PRESSURE MOUNTS ON NUMBER ONE

Pressure continues to pile on Jacob Zuma to step down following the death of Nelson Mandela. The latest to add his voice to this demand is Numsa’s acting President Andrew Chirwa. He asked union members to consider urging Zuma to resign over the spending of more than 200 million on his private home in Nkandla.

 “Should we not ask our president Jacob Zuma who benefitted from this saga, to resign in the interest of the poor? Must we not ask that he resigns in the interest of the poor? Must we not ask that he resigns to preserve the legacy of Nelson Mandela?” he asked delegates at the Union’s special national congress in Boksburg. Many members of Zuma’s own party, the ANC, made it clear they’ve had enough of him when they heckled him in front of the world leaders last week at Mandela’s memorial service. If Numsa – Cosatu’s biggest affiliate and a powerful voice within the ruling ANC alliance heeds Chirwa’s call, this will be part of a growing disenchantment with Zuma. With calls for his head mounting, will Number One consider doing the honorable thing?  

 

DID MANDELA CHANGE HISTORY?

Usually history flows like an irresistible current, oblivious of any man or woman. But sometimes a single individual can turn the tide. And Mandela…? For over a week, we have heard boring speeches about him, tedious platitudes and endlessly repeated episodes of his life. Boring, but necessary. Apartheid, a cruel and stupid system for retaining white rule, ended for two main reasons: economics and the moral nature of its leaders. From 1976 it was clear to the Afrikaner leaders that Apartheid was unworkable. Had they been men such as Hitler or Stalin, Apartheid would have remained and Mandela would have been shot dead in 1962. But they were men from a long tradition of Afrikaner Christianity. Eventually they understood the economic idiocy of apartheid and knew its injustice was incompatible with their Christian beliefs. They decided to negotiate. They looked for a proper black leader to negotiate with. Thus Mandela was decisive in ending apartheid. In the negotiations, Mandela proved tough and clever, outwitting and outstaring the Afrikaner leaders at every turn. Andrew Kenny, Citizen’s columnist said Madiba was an indifferent President of South Africa, except for one thing: He left the financial and practical administration of the country to others however, he changed history. It was his grace, generosity and forgiveness; his kindness and good cheer; his warm concern for the little people, black and white; his endless tolerance – all of this brought peace and relief to an anxious nation and disarmed his most bigoted opponents, sometimes so much that they were speechless with veneration. I don’t know if there ever was a serious threat of civil war between blacks and whites. But I know there isn’t one now. The day of freedom ultimately came. Carved on the pages of South Africa’s history, the name of Nelson Mandela stands for all time, both an example and an inspiration. His death will serve to remind generations of a generous and fearless personality, and of a life of nobility, patriotism, service and sacrifice. Thank you, Nelson Mandela  

 

NO EVADING RESPONSIBILITY FOR SIGN LANGUAGE BLUNDER

Who could have guessed that he would be at the centre of possibly the biggest scandal to emerge from and already “boo-tainted” ceremony? Thansanqa Jantjie dubbed “the fake interpreter” was blasted by Disable People SA as a fake. The S African Translators’ institute former President also complained to the ANC after Mangaung. He said: “The ANC did not do anything.” However the controversy turned quickly from a dark comedy to tragedy when Jantjie revealed to the press that he is not only a diagnosed schizophrenic, but suffered an episode during the memorial that interfered with his work. His credentials were already under question, with various bodies claiming that he was not registered and was thus unqualified. He should never be discriminated against because of his illness; however, he should not have been on stage. In an interview with the Associated Press, he said that his hallucinations had caused him to act violently before. “What happened that day, I see Angels come to the stadium…I start realizing that the problem is here. And the problem, I don’t know the attack of this problem and how will it come. Sometimes I react violent on that place. Sometimes I will see things that chase me,” Jantjie said. According to Deputy Minister for women, children and people with disabilities, an investigation is underway to determine how a man with dodgy credentials got hired for the job. There was another revelation at the press conference: The Company that Jantjie works for quoted 800 an hour for the job, though the going rate for an interpreter is 1300.00 an hour. The company that Jantjie claims to work for, which apparently has his credentials, cannot be found. The ANC has also denied any involvement in the decision to hire him, in spite of the fact that he has been spotted at many of the party’s events. To add icing on this palatable cake, Jantjie claims to have obtained his sign language qualification from the University of Tecturers in the UK, but an internet search has shown that a university with that name does not exist. With denials raining in from all quarters, we might have a repeat of the Waterkloof/Gupta scandal, in which something undeniably wrong took place with nobody stepping forward to claim responsibility. Someone is responsible for this cock-up – question is WHO? The people who made the decision to hire him should answer for it. I’m afraid it’s not good enough for Deputy Minister to shrug and say, “Well, someone in the stadium understood him and in any case, it wasn’t even that embarrassing.” IT WAS AND THE MINISTER SHOULD BE ASHAMED!!!

RESENTMENT OF ZUMA SHOWS HOW FAR THE ANC HAS STRAYED.

It was a sad state of affairs that Zuma was booed at Tata’s memorial service. It was not the right time or place. But one has to say people are really showing their displeasure and Zuma must have been totally humiliated. He needs to take stock of his leadership.

The booing should not be interpreted as a sign of disrespect for our beloved Madiba, but as a sign that the general populace is fed up with the current leadership, which has failed to uphold Madiba’s revered legacy. If the ANC dismisses the booing as an orchestrated attempt by a handful of disgruntled people, then it will be missing a golden opportunity to reflect and review how far astray they have gone from Nelson Mandela’s legacy of truth, honesty and good governance.

It was such a breath of fresh air to listen to the eulogy about Madiba read in parliament by former Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe because, like a true follower of a great leader, he embodies the very principles for which the late Madiba has become renowned.

US President Barack Obama said: “With honesty, regardless of our stations or circumstances, we must ask: how well have I applied Mandela’s lessons in my own life?” That question should give us the reason to reflect.

An obvious area for reflection is something that occupies most headlines: Corruption and lack of Service Delivery. DO the corrupt and inept apply Madiba’s lessons? The answer is obvious. The next question is: “What is going to be done about it?” That answer is not obvious.

I agree that those who booed aught to have fathomed that Madiba would not have stooped that low nor would he have embarrassed the nation in front of World leaders.

“If 27 years in Prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die.”

Contrarily, it is not intentionally embarrassing for a country’s President to be booed at a public occasion. That is the nature of politics.

Our President embarrassed SA long before Madiba’s funeral. People all over the world know about the Gupta saga and the Nkandla scandal. Zuma does not care about the poor, nor does he lose any sleep over the lack of service delivery. He cares only about his family and himself.