ZUMA’S UNDERGROUND BUNKER - SINCE 2011 THE NEWS MEDIA HAVE REPORTED ON THIS ISSUE - BUT NO ONE COULD STOP IT!

ZUMA’S UNDERGROUND BUNKER

SINCE 2011 THE NEWS MEDIA HAVE REPORTED ON THIS ISSUE - BUT NO ONE COULD STOP IT!

Stes de Necker

1. Bunker bunker time: Zuma's lavish Nkandla upgrade

Mail and Guardian

11 NOV 2011

2. Why does Zuma need a bunker?

Sunday World

NOV 13, 2011

3. Nkandla: Zuma's R20m tunnels, bunker

 

MSN News

 

2014-11-17 

 

4. Zuma secure in Nkandla bunker

News24

2015-07-26

Maryna Lamprecht

Nkandla (Matthew Middleton/News24)

Bunker bunker time: Zuma's lavish Nkandla upgrade

Mail and Guardian

11 NOV 2011

MATUMA LETSOALO, CHARLES MOLELE

Lavish extensions to the president's KwaZulu-Natal homestead include underground dwellings and an escape tunnel, funded by public money.

A network of underground rooms is the latest addition to President Jacob Zuma’s lavish Nkandla estate. There are contradictory claims about the costs of the project. After initially refusing to comment, the department of public works said it was spending R36-million on security related construction. Government and ANC sources have put the total budget at between R69-million and R400-million.

The department did not comment on the underground accommodation.

It also appears that one of the companies contracted by the department of public works to do construction work in Nkandla, Bonelena Construction Enterprise and Projects, employs Zuma’s niece. The M&G met a Bonelena manager who introduced herself as Mrs Zuma at the site. She is described by workers as the sister of high-profile nephew Khulubuse. The company declined to comment and other Zuma relatives contacted by the M&G refuse to discuss the issue.

This week the M&G visited the president’s homestead and interviewed six workers on the site. They all confirmed the additions, including three sets of underground living quarters with about 10 air-conditioned rooms. Other facilities include a clinic for the president and his family, a gymnasium, 20 houses for security guards that are above ground, underground parking, a helicopter pad, playgrounds and a visitors’ centre.

The public works department said it was paying for the construction of 10 houses for airforce personnel, 10 houses for SAPS personnel, a military health facility, perimeter fencing, the helipad, landscaping, bulk infrastructure and water supply, and houses for families who were relocated outside the compound.

According to architectural plans shown to the M&G in December 2009 the precinct would include a garden with ancestral graves. The area would be cordoned off by a brick wall and there would be provision for only one entrance.

The three houses were kidney-shaped and contained his-and-hers bathrooms, living rooms, walk-in closets and a study. One house had four bedrooms and another had three. The homes had double-volume ceilings and thatched roofs in the same style as the old homestead.

Zuma and his family, according to sources at Nkandla, would be able to enter the underground bunkers through a 200m-long tunnel running from under the helicopter pad to the main house. Two lifts have been installed for the president and his family.

Workers at Zuma’s homestead told the M&G this week that they had been instructed to complete the project by November 15, before the president, his wives and children arrive for the Christmas holidays. During the M&G‘s visit a festive mood was in the air. “Our president is making us proud. Look what he has done to Nkandla,” said one resident, who preferred to remain anonymous.

‘Code of secrecy’

Roads leading to Zuma’s homestead were being tarred this week. The provincial department of transport is sponsoring most of the multimillion-rand road construction projects. It appeared that most of the major construction work was complete, except for landscaping and paving in and around the premises.

Zuma’s new precinct will be officially opened in two to three weeks’ time, according to one of the construction managers. Although Bonelena boss Thandeka Nene initially denied that her company was involved with the renovations to Zuma’s homestead, the company’s project manager, Owen Nxumalo, confirmed that it had been contracted to do the work. But Nxumalo refused to provide more details about the project, saying he had been instructed not to talk about the matter in public.

When reached again on Thursday Nene said that she was prepared to talk, but felt uncomfortable discussing the matter telephonically. She invited the M&G to KwaZulu-Natal to discuss it.

Bonelena has a note on its website emphasising its commitment to a code of secrecy.

“All documents, material and correspondence that is handled by us will be treated as highly confidential and will never at any stage be divulged to any other party without the written consent of that particular client,” states the note.

The costly renovations at Zuma’s house are taking place amid concerns among opposition parties and the public about Cabinet ministers’ apparent lavish lifestyles. Zuma recently came under fire when it was revealed that the government was spending almost R400-million to renovate his official residences in Pretoria and Cape Town.

The upgrades at Zuma’s official residence include steam rooms, fireplaces, chandeliers, the construction of a sauna and changing facilities, revamping of a swimming pool and upgrading of security measures, including an escape route.

Presidency spokesperson Mac Maharaj said Zuma was renovating his Nkandla compound “using his own money”.

“Government, on the other hand, is apparently building a helipad for the military to land, medical facilities for use by military medical personnel and barracks for the SAPS protection unit. The intention is for the protectors and medical personnel to sleep in Nkandla, instead of far away in Eshowe, when on duty, or asking for accommodation from the Zuma household.”

Maharaj said the department of public works would be better placed to provide details of the costs.

“We want to emphasise that the actual premises of the Zuma family are being built by the president at his own cost,” said Maharaj.—Additional reporting by Nelly Shamase

Why does Zuma need a bunker?

Sunday World

NOV 13, 2011

WHEN President Jacob Zuma sacked ministers Sicelo Shiceka and Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, and suspended National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele , he was roundly commended for regaining his muscle to act in the direction of accountability and clean governance.

Zuma's action was not without the sterling work of public protector Thuli Madonsela and the media for putting the spotlight on misdemeanours in high places.

The office of the public protector has never been this courageous compared to Madonsela's predecessor Lawrence Mushwana.

Whether this was due to failure on Mushwana's part or political pressures denying him independent action is open to question.

Madonsela has progressively proven capable of thorough probes. She has enabled Zuma to show teeth and also to bite for purposes of bringing about clean governance.

Hardly a month after toasting Zuma's praiseworthy action comes the disturbing reports of a 200m-long tunnel to a bunker built for his and his family's use in Nkandla, allegedly built at taxpayers' expense.

The public works department, now headed by newly appointed Thulas Nxesi is back in the fray for reportedly spending R36m for Zuma's lavish security upgrade.

Government and ANC sources have put the total budget at between R69m and R400m.

While apt security should be accorded to Zuma, extending his safety to an underground bunker boggles the mind.

Is the amount spent accountable to public works' parliament budget vote or are the demons that saw Mahlangu-Nkabinde sacked resurfacing again?

Either way, Madonsela must not fail to obtain answers from Zuma because as far as we know, there has never been a security threat against Zuma that can justify building a bunker.

This is the stuff only known to happen in dictatorships. If this tells us anything, it is that strange things will never cease to happen indeed.

Nkandla: Zuma's R20m tunnels, bunker

 

MSN News 

2014-11-17

A bunker and 150 metres of underground tunnels beneath President Jacob Zuma's private home 

in Nkandla was meant to be a modest project of around half a million rand, but grew to 

R20 million so that it would look like the presidential home in Cape Town.

A source with intimate knowledge of the Nkandla project and connections with the department of 

public works, spoke with Netwerk24 about the tunnels.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found in her report on the security upgrades at Nkandla that 

the tunnels, bunker, and swimming pool would have to be maintained by the taxpayer for longer

 than the president will live.

According to Netwerk24, the tunnel network is about 4m underground and connects Zuma's 

private home with three new houses that were built.

The network also links up to a bunker, where the president can live during emergencies. 

The entries into the tunnels are protected by unbreakable and inflammable doors.

Four lift systems were installed from the houses to the tunnels because some of Zuma's family

members are elderly and they would also have access to it.

The lift system has apparently cost the taxpayer another R2 million.

According to the source, this tunnel system made up a large part of the costs of the upgrades.

The tunnel network was also meant to be connected with the oldest construction on the land, 

but it was part of the third phase of the upgrades, and cancelled as a result of the controversy 

surrounding the upgrade.

The source reported that instructions for the changes came from the top management of 

the Department of Public Works.

Madonsela's work with Nkandla is over. 

Her office's spokesperson Oupa Segalwe told Netwerk24 that the Public Protector would now 

only become involved as a friend of the court when the issue is taken to court 

or if Parliament asks Madonsela to clarify some of her findings.

Zuma secure in Nkandla bunker

News24

2015-07-26

Maryna Lamprecht

Nkandla (Matthew Middleton/News24)

Johannesburg - The cellphones would always be charged and ready, there would be a mini 

closed-circuit TV control room, places to sleep, and food and medical supplies.

This is what the police had initially planned to put into a safe haven, which was later turned 

into a bunker, to be built at President Jacob Zuma’s home in Nkandla when the controversial 

R246m project was started.

All this was put in place to protect the President from possible “political assassination”.

According to a previously top-secret security evaluation document prepared by the 

SA Police Service (SAPS), the police had from the onset determined that a “safe haven” 

for the protection of the President and his family was of the utmost importance.

The document has since been declassified and Rapport, City Press’ sister newspaper, has obtained

 a copy of it.

After a security evaluation in 2009, the police determined that a safe haven suitable to handle 

high-risk scenarios had to be built for the President. This safe haven later became an underground 

bunker with an extensive network of tunnels and four elevators at a cost of R19.6m.

On Tuesday, Police Minister Nathi Nhlekoexplained to the parliamentary ad hoc committee on 

Nkandla, which was sitting in Pietermaritzburg, how he arrived at his decision that 

President Zuma was not liable for any costs related to security upgrades at his rural home.

In notes he presented to the committee, Nhleko said the “volatile political situation” in Nkandla 

played a significant role when it was determined what type of security measures 

the president would need.

“There has been a growing trend of political assassinations generally in the history of South Africa 

after apartheid. In the Nkandla municipality, political tensions run high and many have been 

ascribed to battles around patronage within the ANC and some among opposition parties 

themselves, as is the case between the Inkatha Freedom Party and the National Freedom Party,” 

he said.

According to the document, it was decided that extreme security measures were needed to protect

the President from possible political assassinations and other life-threatening dangers.

The SAPS determined that the safe heaven would need access points from all three residences 

at Nkandla, reinforced walls and doors, and windows made of bulletproof material.

Because the president has to be protected in high-risk scenarios, the room also had to be equipped 

with the following:

. Charged cellphones with emergency numbers saved on them;

. A complete contact list with the numbers of all “relevant role players”;

. The cellphones had to be tested to make sure they picked up a signal;

. A panic button connected to armed response;

. A mini closed-circuit television control room;

. A door that leads outside that can only be opened from inside the room;

. Torches;

. Places to sleep;

. Medical supplies; and

. Food and water.

Someone, however, decided that these recommendations for protection against high-risk threats 

were not enough.

According to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report, titled Secure in Comfort, the initial 

cost of the planned safe haven was R457 971 in 2010, but in the end it set taxpayers back almost 

R20m.

The installation of the four elevators to the bunker alone cost R2m.

Both the Public Protector and the Special Investigating Unit largely attribute the general increase 

in the cost of the project to Minenhle Makhanya, Zuma’s architect, who Madonsela found had 

constantly insisted on “more expensive and luxurious” options.

The parliamentarians who visited Nkandla this past week were not allowed into the bunker or

 the tunnel network. They were not allowed inside Zuma’s house at all. 

They did, however, get to inspect the “fire pool” and other “security features”! 

ZUMA - BLAMING OTHERS FOR HIS FAILURES - Doing what most black leaders are famous for

ZUMA - BLAMING OTHERS FOR HIS FAILURES

Doing what most black leaders are famous for

Stes de Necker

On Tuesday (18 August 2015), South African President Jacob Zuma was again in the news doing what black leaders are famous for – blaming others for their failures.

Zuma told reporters that the reason why South Africa is descending from the First World to the Third in just twenty years after the collapse of apartheid is “apartheid heritage”. 

He claimed that apartheid is to blame for the weak economic growth in South Africa, calling it “colonialism of a special type”.

"Other countries in Africa never had a racially based economy... We are trying to address the legacy of apartheid, and it's going to be with us a long time,"

"At the same time it (South Africa) must be competing with countries that never had such a challenge."

There is a saying in the Yoruba country that the sound of rain shortly after the utterance of a cleric, fortifies his belief that the heavens validate his assertion.

There is no doubt that these historical phases had their impacts on the lives of Africans, but at the same time it is utterly irresponsible to use them to excuse the lack of vision, the will power to do the right things and the absence of character in leadership that have been the bane of South Africa decades after independence.

If Zuma were to be asked why is he into the habit of acquiring a harem, he would most likely cite apartheid experience for his libidinous behaviour.  

  

Economic growth

South Africa's economy grew by 1.5 per cent in 2014, down from 2.2 per cent in 2013, according to preliminary estimates of real gross domestic product (GDP) released by Stats SA.

Zuma admitted that power outages in the country were also hindering economic growth, while unemployment remains a concern.

African leaders seems prone never to take responsibility for their actions and heaping all their woes on slavery, colonialism, imperialism and apartheid.

20 years into Nigerian independence,the Ozidi King Sunny Okosun released an album titled "Which Way Nigeria?" and part of the lyrics:

"Twenty years after independence, we still find it hard to start. How long shall we be patient before we reach the promised land?"

A few years later, Fela Anikulapo Kuti released JUST LIKE THAT with powerful lyrics such as :

"White man ruled us many years we get electricity constantly

Our people take over dam come build Kainji Dam

Since dam build the dam no electricity for town... "

When Malawians were tired of the tyranny of their longest reigning despot Kamuzu Banda, there was a huge protest and some of the banners they carried displayed the message:  "BETTER THE COLONIALISTS."

It is glaringly obvious that African leaders have not been able to create functional societies several years after the colonial experience. It seems that black people are still nostalgic about the years the white man was there with their systems that worked.

Functional societies

A certain black business man from Africa once said to me:  "we blacks are created to amuse humanity. If you want your child to make some impact just ask him to go and play football or sing music. "

I had called his attention to the evil of colonialism and how it slowed down development. But he asked me poignantly "What has Liberia and Lesotho and Swaziland, that was not colonised, made of themselves?”  

   

I further espoused on the fact that many African societies were not exposed early enough to the type of education that is driving modernisation.

He allowed me to conclude on the point and said again: "I hope you remember that some of the earliest educated people in Nigeria like Chief Adekunle Ajasin went to Fourah Bay College.

What has Sierra Leone achieved with that education? Go there today and you will see Lebanese mining their resources."

Having lost the argument at societal level, I referred him to those individuals and influential black people like Mandela, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and others whose intellects the world could not ignore, but he was still not fazed as he said: "Those ones are statistical errors. No society can make progress only on its exceptions”.

Twenty five years after the ANC came into power, there are still very few, if any, signs that South Africa is moving in the direction of progress. 

THE ANC’S POLICY OF FAILURE

THE ANC’S POLICY OF FAILURE

Stes de Necker

Desperation is sweeping over SA and the ANC is responsible for this. 

The African National Congress (ANC) is obsesses with failure; it invests in failure, rewards it — and then reinvests in it.

There are many examples, but just to mention four:

1. The ANC in the Western Cape has not changed. Marius Fransman and Tony Ehrenreich speak the same language they did 10 years ago, impervious to the innovation adopted by the opposition that has seen the Western Cape  flourish. Their conduct has shifted from political incompetence to political cynicism; the ANC in Cape Town treats the Democratic Alliance in precisely the same way that the greater ANC claims to be treated by the media.

2. A violent society requires enforcement of a particular order. Failure to apply this was demonstrated by the incarceration of convicted thug and former national police commissioner Jackie Selebi. So what does the ANC do? It appoints an inexperienced office manager who presides over a massacre, who laughs during a commission of inquiry and manages to influence a cabal of police "generals" to write a letter to the president rejecting the Marikana Commission’s findings.

When public officials are so jarringly unconscious to the potential consequences of their actions, it expresses just how failure is worshipped.

3. The most pernicious of management orders is cadre deployment — resulting in the purchase of unsuited trains, the exposure of fraudulent qualifications in Education and flawed processes everywhere, staggering annual losses, nepotism, flowers ordered for wives or girlfriends on state-owned enterprises’ credit cards, hysterical "turnaround" strategies, golden handshakes and "acting" personnel. The link between frustration and this specific, destructive continuum has never appeared more lucid.

4. No other political order has failed as spectacularly as communism. But 40% of Cabinet ministers belong to the unelected South African Communist Party. Do they know something we don’t? Did they not hear what happened when Nelson Mandela met the Chinese shortly after his release from prison? "Thank you, Comrade Mandela, for calling us communists but we’re actually anything but."

The emergence of success is just as worrying as the exaltation of failure. It seems incidentally that the state’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, initiated in 2011, was mentioned in Zuma’s  update on his state of the nation address.  For the rest it is ignored totally.

As an examination of successful procurement and transparency, as a model of private-public partnership and as an example of (relative) government efficiency and means to considerable investment, no other project of its size in recent history has been applied so successfully.

It has overcome the dreadful decision to replace a good woman in Dipuo Peters, it has survived Eskom’s dithering and, thanks to its administration by the Treasury, has avoided any ideological advances from the leadership of the Department of Energy. This is a substantial, intelligent, undeniable success.  

But the ANC only talks about Medupi and its nuclear programme or circulates secret documents in Parliament.

They would rather attempt to dispute indisputable evidence of its failures than articulate its successes.

They would rather side with failed states and authoritarian regimes than democratic ones.

They would rather protect tyrants than change SA’s labour laws.

They would rather entertain the presence of incoherent, greedy union bosses with a suspicious grasp of history than adopt reason.

They would rather despise the West, menacing business and dismissing critics with intolerance, ridiculing institutions established to protect the citizens who pay for them, allowing their spokespeople to behave like imbeciles on social media platforms, or attacking media freedom and judicial independence.  

Failure appears to be an encompassing policy that is being actively pursued.

Jacob Zuma is not avoiding reality - He simply doesn't understand it!

Jacob Zuma is not avoiding reality

He simply doesn't understand it!

Stes de Necker

Rand Daily Mail - ALLISTER SPARKS

19 August 2015

It’s the economy stupid!

"I felt like nailing that 1992 Bill Clinton election poster to President Jacob Zuma’s door after reading the rosy report on the state of the nation he presented at a special media conference last week. Such a sanguine outlook when just about every statistic on the state of the economy is pointing southwards. 

What could one do to get the leader of our rapidly declining nation to face reality?

In much the same vein, Tony Leon has suggested the use of a huge and new American bunker-buster bomb in the hope of being able to penetrate the bunker from reality into which Zuma appears to have withdrawn himself.

But on reflection I’m afraid I have come to the conclusion that neither strategy would be effective.

Because I don’t think Zuma is deliberately avoiding reality. I think he doesn’t understand it.”

Tracking over his own personal record of financial dealings and relationships, one is driven to the conclusion that the president of SA just doesn’t understand matters to do with money.

Zuma may be poorly educated, but that doesn’t mean he is not intelligent.

The two are not synonymous. Zuma is clever, in a cunning, street-smart way, that accounts for his skills at political manipulation.

But when it comes to money, whether in matters personal or of the state, there is a void. A great big vacuous hole.

He is a man of expensive tastes and large appetites, but when it comes to satisfying those needs there is a consistent inability to relate them to the costs involved.

We know from the record that when Zuma returned to SA after 10 years on Robben Island and 12 in exile, he found himself in financial difficulties.

He had four wives and 20-something children to support, while his only income was a special pension the ANC paid to former prisoners. Even when he was "redeployed" to KwaZulu-Natal to become an MEC in Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s coalition government, Zuma’s salary would have been about R25 000 a month — nowhere near enough for a man with such rapacious needs.

It was at that point, we learn from the trial record of the Schabir Shaik case, that Zuma turned to Shaik, saying he couldn’t make ends meet and would have to leave politics to look for a job. To which Shaik replied in words that, in effect, said: "Don’t do that, comrade. Your role is too important. I’ll look after you."

What Shaik did to help Zuma was to pay his children’s school fees and the family’s clothing and food bills.

Family members would simply call at specified shops and take what they needed, and Shaik would settle the bills as they came back to him.

We thus have a paper trail, derived from the Shaik trial record, of Zuma’s spending patterns and how they compared with his income. The disjuncture is illuminating.

It is obvious, as Judge Hilary Squires found, that Shaik was not helping Zuma as a matter of charity.

Zuma was economic affairs MEC in the provincial government as well as being national chairman of the ANC, and Shaik’s aim was to use Zuma’s political influence to leverage valuable contracts for his own company, Nkobi Holdings.

As Squires put it, the relationship between Shaik and Zuma was one of "mutually beneficial symbiosis".

“But looking at the figures on record, I reckon that because of Zuma’s spendthrift ways, he was as much of a burden as he was a help in that relationship.

Between July 1996 and December 2003, Zuma’s income amounted to R3.86-million and his expenditure to R4.24-million — leaving Shaik to settle the shortfall of R1.2-million.

He had to use Nkobi’s bank overdrafts to do that.”

Nkobi did get some arms deal contracts as a result of the relationship, notably one, in tandem with French arms company Thomson CSF, to provide the combat suites for a fleet of corvettes purchased to patrol the South African coast. But these were not enough to make Shaik the mega-rich man I’m sure he expected to become.

In the course of the Shaik trial, the state ordered a forensic audit of Shaik and Zuma’s financial records, which were then presented to the court in a 259-page report. The forensic auditor, Johan van der Walt, spent 16 days in the witness box taking the court through the detail of that report.

We are indebted to an excellent little book, Paul Holden’s The Arms Deal in Your Pocket, for extracting some of the key items from that report.

They present a picture of Zuma maintaining a lifestyle that was well beyond his means, and making purchases without regard to the costs involved — with Shaik scrambling along behind to cope with the financial mess.

• In 1995, Zuma took out a bond for a home in Killarney, Johannesburg, for R400 000. Three years later, the bond was R30 000 in arrears. Shaik arranged payment of R40 000, but it was too late. The bank sued Zuma for R443 000 plus interest, and the matter had to be settled out of court.

• In June 1997, Standard Bank informed Zuma his current account was in arrears, and four months later sued him for arrears of R118 842.

•That same year Zuma bought a Mercedes-Benz car, but couldn’t even pay the first instalment on it.

• The following year, he bought another Mercedes-Benz for R250 000, but almost immediately debit orders started arriving to settle the financing. Shaik had to come to the rescue when the company threatened legal action.

• In May 2001, Zuma financed a Mitsubishi Pajero for R275 000. Two years later, he still owed R350 000 on the car, R129 000 of which was in arrears — even though Shaik had paid R47 000 towards the financing.

Apply this kind of economic thinking to the Nkandla project and one begins to realise that Zuma was hopelessly out of his depth when it came to recognising its horrendous wastefulness.

He, doubtless, knew what he wanted in order to make the place a fine rural retreat for himself and his family, just as he knew that he wanted a fine Mercedes-Benz and a Mitsubishi Pajero.

But then, as now, he appears not to have been able to relate wishes to costs and affordability.

Worst of all, we now have Zuma exhibiting the same economic incomprehension on a national scale, with his insistence that we engage the Russians or the Chinese to build eight or nine nuclear reactors for Eskom.

We are being told nothing about the costs, which will certainly be astronomical, of building and running these monsters. We are told we will know the costs when the contracts are signed.

All we know is that Zuma has been in a huddle on this matter with Russian President Vladmir Putin, from whom I wouldn’t buy a second-hand car. Essentially, Zuma is saying to us: "Trust me on this."

With his record?

ZUMA BROWN-NOSING CHINA

ZUMA BROWN-NOSING CHINA

Stes de Necker

Last year, the South African Government signed an agreement with China to roll out a Mandarin programme over the next decade, while in March 2015 the state gazetted Mandarin to be listed as a second additional language.

While teachers are still coming to terms with the relatively new CAPS curriculum, piling more into the system would make it harder to get the basics right.

South Africa is still coming to terms with introducing indigenous languages in our schools and it is totally idiotic to introducing Mandarin when the schools can’t even teach English, Afrikaans or any other indigenous languages properly.    

It seems Zuma wants to make South Africa another Chinese province!

It is glaringly obvious that Zuma and the ANC Government are totally out of touch with the problems at grass roots level.

Children learning English in rural areas are already struggling, not because they aren’t intelligent but because they lack basic resources such as libraries and proper education facilities.

In his speech in Durban on Wednesday 19 August 2015, the Vice-chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State pulled no punches saying the state’s declared intention to offer Mandarin at South African schools was nothing more than “political gat kruiping (brown-nosing)”.

While falling short of calling for a complete overhaul of the education system, Jansen said educationists had allowed “failure to become the new norm”.

Known for his bluntness and dislike of political correctness, he said one university in the province “continued to dish out a type of Bantu education”.

“You have all become complacent with this rubbish we call education. You have become institutionalised by keeping a dysfunctional system afloat.”

However, while acknowledging that the universities had challenges, he said the “base of education is extremely weak”.

“We need a long-term plan to get out of this mess. We should be thinking like Singapore who look 20 years ahead, but instead we only see tomorrow. Our role models are also these dysfunctional people in Parliament, when they should be Steve Biko or Robert Sobukwe. Instead we are training barbarians who are racist and sexist. They may be trained in a subject or career, but they are not educated.”

He said the violent demonstrations held at universities annually by students was the result of a “lack of education”, and was not entirely the students’ fault because they had not been given the education required to make rational decisions.

“The country had a “lazy culture”, investing heavily in education but obtaining poor results. Resources would be better spent on developing indigenous languages.”

SOUTH AFRICA - TRAINING BARBARIANS ‘South Africa is training barbarians who are racist and sexist’

SOUTH AFRICA - TRAINING BARBARIANS

‘South Africa is training barbarians who are racist and sexist’

Stes de Necker

Article:  Professor Jona­than Jansen

Vice-chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State

Professor Jona­than Jansen has told state educationalists that they have all become complacent with “this rubbish we call education”.

Firebrand academic Professor Jona­than Jansen says it is pointless introducing Mandarin in South African schools, when they cannot even teach local languages.

The vice-chancellor and rector of the University of the Free State pulled no punches during a speech in Durban on Wednesday 19 August 2015, saying the state’s declared intention to offer Mandarin at South African schools was nothing more than “political gat kruiping” (brown nosing).

Jansen told the assembled academics that they were “training barbarians who are racist and sexist”.

He said until the country got the basics right, making the system “fancy”, by introducing tablets into classrooms, for example, would not work.

Jansen was addressing the AGM of the KZN Central Applications Office, which was attended by leaders from the province’s four universities and a number of private colleges.

“I don’t see the need for introducing Mandarin when we can’t seem to teach English, Afrikaans and Zulu first properly. Bringing in Mandarin is political gat kruiping,” (brown nosing)  he said.

While falling short of calling for a complete overhaul of the education system, Jansen said educationists had allowed “failure to become the new norm”.

Known for his bluntness and dislike of political correctness, he said one university in the province “continued to dish out a type of Bantu education”.

“You have all become complacent with this rubbish we call education. You have become institutionalised by keeping a dysfunctional system afloat.”

However, while acknowledging that the universities had challenges, he said the “base of education is extremely weak”.

“We need a long-term plan to get out of this mess. We should be thinking like Singapore who look 20 years ahead, but instead we only see tomorrow. Our role models are also these dysfunctional people in Parliament, when they should be Steve Biko or Robert Sobukwe. [Instead] we are training barbarians who are racist and sexist. They may be trained [in a subject or career], but they are not educated.”

He said the violent demonstrations held at universities annually by students was the result of a “lack of education”, and was not entirely the students’ fault because they had not been given the education required to make rational decisions.

He said the country had a “lazy culture”, investing heavily in education but obtaining poor results.

Last year, the government signed an agreement with China to roll out a Mandarin programme over the next decade, while in March the state gazetted Mandarin to be listed as a second additional language.

Basil Manuel, president of teaching union Naptosa, said while teachers were still coming to terms with the relatively new CAPS curriculum, piling more into the system would make it harder to get the basics right.

“We are still coming to terms with introducing indigenous languages in schools. This should be a priority, or are we becoming another Chinese province?”

He said the resources would be better spent on developing indigenous languages.

Education expert Les Stanley, who works with rural schools in the Midlands, said getting back to basics was absolutely necessary.

“On the ground there are huge issues. Children learning English in rural areas are already struggling, not because they aren’t intelligent but because they lack basic resources such as libraries.

Our focus needs to be rather on creating analytical minds. The introduction of Mandarin has dumbfounded me,” he said.

SOUTH AFRICA - QUO VADIS

SOUTH AFRICA - QUO VADIS

4th National General Council (NGC) of the ANC - 9th to 12th October 2015

                                                                                        Stes de Necker

South Africa's problems are bigger and more deep-rooted than what most South Africans wants to believe. As long as this minority political elite remains in government, and in power, it is unlikely that any significant improvement in the prevailing conditions will occur in the near future.

How is it possible that thousands of foreign visitors, who visited South Africa a decade ago, are avoiding this country totally today?

How is it possible that so many foreign investors, who a decade ago, was still so excited to invest in South Africa, took their investments elsewhere?

How is it possible that peaceful marches and protest demonstrations can nowadays, within the space of minutes, degenerate into violence and mayhem?

Where did it all go so wrong?

The best example of one such ill is surely the government's controversial tender system. It provides the opportunity for every friend and family member of the ruling elite to obtain extremely lucrative contracts, the vast majority of which are never carried out, or otherwise being performed so poorly that the work or service needs to be redone anyway.

For those who are not sufficiently blood related to the ruling elite, there is always the possibility of a lucrative position somewhere in the ANC's cadre deployment. Once you’re in that position, theft and corruption is also not that big a problem.  

At the very worst you can be suspended, with full pay, which means that for the next ten years you can sit at home and do nothing. By the time the inept legal process eventually commence, so much time has already been lost that any trial or hearing instituted against you will inevitably be found to be unfair and unlawful, with the result that there is little or no chance that you will ever be found guilty of the charges against you!

Inequitable black economic empowerment, affirmative action and land reform were, and still is, the greatest evils in the ANC political culture.

South Africa is littered with failed agricultural projects while millions of economic development funds ended up in the pockets of corrupt ANC leaders and supporters.

Once highly productive agricultural land lie uncultivated and unproductive today. The ruins and rusty implements and equipment of once thriving farming units, serve little more than forgotten tombstones of once vibrant and economically active farming communities.

Self-enrichment and personal interest is the order of the day. The inability of the government to take effective action at the stage when they were suppose to do it, caused this ill to proliferate to the point that one gets the impression that there exist a belief  that, if you do not grab your share now, don’t cry the day when there is no longer anything left to grab!

Corruption, in all organs and levels of government, certainly has the best profit to risk ratio in South Africa, since less than 5% of all corruption cases are successfully prosecuted in our courts.

In the 21 years since the end of white minority rule, South Africa has rarely looked so shaky.

Mining, the bedrock of the old economy, is in crisis as costs rise and commodity prices fall.

Wildcat strikes are spreading across the industry and into other sectors.

Companies are losing production, and the recognized unions, with which business was able to barter in the past, have lost influence over the labour force.

Equally worrying, the political atmosphere is not only charged but increasingly poisonous.

Opportunists such as Julius Malema, the former youth leader of the African National Congress and now  leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, a South African political party, which he founded in July 2013, is exploiting a leadership vacuum to publicize the broader failures of the post-apartheid state and whip up support from the disenfranchised.

There is much that is great about South Africa, not least the peaceful transition from apartheid and the spirit of tolerance that has existed since.

But Zuma has failed to grasp how this legacy is now under threat nor has he understood that the current crisis is a symptom of much deeper malaise. Instead he has put off dealing with the thornier issues until the ANC’s 4th National General Council (NGC) from 9th to 12th October 2015 at Gallagher Estate, Midrand Gauteng. 

The discussion document  for the NGC that will meet in October, underlines several major concerns for the party including:

Sliding majority

“The ANC’s leadership status and role are under threat; and other political forces
seek to exploit its weaknesses to dislodge it,” the document said.

It noted that the electoral trends reflect an ANC that, at above 60%, enjoys the support of the overwhelming majority of voters.

However, from the last two national elections, the ANC has shed support, coming down from 69.7% in 2004, to 65.9% in 2009 and 62.2% in 2014, it said.

In the same period, the DA has been gaining support, while breakaways from the ANC (COPE and now EFF) have received significant support.

Factionalism

For the ANC to “continue to serve and lead the people”, it should have organisational capacity and a corps of cadres who are able to give leadership to society at large.

“Factionalism and ‘money politics’ were identified as some of the critical weaknesses sapping the very revolutionary core of the organisation,” the paper said.

Corruption

The document said that when there is repetitive poor management of allegations of corruption and patronage within high leadership echelons, the legitimacy of the state and the polity as such are undermined.

“Indeed, over the past few years a general impression of systemic corruption has been created, ranging from unsavoury developments in State-owned Enterprises, strange machinations within security and tax authorities, to unconvincing responses to admonitions for accountability by relevant Constitutional bodies.”

The document said that what seems to be new, with major implications for state legitimacy, is how deeply-entrenched corrupt practices – driven by a few state employees, public representatives and the private sector – and arrogance by some in leadership positions have become, directly affecting social delivery.

“This finds expression especially, but not exclusively, at local government level.”

Wealth distribution

“Widening disparities in income, wealth, and opportunities have risen to the top of our concerns,” the paper said.

“We have focused on confronting inequality of opportunity, focusing on access to education and health and inequality in human capital, however much still needs to be done.”

Inequality of income is also a function of the distribution of economic assets and their rates of return.

“The distribution of wealth and income is largely still characterised by the racial and gender demographics of the colonial past.”

Infrastructure projects

Given the paucity of resources available in the fiscus – in this current period of low economic growth and a huge budget deficit – it will be necessary to ensure proper prioritisation and sequencing of state interventions, the ANC document said.

“It is also necessary to find creative ways of drawing in the private sector in realising some of the objectives such as urgent infrastructure projects.”

Monopolies vs SMEs

The huge concentration and centralisation of capital, with monopolies dominating most sectors of the economy, and some of them engaging in uncompetitive practices, is a major challenge, the ANC said.

Small, medium and micro-enterprises do not enjoy the same broad proportion of GDP as in other developing countries, the discussion document said.

The immediate conundrum is not an easy one. It may be possible for the government to win some breathing space by buying the workers and population off with some more empty promises, but sooner or later the reality will catch up political hogwash. 

   

Restructuring the whole economy is the bigger and more important challenge. A small elite within the ANC has in effect bought into the apartheid economy it found in 1994.

Remarkably, South Africa in terms of income distribution has become even more unequal since.

What is needed to address that is much more than a debate about wages.

Radical reforms to education, the labour market, business regulation and land ownership are needed to spur labour intensive sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture. South Africa’s growth has come from a high of five percent to a level going below two percent, which falls far short of what is needed to absorb the legions of unemployed.  

The necessary reforms will be painful. But deferring them, as the ANC wants to do, is not an option if further unrest is to be avoided. When the party meets for its annual congress, it will decide whether Mr. Zuma is the man to chart the course. South Africa should be at the forefront of continental growth. But for too long the ANC has deferred the tough decisions.

That is why South Africa is now at a dangerous impasse.

In a recent edition of Business Day, DR LUCAS NTYINTHYANE of Bloemfontein wrote:

“Violence and the daily dose of errors by political leadership are symbolic of a bigger and deeper malaise. Only those living in cloud cuckoo land will say everything is kosher.

Our country has become a comedian's paradise. A comedy of errors that is denting our image.

Commentators and analysts are pointing to the lack of political leadership. Everything else is a symptom of an absent leadership. It started with Thabo Mbeki.

Please don't blame President Jacob Zuma. It is not his fault. In an ideal world, Mr Zuma should have been banned from entering the Union Buildings. He is not fit to lead this country. Neither are Kgalema Motlanthe, Thabo Mbeki, Tokyo Sexwale or Mathews Phosa. They are part of the problem and cannot offer any viable leadership solution. Thanks to the selfishness of the African National Congress (ANC), we have Mr Zuma as a president.

Mr Zuma and the ANC, you don't own the country. You manage it on behalf of the electorate. This means a responsible, answerable leadership.”

This feeling of dissatisfaction is not limited to South Africa only.

The National Chairman of the Australian Protectionist Party, Andrew Phillips, called upon both the Federal Labour government and the Opposition to unanimously support the re-introduction of sanctions upon South Africa.

"It is becoming increasingly clear the situation in South Africa warrants international attention once again", Phillips said. "Despite noble announcements by the African National Congress (ANC) of its intent to make South Africa an egalitarian society in which all people could live in harmony and have equal opportunity-the reality is quite different."

His calls follow Woolworths SA asking that only "African Black candidates" apply for certain posts in job advertisements and South African Airways saying it will only appoint black pilots to its cadet pilot training programme.

Phillips said "Australia is dragging its feet in recognising the reality of the New South Africa. Euro MPs Barry Madlener and Lucas Hartong have already called for the EU to cease giving millions in aid to South Africa and have already raised the issue of what can only be described as cultural genocide in that country."

The Australian Protectionist Party recognises the right of all people, irrespective of racial, cultural or religious background to a safe homeland, self determination and the opportunity to control their national destiny in an increasingly globalised world.

"With the advent of so-called majority rule, minorities such as the Afrikaner communities are experiencing ever increasing disadvantage and persecution based on the colour of their skin.  

"The South African government has done little to protect the lives of the nation's farmers and their families, actively promotes the on-going Anglicisation of the nation's government sector.   

"Australia was quick to take the moral high-ground against South Africa decades ago, now is not the time to expose our hypocrisy by refusing to re-introduce sanctions and apply meaningful diplomatic pressure upon the ANC regime,"

South Africa’s Constitution is recognized throughout the world as one of the best constitutions in the world. Everybody involved was pleased and proud to have been a part of it. Two of the leaders were even awarded Nobel Peace Prizes.

But now it seems that some of our ANC leaders are uncomfortable with the Freedom Charter and the Constitution. They claim to live by the rule of law, but when the law isn’t on their side, they’re happy to bend, ignore, or even break it.

The ANC still shouts that they want to reduce crime and corruption. That they want to improve the education and health systems. That they want to reduce unemployment and to provide homes for the homeless.

So why don’t they do it!

Or is it all just about who gets to ride in fancy official cars and fly free in first-class on SAA? Is it about who gets to live in large official residences and attend lavish dinners?

None of these things are mentioned in the Freedom Charter or the Constitution.

The question the ANC must ask itself is: Do the majority of the people of South Africa still vote for the ANC because they believe in the policies of the party, or because the ANC was the mechanism which freed them from oppression in 1994.

The preamble to the Freedom Charter makes it very clear:

That South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of the People. 

In its discussion document for the NGC meeting, the ruling party has admitted that it has concerns about its waning support, following the general elections in May last year.

The question is: Does the ANC really still represent the will of the people?