Land bill faces legal challenge

May 15 2008 8:10AM

Michael Hamlyn

Cape Town - AfriForum, a pressure group allied to the right wing Freedom Front Plus, is threatening to take the expropriation bill to the constitutional court, because, they say, it breaches rights to property, the right to access to the courts, and to just administrative action.

Kallie Kriel its chief executive said on Wednesday: "The fact that in terms of the bill, the state will have the right to expropriate any property, at an amount which the state will determine itself, while the courts will only have the right to review the expropriation process followed, in effect amounts to the legalised theft of property by the state."

The bill will also undermine the authority and independence of the courts, he said.

In a letter to the portfolio committee on public works, which is shepherding the bill through parliament, Kriel said that the bill's attempt to take away the courts' authority to rule on the expropriation amount, contravenes article 25(2)(b) of the constitution.

He said that in his opinion, it is even more absurd to note that the bill would empower the state to expropriate any item or property (such as a house or car) in order to give it to someone who does not have such an item or property already, and on top of that will also be able to determine the price paid for it itself, as long as the "correct procedures" are followed.

- I-Net Bridge

 

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Religion versus politics...

May 06 2008 at 07:17AM

By Wendy Jasson da Costa

ANC President Jacob Zuma has earned the wrath of the DA and ACDP and offended a cardinal for claiming that his party enjoyed the full support of God.

Previously slated for claiming the ANC would rule "until Jesus comes back", Zuma went even further this weekend, saying that God expected the ANC to rule and that the party had God's blessing.

Speaking about the divisions in the ANC in the Western Cape, Zuma told people in Khayelitsha: "We shall build this organisation. We are not going to fail.

"Even God expects us to rule this country, because we are the only organisation which was blessed by pastors when it was formed. It is even blessed in heaven.

"That is why we will rule until Jesus comes back. We should not allow anyone to govern our city (Cape Town) when we are ruling the country."

DA CEO Ryan Coetzee was first to react, saying Zuma "consciously and repeatedly" invoked God to justify eternal ANC rule, and to demonise political opponents.

Ironically, it is the prospect of losing the province to a DA-led coalition which prompted Zuma's remarks.

"As tempting as it is to dismiss this kind of statement as eccentric or amusing, it is actually very dangerous, because to oppose a government backed by God is to oppose God; to oppose governments that rule by divine right is to be a traitor; to attempt to dislodge them, even through the ballot box, is a declaration of war. In short, opposition to the ANC is rendered utterly illegitimate," Coetzee said on Monday.

He was not the only one fuming at Zuma's apparent "God complex".

ACDP president Kenneth Meshoe said Zuma's remarks were "blasphemous", and called on him to apologise.

"The unity he is calling for in the ANC will not materialise. It's a sign of God's displeasure (because) of their rebellion and the immorality they are promoting in the country."

Referring to the legalisation of abortion and same-sex marriages, Meshoe said Zuma was effectively saying that God "blesses" the killing of innocent babies and homosexual relations. He said the ANC would sink like the Titanic.

It was also following the route of "Zanu-PF, which had lost Zimbabwe's recent elections after they thought they would rule forever".

Durban-based Cardinal Wilfred Napier, of the Roman Catholic Church, said on Monday: "I am offended that people use God in a way that has nothing to do with religion."

Napier said he had reminded Zuma of The Beatles - who caused much controversy when they announced they were "more popular than Jesus Christ" - when he had first passed such remarks.

He said people felt offended that the Beatles had trivialised religion and the value they placed on it.

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'Mbeki not a credible mediator'

04/05/2008 21:05  - (SA)

Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki can no longer be considered a credible mediator in the Zimbabwe crisis, the Democratic Alliance's parliamentary leader, Sandra Botha, said on Sunday.

When Parliament reconvened on Tuesday, Botha said, she intended moving a motion calling for a debate on the post-election crisis in Zimbabwe, and more specifically, probing Mbeki and the SA government's "distinct lack of action" on the matter.

Botha last month gave a representative of Foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma a letter detailing proposed demands to the Mugabe government to help bring about an end to the post-election violence and political stalemate in Zimbabwe.

If the Zimbabwean government failed to meet these demands, the DA proposed that SA pursue more stringent measures, such as imposing targeted travel and financial sanctions on Zanu-PF's ruling elite, and calling for an international arms embargo on the country.

Despite having received these proposals, government had yet to respond to the crisis in any significant way, Botha said.

"To add insult to injury, we now know from reports in the media that President Mbeki not only endorsed the effort by Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF to procure a massive cache of arms and ammunition from China, but that Mbeki instructed the Ministry of Defence and the National Conventional Arms Control Committee to allow the arms transfer to continue unhindered."

This morally bankrupt move would have contributed to the violent suppression of the Zimbabwean people by the military and the police there.

This was "further evidence that President Mbeki can no longer be considered a credible mediator in the Zimbabwe crisis".

'Crime not the only reason'

25/04/2008 20:22  - (SA) 

Pretoria - Heightened security is one of the many reasons the US Embassy is terminating household leases, a spokesperson said on Friday.

US Embassy spokesperson in Pretoria, Sharon Hudson-Dean said the embassy terminated at least 20 household leases for its staff annually.

"The Embassy reviews the inventory of housing for its staff annually and adjusts the type and number of leased residences according to the needs of the mission.

"Every year, the Embassy terminates approximately twenty leases, and this year is no different," said Hudson-Dean.

This follows reports that the embassy was terminating the leases because of high crime rates.

"A heightened security profile is just one of many reasons that leases are reassessed," she said.

She said that the demographics of embassy staff had changed from large families to married couples with no children and single people.

"Smaller families require smaller houses. Several recent lease terminations have been due to the fact that the embassy no longer requires as many large houses," said Hudson-Dean.

She said that security was a "serious" concern to ambassador Eric Bost and carried a heavy weight in the reassessment process.

"As new Embassy personnel arrive, we try to place them in multi-unit secure compounds, replacing the stand-alone houses of the departing families," she said.

She added that when the embassy terminated a lease, it was done in accordance with all requirements of the lease signed by the owner of the property, as well as the Embassy.

Residential leases in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town were terminated annually.

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Mbeki's double standards

17/04/2008 13:03  - (SA)      

Georgina Guedes

African politicians have to dance to two different tunes, representing their countries on a global stage, while still remaining sensitive to local politics.

Thabo Mbeki has proven himself to be a global thinker, and has often come under criticism for this from his own people. But the one issue upon which he has remained intractable has been Zimbabwe.

The concept of "quiet diplomacy", a euphemism for "looking the other way while atrocities are committed" if ever I heard one, is a bizarre one. But a step beyond quiet diplomacy, publicly stating that the world should wait for the Zimbabwean election results, is even stranger.

Standing by a lunatic dictator as he flaunts his own agenda in the face of derailed democratic processes is a very questionable stance for a head of state, notions of brotherhood in the struggle notwithstanding. Has Mbeki forgotten that it was democracy that installed him for two terms in South Africa in the first place? How can he stand by a man who seeks to stymie this process?

Not that I agree with much of what they have done in recent years, but the Americans invade countries for flouting democracy. Zimbabwe should count its (possibly last remaining) blessings that it doesn't have any oil, or it would have to contend with being bombed as well as starving and without essential services.

The global community

Realistically, Zimbabwe needn't fear invasion by democracy champions, but it does continue to be excluded from a global community, and in a rapidly shrinking world, inclusion is essential for survival.

Naysayers insist that it is only because of Western boycotts that Zimbabwe is in such a precarious economic and political position, but this is ignoring the fact that these same powers boycotted the Apartheid government in South Africa, with the result of bringing African leadership into power.

To participate in a global community, a country has to embrace democracy and steer clear of human rights abuses. Democracy isn't just a mechanism to install a leader, after which he can do whatever he wants, it's an ongoing process, involving free and fair elections, freedom of the press, freedom of expression and association and almost no accidents in prison cells with uneven floor tiling.

For Thabo Mbeki to stand by a man who is doing the same things in his country that were done to black South Africans only two short decades ago is a sickening double standard, and a very negative indictment on African politics indeed.

Georgina Guedes is a freelance journalist. She has nothing funny to say today

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NPA stands up for Scorpions

Boyd Webb
April 16 2008 at 06:53AM

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has defended the Scorpions after the ANC accused the crime fighting unit of sheltering former apartheid security police intent on destroying the ruling party.

It was reacting to accusations by ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, who also accused the Scorpions of acting like an opposition party.

On Tuesday, Mantashe said some of the reasons the ruling party wanted to disband the Scorpions was its "unfair" treatment of senior members and the clear antipathy the unit had towards the party.

"We have committed a mistake by putting a lot of the special branch into the NPA and they see their erstwhile opponents as the same enemy today. That is why they have become a political organisation with an objective to fight the ANC."

But NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali hit back, saying: "The NPA is not a haven for criminals, nor is it there to shield those whose mission it is to destabilise democratic order in this country.

"Our conduct has to contribute towards enhancing public confidence in the institutions of state and not sponsor efforts to undermine them."

He said the NPA's business was to investigate and prosecute those it believed had committed crimes.

"We are not a self-serving political organisation, but an institution of state accountable to parliament and to South Africa by extension."

Tlali said all Scorpions staff members had the necessary security clearance to do their operational duties.

This is not the first time the NPA has had to defend one of its own from attacks by the ANC.

In January, the ANC's national working committee accused Gerrie Nel, the Scorpions' Gauteng head and lead investigator in the Jackie Selebi investigation, of being a member of the apartheid-era riot squad. The NPA issued a statement rejecting this as false.

On Tuesday Mantashe also said the Scorpions had to be closed to make way for a more aggressive crime fighting unit to deal with organised crime.

The Scorpions, he said, solved most of its cases through plea bargains.

"We need professional investigators and detectives who fight crime and corruption.

"We don't want people who will give plea bargains to everybody as long as you can incriminate the ANC," he said.

His statement followed a meeting with DA leader Helen Zille on Tuesday, when she again tried to convince the ANC that its decision to disband the Scorpions was foolish.

"We believe it's critical for all South Africans, especially the poor, to have a force that can prevent South Africa from becoming a state in which corruption is endemic," she said.

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Diverging paths

April 16 2008 at 07:37PM

By Michael Georgy

South African President Thabo Mbeki's refusal to take a tougher line on neighbouring Zimbabwe has further damaged his credibility and handed rival Jacob Zuma another opening to improve his image.

Regional leaders last year mandated Mbeki to lead mediation between President Robert Mugabe and the opposition but his insistence on "quiet diplomacy" failed to make headway.

As a post-election deadlock deepened in Zimbabwe following the failure to release results from the March 29 presidential poll, Mbeki continued to downplay the situation, saying there was no crisis.

His steadfast refusal to change his stance has brought a flood of criticism and given Zuma a golden chance to strengthen his image abroad, where his corruption trial in August has raised concerns about the future direction of South Africa.

If Zuma can survive the case, he is front runner to succeed Mbeki in 2009, having already ousted him last December as leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

"If Jacob Zuma could broker some kind of resolution in Zimbabwe that the international community, particularly Britain and the United States would be happy with, that would probably go a long way to alleviate concerns that other countries have regarding Jacob Zuma's own leadership ability," said analyst Mark Schroeder.

Analysts say Zuma may be angling to become a leading mediator in the crisis to boost his international capital.

In his toughest statement yet on Zimbabwe, Zuma expressed apprehension on Wednesday at the post-election deadlock and its impact on the neighbouring region, and criticised the delay in issuing results that Mbeki has defended.

Mbeki is already seen by critics as a lame duck president and has been battered on a range of issues, where his reluctance to change direction has been similar to his stance on Zimbabwe.

He has presided over an economic boom but crime and poverty are still rife. A major crisis over lack of power generation has raised fears about the possible impact on the broader economy.

Critics blame Mbeki for ignoring warnings years ago that the country lacked the power capacity to fuel a booming economy.

He also infuriated Aids activists for years by questioning accepted Aids science while the disease killed about 1 000 people a day and by delaying the wide distribution of anti-retroviral drugs.

Zuma, without Mbeki's education and intellect but oozing with the charisma he lacks, portrays himself both as a man of the people and someone who can keep foreign investment flowing into Africa's biggest economy.

His decisive response to the Zimbabwe issue, backed by the ANC and his trade union allies, has raised his stature.

"If you take the new ANC leadership generally, I think this is positive for them. It will enhance their image in the eyes of the world. I think there has been lot of anxiety about what the new Zuma-ANC is going to be like. They are showing there is greater resolve than there has been under Mbeki," said veteran political commentator Allister Sparks.

Under fire for his domestic policies, Mbeki wants to be remembered as a champion of African causes, despite what critics say is ineffectiveness in Zimbabwe, which has flooded his country with millions of economic migrants and at times dented the rand currency.

"His political leadership is fragile but he is trying to work on a legacy and the legacy he is trying to work is very much in terms of Africa and southern Africa," said Susan Booysen, a political analyst at South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).

Just before leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gathered for an emergency summit on Zimbabwe in Lusaka on Saturday, Mbeki flew to Harare for talks with Mugabe.

As Zimbabweans anxiously awaited results of an election they hoped would ease food and food shortages and hyper-inflation, Mbeki walked hand in hand with Mugabe on the airport tarmac. It's an image that may haunt him if Zimbabwe's catastrophic downward spiral continues.

Mbeki was under the spotlight again on Wednesday when he chaired a meeting of key members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council and the African Union at which Zimbabwe became a key topic despite his efforts to focus on other issues.

Mbeki, current rotating president of the Security Council, had resisted pressure from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Western powers to discuss Zimbabwe.

Mbeki is unlikely to budge, analysts say.

"Zimbabwe has been one of his leading issues. For him to accept backing down to the ANC right now would be a huge slap in his face, a huge embarrassment," said Schroeder, regional director for sub-Saharan Africa at risk analysis firm Stratfor, Strategic Forecasting, Inc.

"He is certainly a stubborn leader," Schroeder said.

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