money-laundering, he and other realtors need "guidance on what to look for, what to do and how to do it." The U.S. government should provide that guidance.
Source: Humn Rights Watch
Zuma and Cosatu: The end of the affair
The Zuma government has not delivered on its promises to trade unions and Cosatu should have refrained from supporting “individuals” in the ANC’s 2007 national conference in Polokwane, union leaders said this week. National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) general secretary Frans Baleni told the Mail & Guardian on Thursday that the State of the Nation address by President Jacob Zuma and the budget speech by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan showed that the union federation is not harvesting the fruits of its support for Zuma.
He said Cosatu should have focused on policies rather than personalities, implying that the trade union federation should not have so publicly thrown its weight behind Zuma in the run-up to Polokwane. “We should have focused on policy rather than individuals. If we were more focused on policy we would have had better results.”
Baleni said there is “anger from our structures” about the way the ANC treats Cosatu once elections are over. “Before the elections we are taken seriously, but after the elections we are not taken seriously any more. “If the budget signals no real change from the past, it deepens the perception that we are [being] taken for a ride.” He said Cosatu will take the ANC to task about its concerns regarding the budget, but admitted that mere talking has limited success. “Real change was promised post-Polokwane. We can’t just get promises all the time; we want to see it. Now there is a lot more engagement with the ANC, but you can’t just talk. At some point something must be done.”
Cosatu will take a franker stance against the ANC in future, Baleni said. “We will tell them there is a blind spot and that we want to see results.” Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini told the M&G the federation was unhappy about the proposals in the budget that moot a move towards a two-tier labour market, calling it a “recipe for disaster”.
The Black Management Forum president and director general in government’s labour department, Jimmy Manyi, was in the dark about how the youth employment scheme would work. “We heard this for the first time when the finance minister delivered his budget speech this week. I don’t know what he meant. The big drive for the department of labour is to focus on decent work. Anything short of that [will not work]. The creativity that he [Gordhan] spoke about needs to be interrogated, in line with the concept of decent work,” said Manyi.
In 2005 then-deputy finance minister Jabu Moleketi proposed a dual labour market system for young people, small businesses and certain labour-intensive industries to address the high unemployment rate, but this was rejected by the ANC during the party’s national general council that year. The idea was also given the thumbs-down during the ANC’s Polokwane conference in 2007.
Dlamini said although Cosatu would welcome the absorption of more youth into the labour market, it was wrong to subject them to lower labour standards. “For the minister to say workers should not enjoy the same labour standards, it means workers would be subjected to different labour rights. “We all agreed on decent jobs. This does not go to that. It actually addresses the plight of the youth, but the aim is to destroy them. “They will hate employment because the entry salary will be the same as those who are permanently employed, but there won’t be any room for them to negotiate salary increases. They [the government] say more than 800 000 youth would be employed, but this will mean less permanent and formal employees.” He accused the ANC government of failing to consult Cosatu on the matter. “We only learned about it today [Wednesday]. We were shocked like everyone else. “We understand there was not supposed to be official consultation with us. We do not expect ministers to consult Cosatu. But in the alliance we have [an] understanding of what is supposed to happen.”
South African Communist Party deputy general secretary and Deputy Transport Minister Jeremy Cronin confirmed that the new budget proposals were also not discussed with the SACP, but said the SACP would “give the proposals [on job creation] a chance”. “We shouldn’t be protecting a small pocket of workers at the cost of a much larger group.” He said the labour market is multitiered anyway because of the massive number of casualised workers and the small pocket of workers with decent jobs. “We have to be bold about getting people into work.”
The SACP is increasingly critical of the expanded public works programme, however, because it was designed as a way for people to “leapfrog” into the first economy -- but the first economy was dysfunctional. “Therefore the debate about decent work versus work opportunities is also necessary,” Cronin said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
He said Cosatu should have focused on policies rather than personalities, implying that the trade union federation should not have so publicly thrown its weight behind Zuma in the run-up to Polokwane. “We should have focused on policy rather than individuals. If we were more focused on policy we would have had better results.”
Baleni said there is “anger from our structures” about the way the ANC treats Cosatu once elections are over. “Before the elections we are taken seriously, but after the elections we are not taken seriously any more. “If the budget signals no real change from the past, it deepens the perception that we are [being] taken for a ride.” He said Cosatu will take the ANC to task about its concerns regarding the budget, but admitted that mere talking has limited success. “Real change was promised post-Polokwane. We can’t just get promises all the time; we want to see it. Now there is a lot more engagement with the ANC, but you can’t just talk. At some point something must be done.”
Cosatu will take a franker stance against the ANC in future, Baleni said. “We will tell them there is a blind spot and that we want to see results.” Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini told the M&G the federation was unhappy about the proposals in the budget that moot a move towards a two-tier labour market, calling it a “recipe for disaster”.
The Black Management Forum president and director general in government’s labour department, Jimmy Manyi, was in the dark about how the youth employment scheme would work. “We heard this for the first time when the finance minister delivered his budget speech this week. I don’t know what he meant. The big drive for the department of labour is to focus on decent work. Anything short of that [will not work]. The creativity that he [Gordhan] spoke about needs to be interrogated, in line with the concept of decent work,” said Manyi.
In 2005 then-deputy finance minister Jabu Moleketi proposed a dual labour market system for young people, small businesses and certain labour-intensive industries to address the high unemployment rate, but this was rejected by the ANC during the party’s national general council that year. The idea was also given the thumbs-down during the ANC’s Polokwane conference in 2007.
Dlamini said although Cosatu would welcome the absorption of more youth into the labour market, it was wrong to subject them to lower labour standards. “For the minister to say workers should not enjoy the same labour standards, it means workers would be subjected to different labour rights. “We all agreed on decent jobs. This does not go to that. It actually addresses the plight of the youth, but the aim is to destroy them. “They will hate employment because the entry salary will be the same as those who are permanently employed, but there won’t be any room for them to negotiate salary increases. They [the government] say more than 800 000 youth would be employed, but this will mean less permanent and formal employees.” He accused the ANC government of failing to consult Cosatu on the matter. “We only learned about it today [Wednesday]. We were shocked like everyone else. “We understand there was not supposed to be official consultation with us. We do not expect ministers to consult Cosatu. But in the alliance we have [an] understanding of what is supposed to happen.”
South African Communist Party deputy general secretary and Deputy Transport Minister Jeremy Cronin confirmed that the new budget proposals were also not discussed with the SACP, but said the SACP would “give the proposals [on job creation] a chance”. “We shouldn’t be protecting a small pocket of workers at the cost of a much larger group.” He said the labour market is multitiered anyway because of the massive number of casualised workers and the small pocket of workers with decent jobs. “We have to be bold about getting people into work.”
The SACP is increasingly critical of the expanded public works programme, however, because it was designed as a way for people to “leapfrog” into the first economy -- but the first economy was dysfunctional. “Therefore the debate about decent work versus work opportunities is also necessary,” Cronin said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The elephant that caused all the trouble
An iconic public artwork planned for Durban at a reported cost of R1,5-million has been scuppered, allegedly because the trio of elephants are reminiscent of the opposition IFP's logo in the ANC-run city, the Mail & Guardian learned this week. Politics and the arts are never comfortable bedfellows, and the project has now been put on hold, following an objection from an unidentified official.Durban city manager Michael Sutcliffe on Tuesday claimed the project had been stopped “to allow for me to receive a report on the process followed”. He did not answer subsequent questions on the exact nature of the report.
Internationally acclaimed local sculptor Andries Botha was commissioned to produce the massive pieces as the first part of a R500-million upgrade of Durban's new Warwick Avenue interchange, and was paid part of his fee. However, the three elephants, made of steel and stone, seemed to have reminded some local officials of the symbol of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the ruling African National Congress's (ANC) long-time rival in the province.
The sculptures cost R1,5-million, according to the Mercury. While several sources told the M&G that due processes were followed before the work began in November 2009, the city may claim the project was not properly authorised to rid themselves of the political headache it has caused. Head of international and government relations in the Durban municipality, Eric Apelgren, first suggested the project. He told the M&G that he had been impressed with Botha’s project -- a series of life-sized elephant sculptures that have been placed in significant public spaces around the world -- including Antwerp, Marseilles and Paris. On Apelgren’s recommendation, Botha made a presentation to various committees, and was asked to create the public art work that would be placed at the new Warwick Avenue interchange, an area undergoing significant revamping in preparation for the Soccer World Cup.
Botha is a world-renowned sculptor based in Durban whose work has appeared in exhibitions around the world. The series of elephants, made out of natural or recycled man-made materials, are a symbol of the Human Elephant Foundation, an organisation he started in partnership with respected South African conservationist Dr Ian Player. The foundation aims to highlight the interaction between humans and the natural environment. The elephants have appeared in various permanent and temporary positions in Mexico, Belgium, Norway and throughout North America.Work began in November 2009 and the three elephants were transported from Botha’s workshop north of Durban to their current location in early January, where they were to be finished on site. On February 9, Botha said he received a phone call from Siya Madlala and S'bu Mazibuko, two former students who were assisting him with the artwork, saying that they had been ordered to stop work immediately by a man who refused to identify himself. The man, driving a large black SUV, apparently told them that the elephants were a symbol of the IFP, and were therefore not welcome in a city run by the ANC.
Botha, fearing for the safety of his workers and the artwork, asked Rumdel Cape, the contracting company assigned to Warwick Avenue redevelopment, to provide extra security. Soon after the incident, however, Botha received an order from Rumdel Cape to “cease all activities concerning and related to the elephant construction on the Warwick Viaduct site until further notice”. According to Botha, he has been given no reason for the work stoppage, and has received no further communication.
Sutcliffe said that Botha "will be formally communicated with once I have established all the relevant facts and a process to deal with the matter has been adopted". Thembi Nzuza, leader of the IFP caucus in eThekwini council, said the brouhaha surrounding the elephant sculptures was "ridiculous and childish”."We, as the IFP, are actually taking offence by the municipality's behaviour -- the elephant goes beyond the IFP and is part of greater South Africa. Where will all this end: The DA uses the sun on its logo, so will the ANC next try and stop the sun from rising?" "The ANC in Durban is driven by one man -- John Mchunu, the regional chairperson and it seems we have to all massage his super-ego," said Nzuza, when commenting on who might have been behind the decision to stop work on the sculptures. Nzuza said the matter had not come before either the council nor the city's executive committee, or exco. Mchunu could not be reached for comment.
Sutcliffe meanwhile denied that politics were to blame for the intervention, and said that the reports of the apprentices being told to stop work on what could be seen on an IFP symbol were “not applicable”. When asked why it had taken so long for objection to be raised, seeing that the project had been started in November 2009, a contractor had been appointed and that money had already been spent on the project, Sutcliffe’s only answer was: “Not true, not applicable”. John Charter, Botha's partner at the Human Elephant Foundation told the M&G this week that he had approached Sutcliffe at a cocktail party and asked why the project had been stopped. According to Charter Sutcliffe said: "We're going to take them down immediately. It's not your fault. It's just not politically expedient. Don't talk about it."
Meanwhile, ANC officials in the area have tried to justify the interference. Durban deputy mayor Logie Naidoo said on Sunday that the city had wanted sculptures of the Big Five, but Botha "only did elephants", the Times reported. But Charter said the statement sounded illogical. "The whole concept of the foundation has always been about one animal: the elephant as a metaphor. When the city approached Andries [Botha] he gave them a big spiel about the foundation and the elephants." He said the Botha chose to use three elephants as that number worked best in the space at the new development. At the moment, the sculptures stand hidden under green shade cloth and black plastic. "They're on a major causeway at the end of a main road, no one can just put them there without permission," said an irate Botha, who fears that the situation will jeopardise the symbolism of conservation.
Support has grown for the artist and a Facebook group called “Save the Durban Elephant Sculptures” has been started, with members lamenting the intrusion of politics in art, stating that: "Art is art. An elephant is an elephant." Botha said that political interrogation of creative expression “puts everything at risk”. “I just want the dignity of the artwork restored," he said.
Globe Trotting Elephants
The IFP's Nzuza said his party would pursue the matter if work on the sculptures were stopped indefinitely. "This is a fruitless waste of money".
Source: Mail & Guardian
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