The title President of the Republic of South Africa is rich in gravitas, albeit not in the same league as heading the party youth league. Increasingly however, Jacob Zuma more resembles the little Dutch boy who plugged the dike with his thumb, except that there are more leaks in the embankments protecting this country from institutional collapse than Zuma has digits.
This week Zuma promised the inhabitants of Mthatha that the government would never allow the capital of the former Transkei to collapse. Last week a management team was parachuted into Pietermaritzburg to rescue the KwaZulu-Natal capital from bankruptcy and collapse.
Last year Zuma personally assured Balfour’s rioting inhabitants that their service delivery concerns would be addressed. Last month they again, erected barricades, stoned police and looted shops because nothing had been done.
Such scenes are repeated through the length and breadth of the land. Functional local government has virtually collapsed. As the Institute of Race Relations’ Frans Cronje observes, some communities act as if the African National Congress (ANC) government were an illegal regime, rather than the party they voted for by overwhelming majority. “Protest action has escalated and its implications for future stability in South Africa are serious,” he warns.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was not, as one might expect, the extra burden of expanding services to those previously excluded. The final straw has been a hayrick of mismanagement, barely concealed looting, tender-fixing, and nepotism.
In Mthatha there have been knife fights and shootings between the councillors. Black ratepayers have launched a payments boycott, demonstrating to Cooperative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka that it is not only those supposedly unpatriotic whites trying to bring down the government, who withhold rates where services are non-existent.
Aside from occasional flurries of rubber bullets fired at protesters, Pietermaritzburg has seen less political drama than Mthatha but the once manicured capital much resembles that town: filthy, frayed and feckless. Even as Msunduzi council admitted to more than half a billion outstanding in uncollected revenue, the mayor — who boasts on the tourism website that not only is she is the granddaughter of anti-apartheid icon Albert Luthuli, but “charming and enthusiastic” to boot — was prettifying the Mayor’s Parlour with new leather couches for her bodyguards to lounge in.
Spare some sympathy for our embattled but remorselessly optimistic president. It is, after all, not on his watch that the deployment into municipal management of incompetent, dishonest ANC cadres attained a feeding frenzy of self-enrichment. And it is, after all, Zuma who has made tentative clucking noises about the loss of the white technical and administrative backbone of local government, to allow ANC deployment and nepotism.
Nevertheless, it is Zuma’s job to lead the country. Not to sprint between fiery communities, spreading avuncular reassurance like a fire-blanket over conflagrations.
Shiceka states that the government will end service delivery protests by 2014. The previous administration, according to Shiceka, was “lethargic at best and at worst doing nothing” about community dissatisfaction. However, the Zuma government’s turn-around strategy means that by the end of the year “rapid response teams” will be deployed to deal with community grievances within two days of being notified of them.
This is starry-eyed at best, disingenuous at worst, in a country where one cannot summon an ambulance, never mind a managerial resuscitation squad. Rapid response will become vapid response, will become rabid response, as the teams move from optimism to failure to frustration.
Local government can only work if managers are accountable and staff are employed for their skills, not skin colour or political hue. That’s not easily achieved when the ethos of the ANC has shifted from selfless service to self-service.
Dear William
“and staff are employed for their skills, not skin colour or political hue.”
Amazing how many of the pc liberals have now turned against AA whereas those of us who were against it from the start for exactly the reasons that are now manifesting themselves were berated as racists and even prevented from posting on this here enlightened blog. Surely the wheel turns.
“It is, after all, not on his watch that the deployment into municipal management of incompetent, dishonest ANC cadres attained a feeding frenzy of self-enrichment.”
And another falls into the trap neatly prepared by the ANC. No, it is not about Zuma and Mbeki and Zuma taking over from a previously mismanaged government. It is ALL ONE PARTY, ALL ONE ANC, that has been gloriously stuffing up since 1994 and is still stuffing up. Yet through very effective spindoctoring the ANC has managed to make all believe that there is now a new government and the old one is to blame for all the problems, the new one should therefore be given a change to fix what was stuffed up by Mbeki’s lot. Very smart and very effective, however, it could only work on people who are basically ignorant, people with limited intellect and limited vision but guess what, the strategy is working like a dream. Makes you think, doesn’t it.
You hit the nail on the head. An excellent and truthfull read and actual account.
Thanks
Thank you, William. You’re spot on again.
Yes, WIlliam, the sky is falling and we’re all going to hell in a handbasket. LOL LOL
Your agenda of casting the black government as utterly corrupt, inefficient and the cause of all our problems is pretty OBVIOUS.
Quoting a body that’s a relic from apartheid, the South African Institute of Race Relations (established in 1929) is beyond a joke! And saying that the failure of local government is due to “loss of the white technical and administrative backbone of local government” is simply another underhanded strategy to propagate centuries of white-AA.
The wealth disparity along racial lines and festering racism in our communities are harsh realities that are at the ROOT of our problems. As long as you continue to deny this (your amnesia about the centuries of white supremacy and apartheid) with your pathetic whinging, insults and doom and gloom predictions, you and your ilk will never be able to make any positive contributions to our country but simply continue your parasitic existence living off the fat of the land.
It Cannot work.
This country was handed over in a state of modernity that is overwhelmingly sophisticated for an African liberation movement to manage. Too proud to ask for help and too ashamed to admit that they are way out of their depth. In the end, abject helplessness turns into selfish grubbing for personal wealth.
Zuma is a much bigger “Piet Promises” than Koornhof. At least Piet Koornhof made several attempts to keep his promises, which is more than can be said of Zuma.
Simply put, the problem is that there are not enough appropriate human resources to manage this country anywhere nearly properly. The scale of the problem is just too large and the pool of educated, motivated ‘selfless’ candidates is infinitesimally small. There is little the ANC government can do to fix this. They have taken their eye off the ball in the pursuit of self enrichment and the resultant mindset has become so endemic that it will take decades to reverse, even if they got started on this. Zuma is smart enough to know that he can’t deliver, but “sprint(ing) between fiery communities, spreading avuncular reassurance” to the eternally gullible masses will keep him in power.
Is Dave Harris, Ronald Suresh Roberts? Keep supporting the cANCer.
Whaaaa…Haaaa..Haaaa…Haaaa
Dave Harris you beauty…this is by far your best yet. I’m pleased to see that you are finally back to your best. You throw the racial slur around with abandon yet fail to see the racial undertones to your own verbal excretions.
If you truly understood what was happening on the ground in South Africa you would see that the unrest and dissatisfaction is crossing racial and political lines, that its both rich and poor, black and white, who are standing up and saying enough! Your hilarious attempts at defending the current regime are humorous at best and although add a light touch to the debate ultimately will be found wanting, just like the ANC government. Talk about relics!
@ Dave Harris
One sick puppy, man.
“The wealth disparity along racial lines and festering racism in our communities are harsh realities that are at the ROOT of our problems.”
“Wealth disparity” and poverty was not caused by “apartheid & white supremacy”. It was caused by rampant breeding and a total lack of birth control by the same people who now complain about it. The black population today stands at more than 50 million whilst white population still stand at around 4 million. People who cannot even feed themselves have 4,5, 6 children. Mothers disappear leaving their newly born babies in hospitals. Schoolgirls pay younger boys to make them pregnant so they can get child grants. It stands to reason that there will not be enough jobs, housing, wealth etc to support this massive population explosion.
The Soviets have been pumping millions into the ANC for terrorist activities for decades. For proof read Anthea Jeffrey’s book “People war”.
If those millions were used by the ANC for education and upliftment of the black communities instead of terrorism there would not have been any “wealth disparity” today.
Have you still not realised that it is liberals like yourself who have put his corrupt incompetent government into power and who are therefore to blame for the death and suffering of millions since 1994. These are crimes against humanity and I hope that those who brough this chaos about get what you deserve.
To rephrase what Eagle wrote:
First the ANC blamed the apartheid regime (which had delivered better than they did)
Then the ANC blamed the Mbeki regime (which had less potholes than they do)
When will the ANC accept responsiblity?
On that day, they will do something about it, and all our troubles will be over.
Methinks, Jesus will come, or they will be voted out of power before that happens.
Dave, seriously, WTF?
Have you simply missed all the reports of violent protest around the country? Would you like to venture a guess as to why these people are protesting? Incited by the DA? Or perhaps the reports are a conspiracy to destabilise the ANC government by the same rabble of reporters that have recently decided to complain about Shivambu?
Of course, the wealth disparity along racial lines and festering racism in our communities are harsh realities, but heaping the entire service delivery failure scenario on the shoulders of these realities does nothing to solve any of these problems.
Overwhelmingly the service delivery protests are aimed at issues relating to mismanagement. Not at a lack of funds (that could presumably result from a regionally low tax income due to race related poverty) and not because the representatives are not ‘representative’ (read, not of the right race), or against racial discrimination.
So, the suggestion is to address these managerial issues with simple, innocuous things like enforcing accountability and employment based on merit. This to try improve the situation for these people in real terms, not just in terms of the nice fuzzy feeling you get when The Prez and his peeps show up.
But no, this pathetic whinging is bulls***. The positive contribution you would rather focus on here is that everyone is racist and until racism has been eliminated service delivery will never happen. And until then, these protesters are just pathetic whingers.
Seriously? WTF?
@Dave Harris – I do hope you are not white, or around before 1994. Because if so, your generalisations apply to yourself and are not worth even the tiny amount of effort you put into repeating them ad nauseam.
If you are not white, you need to stop placing the blame on everyone else and open your eyes to what is really going outside of your boring tunnel vision.
From your keyboard to God’s ears!
Any which way you look at it, the ship, she is sinking
What a remarkable ability you have to describe the embittered and ‘gatvol’ mood prevailing in the country today and of the growing dissastisfaction and dismay at the unfit governing ability of the ANC. We have been placed on a dangerous precipice from “a hayrick of mismanagement, barely conceled looting, tender fixing and nepotism.” South Africans of every colour and culture are becoming cohesive in seeing the light that the only leading the ANC is doing, is leading us from democracy to darkness (and I’m not talking about Eskom!)
Pres Zuma must stop talking and start doing – making promises and not fulfilling them is a sure way to become a candidate for “recall” (ANC speak for “your fired”).
Dave Harris is right when he says that massive income and asset / wealth inequalities are a recipe for social unrest – this has proven to be true in many societies with high Gini co-efficients (Brazil, Malaysia, parts of the old USSR).
Of course it is nonesense to suggest that this is the only, or even main / root cause of the problems in SA – the causes are many and complex (poor education standards, lack of access to education, poor public healthcare, poor monitoring and accontability of public and private institutions, corruption and nepotism etc).
There are many countries in the world that are MUCH poorer than SA with much lower per capita GDP, but there is little or no civil unrest, and the Gini co-efficient (a measure of income and asset / wealth inequality) is relatiively low.
The isue seems to be – if I am poor, but everyone else is poor, then I get on with my life and can be reasonably satisfied.
If however, I am poor and I see many of my peers are stinking rich, I am likely to become dissatisfied and think “hey, I also want a piece of the action”.
A similar phonomenon existos in the workplace regarding salary discrepancies and employee motivation – refer to the work of Adams and his equity theory for more detail.
……..continued
@Eagle
The birthrate for urban blacks is almost identical to that of urban whites, coloureds and Indians, and very close to below replacement (around 2.2).
What is the source of the statistics that you refer to – your thumb and a suction device?
DR (Yes – she has a Phd) Anthea Jeffrey’s views are arguably at the far right of the political spectrum, as can be said for the curiously named SAIRR.
Such views may have some merit, but can hardly be used as a factual authority – there is a difference between facts and opinions!
The axiom / urban legend (you choose which!) that you quote of school girls impregnating themselves to qualify for a R200 odd per month grant – what evidence do you have to support this?
How many girls do this? What percentage of 16-24 year olds does this represent?
After they have fed clothed and housed these infants, how much money is left from the R200 per month grant?
Regarding the “rampant breeding” of the black population, are you aware that it was official apartheid government policy in the 1940′s and 1950′s to promote large (white, preferably Afrikaans) families?
Many platteland churches used to hold competitions!
By all means criticise the Zuma administration for their many failings and shortcomings (and lets face it, there is MUCH to criticise), but please let’s try and conduct rational, civil discourse based on established facts.
I used to think ‘hey, give Dave Harris a chance. The poor guy is intellectually challenged.’ Surely, everyone deserves a chance on the blog-stage. Now I feel even sorrier for him as I had not realised that he is blind as well. I agree that we don’t need that unmentionable apartheid institution to tell us that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. We should simply open our eyes and ears — assuming that we have not lost our hearing as well. At least Mr. Harris has taught us how to roll over and play dead without losing our dignity.
Cogratulations William. You have put it better than most people could.
@Dave Harris a.k.a Philemon: As a black man (you admitted it once) with a private school education you should know better than to spout such crap.
The ANC has had control of the budget and just about everything else since 1994, and everything is falling apart. Our system of education is far worse than before 1994. Our roads are falling apart; our municipalities have virtually stopped functioning; corruption is rampant. And you blame it on the whites!
You know, Philemon, the people reading this blog are not stupid, so for heaven’s sake, start making constructive suggestions.
The idea of blaming what is wrong on some devil (the Whites here, the Jews in Germany etc) is an old strategy. It may get the ignorant masses on your side but it does not lead to any solutions. Why not help us to address the problem? There are still many of us here who want to help, but your rantings, and those of people like Maleme are accomplishing several things: Foreign investment has dried up, and more skilled people are leaving the country.
You are obviusly being paid by the ANC to spout your racist crap, but no one is fooled by it.
@william your blog is unfortunately true. What we are seeing in ANC led governments at every level is the triumph of a profound human weakness, self-service, over community or public service. Self service is not something that we have to be taught as we are all born with that ability. Public service on the other hand is something that we may or may not learn as we mature through our socialisation. Meaningful public service of any kind also requires that we have the necessary skills and abilities to deliver it otherwise we simply cannot do it.
All the Dave Harris’s and all the ANC supporters can say all they like. SA is going down the gurgler and will be another Zimbabwe within five to eight years. They can’t stop it. They can only rail against the fading of the light. It’s as inevitable as everywhere else in Africa. Give them a first world colony and they ‘africanise’ it as fast as they can. It’s a joy to watch something so predictable happening in front of your eyes. More please.
A fair assessment, except that there is no comparison between Zuma and the boy with his finger in the dyke; Zuma instead has someone photograph him with a finger inserted somewhere and then pretends that he has his finger in the dyke.
The problem is not only the crisis, it is that the government is not addressing the crisis; it is addressing the political consequences of the crisis (by pretending to do something in front of the eager cameras).
Of course, there will be (see above) numerous white racists dancing around gleefully. But, contrary to Mr. Harris’s theory, the presence of stupid white racists does not automatically make all problems their fault. The fault is, ultimately, the failure of the government to develop a credible strategy to confront the national social problems, and also the insistence of the government on dismantling whatever existed before it.
Dear Dave Harris,
Do tell us which community you live in, since that is doubtless the only community you know. Now, if it’s Sandton, we are all aware of how racist that is, ‘cos JM lives there…
I rather appreciated this little gem reported this weekend about service delivery protests:
‘Concerns are genuine, government spokesman, Themba Maseko, said and officials intend to hold at least 4,250 meetings a year to allow communities to raise their concerns and receive progress updates.’
Just in time for next year’s elections, no doubt and armed with food parcels paid for with tax-payer money.
This is all fab, flame on.
There can be NO excuses – a Goverment have the power to collect taxes and then use these taxes to attend to the challenges of the society it serves
The difference between pre 94 and post 94 is a magnitude of 10
Before 94 we had an excellent burocracy , serving the needs of 4m people
Now we have a burocracy having to serve the needs of 45m people
Logic will dictate that you now should have a burocracy that is 10 times stronger , more competent and more vibrant to meet the challenges
The burocray that we have is the result of an ANC led strategy to maintain power at all cost , and NOT to serve the interest of the people.
You cannot and WILL NOT resolve the service delivery crisis as long as the people CONTINUE TO vote for the ANC.
And you will not get the masses to change their vote as long as they are intimidated by the ANC to vote for them – i.e losing grants , pensions , etc.
IT IS ALL ABOUT ABSOLUTE POWER !!!
And it is no different any where north of the Limpopo !!!
It is cAlled BLACK POLITICS or ANTI WHITE , ANTI COLONILIASM.
BY WHICH EVER WORD OR DESCRIPTION YOU USE – IT STINKS !!!
@Witbooi
I’m still waiting on you to contribute something of substance to these discussions instead of your boring insults.
@Eagle
” The black population today stands at more than 50 million whilst white population still stand at around 4 million.”
And whose fault is that? See, karma is a bitch, ain’t it? LOL
@Second That
” that everyone is racist and until racism has been eliminated service delivery will never happen”
Don’t you think that by virtue of our history, SA has FAR more racists per capita than elsewhere in the world? If the previously advantaged truly care about the future of this country, they would be doing far more to ensure the success of “service delivery”. The previously advantaged need to understand that they have far more to lose on the long term than the short term political gains from a failures in “service delivery”.
@Anne Coventry
Maybe if you stopped fixating on my ethnicity, you will be able to think straight.
@RubinB
“(the Whites here, the Jews in Germany etc”
Did you mean “the whites here, the Nazis in Germany etc”
“You are obviusly being paid by the ANC…”
Yeah, your small mind cannot grasp the idea of doing anything without financial gain …but then you are a product of apartheid, so that figures…
@Graham Johnson
“It’s a joy to watch something so predictable happening in front of your eyes.”
Really? Schadenfreude, pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others, was a trademark of the Nazi regime..see the connection?
@The Creator
“stupid white racists does not automatically make all problems their fault.”
No, its the smart white racists that are shirking their responsibility in cleaning up the mess they created. The stupid ones actually adapt quicker after learning the hard way. LOL
@MLH
“Do tell us which community you live in”
This smells of stalking? Can’t you respect a guys anonymity?
Peter L, you say “…right of the political spectrum, as can be said for the curiously named SAIRR.”
Before and during the Apartheid days the SAIRR was an international respected institution who’s figures/publications were used and quoted by all shades of political 9especially the ANC in exile) and social opinion. Now suddenly they are beyond the pale and called ‘Right wing’, suggest you read their research and publications before shoving foot in the mouth. The SAIRR has not changed, it is just the political spectrum in SA that has.
Dave Harris seems like your given/instructed role is to blog early with as much bile and rubbish as possible and thus diverting the debate away from the original blog subject. Congratulations you are succeeding very well but at the same time contribute nil to growing SA positively and to solving our big problems most inherited from Apartheid.
Brent
With the ridiculous labour laws that we now have, it is impossible for the ANC to fire people who were not fit for the jobs that they were appointed to. A recent President of the United States was asked ‘why is the USA so successful’? His reply was “We fire the most”. This illustrates that they also “Hire the most” but in South Africa once you have employed someone who is useless you have a devil of a job getting rid of him/her. You can expect each and every ANC appointed useless employee to fight to the death in the courts to keep their jobs. So what does Zuma do? He will have to double the work force by adding good guys to do the jobs of the bad guys who can then go on extended paid leave for the rest of their lives?? As rightfully said in the above article, the only qualification for a job should be competence. Waving machine guns about, singing and dancing qualify you to run a dance school, nothing else.
Zuma CANNOT (I’m afraid) deliver. He is incapable of leading this organisation-gone-wild in which the smart ones are LOOTING, not delivering. We in the ANC simply have NO TIME to govern. We’re too busy partying, looting or infighting. Sorry. —– Try the next government.
Factual Report Mr Sanderson-Meyer, for anyone willing to open their eyes and look. Unlike some who seem to need statistics on the state of the air before they will dare to breathe, most of us can see the writing on the wall.
The educated mostly know what is lacking: quality education that can compete internationally. The uneducated, for obvious reasons, mostly don’t and will keep voting ANC (maybe) out of fear of losing more than just face, maybe because, for the disempowered, the only safety lies in numbers.
To sort out the mess we’re in we would have to get rid of all the band-aids like AA and BBEEE, which simply perpetuates a wrong. Also, to get rid of the colossal mistake which is OBE and adopt a cheaper, more effective education system that can be made freely available to everyone, adult or child. Without it, the playing field will never be level. Oh, and perhaps public salaries ought to be reviewed and brought in line with mean private sector salaries? Making bonuses performance related again would also not harm.
This is all known, how do one force the ANC to listen, withhold tax money? Surely there is grounds for conscientious objection when one see children leave school, cheated of their education by an incompetent, ill-equiped education department?
@ Peter L
Another rock, another communist. A casebook attempt at disinformation and normally a waste of time to answer as you will disappear of the thread as soon as you are shown up. However, if you want to be shamed, let me oblige ……
“The birthrate for urban blacks is almost identical to that of urban whites”
Your feverish assertion about URBAN BLACKS is nebelous. My point is about homogenous population groups.
1996/2001 Census Stats: 2001 black population = 40526138. Increase = 1 million blacks/year. Projected black population in 2010 = 50 million. Illigal immigrants added = 55 million blacks.
2001 white population = 4293630. DECREASE = 28000 whites/year. Projected white population in 2010 = 4 million. Buggering off overseas = 1 million whites in 10 years. WHITES BELOW ATTRITION LEVEL.
2001 Black child population = 14 589 410
2001 White child population = 815 792
THUS 18 BLACK CHILDREN FOR EVERY 1 WHITE CHILD AND INCREASING.
@ Peter L
You have obviously not read People’s War by Anthea Jeffreys which the commies/liberals and gov lackies are trying to discredit manically otherwise you would have known that, besides it being commissioned and endorsed by the South African Institute of Race Relations, it is packed cover to cover with proven facts and references to sources, unlike your generalised comments not containing a single fact. If you disagree with the facts in the book then give us yours and sources please.
If you have read the book you will know that in her attempts to be objective, she comes across as more leftwing than rightwing but there is no disguising the horrific truths.
I was born the year before the National party came into power and lived through the “Apartheid” era. What she speaks about I have seen with my own eyes and experienced for myself. Want more proof?
One of the major truths emerging from this book is that the liberal brigade in countries such as the USA and UK and dear old South Africa, people like yourself, have in reality, supported communist-driven terrorism in South Africa and was party to the eventual take-over of a communist regime, albeit still hidden but becoming bolder by the day.
In terms of the resultant suffering of millions of South Africans of all races, I believe there are grounds for international charges of crimes against humanity and I really hope that I see it in my lifetime.
One comment resonates: “Nevertheless it is Zuma’s job to lead the country…. Not to sprint between fiery communities , spreading avuncular reassurance like a fire-blanket over conflagrations.” Marvellously worded and how true!
Zuma is a people-pleaser – the worst personality type for leadership. In fact, he has virtually none of the attributes required of a leader – and here the responsibility rests on the shoulders of the ANC for assigning him a role for which he is unequipped and unskilled.
He speaks of placatory plans,while dancing to the tune of empty promises and non-delivery. And just as long as he fulfils his personal goals – wealth, women and song (whether constitutionally or legally permitted or not) he remains cheerful,chuckling and inept.
While @ Obfuscationist Harris seemingly delights in angering people, he has obviously never seen the sad and tragic sqaulor in which people live in the Umthatha area (near to where I was socialised under the apartheid-created homeland system)…what is sadder however is that while evidently sitting in a privilaged ivory tower he can back and apologise for a system which has perpetuated and worsened rather than improving what the apartheid regime created. While you evidently bask in your disingeneous arguments, you have essentially supported the untimely AIDS-related deaths of millions of young (black) South Africans – due to idiotic ruling party policies (or lack thereof), supported disastrous “strategies” such as OBE – which have intelectually-mutilated our youth, supported the institutionalisation of corruption, and have supported the creation of enduring victim mentality in those who deserve to be born free and become free thinkers outside of the spurious influence such as those like you who are hell-bent on creating/perpetuating racial divisions. In essence, the have-nots of this country will fortunately continue to demonstrate against a regime which has promised much, but given very little. This, while they use your ilk to obfuscate their vast wealth accumulation.
@Brent
I agree with you that the political landscape and spectrum in SA has changed and parties and organisations that pre 1994 might have been classified as left wing or left of centre could now arguably be classified as right wing or right of centre.
We live in 2010, not 1994.
Anyone that has an Honours or Masters degree, let alone a Phd and has some experience of doing research will know that when evaluating research papers, it is often instructive to establish who commissioned said research.
The results of scientific studies commissioned by the tobacco companies into the link or lack thereof between smoking and cancer were also widely quoted by respectable institutions and people – many if not all of these papers have since been totally discredited.
@Eagle – my comments about birth rates of urban blacks are derived from the same source that you quote from – Stats SA.
The point is that there is a strong negative correlation between education level, urbanisation and fertility.
Ergo – give everyone a decent education and you will not have to worry about your Malthusian phobias.
What is the source of your data on young black girls deliberately getting pregnant to access government grants?Please name the title of the research paper, and the names of the researchers.
FYI I have read “People’s war” as well as “inside quattro” – I like to get different perspectives before forming my own opinions.
Crimes against humanity? The TRC should have been based on the Nuremburg model.
Peter L the SAIRR is neither Right or Left it essentially studies SA’s social/political situation and issues reports based on studies, interlectually as well as practically on the ground. That is what it has done since the 20′s and obviously reflects society warts and all, which is why the Govts. of the day don’t like them.
Brent
@Dave Harris,
“Yeah, your small mind cannot grasp the idea of doing anything without financial gain.”
Seems like you have summed up the ANC comrades there old bean.
@Eagle,
You obviously don’t know what a liberal is. You seem to have us confused with bleeding heart socialists and idiotic communists. You must have been indoctrinated by your Christian National past. A liberal need not be particularly left wing in their political outlook. Of course the apartheid government was clever enough to build their whole systema around legalised corruption, by taking almost all the money and spending almost the entire amount on themselves and their supporters. If you don’t agree that apartheid was immoral then you are a poor excuse for a human being.
@Dave Harris: Do you really believe that all that needs to be done is to “right the wrongs of the past”, i.e. take from the white man and give to the blacks? Beacuse that is all that is coming from you.
I ask you again: Do you or don’t you agree that the present government is corrupt? Why not work together with concerned blacks and whites to set things right?
I got this interesting statistic a while ago: Before 1994 80% of local taxes in Tshwane were spent on services; 20% on salaries. Now it is the other way around. Can someone check this for me? Because that would explain a lot of things.
@Jeff Jones 80
Well said, sir!
I and my family also consider ourselves to be liberals – hated by the left and despised by the right.
Or is that despised by the left and hated by the right!
It’s pretty sad how a fairly simple idea has sparked this knee-jerk pile of antipathetic rage.
Frankly i think gaaning aan about whites this and whites that has become irrelevant. ‘Whites’ are basically irrelevant and i suspect that the real figure for the white population is lower than the 4 million suggested by eagle… i suspect closer to 3,700,000 and falling.
The real truth is that the ANC set out during the 1980′s to “make the country ungovernable” and they have succeeded… The fact that the place actually holds together at all is remarkable given the immense amount of effort going in to collapsing it.
By what paradigm should they [the revolutionaries] ‘suddenly’ be able to govern an immensely complex country like the post revolutionary SA State, when many cannot manage a checkbook [or in modern parlance a debit card]. [no racial slur intended] All over the western world today countries are hovering in chaos… The Uk is technically bancrupt, the PIIGS are all insolvent, the USA has rewritten the rules of insolvency.
We are living now in the post modern State and all the rules learned over the past five centuries are undergoing change at an escalating rate… It is not really the ANC’s fault… Those sensible chaps who understand chaos know that the only time to grab the loot is when it is passing.
Your basic premise that the Pres hasn’t enough fingers to stem the tide is right on.