'Lakela Kaunda is an Assertive Black Woman'

For someone with a growing reputation as resident "chief bully" in President Jacob Zuma's office, Lakela Kaunda is remarkably cool about the hullabaloo surrounding her. Broadsides thrown her way publicly include that she is a control freak, a bully, involved in a smear campaign against colleagues, and a selfish gatekeeper to Zuma even denying advisers access to him. But Kaunda, a soft-spoken Durbanite, isn't bothered. She quipped nonchalantly this week, in a brief interview with sister title the Sunday Tribune: "People love wicked women, don't they? A Delilah must be found somewhere."

While Zuma's first year in office played out like a soap opera, behind-the-scenes, Kaunda reportedly had a starring role, eclipsing several high-profile figures. Chief operations officer Jessie Duarte left unceremoniously in April, triggering a mass exodus in which communications chief Vusi Mona, director-general Vusi Mavimbela and senior communications aides Steyn Speed and Vincent Magwenya left.

While Duarte, in her famous e-mail to secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, complained about "a smear campaign, rumour mongering, gossip and vilifications" within the presidency before leaving, she later gave some insight into what Lakela Kaunda stands for. "Kaunda is not a bully. She is an assertive black woman. There are people (in the Presidency) who want to push her around (for their own gain), but she is not one to be pushed."

Affectionately addressed by Zuma as "Ntombinkulu", or Big Girl, Kaunda has an especially good relationship with the President in his 500-member-strong Presidency, having worked with him since the mid-1990s, when Zuma was economic affairs and tourism MEC and would turn to her to do his spin-doctoring. Kaunda, who hails from Hambanathi, in the sugar cane town of Tongaat, has also been a newshound of note. A one-time political correspondent at the Natal Witness, she worked her way up to assistant editor. She was appointed editor of the now-defunct Port Elizabeth newspaper Evening Post in 1999 - the first woman to edit a daily newspaper in the country. She also served as chairwoman of the SA National Editors' Forum.

When Zuma was promoted to deputy president, there she was, at the reins of his PR machinery. When he was fired, she left for the social development ministry, where she became special adviser to Minister Zola Skweyiya. She returned to Zuma's side, managing his office at Luthuli House, and when he was inaugurated as President, she was in the Presidency's communications unit of 40 people. A former colleague described her as highly efficient and a go-getter. She was "always astute and very committed... very focused, very professional in terms of helping us interact with the deputy president. I found her very helpful, that is why it is difficult to comprehend these stories written about her".

Presidency spokesman Zizi Kodwa said Lakela worked as part of a collective. The private office she heads was a small part of the Presidency, with about 40 staff who provide personal support to the President. Kodwa said Zuma was an accessible and a "very humble person who "tries to give his time to as many people as possible, including staff".

Eusebius McKaiser, political analyst at the Centre for Study for Democracy, said the exodus of key staffers was not likely to cripple Zuma's ability to function, but was not something he needed. McKaiser said that in the Presidency a number of positions were created because people had to be given "a slice of the victor pie". The real problem was that "the Zuma camp has to say thank-you to a lot of different constituencies that carried him to victory. Zuma's communications department needed "good communicators and political strategists who understand the power of gatekeeping," he said.

Wisecracks have ventured that it is Kaunda - and not Zuma - who runs the country.

Source: All Africa

'Child' Malema smacked

Tensions are appearing in the Jacob Zuma camp of the ANC, with senior cabinet minister Zola Skweyiya slamming the "shocking" disrespect shown to Thabo Mbeki in the past year. And he singled out Julius Malema, the controversial ANC Youth League leader, for particular censure, describing him as "an embarrassment to the party" and "un-African". He added: "People... call me every night complaining 'What are you doing about this child?'."

Skweyiya, widely regarded as representing "the soul" of the ruling party, went so far as to invoke legendary ANC leader Oliver Tambo, saying: "If Tambo woke up and found the ANC the way it is, he would have run back to his grave... he would say, 'That can't be my ANC'."

Though a member of the ANC national executive committee, which last weekend decided to axe Mbeki as president of the country, Skweyiya has fiercely criticised the way Mbeki has been treated since he lost his position as president of the party to Zuma in Polokwane in December. Skweyiya was not one of the cabinet ministers who resigned in the wake of Mbeki's departure this week, but he indicated that he would probably retire at the end of his term of office.

In an interview with The Sunday Independent, Skweyiya pulled no punches. He criticised the ANC for not acting against those who had tried to humiliate Mbeki. "We kept quiet... The way Thabo was treated was really shocking to me. Thabo was our president, whether we like it or not. The fact is he was the president of this country and he represented the people of South Africa... That needs to be respected if we respect our constitution. I personally didn't like that." He cited the humiliating incident in Durban last year when Zuma supporters disrupted proceedings during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and the repeated and much-publicised outbursts against Mbeki by the Youth League president.

Malema's ridiculing of Mbeki was unacceptable, he said. "You can't talk about the president like that... of the ANC and also of the state. It's very sad that [Malema] says he can fire Zuma. "Who is he? He's not even a member of the national executive committee. "How can he fire Zuma when Zuma has been elected by the ANC, by the people? The Youth League does not determine the policy of the ANC."

Malema was an embarrassment to the party and had to be brought into line, Skweyiya said. The party leadership had repeatedly told the youth leader to shut up but he disregarded them. Skweyiya suggested that Malema was ignorant of the ANC's history because he kept asserting that the Youth League was an "autonomous" structure. But youth leaders before Malema had taken instructions from the "mother body", even if they had not agreed with them.

Skweyiya added that Malema's conduct was un-African. "We are Africans and an elderly person is an elderly person. We say, 'You shall not dishonour your parents'. If you can't respect that, what does he think?" Skweyiya found the attacks on the judiciary and the Human Rights Commission by members of the ANC's tripartite alliance "painful". "How we treated our judges... has not been a nice thing. You might not like the judgments but... those are judges. One of the basic conditions that this government [agreed to when it] came into power was the independence of the judiciary, even though we knew that it wouldn't transform rapidly. "[And] the way we treated the Human Rights Commission is for me something very painful."

Skweyiya's remarks about Mbeki echoed those made by two veteran opposition leaders in parliament this week. IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi and PAC MP Motsoko Pheko told MPs that the disrespect shown to the president was unacceptable.

Pheko said that the office of president should be "treated with the dignity it deserves". His remarks were greeted in parliament by an animated Buthelezi, who jumped up from his front bench and, punching his fist in the air, shouted in approval: "That's the truth, that's the truth!"

Later, in parliament, President Kgalema Motlanthe reminded MPs of his predecessor's achievements and leadership. He thanked Mbeki, in whose cabinet, he briefly served. "We have been privileged to have had you as our president these last nine years," he said.

Source: IoL

Over 9 000 SA youths to be trained as social workers

More than 9 000 unemployed youths will be trained as auxiliary social workers by 2010, the Department of Social Development said on Monday. Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya said the implementation of the training programme is part of an agreement of cooperation with Cuba's Minister of Labour and Social Security, Alfredo Morales Cartaya. "The youth will be trained and on completion be deployed in their communities to help us deal with the various social challenges such as assisting orphans and vulnerable children, alleviating the HIV and Aids [pandemic], vulnerable youth support and others," he said.

Cuba has developed a two-pronged work-training programme comprising a formal university-level programme and a rapid 12-month social work-training programme. As part of the implementation of the agreement, the Cuban programme will be replicated in South Africa to alleviate the shortage of social workers and create much-needed jobs as part of the Expanded Public Works Programme. "A rapid auxiliary social-worker training programme will surely help us deal with the critical shortages of social workers," said Skweyiya. He said the department will "train and absorb" 9360 auxiliary social workers by 2010.

Skweyiya was in Cuba to strengthen ties and formalise cooperation on social security, services to women, youth and children, community development, poverty alleviation and training of social service professionals. Departmental spokesperson Lakela Kaunda said youth from rural and poor communities will be favoured in the national recruitment programme.

The cooperation with Cuba will also include study tours and exchanges of technical expertise on policy development.

Source: Mail & Guardian