Blog suspension - now at Spoken.co.za

It is with mixed feelings that I inform the readers of my Blog that henceforth it is temporarily suspended until further notice.

You will be pleased to know that I will now be blogging with some emerging blogging community at http://www.spoken.co.za Visit the website to read mine and others writtings. You can register and post your comments there as well.

If you want to join the community simply email 2 articles orginally authored by you to admin@spoken.co.za

Go there now Spoken.co.za

ANC Lives ANC Leads

As all the other times before the elections, the surveys by various institutions are making headlines on telling the people how they feel according to their surveys. Others have been wrong before, but this does not deter them in contesting the attention of the South African public to make their predictions again, hoping to be right this time.

I am yet to meet a person who will say to me "They called me and asked about my voting preference", or one who will say "I know a sister of a friend of a friend of my girlfriends' cousin who was asked her voting preferences for the survey published in the Sunday paper." We can't blame those institutions with their surveys. It is what their Marketing and Communication Managers are paid for.

That aside, I always prefer to go door-to-door in people's houses to ask them to vote for the ANC. After that I go and vote, then wait for the results. Since 1994 I always enjoy the announcement of results. In 2004 it got even better after the ANC won in KwaZulu Natal. This election season I intend doing the same. In fact on the registration weekend of 8th and 9th November 2008, I spent the whole of both days knocking in people's houses. I joined my comrades in doing this exercise. I was convinced that I smell or taste better than my comrades because each time a dog barks at us, it will follow me as we retreat until it was called back by the people we are visiting.

Mine was not a survey, but I know that event though people raised their reservations about certain things about the ANC, the overwhelming majority of the houses we visited have confidence in the ANC.

The trend of previous Election results is as follows;

1994 - 62.65%

1999 - 66.35%

2004 - 69.69%

2009 - ?

We will only know the 2009 percentage after the elections. While some of us continue to compaign for the ANC victory others will keep trying to predict the results to get the satisfaction of having been proved correct. We will get the satisfaction of having won the elections, again.

Foward to the 2009 Elections!

Aluta Continua!

Proposed National Youth Development Agency - First Draft

The Youth Development landscape is changing in South Africa. Here is the graphic summary of the new structure. You will have to read the whole document for more information (you can download it from the Government Website).

The National Youth Commission is dissolves and the new National Youth Development Agency is established. Umsobomvu Youth Fund is transferred into the Agency as the Fund of the agency called the National Youth Fund.

Forward with Intergrated Youth Development!

Blogging live on the Shikota Convention - 02/Nov/2008 - 18h00

As I said yesterday that the Catholic Mass takes priority, therefore I could not follow the Convention.

Unfortunately, for the same reason I happened to miss the Soweto Rally as well. But I'm sure I will make up for that some other time.

End.

Blogging live on the Shikota Convention - 01/Nov/2008 - 20h30

I have been resisting the temptation to blog live all day. After the speech that Shilowa has made I can no longer hold back.

Firstly, as Thozamile Botha was supposed to open the floor for the adoption of the Convention Declaration, he, instead, explained that it is adopted and won't allow any hands. He explained that decisions of the collective bind everyone including those who differed during the discussions. Everyone must go out and communicate the collective decision. I can't recall where I have had that before.

Secondly, Shilowa talks at length about something. I was not paying too much attention because there are those butterfly like insects that keep trying to kiss him on the TV. So I am thinking whether I should use my sandals to bit them or should I buy DOOM tomorrow so as to kill them in case they come back. But then my attention is drawn back to Shilowa when he says as the steering committee they don't care about the consitution of their party. Instead what is important to them is that they win elections. This is an exciting development. It is actually what the Draft Strategy and Tactics Document of the Convention says. I'm so glad that my draft S&T was partially adopted. Shilowa says they will discuss it further tomorrow, hopefully they will adopt it.

Finally, I wanted to write something about the Convention Declaration. Unfortunately, it does not have much content. Shilowa's justification to its emptiness is that there is another Declaration of the imminent members which will exclude opposition parties that were part of the Convention.

Now this means I have to blog tomorrow about this Convention. But it will depend if tomorrows' Catholic Mass allows me time to follow the Convention.

Cheers for now...

Draft Strategy and Tactics Document of the Convention

Introduction

1. In the light of the imminent launch of the new political party in South Africa, here in referred to as the Convention, we express our strategy and tactics that outlines our characterisation and our objectives.
2. The Convention can be characterised as part a splinter from the ANC and its Alliance partners and part a converging of various other groups and individuals in the South African society who share some or all of the concerns of the leaders of the Convention or who have their own concerns that are not related to those of the leaders of the Convention.
3. Our strategic objectives can be broadly defined as the strengthening of democracy through the weakening of the ANC. Our view is that since some of our leaders were not elected into the leadership of the ANC, the ANC has become too strong and thus presents a threat to our democracy as enshrined in our constitution.
4. The reason the ANC is strong its because of its history and its current policies. Since we cannot do better we will have to copy from them and hope that some of its members will be foolish enough to follow us.
5. We believe the time is ripe for the Convention to be launched.

History of the Convention

6. Obviously we do not have a history of our own. We will selective select from the history of the ANC all that suits us and define it as our history. To avoid contradictions, we will omit parts of the ANC history that talk about unity, ill-discipline, democratic centralism, traitors, democracy, deployment and other related phenomena.
7. From the ANC we will mainly copy the parts that talk about the Freedom Charter, freedom, liberation, freedom of speech, and related stuff.
8. Maybe in this way we can avoid peoplw noticing our explicit hypocrisy.

Character of the Convention

8. Ours is a Convention of the concerned. No matter what you are concerned about, you are welcome to the Convention.
9. According to us, the National Democratic Revolution is over. The outdated language of a Revolution is no longer relevant. It’s like some people are politicising everything. As a country we need to chill.
10. We are tired of the ANC talking about the poor, the working class and all those things. We just want a stable country.
11. A stable country is where rich people have space to get richer and poor people can get poorer. Those leftist in the ANC do not understand that the reality is that the poor will always be poor. Actually poor people are not welcome in the Convention as they will scare the investors with their poverty.
12. In fact all the concerns we have expressed about the ANC are mainly based in their use of political language. They should lighten up. Stop singing Umshini Wami and play nice gospel CDs like Lundi at the rallies.
13. Even though we say we leave the ANC because it is not doing the Freedom Charter we welcome all people even those who do not know what the hell is the Freedom Charter. It’s ok. All that counts is your vote not your knowledge of the document.
14. If you support us, you are likely to be alone in your ward, so you definitely will be our candidate for the Mayor in your area. If you are lucky you can even be a Premier, a provincial minister or a national minister. The ANC has too many members, you will never get anywhere with it.
15. Worse if you have poor leadership skills. However as the Convention we do not mind. We won’t need your leadership skills in a long-term anyway.
16. We are aware that in terms of the ANC, joining the Convention amounts to ill-discipline, but we suspect that once you join the Convention you will no longer be ill-disciplined. You will have to respect the decisions of the upper structures just as you did in the ANC, if you were an ANC member when Lekota was Chairperson.
17. We are going to hold a lot of rallies now until the elections. Unfortunately after that we will have to focus on our work in Parliament as leadership to represent your concerns.
18. In this was the Convention will disintegrate due to differing of views. Luckily as leaders we are guaranteed jobs for the next 5 years.

Vision and Mission

19. As stated earlier, we mainly want to weaken the ANC. It is too strong. It also has too many good leaders, that is why we were not elected. The same applies to our fellow losers in provinces, regions and branches. Including those who are still going to lose in the list process.
20. Although we doubt that the ANC will ever be weak, at least we join the DA, UDM, IFP, ID and others in pretending to be doing something.
21. Our strength is that unlike the ANC, we can promise people anything including that which we cannot do. We know we will never win so we won’t have to do it.
22. So we do not have a comprehensive vision because that is rhetoric, our mission is clear; members must elect us back into Parliament where we belong. What else can we do besides that?
23. Our mission is to provide psychological relief on a short-term basis for all those who are stressed (concerned about petty things politically or personally). Really now, some of us have been members of the ANC for a long time what else do you expect us to offer in a long-term.
24. We must appeal to capitalists so that they can fund us. Poor people are of no use. Maybe we can give them T-shirts so they can vote for us.
25. Since we are launching on the basis of ill-discipline and anger. We will have to elect the angriest into leadership in order to sustain ourselves at least until the elections.
26. Perhaps when this anger dies down some people will go back to the ANC. We need to make sure that by the time they are sober, we already got their votes.

Conclusion

27. We won’t pressure our members to go through the eye of the needle to become leaders they have to go through the eye of (an open) boom gate.

Responses to Lekota et al

I kept thinking someone will take an initiative to respond to Lekota et al, including today's newly found energy by Shilowa to suggest a new electoral system. Here I will respond to all the issues that I know of which they have raised. Please let me know if I leave something out. Mainly I will derive these from Lekota's letter, his media briefing and Shilowa's media briefing.

Red is for Lekota et al's concern. Green is for my response.

1. "For instance, those who express views that are contrary to popular opinion in meetings and conferences of the organisation are later hounded out and purged from organisation and state structures. This is contrary to the ANC's democratic culture." (Lekota letter)

It is not easy to respond to this shallow statement without being shallow. It would be better if Mr Lekota had provided examples of those people. I can assume that he refers to Eastern and Western Cape Premier plus the country's former President. Even on this assumption, it is not clear which contrary view did they express to warrant the hounding and purging.

A sober analysis of the individual cases of recall/redeployment will reveal that Lekota's allegations (if my assumption is correct that he refers to them) are unfounded. All comrades who have been recalled have been given reasons why. I can't comment on Shilowa's resignation.

Until Lekota substantiates this allegation it remains complicated to respond rationally to it.

Bayanda Mzoneli has explained at length in his blog on the ANC tolerates differing views.

2. Sectoral and individual interests other than those flowing from the people's interests expressed in the Freedom Charter are elevated to levels of national priority. Thus we are expected to show up at criminal court cases or carry shoulder high individuals convicted of crimes unrelated to the demands in the Freedom Charter. (Lekota letter)

In most instances, comrades support each other out of common brotherhood and sisterhood plus sheer friendship. For some comrades, comradeship goes beyond politics. This does not mean taking something away from politics. It is voluntary for comrades to attend other comrade's funerals, weddings, birthday parties, court appearances and many other non-political activities. This does not in any way belittle the pursuit of the Freedom Charter. It is not true that there is an expectation that people should show up at court cases, it is purely voluntart and mainly based on the individual's belief. For example I believed Cde Jacob Zuma to be innocent during his rape case, so I showed up at court to support him and eventually the court acquited him. There is absolutely nothing wrong in this. Maybe Lekota need to improve this allegation as well in order for it to grow legs.

Instead of instilling respect for institutions of democracy, our leaders issue threats that if judicial proceedings do not result in outcomes they prefer, the country will be brought to a standstill. (Lekota letter)

The ANC have instilled respect in all institutions of democracy. It is a lie that those institutions are disrespected. Nothing have been done, IN PRACTICE, to disrespect the courts. This is despite the court having found against Cde Zuma in the case of 'search and seizures' and the country is not in standstill.

However leaders have a right to participate in the public discourse even if it includes the Executive, Legislature or Judiciary. None of the institutions of democracy are immune from public scrutiny. If one of the institutions of democract was to be exempt from criticism or scrutiny, it would be the end of democracy. Or if leaders were to be prohibited from participating in the public discourse just because it involves a certain institution of democracy, it would infringe on the leaders' democratic rights.

3. Lately, the leadership has taken a direct and unadulterated departure from the Freedom Charter by calling for a political solution in the matter of the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions vs the President of the ANC. What happened to "There shall be equality before the law?". Or are we now to have political solutions to every citizen's criminal case? (Lekota letter)

Nothing happened to "equality before the law". The ANC still pursues it as oultlined in the Freedom Charter. A political soultion was suggested by some leaders after concluding that the case is political. Justice Nicholshon confirmed that the case had political elements. Indeed people are equal before the law. Hence no one should be investigated and be approximately prosecuted on a perpertual basis based on political reasons. Equality means a political problem should have a political solution and a legal problem should be solved by the law. I need not remind Mr Lekota about Justice Herbert Msimang's judgement on the same case. So there is no contradiction there. The leadership has not departed from the Freedom Charter.

4. Blatant threats to kill for certain individuals if desires other than their own are not satisfied are made with impunity. When democracy-supporting institutions intervene to stop such delinquent behaviour, more of our leaders come out in loud support for threats to kill. (Lekota letter)


Cde Malema and Cde Vavi explained, individually, the context in which they made those remarks. People who perceive their statements, even when taken literally, fail to realise that human life is equal. These comrades declared that they are ready to die for their beliefs. It is myopic of Mr Lekota to be selective in recalling what they said. Immediately when their readiness to die is acknolwdged, it logically brings forth the context of their statement.

The context was the expression of the passion and commitement which they have in defence of their beliefs. People should therefore not be prohibited from expressing their passion. Cde Malema later excused his language, saying he understood that it was open to various interpretations. Mr Lekota should not celebrate such petty points and pretend that they are adequate for her to leave a party he has led for many years to lead a new one. He did not leave when someone said "Kill the boer, kill the farmer" even though that was more explicit and directed to a particular group.

5. Wearing of Zulu Boy T-Shirts and/or implied condoning of tribalism. (Lekota Media Briefing)

The ANC denounces tribalism and all other forms of discrimination. The T-Shirts are a product of the tribalist e-mails that circulated within the ANC leaders (now known as 'hoax emails'). These e-mails contained extremely tribalists remarks which refered to Cde JZ as a 'Zulu Boy'. Some members elected to cite these e-mails in expressing their support for Cde JZ. The ANC cannot ban citation or reference, that would be undemocratic. In fact such reference have grown to be used even in other channels including social networking websites.

If Lekota had taken the time to ask any of the ANC members who were those T-Shirts whether they were for tribalism he would have got the answer. ANC members understand the ANC. They are not in anyway promoting tribalism by wearing those T-Shirts.

6. Singing of revolutionary songs, in particular the song "Awuleth' umshini wami". (Lekota Media briefing)

It is very petty of Mr Lekota to raise this as a concern. There are many revolutionary songs that continue to be sang long after the policy positions they were advocating have passed. Singing of revolutionary songs in not neatly labelled with expiry dates that refer to each epoch. ANC members sing many songs randomly. If Mr Lekota had attended a funeral of any of the MK veterans he would have had the song "Thina bafana bomkhonto sizimisele uku....", he knows how the song continues (ask a friend if you don't know).

I would love to listen to the epoch specific songs that his new party will sing, if it will ever sing. They will have to develop a hymn book that will be updated occassionally to ensure the members only sing approved songs.

7. Practice of democracy and putsch of former President Mbeki. (Shilowa media briefing)

The practice of deployment and redeployment in the ANC and the Alliance is very old. It is strange that when it applies to former President Mbeki, Mr Shilowa finds it neccesary that the constitution should be amended to allow for directly elected leaders.

Mr Shilowa was part of the Polokwane Conference. This conference had a lengthy document on the electoral system and more on the sphere of government, I wonder if he was as enthusiastic about change in the discussions in his branch as he is today. Maybe he would have proposed changes to the constitution in another clause about the maximum terms had the Polokwane Conference elections turned out another way.

Mr Shilowa remarks at his media briefing were surpringly of a very liberal democracy. It is not clear whether he has always haboured those views or they are newly thought following certain events.

This concludes my responses to Lekota et al. I am going to label these as Part One just in case there are follow-up questions or there are other points that emerge which I may have left out by accidental omission.