Jorisa Blogging - Opinions, Political Views & Business Issues

Is South Africa a Country of God?

2008-11-28T07:44:00.004+02:00

The following article appeared in News24

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SA a country of God - Zuma

27/11/2008 21:24 - (SA)

Johannesburg - South Africa is a country based on the rules and principles of God, said ANC president Jacob Zuma in Kempton Park on Thursday.

The preamble of the constitution "calls upon God to help us" said Zuma at the National Presidential Religious Leaders conference.

"When all of us take office in government... we raise our right hand and indeed pronounce... so help me God. I believe no-one can argue South Africa is not based on the principles of God," said Zuma.

Zuma addressed hundreds of delegates dressed in a sea of clerical collars, African traditional outfits, Islamic skull caps and even a Jesus baseball cap.

(One delegate had his laptop open to a screen saver photograph showing him shaking hands with Zuma.)

"The Bible says pray for those who are in government. I believe we must go beyond that. You must advise and criticise if there are things we do that are not in keeping with the principles of God."

Zuma said religion needed to find its identity in South Africa.

Moral values

"I believe the time has come for the religious fraternity to identify its role and place in our constitutional democracy.

"I have a feeling that we have not done so from the religious fraternity, therefore there are issues we do not deal with that we ought to deal with.

Zuma detailed the long history of the ANC and its association with the church.

He said often the moral basis of a society or person was that they must fear or respect something beyond their existence, like God, ancestors or other human beings.

"Those who do not believe in God or ancestors can still derive their moral values from respect for the worth and dignity of others.

"Thus moral and ethical values are binding on all and sundry regardless of their beliefs.

Earlier, the ANC's chaplain general Reverend Vukile Mehana told Zuma he must feel "safe".

"You must know that you are safe. As we prayed for your predecessor, we will continue to pray for you. Don't shake. The God, your ancestors, are here."

After Zuma spoke, religious leaders representing each province stood up to give their messages of support.

An Mpumulanga representative told Zuma religious leaders would go to their communities and ensure they "voted correctly because you care and you have compassion and are committed to bettering the lives of god's people".

An Eastern Cape representative said: "Msholozi is a burning bush which will never be consumed."

He said the workings of God were present during the Nicholson judgment.

'Religion protecting the ANC'

"He [Zuma] was being burnt from all sides but the leaves became greener and greener."

Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Chris Nicholson invalidated corruption charges brought against Zuma.

Nicholson held that the State's decision to prosecute Zuma was unlawful because it had failed to take representations from him.

The ruling is being appealed in court on Friday.

On Thursday, the Eastern Cape religious representative also said religion was the "midwife" of the ANC.

"We are here as the religious leaders as the midwives to protect the ANC who is the baby," he said.

- SAPA

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Clearly Jacob Zuma has no idea what the Principles of God are. From the reaction and comments of the "Religious Leaders" that attended, neither do they.

The ANC lead government and its followers have violated and ignored every single principle of God in this Country. South Africa has become a "Country of Religion", not a "Country of God".

Are Courier Pharmacies Harmful?

2008-11-20T17:43:00.006+02:00

The following article appeared in Fin24.com today.
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Courier pharmacies 'harmful'
Nov 20 2008 17:00
Fin24.com reporter

Johannesburg - Patient care is suffering and healthcare costs are rising because many medical aids insist that their members use courier pharmacies to receive chronic medication, according to United South African Pharmacies.

"This is because the vital element of personal control and care offered by pharmacists is eliminated when patients use courier pharmacies," it said.

Corporate pharmacy groups are acquiring courier pharmacies in an effort to capitalise on this market, to the ultimate detriment of patients, it said, adding that the New Clicks group has just acquired courier pharmacy Direct Medicines.

Drew Horner, chairperson of United South African Pharmacies, said rising healthcare costs are a matter of concern for everyone.

"Oversupply of chronic medication by courier pharmacies is a contributing factor."

"Research shows that patients who obtain their chronic medication from pharmacies use on average 9.96 scripts per annum, while those using courier pharmacies use on average 14 scripts. This is not good for the patient or the medical aids - they are additional costs that neither can afford."

Horner also said the ostensible benefits of automatic delivery offered by courier pharmacies are often outweighed by the inconvenience patients experience when faced with late deliveries and no one to whom they can address queries about the medication and its effects.

The last thing a worried patient needs is to wait in a courier pharmacy call centre queue to speak to an anonymous person who, more likely than not, is not even a trained pharmacist, said Horner.

"On the other hand, your local pharmacist is only a phone call away to discuss any concerns a patient may have, such as side-effects.

"It's a direct personal call to a trained professional who knows the patient and his complete medical history and profile, and so has a context in which to assess the query."

Horner said that that there are always risks associated with any medication. "It's not only side-effects - something as simple as the incorrect storage and handling of medicine can put patients at risk. Your local pharmacist will talk you through all of this when you collect your medication."

Patients should insist on getting all their medicine directly from their local pharmacy - any alternative is just not worth the risk or the cost, he said.

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The question is: How much of this is true?

As a medical professional. I tend to agree with most of what is said. My experience is that patients receive medicine in excess, having more that enough supply.

Secondly, patients do not attend for regular check-ups and only visit every 6 months to renew the script.

Thirdly, the cost of medicine supplied by Courier Pharmacies are at least 15% more expensive than the same medication supplied by my practice.

So, why do medical aids insist that their members obtain their medication from Courier Pharmacies?

Is Julius Malema the Villiage Idiot?

2008-10-23T08:39:00.003+02:00

The infantilisation of politics
FERIAL HAFFAJEE: COMMENT - Oct 21 2008 00:00

If there's one thing driving me into the arms of the ANC --Mark2, it's Youth League president Julius Malema and his ilk. And I'm not alone.

As he announced UDI last week, former ANC chairperson Terror Lekota was applauded only when he verbally klapped Malema, asking why we should be harangued and frightened by children.

He's so right.

In the post-Polokwane universe it is the rantings of Malema, which have scarred the body politic. From his injunction to kill for [ANC president Jacob] Zuma to his loose invocation of the phrase "We are willing to lay down our lives for …" and his lax approach to the independence of the judiciary, the young man with the dead eyes has, for too many months, been allowed to bully this nation. His understanding of power is not that it is a stewardship granted by citizens to leaders, but that it is a force to be unleashed across the land like a disciplining whip.

"Nobody," he has said, "will tell the youth league what to do." At other times he has sounded like a foot soldier of Pol Pot about to usher us counter-revolutionaries into re-education camp. If you think this is an overstatement, remember this is the young man who took students out of school (when the statistics show they need every classroom minute they can get) to march against the Constitutional Court judges. And nobody told him where to get off!

Some may not take him terribly seriously, but his view that former president Thabo Mbeki should be axed carried the day against more sensible calls to leave the lame duck in office where he could do no harm.Look now. Mbeki's probably a strategist behind the ANC split which is no mere splinter, as the occupiers of headquarters at Luthuli House seem to think. And for that the ruling party has got Malema and his masters to blame.

Who are his masters? Zuma is the uber-chief, who uses the young man as a battering ram; in turn, he has resisted serial requests by the national executive committee of the ANC to rein in Malema, who has become an enormous liability for the party.

This is not a treatise against young leadership, but against the infantilisation of our political discourse. Ours is a country, the founding father of which symbolised, in his early days, the value of young thought and strategic radicalism. Nelson Mandela and his generation blew like fresh winds through the ANC of their time, demanding more change more quickly. By contrast, Malema's rhetoric is mere flatulence unleashed across the land.

And like haemorrhagic fever it's extremely infectious and potentially deadly. Over in the red corner is the Young Communist League (YCL), which competes daily with the ANCYL to see who can take our debate down another notch or two. Our revise sub-editor, Jo Tyler, was so incensed by the nonsense in the press release the young communists put out after Lekota announced he was leaving that she's given them a free lesson in proofreading.

And if you thought that press release was an aberration jotted down in a hurry, look at this one. Tutu and Ndungane: kindly leave politics to politicians, the YCL recommended to the former archbishops Desmond Tutu and Njongonkulu, who were in the trenches when these little 'uns were still in nappies.

The cautionary words to these two great men are " … yet another old and tired Anglicanism of a Christian movement theory wanting to tower large in competition with churches like Roman Catholic Church. Both have used their leadership in the clergy; to behave like politicians and to make commentary on any societal issue regardless of its relevance to religion."

So put that in your cassock and smoke it, say the hotheads. The good thing is that we now no longer have to treat this kind of rhetoric with any seriousness and we can take our votes and make the X elsewhere.

Zuma threatens to expose everyone!

2008-08-06T07:05:00.002+02:00

Addressing his supporters in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday 5 August 2008, African National Congress president Jacob Zuma vowed he would take down other officials if the state continued to pursue him for alleged corruption in South Africa's multi-billion rand arms deal.

Speaking at the end of a two-day court hearing on the legality of corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering charges laid against him last year, Zuma told his supporters that the "whole truth" about the arms deal might be revealed if he were put on trial.

Now I am not a legal expert, but a statement like that indicates to me that Mr Zuma is admitting that he knows more about the arms deal than he was previously prepared to admit. This is exactly the point Mr Zuma and his fanatic supporters were missing from the beginning.

The public of South Africa wants to know it all. we are tired of being deceived by governments. first the National Party govermnent kept us in the dark while we suffered along in ignorance. Now the ANC government is doing exactly the same.

We do not care if President Mbeki or other ministers are implicated, we want the TRUTH!

The president of South Africa and our Ministers were put in power by the people of South Africa who trusted them to clean up this country. We did not give them a mandate to corrupt, bride and ride the gravy train. If they abused their powers, we want them to be held accountable.

We might be Africans, but we do not want to became like the rest of Africa!

We want a clean government. So Mr Zuma, stop your delaying tactics and get on with it. Please do tell South Africa the truth!

Mandela: SA now needs disciplined leaders.

2008-08-03T00:08:00.002+02:00

Now as much as ever in its history, South Africa requires disciplined leaders, former president Nelson Mandela said at a birthday celebration in his honour at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

The African National Congress (ANC) now is the inheritor of a great organisation, Mandela said, one that has led for almost a century. "It is now in your hands to uphold the best and the noblest of that history."

He added: "I would be nothing without the ANC. I thank the ANC for having given meaning to my 90 years on this planet."

Thousands of people had gathered at the venue with some wearing white T-shirts bearing the face of Mandela while others held flags. Security in and around the stadium was highly visible with metro police officers blocking several streets leading to the venue.Mandela, wearing a pale yellow, flowery shirt, asked the public not to celebrate him as an individual but to celebrate the achievements and reaffirm the values of a great organisation, one that has led for almost 100 years.

He also urged the public to celebrate and reaffirm the principle of collective leadership and inclusiveness."Let no individual, section, faction or group ever regard itself as greater than the organisation and the common good of all our people. Our nation comes from a history of deep division and strife. Let us never through our deeds or words take our people back down that road," he said.

Mandela said South Africans have fought hard and sacrificed much for democracy. "Protect, defend, consolidate and advance democracy -- within the organisation and in national life." He also said that South Africans should reaffirm their fundamental commitment to creating a better life for all, particularly the poor and marginalised.

"Poverty and deprivation in our midst demean all of us. We came together as a nation to end the scourge of apartheid. Today we are challenged to end poverty and all its attendant suffering," he said.

Earlier, Mandela was seated next to President Thabo Mbeki while birthday messages were read out in his honour. He cut his birthday cake with the help of family members and ANC leaders.

He was received by the crowd with a standing ovation as soon as he appeared on stage alongside ANC president Jacob Zuma and Mbeki.

Other dignitaries present at the celebrations included ANC treasurer general Mathews Phosa, the ANC Women's League's newly elected leader, Angie Motshekga, and ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe. Archbishop Desmond Tutu and newly inducted Cabinet Minister Kgalema Motlanthe were also spotted.

Speaking earlier at Saturday's event, ANC president Jacob Zuma said Mandela is the glue that holds the revolutionary movement together, and which continues to hold the nation together.

He said the ANC is honoured and truly blessed to have an icon of Mandela's calibre in its midst, in the organisation and in the country.

"We know that you expect nothing [more] from the masses of our people than to see the fulfilment of the vision of a peaceful, prosperous, non-sexist, non-racial and democratic South Africa. You have always provided leadership and direction during the most decisive moments in our history," he said.

Zuma, wearing a black-and-white golf shirt bearing Mandela's face, made several references to Mandela's life during the struggle and some important historical moments. "In 1944, when the time came to infuse some life into the struggle to face a brutal regime, you played a key role in the formation of the ANC Youth League," he said. "You did the same in 1949, when militancy was required, during the defiance campaign. You led from the front as you wanted an end to racial domination and hatred."

Zuma said Mandela's so-called M-plan was and still is an inspiration for the ANC. The plan saw ANC branches broken down into a nationwide underground network of smaller cells. "The M-plan should serve as an inspiration for ANC branches currently. We are encouraging them to establish street committees to fight crime in our communities," he said.

He also said that Mandela taught South Africans humility and the necessity of collective wisdom and leadership. "As the struggle continued, waged internally and internationally, you represented the undying spirit of a people who would never rest until justice and human dignity were restored. The Mandela name became synonymous with our struggle for freedom," he said.

Reference was also made to PW Botha's offer of conditional freedom in 1985 when Mandela said in a statement that "only free men can negotiate".

Zuma said that Mandela's release from prison in 1990 brought the world to a standstill. He said that when Mandela cast a vote for the first time on April 27 1994, he carried our dreams and aspirations.

"During your term as the first president of a free South Africa, you elevated this country from being a pariah to a respected successful modern democracy. You served a very short but highly effective term before handing over to your deputy, Comrade Mbeki, in a carefully planned succession strategy."

Zuma said the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the Nelson Mandela Foundation have changed the lives of many, especially children. "You continued to work tirelessly to make South Africa a better country and to put a smile on the faces of many.

Your legacy is a book for all to read. If we do not learn, it cannot be your fault," he said.

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South Africans unhappy about the state of their country!

2008-07-27T08:11:00.003+02:00

A report commissioned by the government shows that nearly 40% of adult South Africans are no longer committed to the country and some 29% are actively seeking to emigrate or have thought about doing so.

The Mail & Guardian has seen a copy of the report, which forms part of tracking research done for the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS).

The report of key findings is understood to have been compiled on behalf of the International Marketing Council, an arm of GCIS, and investigates levels of commitment to the country, as well as participants' levels of pride in South Africa.

TNS Research Surveys, the company that compiled the report, said it cannot comment on its contents as the research was done on behalf of the GCIS.

The data are drawn from as far back as July 2006 and state that between April 2007 and July 2007 the mood of the nation turned more negative and more pessimistic.

According to the report, participants were drawn from all race groups across the country.

Participants who are uncommitted to the country are categorised by TNS as either "shallow" or "convertible". Convertible South Africans rate other countries above South Africa and are the most likely to emigrate. During January and April this year the proportion of convertible individuals rose to 19%.

However, the report also notes that between January and April this year 29% of South African adults indicated their "availability" to switch to an alternative country.

This, according to the report, is an "indicator of the proportion of people who are actively seeking or passively thinking of leaving the country".

Commitment to the country, decreases with levels of education and age.

Of the 36% of recipients who are uncommitted to SA 41% have a matric or equivalent qualification and some 53% have a post-matric qualification.

The figure also rises with their Living Standards Measure or LSM group.

Forty-six percent of the uncommitted respondents felt that the country is going in the wrong direction and that government was doing badly.

Themba Maseko, CEO for the GCIS, said he could not comment on the report. He confirmed, however, that the GCIS conducts tracking research to understand the mood of the nation better and uses the research as a "scientific basis around which to develop our communications strategies".

The report also assesses communication needs and media behaviour.

Of those uncommitted to South African some 55% are termed "media savvy" and access information from TV and newspapers.

"If this research shows a dip in the mood of the nation, it is very worrying," said Maseko.

He said, however, that it is unsurprising in the light of tragic events like the recent xenophobic attacks that swept the nation.

"But despite these problems government is still on course and committed to addressing these issues," he added.

The document comes to light following the release of research by media-monitoring organisation, Media Tenor, which says South Africa's reputation in foreign media is becoming increasingly negative. This is seen as a result of South Africa's foreign policy, particularly the government's silence on Zimbabwe, as well as the country's high levels of violence and crime.

Hlophe: Backtrack or face crisis.

2008-07-25T09:40:00.003+02:00

The Constitutional Court must drop its complaint against him or risk creating a constitutional crisis, Cape Judge President John Hlophe has told the Johannesburg High Court.

Alternatively, all 11 judges of the country's highest court must recuse themselves and make way for a "differently constituted" court to deal with the issues surrounding the complaint, Hlophe suggests. The two potential outcomes are canvassed in Hlophe's application for an interdict preventing the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) from hearing evidence against him in its investigation of whether he sought improperly to influence two constitutional court judges to favour ANC president Jacob Zuma.

The JSC cannot be asked to decide whether to stop the hearings, Hlophe argues in his founding affidavit, because it "is not a judicial institution and cannot make judicial findings of the nature that I am asking for in this application.

"The powers of the JSC are restricted to findings of facts and recommendations to the appropriate authority ... An order or decision issued by a court binds all persons to whom and organs of state to which it applies," the affidavit says.

Hlophe is effectively asking a lower court to make a finding about the conduct of a higher court, something he concedes may be difficult.

"If this honorable court should consider that it would be undesirable of it to inquire into the constitutional conduct of judges of the Constitutional Court acting as a court ... I would ask that a referral be made to the Constitutional Court, differently constituted to consider its conduct in light of the submissions that I make," he says.

"A position in which the judges of the Constitutional Court reconsider their decision to lodge a complaint against me as a court would be unprecedented but would be justifiable in the public interest.

"Such a position would provide the court with an opportunity to review its own decisions in light of the legal submissions that I make without creating a constitutional crisis of the nature that would result if another court would make adverse findings against it."

UN says SA did its best to assist displaced people.

2008-07-25T09:31:00.001+02:00

South Africa has done its best to provide protection and assistance to the victims of the xenophobic attacks and should not be blamed for detaining undocumented people from Glenanda, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Thursday.

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Zuma did not know white poverty exists?

2008-07-24T22:59:00.001+02:00

Poverty is one of the biggest challenges facing the majority of South Africans and it does not discriminate according to racial lines, African National Congress president Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.

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The African National Congress Youth League - Kill for Zuma!

2008-07-24T18:07:00.001+02:00

The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) intends bringing an application for a stay of the prosecution of ANC president Jacob Zuma, it announced on Thursday. It will intervene as an interested party should a similar application by Zuma fail, ANCYL president Julius Malema said in Johannesburg.

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South Africa - a better country for old men.

2008-07-13T08:46:00.001+02:00

state old-age grant from the age of 60 has been signed into law, Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya announced on Friday.

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Is Zuma’s fan base eroding?

2008-06-14T09:17:00.001+02:00

Jacob Zuma and his broad coalition dominated the Polokwane popularity contest but the broader public is much more ambivalent about the ANC president, polls suggest.

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An embarrassment to the revolution.

2008-06-10T20:35:00.001+02:00

Robert Mugabe and Judge Hlophe are an embarrassment to a revolution a great many of us believe in.

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Obama will make us slaves!

2008-06-08T12:51:00.002+02:00

Johnny Telvor was not happy about Barack Obama becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. Not happy at all.

Standing outside the sturdy courthouse in the sweltering heat of a West Virginia afternoon in the small town of Williamson, Telvor smoked a cigarette and bluntly gave his opinion of Obama's historic mission to be America's first black president.

"We'll end up slaves. We'll be made slaves just like they was once slaves," he said. Telvor, a white Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton in West Virginia's primary, said he planned to vote for Republican John McCain in November. "At least he's an American," he added with a disarmingly friendly smile.

Such racist opinions are a rough antidote to the giddy optimism that has swept through much of America's chattering classes over the past week. Since Obama beat Clinton and finally became the Democratic nominee liberal pundits from New York to San Francisco have eagerly discussed how Obama's unique candidacy will put America's racially charged past behind it. The United States, they have argued, is finally prepared to elect a black president and absolve its historic sins of slavery and Jim Crow. But the uglier truth is that part of white America remains secretly -- or sometimes openly -- deeply distrustful of the idea of a black president.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the vastness of the Appalachian mountains that run from Maine through West Virginia and all the way down to Georgia. Here Obama faces his greatest problem in convincing poor white citizens to vote for him. They certainly have not backed him so far. In West Virginia Clinton trounced Obama by more than 30 points. It is a place of deep poverty and astonishing natural beauty -- and it is overwhelmingly white. Outsiders deride it as "hillbilly" country. But it is also somewhere that has a special place in America's heart. Appalachia is where the TV series The Waltons was set. It is a place of deep family values, where clannish folk have created a vibrant mountain culture of God and guns. It is also a place not used to voting for a black politician. "McCain will win here," said Telvor. "No doubt about it."

Williamson is a typical slice of Appalachia. The town of 3 000 souls lies on the banks of the Tug Fork River, overshadowed by the mountains that surround it. A railway runs through the centre of town, which has long been used to hard times as the coal industry faded away.

The town is in the heart of Mingo County in West Virginia. In last month's Democratic primary, a staggering 88% of people in Mingo County voted for Clinton -- the highest number in the whole state -- compared with just 8% willing to put a cross by Obama's name. Those are landslide numbers that even some third world dictators would be embarrassed to record. And, as went Mingo, so went the entire state. "This state is white, elderly and working class. This is not natural Obama country. People are not used to having black politicians on the ballot," said Professor Allan Hammock, a political scientist at West Virginia University.

The sheer scale of Clinton's win in West Virginia -- repeated from Pennsylvania to Georgia -- took many pundits by surprise. But it did not shock people in Williamson, Jack Spence among them. The elderly retiree, enjoying the hot weather on a street bench, said he voted for Clinton and, now she has lost, he plans to sit out the November election. "I can't vote for a Republican. My daddy would just roll over in his grave," he said. But nor can he bring himself to vote for Obama, though he insisted it was not because of race. "That does not matter to me. Though it might to a lot of folks around here," he said.

Was there anything Obama could say during the coming campaign to convince him? "Nope," Spence replied. Then he broached the one issue many Americans consider off-limits: the potential security threat to Obama. "Look, someone will kill him. Whoever Obama picks as running mate will end up being president." Spence's ready smile and chatty manner on the thorny issue of Obama's possible murder gave little clue as to whether he thought it would be a bad thing or not.

Often such sentiments are dismissed as the ramblings of a few diehards, carrying with them the prejudices of a by-gone age. After all, Iowa, a very white state, was the place Obama first won. But the fact is Obama's Appalachian problem is very real.

Williamson and West Virginia are far from alone in rejecting Obama. Take Pikeville, Kentucky. It welcomes visitors with a cheerful sign that boasts it is one of "the 100 best small towns in America". But it is not friendly country for Obama. On Pikeville's main street, just outside a now abandoned Obama campaign office, Stanley Little laughed when asked if he could support Obama. "I will vote for McCain," he said. Little, a maintenance man for local offices, had one simple reason why he too was rejecting his long family history of voting Democrat. "McCain is one of us. Obama ain't,": he said, leaving little doubt as to who he meant by "us".

Pikeville's rejection of Obama in Kentucky topped even Mingo County's. Pike County, a huge stretch of forest and hills in the east of Kentucky, voted for Clinton by a thumping 91% versus a mere 7% for Obama. Only nearby Magoffin County (where Clinton scored 93%) is even less friendly to an Obama candidacy.

It is not just an Appalachian issue. There are pockets of this sentiment across America from the working class white suburbs of Philadelphia to the rust belt towns of Ohio and Michigan. Many poor, white Americans are prepared to flock to McCain rather than face a black occupant of the White House. No public courtship between Obama and Clinton -- carried out on the nation's TV screens -- is likely to change that. In Georgia a local bar owner has been selling T-shirts featuring Obama being endorsed by a cartoon monkey eating a banana. The sale prompted outraged coverage in the local media but the T-shirts quickly sold out. In Vincennes, Indiana, an Obama campaign office was vandalised on the eve of the state's primary, its windows smashed and its walls spray-painted with the words "Hamas votes BHO" (for Barack Hussein Obama).

The difficult truth is that Appalachia is unusual mostly because many people here are willing to openly talk about what some of their fellow citizens are secretly thinking. In exit polls of the recent primaries in Kentucky and West Virginia, one in five Democrats confessed to pollsters that race was a factor in their voting choice. "West Virginia and Kentucky were just more honest than other parts of the country. A lot of other people know it's not socially acceptable to mention that sort of thing," said Professor Andra Gillespie, a political scientist at Emory University and expert on racial politics.

Indeed much of America's media has been resolutely focused on a "post-racial" vision of America despite the clear evidence that race remains a huge divide in American life. Obama's own bi-racial background and his campaign's language of inclusivity have conjured up a beguiling image of a race-free America. It has built on other recent black political successes in America, such as Newark mayor Cory Booker and Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, who have won on the back of black-white voting alliances. There is truth to it too. Obama has run a remarkable campaign, winning many white states such as Kansas and Montana. He has attracted vast, racially diverse rallies, especially of young people who seem open to putting racial divides behind them. And indeed there is much hope that Obama can change things. Gillespie points out that recent studies have shown that white voters in US cities that have elected a black mayor for the first time prove far more willing to elect one for a second term. "They realise the sky has not fallen in. That life went on," Gillespie joked. If Obama does win the White House, that experience could be repeated on a national scale for all Americans. Few things could be more important in finally drawing the poison of racism out of American life.

But behind such optimism, another America looms. It is an America far from the headlines that have proclaimed Obama's candidacy a revolution that will atone for a race-tinged history. This is the America where outrageous rumours that Obama is a Muslim are readily believed. It is the America where Telvor is able to voice a sentiment that "Obama might actually be the antichrist" without apparent irony or fear of contradiction. It is a slice of America trapped in the dreadful history of race relations and the legacy of slavery and segregation.

On the streets of towns such as Pikeville and Williamson, and in the minds of people like Little and Telvor, that past lives on. It is kept in the present by poverty, joblessness and a fear of the different. It is also a powerful force that should not be underestimated. It could even decide who will be the next President. "McCain will beat Obama. There's a lot of Democrats around here that will be switching side to vote for him," Little said. Behind him a white-washed message in the closed Obama Pikeville office read: "Vote Obama 08: change!" In the brutal summer heat it seemed a forlorn hope. It was asking for the overthrow of generations of entrenched prejudice. But, come November, a black president might finally be pulling up a chair behind the desk in the Oval Office. If he does, that slogan of change might just end up being a prophecy. Even in Appalachia.

Obama's policies
Economy: Cut income taxes by $1 000 for working families, and give a tax credit to all middle-class homeowners.
Iraq: Immediately begin removing troops. Keep some soldiers to protect diplomats. Carry out targeted strikes on al-Qaeda.
Education: Zero-to-Five Plan, placing key emphasis on early care and education for infants.
Environment: Reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.
Civil Rights: End ideological litmus tests within the Civil Rights Division and ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies.
Health: A national health plan for all including the self-employed.

Xenophobia - A sign of dispair?

2008-05-31T11:27:00.002+02:00

The problem of xenophobia is a major problem all over the world. It is not unique to South Africa. In fact it dates back as far as time itself and has been the reason that many wars were fought. In biblical times, the Israelites were forced into slavery by the Egyptians because their numbers increased too rapidly, leading to fear by the Egyptians that they would be overrun by the Israelites.

The basic problem of xenophobia remained the same through the centuries:

Fear of being taken over by foreigners - controlling our local economy by putting up tuck shops and controlling the price of commodities, our schools by infiltrating our local school governing bodies, our societies by becoming prominent members that are not afraid of fighting for their own rights, even our culture by demanding recognition for their cultures and beliefs and putting up places of worship next to ours.

Competition for resources - our work with acceptance of cheap labour, our health care facilities by demanding free heath care, our education, or our housing by putting up shacks next to us and paying rent for government subsidised housing while the real owner put up shacks next to us.

Feeling intimidated - mixing cultures by marrying into our families, bringing foreign beliefs and traditions, achieving more success economically then us and apparently prospering when locals are suffering.

Crime - involvement of some foreigners in crime in their host country and their ability to capitalize on lawlessness in the country, taking part in corruption, drug trafficking and extortion.

Scapegoats - foreigners are the ideal scapegoats to carry the burden of our own frustrations and anger

When one examines the real reasons for xenophobic attacks, there is one issue that stands out like a sore thumb.

Insecurity!

When people feels insecure at any level, it is a natural reaction for them to react - and mostly react violently. We have an automatic fight or flight reaction. So, when we cannot run anymore, we will turn and fight. It is a primitive instinct found in all living beings, from insects to human beings. It is essential for survival. We have learnt through acquired social behaviour to suppress our fight reaction, but at some point it will emerge and we will say "Enough is enough!"

The point at which it happens are directly related to the social support structures we have. The more secure we are, the more tolerant we are.

It is therefore not surprising that the conflict - fight reaction - will surface sooner in poorer communities. The poor has precious little and when they loose that little security, they have nothing more to loose.

The root of these xenophobic attacks lies in the government's lack of action. When government fails to provide security to its subjects - those that put them in power - it is bound to see people reacting. When they do not listen to the people, the people will find a way to make them listen.

For years South Africans have put their plight to the ruling ANC government. Only to have their cries silenced by a president that has no contact with his country, because unity in the African continent is more important that uniting his own people. He does not know that charity begins at home. Thabo Mbeki has failed the people of South Africa by having his own agenda. in trying to build a legacy for himself in Africa, he has managed to destroy his credibility in South Africa. He has singlehandedly managed to divide the ANC, to the shame of people like Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. What great people have achieved in the past 50 years were wiped out in 2 terms of Mbeki. The Rainbow Nation of Nelson Mandela was reduced to a land of hate and burning bodies again. We are seeing the Apartheid Era coming to life again.

But let's not blame it on Mbeki alone! Let his equally blind and incompetent Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Safety and Security, Housing and Health share his walk of shame. Those that are prepared to see good people suffer rather than admit their incompetence. Those that bury their heads in the sand like ostriches and remains defiant in their idiotic unrealistic belief that South Africa has no problems. They refuse to listen to advice and label all voices of reason as "coconuts", "traitors", "disloyal" and "pro-apartheid" and has encouraged well trained professionals to leave the country - putting the citizens of this country, that trusted them, at risk of being exploited by criminals, hooligans and incompetent conglomerates like ESCOM.

It is a disgrace that senior government officials and ministers admit publicly that they have no idea of how many foreigners are in this country! How are they going to allocate resources if they do not know how many people needs it? Our border have been overrun by foreigners without our government paying attention to the problems that it created. We are stuck with the fruits of true incompetence.

South Africans should therefore leave the foreigners alone and direct their anger at the ANC-led government. We have put them in power and now they are behaving like demi-god and even have the audacity to tell us that it is for our own good - as if we are all mentally retarded and cannot think for ourselves.

We should voice our unhappiness by getting rid of this hopelessly inadequate government. During the fight against apartheid South Africans, black and white, were united against a common enemy. Now it is time once again to unite against a new enemy that has been threatening our democracy for years.

It is not the foreign nationals!

The root of all evil can be found in some of the traitors that we have entrusted with the government our country. Some MP's have focused only on enriching themselves, constantly fighting for more power and more money, while the poor are suffering more and more.

One person put it forward so accurately this week when he said: "They are eating steak and then throw us the bones."

This government admits not knowing what the reasons for these xenophobic attacks are. It is enough proof of how out of touch with their communities ministers and public officials are. If they would have listened to their communities, they would have understood the problems faced by the poor in this country. More even, they would have acted promptly and could have prevented all the xenophobic attacks.

Foreign nationals are not the problem, the real problem is our government that does not listen to us. The actions of some of our ministers - or their lack of action- have made them enemy number 1. Use the available forums and structures, demand an audience, let your voice be heard and stop being complacent.

Every South African should rise to the new challenge facing the nation!

It is time for the South African voter to wise up to the empty rhetoric of political parties and act responsibly. It is time to consider the options and get rid of the selfish bullies that rule our lives because we gave them permission to do so. Political parties should be held accountable for their actions - or lack thereof.

We are the power of the nation. Get them out of office next year, then change the corrupt officials in public office and take control of the country by running it properly. We will not do it by burning the country, but by peacefully reforming it through our voting power.

Our constitution gives us the power to vote, let us use that power wisely.

Stop the xenophobic attacks and let the people govern!

Somali nationals went on the rampage!

2008-05-31T08:05:00.001+02:00

It is reported that more than 200 displaced Somali nationals went on the rampage at the refugee camp outside Pretoria on Wednesday.

Police had to intervene and fire rubber bullets at the Somalis after they attacked other foreigners - Angolans, Burundians, Rwandans and Congolese who were seeking medical assistance and food.

They are all being housed at the shelter north of the capital.

Throughout the day on Wednesday, groups of Somali men - who have embarked on a hunger strike - barricaded the camp first set up for fleeing foreigners, and attacked those trying to make their way to the new, tented camp.

The new camp has a mobile medical centre, 20 toilets and 44 tents that can sleep 20 each.

A mobile kitchen, creche, showers and other facilities will be brought to the camp soon.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is advising the Tshwane Disaster Management Centre on how to run the camp.

Terrified couples were seen on Wednesday huddling inside tents away from attackers.

Somali men attacked Wilonja Maese and his one-month-old son, Mboto, when they went to get food.

"It is crazy. They said they would kill me. They told me they would burn my baby. What has my son done? He hasn't eaten for two days," Maese said.

"They took our food away. They told me if I tried to get food again, they would burn us in the tent.

"They are the same as those who attacked us. How can you let children starve? There are tiny babies here but none of them are being allowed to get any food."

Maese was escorted under armed police guard into the tented camp after he managed to get past the group of Somalis barricading the road.

Angolan Jose Jama said his wife had been beaten.

"When we tried to get out of the other camp, they hit her. They pushed her to the ground. They tried to hit my baby girl, but I managed to push the men away. I can't understand why they're doing this."

Hamdi Guhaad and her daughter, Najmo, were attacked when they tried to sneak out of the back of the camp.

"Two men caught me. They beat me and said they would kill us. They called us traitors. They said we would be burnt to death.

"I just wanted to get food for my baby. I just want my daughter to be safe," she said.

Tshwane Metro Police spokesperson William Baloyi said several children had diarrhoea and were receiving medical assistance.

"The police are restoring security to the other camp and our nurses will be going in and helping the sick," he said.

Yusaf Mustafa, of the Pretoria Institute for Islamic Services, whose food vehicles were stoned by refugees at the camp on Tuesday night, said he was distressed by what was happening.

"This is terrible. These people shouldn't be doing it. The women and children are suffering."

He said members of his organisation had smuggled children and women to the feeding sites.

"We're not going to sit back and let people starve. We're a humanitarian organisation and we will continue to help. We need people to continue supplying us with food," he said.

Somali Nexon Anmut said they didn't want any help.

"We would rather let our women and children starve than receive help from the South African government. We had to wait so long and now they want to help us. We don't trust the UN either.

"We don't want the food or the blankets. We won't let anyone go to the tented camp. If they do, they'll be sorry," he said.

Tshwane Metro Police Director Ndumiso Jaca said they had managed to bring 100 refugees to safety.

"There are people who have agendas and are using the women and children to get what they want. We will not let the women and children be abused. We will not tolerate this.

"We have also received reports that aid items are being stolen and that people are sabotaging installations set up to provide water and electricity. Anyone caught doing so will be arrested.

"The work that has gone into setting up this camp and getting the UN and other NGOs involved is being abused."

Time for Mbeki to go?

2008-05-31T07:53:00.003+02:00

Sadly, it now looks obvious why everyone is calling for President Thabo Mbeki to step down.

No one has presented a more compelling argument for the case than the man himself, limping from blunder to blunder somewhere off in the wings of our national life.

We all knew that Mbeki viewed the battle for the leadership of the African National Congress as a definitive struggle over his project for the country and the continent, and it's clear that many of the people who backed his third-term bid have been shattered by its failure.But none of us anticipated that the nature of the battle with Jacob Zuma, and Mbeki's complete defeat, would so utterly erode the president's personal stature and his apparent willingness to lead the country.

It is as if he thinks that, having rejected him and his vision, we no longer deserve him. He may be right, but not for the reasons he has in mind.

Mbeki is sulking in his tent at the worst possible time.Since Polokwane we have suffered the electricity crisis, a series of price and interest-rate shocks and the descent of Zimbabwe into an increasingly bloody post-election stalemate.

To the extent that he has offered any action on these issues, it has done more harm than good, culminating in his ludicrous hand-holding with Robert Mugabe and his blithe profession that there is no crisis in that country. He has been driving away international friends too, snubbing the Britain's Gordon Brown, and persists in holding an inexplicably contrarian position at the United Nations.

But it is in his absence that he does the most damage.

He made a fine speech about xenophobia at the safe remove of a television studio. But it took him two weeks. Not until nearly 50 were dead and 30 000 displaced did he favour us with fine words about our place in Africa.

It is maddening, and inexplicable, that someone who has placed South African lives, prestige and treasure on the line in pursuit of peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire and the Central African Republic and even Zimbabwe, should trot off overseas at a time when his people are butchering African refugees and migrants.

So, should members of the National Assembly push him out of office?

On the face of it, there is every reason to do so. We are adrift and anxious, desperate for the current interregnum to end. Surely new leadership would help us to get back on course?

Probably not. If Mbeki were to go, who would replace him?

That person must be an MP, which means the obvious answer is Kgalema Motlanthe, recently sworn in to the National Assembly, and well ensconced in the ANC's new top leadership structures. But that would really move Motlanthe into pole position to keep the presidency after next year's elections, and, as such, represent a setback for Zuma. It would probably spark a fresh round of jockeying for position within the ANC.

Even if it did not, how would a temporary president run his Cabinet?

Loyalty to Mbeki may have dramatically diminished at the apex of government, but there are important pockets of resistance.Would anything really get done?

So, reluctantly, we agree with Cosatu that axing Mbeki now would create more problems than it would solve. We'll simply have to grit our teeth, lower our expectations and wait out the year. Anyone who feels in need of leadership until then is advised, quite simply, to look elsewhere.

Xenophobia: An evil excuse for laziness?

2008-05-23T09:09:00.001+02:00

So many people have given so many reasons why xenophobia is rampant in South Africa, but none truly convinces.

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Thieves hit official residence of Mbeki

2008-05-07T10:44:00.001+02:00

Over the long weekend burglars climbed into the roof of President Thabo Mbeki's official residence Mahlambandlovu on the Bryntirion Estate in Government Avenue in Pretoria and stole between R20 000 and R30 000 worth of aluminium.

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Why do we need the Scorpions?

2008-05-02T08:47:00.001+02:00

Organised crime often requires the sanction of the powers-that-be to operate unhindered. Constant examination and an impartial eye on power to prevent its abuse is a fundamental constitutional obligation.

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Scorpions: State’s massive contradictions

2008-05-02T08:40:00.001+02:00

A day before Cabinet approved legislation that will shut down the Scorpions, the director general of justice and two Cabinet ministers stated under oath that “no decision has been taken by Cabinet to dissolve the DSO [Directorate of Special Operations]”.

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Manuel defies Mbeki on Zimbabwe arms

2008-05-02T08:37:00.001+02:00

In an apparent revolt against a weakened president senior Cabinet ministers and government officials worked to prevent the Chinese arms ship from offloading its cargo, even as Thabo Mbeki insisted that the mortar bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles be allowed to reach Robert Mugabe’s military.

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Surviving in the blackboard jungle

2008-04-03T10:04:00.001+02:00

Violence in South African schools has claimed the lives of a number of children in recent years, while many more have been hospitalised with injuries. I looks like there is no answer to this scource of our society. Can the moral regeneration movement provide the answer?

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Unspent millions in funds for needy students.

2008-03-29T17:09:00.004+02:00

A total of R50-million allocated by the government to universities for loans to poor students went unused last year. Are Universities depriving hundreds of students of a tertiary education and thereby joining the ranks of other government departments such as local government, department of housing and department of health?

We have become used to the fact that the South African public has to hear every year that certain government departments were unable to spend the funds allocated to them by the national government. What is appauling is the fact that all this happens amist great personal need for proper housing, healthcare and education.

To have our highest institutes of learning - and supposedly most abled bodies - joining the ranks of incompetent public servants is the highest form of insult on an already battered society.

If we cannot trust our institutions of learning to do a proper job, who can we trust?

Failing to properly use our hard-earned tax money and thereby making the needy suffer even more is plain criminal. These departments and institutions should be brought up on charges!

How about crimes against humanity?

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Cubans to be allowed to buy cellphones

2008-03-29T15:57:00.002+02:00

At last Cubans can have cellphones. This luxuary will soon be available to a select few Cubans who can afford it. Initially Cubans will have to pay relatively expensive prices as they will only be able to pay in the Cuban Convertable Currency, but it is a start!

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South Africa Today: Apology for apartheid

2008-03-20T09:25:00.002+02:00

South Africa Today
I live in one of the world's most beautiful countries, with some of the world's most amazing people. I live in South Africa. As much as I enjoy travelling nothing beats walking back into the arrivals hall of OR Tambo airport and drinking in the energy of this incredible country.

I am an African and I love my country and my continent. It is the place where my spirit is at home, where I am at peace except on days like today. Days where the actions of some white South Africans fill me with shock and horror. In the last two days we have all been exposed to the senseless stupidity of those white students at the University of the Free State but it runs deeper than that. Almost on a weekly basis I am exposed to stories in which some white South Africans hurl racial insults at people. I wish that I could say with confidence that these white South Africans are a mad, crazed minority but sadly I suspect that this is not the case. I suspect, indeed I know, that racism flows through the veins of many white South Africans. The majority? I don't know, but certainly not a tiny minority. I hear too many racist jokes, hear too much racist mumbling for it to be a tiny minority.

The counter is also true, there are many white South Africans who love our country and what it stands for. We need to make our voices heard. We need to challenge racism each time it raises its ugly head. It means challenging people in public places. It means risking getting beaten up or worse. It means saying loudly and clearly 'not in my name'.

Racism is alive and well in South Africa. Sometimes it is violent, sometimes it is crude, sometimes it is subtle but it is alive and well. It robs us of our humanity. It denies us the warmth and beauty of love. It undermines the miracle of our country and it makes me sick. I am a white South African, a white male South Africa and the mindless racism of people who look like me makes me sick. I wish that they would leave. If I had the money I would pay for their airtickets to wherever they wanted to go. Alternatively, can we not send them to jail?

We are a country of heroes. A country that has given the world names like Nelson Mandela, Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko, Chris Hani. People who represent a selfless heroism, a generosity of the human spirit that leaves me in awe. People who gave their lives to ensure that I and all of you could live in a democratic, non-racist South Africa. The continued racism that dogs South African society in the face of such generosity enrages me.S

outh Africa is a country in which people struggled for freedom against one of the most oppressive regimes in the world and won. It is in this self-same country that those who were murdered, tortured, who had their farms stolen by the state, who were denied access to everything from education and health-care to park benches and beaches turned around and forgave white people for the oppression that the majority knowingly endorsed and others did little to overturn. In my mind that is the absolute miracle of this country. I know that it is said many times that we are a miracle nation, that our transition was miraculous but do we ever stop to think about what that really means?

This is a country in which mothers whose sons and daughters were killed in the name of apartheid and protecting white privilege, said "We forgive you. Let us move forward with building a new future". It is thanks to their generosity that I can say that no-one has ever held the fact that I am white against me. I have always been embraced without hesitation in every part of this country. Thank you South Africa for the gift of my life. I have an incredible life, it would not have been possible without the forgiveness of black South Africans.

On days like today I try to think of some amazing people who happened to have white skins who fought in the ANC, the SACP and Cosatu for South Africa's freedom. People like Bram Fischer, Joe Slovo, Neil Agget, Ruth First and countless others who fought and gave their lives in the struggle for freedom. Whenever I feel despair at being a white South African, I think of those people and thousands like them and feel a little better.

Yesterday Jody Kollapen, chairperson of Human Rights Commission, said that he hoped that white South Africans would offer an apology for apartheid. Here is mine, I hope that you will join me in this.

I was born in 1973 and grew up during some of the worst excesses of the apartheid government. I was ten or eleven when the first state of emergency was declared and went to high school during years when many black teenagers were being shot at, tear-gassed, harassed and tortured by security forces protecting white privilege. It is a source of shame to me that in those years, I never took the time or made the effort to fully understand what apartheid meant. To understand why it was that some of my classmates could not get to school on some days. I knew that we couldn't use the local municipal swimming pool for our galas because we were a multi-racial school, but I didn't stop to interrogate why not and more importantly what I could do to change it. I am sorry that I didn't. The fact that I was a teenager is no excuse. I only needed to look around me to see the truth and have the courage to take the action.

There is no doubt that I benefited from apartheid. I went to a well-funded school. I never had policemen raiding my home, arresting my parents, tear-gassing my classroom or anything else that constituted the teenage years of many black South Africans who are my peers. The fact that I have a succesful life today is because I did not experience the violence of apartheid.

University was a revelation for me. I was privileged enough to be exposed to heroes of the South African struggle as my professors ensured that I was able to work with trade unionists, included me in meetings with political activists and exposed me to a world of brilliance, of humanity and of commitment that fundamentally shaped who I am today.

Apartheid was a terrible crime. Its effects continue to plague our society in every conceivable way. It might have been taken out of legislation in the early 1990s but you cannot eradicate the effects of decades of systematic abuse in 13 short years. It will take time, effort and commitment from all of us. I am sorry that it happened. I am sorry that I didn't help to make it end sooner. I am sorry that today I don't do enough to counter its effects. Perhaps this is a small start...

It's ending has given me the most incredible life. I am grateful for that.

There can never be an excuse for apartheid. There is no excuse for the continuation of racism.

Post you apology now. In time I hope that this blog will become a public record of white South African's shame at apartheid and our commitment to building a new society.

Posted by Karl Gostner

New names for old hang-ups

2008-02-20T09:51:00.001+02:00

President Thabo Mbeki has set himself 24 tasks, listed alongside, for completion before he leaves the political stage in 2009. This is typical of the managerial style that has characterised his presidency. The priorities are not new, though the term to describe them “apex priorities” is. Mbeki often gives old problems sexy new titles.

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The Sting of the Scorpions!

2008-02-17T07:56:00.001+02:00

There will not be “two centres of power” and the government and ANC will work smoothly together, the ANC has soothingly told the nation.Yet, it is apparrent that the ANC is deeply divided on central issues like the deputy president and the future of the scorpions.

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A new war on poverty

2008-02-16T11:52:00.001+02:00

The national war room for a War against Poverty was one of the more ringing phrases in the State of the Nation speech, but what does it mean?

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Advertisers spend more on internet search

2008-02-16T08:48:00.001+02:00

Google was the main beneficiary in 2007 of more money being spent on search engine advertising...

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Gangster Pharmamaceutical Companies

2008-02-16T08:46:00.001+02:00

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It seems the two big players in South Africa’s pharmaceutical cartel ignored this famous piece of advice and now they’re facing the heat. With the shocking news that state tenders were rigged by pharamaceutical companies since 1993, the competition board is clamping down on two large players.

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Did Mbeki lie to the nation?

2008-02-16T08:39:00.001+02:00

An affidavit from acting prosecutions head Mokotedi Mpshe effectively blows apart government’s main charge against his suspended predecessor, Vusi Pikoli -- that he had not kept his minister informed.Does this mean that President Mbeki lied to the nation?

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No holy cow too sacred - Deon Maas bites the dust!

2007-11-26T18:09:00.001+02:00

Fired Rapport columnist Deon Maas slays holy Afrikaner cows with the skill of an abattoir boss, but that is not to say the cows will not put up a fight. And some especially vicious ones bite back, as Maas found out last week.

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Psst ... get cheap music here : Mail

2007-11-20T23:09:00.001+02:00

South Africans venturing online to buy music downloads need to shop around, because some retailers can be almost 12 times more expensive than others. The cheapest download option available to South Africans appears to be eMusic, the R130 a month subscription that allows consumers 75 songs at R1,70 each.

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Health minister slams private medical care

2007-09-30T10:29:00.001+02:00

Health experts gathered in Johannesburg to probe a pathological, and potentially terminal, syndrome of private healthcare cost escalations last week. And they concluded that regulatory surgery was needed to save the patient.

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World loses vocal Aids prophet

2007-09-17T10:38:00.001+02:00

Professor Ruben Sher, the man who predicted 20 years ago that HIV/Aids would become a “biological holocaust” in South Africa, has died at the age of 78.

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SA blogs on the rise

2007-09-09T08:35:00.001+02:00

More than 600 000 internet users visiting blogs by their fellow South Africans in just one month.

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Enemies of the people?

2007-09-07T10:43:00.001+02:00

Are black editors savages incapable of comprehending the intricacies of ‘foreign’ values such as press freedom?

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Seeking servants of the people

2007-09-04T20:07:00.001+02:00

As we approach this defining moment, it is critical that we examine the factors that will guide us in choosing our leaders, rather than focusing solely on who those leaders will be.

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BEE's sharpest tool

2007-08-30T15:05:00.001+02:00

BEE ownership deals get the most attention, but their capacity to change the racial bias in the South African economy seems to be limited. Preferential procurement, however, is the sharpest tool in government's transformation armoury. But it could also increase corruption and cronyism and increase the cost of doing business.

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Cape gangs: targeting the untouchables

2007-08-29T11:22:00.001+02:00

Organised crime in the Western Cape has reached such proportions that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is appointing 18 dedicated advocates and prosecutors to focus exclusively on it. Livingston Sakata, head of the NPA’s organised crime component, says organised crime is an epidemic in the province.

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Human rights overhaul for South Africa

2007-08-28T21:54:00.001+02:00

The findings contained in the 260-page report by Kader Asmal’s ad hoc committee on the review of Chapter 9 and related institutions makes far-reaching recommendations that might require the amendment of the Constitution, the retrenchment of up to 40 commissioners and will test the political will of the executive.

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Dexter suspended after he reported on missing cash

2007-08-25T14:31:00.001+02:00

Suspended South African Communist Party (SACP) member and former treasurer Phillip Dexter confirmed this week that he could find no bank statements reflecting at least R1,1-million cash, allegedly given to the general secretary of the party, Blade Nzimande.

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Times vs Manto in interdict hearing

2007-08-24T22:24:00.001+02:00

Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's lawyers were asking for an interdict to prevent the Sunday Times from further commenting on or publishing details of the minister's records. They also wanted references to the minister's reported stealing in Botswana 30 years ago removed from the court record.

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Manto fails to make the grade

2007-08-24T22:20:00.001+02:00

Tshabalala-Msimang was appointed to her Cabinet post in June 1999. In the past eight years the track record of the department of health has not been encouraging, with poor financial management accompanied by failure on healthcare delivery.

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SA intensifies effort to woo foreign doctors

2007-08-12T20:47:00.001+02:00

South Africa needs about 1 000 doctors in the next 100 days to fill a year-long shortage of medical graduates caused by changes to their training programme.

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South African Government’s new RDP

2007-08-07T10:44:00.001+02:00

The South African Department of Trade and Industry has unveiled its new industrial policy at last - it is the most ambitious state-driven job-creation initiative since the Reconstruction and Development Programme.

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A study in courage

2007-08-02T11:00:00.001+02:00

At five feet tall, Asma Jahangir (55) is not an imposing figure, but for almost four decades she has towered over Pakistan’s human rights war. She has championed battered wives, rescued teenagers from death row, defended people accused of blasphemy and sought justice for the victims of honour killings, winning admirers and making enemies.

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The cost of feeling safe

2007-08-02T08:00:00.001+02:00

Security measures in the South Africa are part of the daily life. It is not regarded as a luxury any more, but became a necessity due to the high violence and crime in the country. Proper security measures can be costly to South Africans, costing a few hundred Rands a month. Now certain groups are lobbying for tax deductions of security expenses.

____________________________________________
http://www.sabusinesswarrior.com

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Research clears cellphone masts

2007-07-29T23:08:00.001+02:00

Researchers concluded that cellphone masts do not cause harmful short-term health effects, after a study of people who say they experience symptoms when they are close to them. The study dealt another blow to the notion that low-level electromagnetic fields from cellphones or base stations are dangerous.

_____________________________________________
http://www.saaffiliate.com/

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President Mbeki on Aids

2007-07-24T08:10:00.001+02:00

Recent attempts by President Thabo Mbeki’s official biographer, Ronald Suresh Roberts, to airbrush Mbeki’s Aids denialism from the historical record smell of Stalinism and trivialise the responsibility Mbeki carries for thousands of lives lost. In Fit to Govern, Roberts claims that Mbeki was never an Aids denialist.

__________________________________________
http://www.saadvertising.com/

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Earn money online in South Africa

2007-07-02T14:49:00.000+02:00

There are many ways to make or loose money on the internet. There is no easier way to waste your money than to get online and buy some second hand get-rich-quick e-book or product. Well. I am not going to sell you any e-book or product, but I am going to give you honest straightforward advice. I am not promising that you will make six figure incomes instantly, but I can assure you that the following is very good advice if you want to make some money on the internet.

Making Online Payments

To do business online, you need a credit card. This is very important as the credit card is an international recognized way of guaranteeing that the seller will get paid for products and services delivered to you. If you are worried about using a credit card online, there are secure ways of shopping online. One way is to sign up for a free PayPal account. PayPal is an international recognized online payment system that is safe way for making and receiving online payments. At present South Africans cannot receive payments through PayPal due to governments regulations but it is still a safe way of making payments. PayPal acts as a financial intermediary, so that a third party will never have directl access to your credit card details.

Affiliate Marketing

One of the best ways to make money online is affiliate marketing. Through affiliate marketing you are paid for helping to market the products and services of other businesses. First you need to register with such a company. Then place affiliate text links or banners on your website. When people click on the links or banners you are paid in accordance with a predefined fee structure. There are numerous affiliate marketing programs available in South Africa, but it is best to sign up at an affiliate network. You are not limited to marketing of South African products only, since the beauty of the online business is that you can market international products too.

South Africa has very few big affiliate networks. The top three networks are: Trafficsynergy, OfferForge and EarningsOnline. At this stage OfferForge is the largest affiliate network in South Africa, but Trafficsynergy is fast catching up. Well known businesses like Outsurance, Liberty Life, Musica and many others make use of the services of affiliate networks. When you sign up for a affiliate network account and your application is approved, you can market the products and services of more than one businesses through one account.

There are additional benefits for using an affiliate network. You can use a single username and password to access your affiliate account and it is easier to access your statistics for all the campaigns you are promoting. Also, many well known businesses like Outsurance only offer membership to their affiliate programs through affiliate networks.

Another common way of making money online is to sign up for Google Adsense. Google will display ads that are relevant to the content of your website and when visitors click on any of the Adsense links you will be paid per click. Just paste the relevant code provided by Google onto your website. These links will be updated frequently without any further action from your side. Just beware that Google has a reputation of terminating your account if their algorithms find any suspicious activity on it, such as too many clicks coming from one particular IP address.

Auction Sites

A second way of making money online is to sell products and services through an auction site. Bidorbuy is the largest online auction site in South Africa. You can buy and sell almost anything at their site, even without a website. For security reasons, you will need a credit card to sign up.

Getting a Website

You will need a website for using Google Adsense. You can either design and maintain your own website or find a business to set it up for you for a fee that can vary from a few bucks to a few thousand bucks. Should you decide to do it yourself, you need to sign up for a hosting account at one of the many website hosting companies in South Africa and abroad, depending on the type of site you want. We recommend one of the following: Afrihost, IX Webhosting, Hostingmetro, or ImHosted.com.

Next, get yourself software to create and publish web pages. There are many programs that can do this, but Microsoft's FrontPage program is better if you are new to the trade. Some web hosting companies also offer an easy to use website builder that is template driven and does not require any knowledge of webdesign.

Getting a Domain name

Each website needs a name, referred to as the domain name. Most international domains are ending in dotcom (.com) while South African names typically end in dotcoza (.co.za). Choosing the right domain name is vitally important. To see whether your chosen domain name is available, go to http://co.za/whois.shtml and type your proposed domain name in the search box and press enter. Just follow the instructions that follow, since you will find everything you need to know on how to register a domain here.

Advertising your website Go here for more information on online advertising.

Getting help There are many other considerations to take into account when starting a new website in terms of content, search engine optimisation (SEO) and submission of your new website. For help on these issues, visit the Warrior Forum. Also read as many articles on the relevant issues as possible. In the end, proper research will pay off.

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http://www.sabusinesswarrior.com/
http://www.ajorisashop.com/

Ten thing to know before you blog!

2007-02-27T19:22:00.000+02:00

I recently came across this article at Inc.com and decided to share it with you.

By: Carole Matthews

It's been widely covered that weblogs are a viable way to build brand awareness and establish an individual's expertise in a particular area. "For a small business, [a weblog] is a perfect low-cost positioning-yourself-as-an-expert tool," notes Debbie Weil, the publisher of WordBizReport and Debbie's Blog, as well as author of an upcoming book on corporate blogging for Penguin Portfolio (2006). But what hasn't been covered is how to actually take the leap?

In essence, when you begin to blog, you're publishing your own work. You're making a statement to an enormous audience that will shine a spotlight on your company and your credibility as an expert. With so much at stake, building a weblog into your marketing arsenal can seem intimidating.

To help lessen the anxiety you might feel about blogging, we went out to three experts in the field to uncover the top 10 things you should know before you blog. These tips should help better prepare you for writing and maintaining a weblog for your business.

A weblog is a two-way conversation, not a top-down communication medium. As a boss, you're in a natural leadership role -- generally, you talk and people associated with your company listen. When you're blogging, the dynamic is different. Your audience is infinitely larger, and the conversation you start will take on a life of its own. "You need to ask yourself, 'Am I willing to engage people without controlling the conversation in a top-down kind of way?'" says Paul Chaney, president of Radiant Marketing Group, a business blog consulting firm. Readers will build on your thoughts, and, gasp, may even criticize them. You need to be able to accept feedback in stride. Besides, a little criticism might lead to a topic you might want to discuss in a future posting. Even better, it could lead to such tangible outcomes as better solutions, products, and strategies for your business.

It takes time to blog, maybe more than you're willing to devote. Consistency and frequency are the keys to building an audience on the Web. If you're using a weblog to build brand recognition or establish yourself as an expert, you need to be sure that you're blogging frequently. "I advise business owners to blog at least twice a week," says Anita Campbell, a former CEO and editor of the daily blog Small Business Trends. "If you don't do it at least twice a week, the blog can quickly look stale," she adds. This is not to say you have to sit down to write 500-word posts two or three times a week. "Better a couple of sentences three times a week than one blog a week," suggests Weil.

Find out what others are saying about you and your business.Get a head start on your weblog by first discovering what others, maybe even competitors, are saying about your industry, your business, even you. "Get the pulse of what is being said to determine whether you can speak to that particular issue or put forth a message that can set you apart," suggest Chaney. "If you're in a competitive space where other companies are blogging, you can monitor that and then come up with a strategy that's more intelligent than just throwing stuff out there," he adds. Chaney suggests using blogpulse to search the most up-to-date listings of weblog postings about your company and industry.

Yes, you do need to be able to write.But you don't have to be Ernest Hemingway. "If you can write a coherent e-mail, you can write a blog entry," Weil says. Pay attention to proper grammar -- you don't want to sound illiterate, and try to have fun with it. "The writing style should be informal, as if you're speaking to someone in an e-mail," Weil suggests. And if you don't feel like you have a distinctive voice, just give it some time. It will emerge eventually.

Practice can make perfect. Or, at least make you more comfortable with blogging.Some owners might shudder at the thought of writing so publicly. But it doesn't have to be "show time" right out of the gate. You can experiment before you go public. Put comments on others' weblogs or do a weblog behind the scenes. "Open up a Typepad account, use it for free, and don't make it public," suggests Weil. Keep it private for a while or put it behind a firewall. "Get at least ten entries in there and have colleagues comment on them," she adds. Feedback from people you trust can help build your confidence. Likewise, the exercise could reveal you just don't like doing it. Better to learn this now rather than after you've made your blog intentions public.

Some topics are verboten. Remember, you're blogging for your business, so stay away from anything that could throw prospective and current customers into a tirade. Campbell generally advises against blogging about the following topics: sex, race/ethnic bias, religion, politics, and too much patriotism. The patriotism one is especially sensitive because of the global nature of the Internet, according to Campbell. "Anyone can come to your website from any country," reminds Campbell. "While you can be patriotic, you don't want to do it at the expense of someone else's nationality."

Be sure to know your keywords. Blogs can help customers find your business when they are searching on Google or other sites. Therefore, it's important to know: What words do customers most often use to find you via the search engines? What words show up in competitor or industry blogs on a regular basis that help place them high in Google's index? Knowing which words to drop into your posts on a regular basis will help boost your search rankings. "Small businesses get more search engine benefit from blogs than larger businesses," Campbell says. After all, your marketing budget probably is a fraction of what GE will spend this year. Writing frequently and dropping keywords into your posts to help boost your search standings can go a long way for a business owner on a tight marketing budget. But don't overdo it. Readers will see right through any obvious attempts at self-promotion.

It will take longer than you think to build awareness -- and a following.Don't expect your weblog to be an instant hit. Traffic to it and building a following will take a while to develop. "You will find you need to give at least a three- to six-month commitment, updating routinely [to get noticed]," Chaney says. And Weil suggests at least one year. Whether its three months or a year, you need to be committed for the long haul, regardless of feedback, or lack thereof, from readers. "You're not going to be found after a couple of weeks," says Weil. It will take at least several months before the major search engines and other bloggers and websites find you.

Know your confidentiality limits. "Don't write anything you don't want your competition to know about," Campbell says. When you're blogging, it's easy to get caught in the moment and share your coolest ideas and best strategies. But you need to think of your weblog as any other writing communication you do for your business. Before you write, ask yourself whether your topic will compromise your position in the market, or compromise your position as leader of your company. If an employee or competitor shouldn't hear it, then it shouldn't be in your weblog.

Know why you're blogging. Sounds like common sense, but stating why you've decided to start a weblog can quickly put into perspective what you expect to get from it. "You shouldn't be doing it just because it's the latest trend," Chaney says. You need to determine how the weblog will serve your organization: Will its primary purpose be to build brand awareness? Do you want to establish yourself as an expert in a field to better highlight your company's expertise? Will it be used to simply alert people to company news and information? Are you more interested in using it as an internal vehicle for updating employees? Knowing what you're setting out to do with your weblog will help define what you'll write about -- and keep you focused on your primary effort.

Once you know the ropes, blogging is easy -- and fun. It's an opportunity for you to establish meaningful conversations with potential and existing customers. And it offers you a instant platform to share your knowledge and expertise with the world at large.

Published July 25, 2005

http://www.jorisa.jorisaa.com

R60 000.00 to belong to Elite Club!

2007-02-18T12:12:00.000+02:00

Johannesburg - The ANC was selling "face time" with cabinet ministers and government officials in an effort to raise funds, the Sunday Times reported in its early edition.

The scheme already had 2 000 paid-up members and promised businesses knowledge of "upcoming government decisions". It was run from ANC headquarters Albert Luthuli House in Johannesburg where a call centre processed applicants.

It offered "silver", "gold" or "platinum" membership for between R3 000 and R7 000. Big corporates were charged between R12 500 and R60 000.

The Sunday Times quoted an unnamed agent at the call centre as saying that the scheme was "a private ANC business initiative to assist business people to network with ANC policy makers". It was also intended to help the country achieve its target of six percent economic growth.

The agent said members of the scheme were better placed to succeed in business than those who were not members. They gained insight into what government was doing and why and learnt of "upcoming government decisions", she told the newspaper.

Renier Schoeman, the ANC's national co-ordinator of corporate liaison, was in charge of the scheme.

ANC treasurer-general Mendi Msimang confirmed that ministers and government officials, including directors-general, were invited to functions organised exclusively for members of the scheme.

He denied that this amounted to selling access to government officials.

"I do not see anything wrong with it. It is meant to facilitate networking between ordinary business people and those in government. It is all about bringing people together." He said government officials benefited by being able to identify "bottlenecks that may be there".

The Sunday Times quoted scheme member and Limpopo businessman Tom Boya as saying that deputy minister of Sport and Recreation, Gert Oosthuizen had briefed members about opportunities linked to the 2010 Fifa World Cup long before the issue had become public.

"It opens doors and you can also get invited to high-profile ANC activities," he was quoted as saying. He paid R3000 a year for his membership.

Party funding expert from the Institute for Democracy in SA, Richard Calland, was quoted as saying: "Selling access to power merely serves to allow already privileged people to buy influence in a way the great majority of South Africans cannot".

SAPA

The above article was carried by News24 today and apparently was published in the Sunday Times. I think this opens up the door for some lively discussion on the issue of immorality and corruption. Apparently ANC high profilers like ANC treasurer-general Mendi Msimang, fail to see and understand the problem with a scheme like this.

This scheme opens up the door to the privileged few blacks who can afford to paid large sums of money to the ANC, once again excluding the poor and underprivileged masses.

These privileged few get access to information well in advance of the ordinary citizen, putting them in a position of unfair advantage to position themselves to benefit from this information and opportunities.

Those with access to ministers and high-profile ANC officials have a better chance of influencing ANC policy on a number of issues, but particularly economic policies. Chances are that they will be inclined to push their own agendas rather than that of the poor less fortunate masses. After all, business people want to make more money and nobody hands out money if some kind of return is not expected. BEE is a classic example of the rich black elite enriching themselves while the poor remains poor or even getting poorer.

In my view, it is immoral of the ANC to once again create a scheme that benefits a minority group, while the masses are ignored. No ordinary citizen has access to the ANC executive or even our MEC's. Try and get close to the majority of them and experience the enormous difficulties a South African citizen encounters to meet with our MEC's. In the years of apartheid, we fought against the ideology of minority groups ruling the majority and regarded it as immoral. What is the difference between apartheid and the new tendency of an elite black group ruling the masses? In a country that propagate equality for all, even to the extend that criminals enjoy the best human rights, where is the equality in a scheme where the rich can buy into and become members of an elite club with "silver" and "gold" status according to the amounts paid? In return they have access to information long before ordinary citizens.

It is nothing less than corruption in a very well disguised form. What is the difference in Shaik paying a minister or member of parliament large sums of money to get access to information that puts him at an unfair advantage to his competitors and rich black people paying the ANC to get access of information that will put them at an unfair advantage? In my books there is no difference. The one is as corrupt as the other.

That the scheme exists is confirmed by mouth of Renier Schoeman, the ANC's national co-ordinator of corporate liaison, who is in charge of the scheme. That it is immoral and corrupt needs to be pointed out to the President of the ANC and our country.

The ANC promised equality for all and calls itself the "Peoples Party". Is it not time that it starts looking after the people of this country in all aspects of their life and commits itself to rooting out inequalities, immorality and corruption?

Or has the ANC become in itself an immoral and corrupt party?

Send traffic to your website using You Tube!

2007-02-17T23:33:00.000+02:00

Hot New Marketing Tactic Revealed:

How To Get Thousands (Or Even Millions) Of Visitors To Your Sites With Free Online Video Sites...

"Here's How To Get Unlimited New Visitors To Your Websites Without Paying A Penny (Other Than Video Production Costs) Using Free Online Video Sites Like YouTube..."

Stop Putting Up With Expensive Banner Ads And Pay-Per-Click Campaigns Which Make You Pay Ongoing Fees...

http://www.jorisa.jorisaa.com/utube.html

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http://www.ajorisashop.com

http://www.satoere.com

Better search engine ratings

2006-04-22T20:57:00.000+02:00

Get better search engine ratings.

We all know that being listed with a search engine is not enough. With the competition being fierce, you need an edge over your opponent. Better search engine rating means being listed higher than your competition. I want to help you by giving you a free gift. Search Engine Optimizing Made Easy is an e-book with step by step instructions helping you to improve your search engine ratings. I am offering it to you for free.

Go to http://www.jorisa.jorisaa.com and towards the bottom of the page on the left you will find a graphic of the book. Click on it and the rest is easy. Enjoy the book and it is helpful, since it helped me.

If you want proof, use google search engine, type the word "jorisa" and you will find that a number of my sites occupy the top 10 positions, ahead of big companies called jorisa. So, use the book and enjoy it.

Jorisa.
http://www.shopping.jorisaa.com

Finding It Hard To Make it Online?

2006-02-16T22:28:00.000+02:00

Are you FRUSTRATED by the endless parade of eBooks, courses, and membership sites all promising you endless streams of money? Have you WASTED your hard earned cash and time on FREE ADVERTISING and other online scams - and now you're not sure if anything on the Internet really works? Are you FRUSTRATED and DISILLUSIONED by the endless hype, lies, and false promises on the Internet?

"It's now Official - 93% of Home Based Networkers made No Money online in 2005" While the Remaining 7% continued to Rake in the Big Money in 2005"

We are here to help you promote any type of program or opportunity by sharing with you the same proven systems and tactics used by the elite 7% of marketers who are making millions per year. While the 93% keep running around like headless chicken and won't listen to nobody or stop to think about what it is they are really trying to achieve online the other 7% are creaming in the bucks daily. Most genuine and serious Internet Entrepreneurs want and need to learn how to eliminate the common everyday flaws they are making so that they can finally put a "STOP" to the time and money they are wasting online. 2005 created some disaster results for 93% of networkers who did not stop to take the time to learn a little before diving in head first only to hit the ground as quick.

THERE MUST BE A WAY TO SUCCEED ONLINE! If 7% of people could make it, it is possible. We will have to understand the PROCESS OF MARKETING, which is what our successful entrepreneurs have done. So keep on reading! Did you that the 7% who did take the time to learn a little and then apply it to their businesses opportunities have make fortunes in 2005 and will continue to do so again in 2006, While the other 93% either decide to jump to another opportunity yet again in the false hope that things will get better for them. When will they ever learn. Jumping is not the answer. Trying to cut corner online is not the answer and is like jumping off a cliff without a parachute.

There are no short cuts to running a business online and making six figure incomes. If there was, then why would the top earners online be working 30-40 hours per week like everyone else in the real business world. As a part time business opportunity operator you can still make a very handsome income working 5-10hrs per week if you are serious enough about what you are doing, otherwise stick to the day job.

You will continue to get emails every day full of empty promises, offering to show you how to make money online by doing nothing. Most of these emails are from the people who are NOT MAKING A SINGLE CENT ONLINE, but they expect us to read and believe them?

The truth is this. Most people on the internet want to enrich themselves and not some scammer or fatcat. To this extend we are all the same. Yet we are different in the strategies we employ or the goals that we set for ourselves. So, while we are all different, there are common denominators to success.

Learning to understand the secrets of advertising will be the best thing that has happened to you.

Very few people are making any real money with hype sites where they claim to "build your downline" or "do all the work" or tell you about all the money they make, offer you so many free "tools" and bonuses it makes your head spin, but you can never use it.

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http://www.jorisaa.com
http://www.amilliondollarmore.com

Advertising - which way?

2006-02-10T20:48:00.000+02:00

Being a newbie to the internet and having ventured into the field of the Internet Entrepreneur, I find myself at a lost in the presence of "Internet Gurus" that bombard me with information and products to subscribe to. all of these offer traffic unlimited and six figure incomes. A few buck less later and a lot of e-books later, I am confronted by some realities of the internet world. Some, "like traffic does not equal sales" and "ranking number one at Google for a particular keyword does not bring traffic", have promted me to seriously starting to look at internet marketing.

The internet has become the most intrusive and rewarding phenomenon in the world today. It has invaded our lives and is part and parcel of our lives. We cannot do business without it.

This has created a massive problem for the internet user. The shear volume of information on the internet has made it almost impossible to get your product or website noticed amongst the billions of sites. Searching google for the keyword "shopping" yields a return of 713,000,000, with the top positions being taken by the big guns in the shopping business, like Yahoo, HSN, Shopping.com and MSN.

How on earth does the newcommer compete in a competitive market such as this? We do not have the budget, manpower or resources to rate number one in 713 million. The Internet Entrepreneur enters the market with no money, no experience and a lot of dreams of great money to be made.

Apart from the business obstacles that he / she face, there is also the issue of scams and unscrupilous sharks preying on the uninformed. Very often these newbies found themself relieved of the little cash they have to exit the market broke and disillusioned. A recent study in 2005 showed that only 7% of Internet Entrepreneurs make it on the net.

The fact remains that to be successful, you have to get your site noticed. So, how do you do it?

Over the next few weeks we are going to explore the different options available to you and I as newbies to the internet business. Together we can find the perfect solution and take control of our destiny and our profits.

I invite you to join me in my quest to uncover the secrets of the successful Internet Entrepreneur. Share your experience and comments with us and help others like ourself to bring home the bacon.

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http://www.jorisa.jorisaa.com

http://www.shopping.jorisaa.com