Sunday, April 4, 2010

Eugen Terblanche Dies

I woke up to reports about the tragic murder fo the AWB leader, Eugen Terblanche. It is reported that two men, 15 and 21 years respectively, who were employed by the deceased attacked and killed him because of a wage dispute. These two men geve themselves up and have been arrested and the investigation continues. As a lawyer, I know that evidence is about facts. The facts in this case are clear; two employees kill their employer because of a wage dispute. No one has come out to dispute this, and I am sure the investogation will confirm this principal fact.

Therefore, I can't help but disregard the reports that I have heard over various media that claim that this brutal crime is 'directly linked to the 'kill the farmer' song that Julius Malema and the ANC have come out to defend with all forces". The court in this case will ask the question, 'what was the motive" and to do so the court must inquire into the subjective minds of these men. To me, the wage dispute seems to be motive behing the crime and as such the
element that triggered the chain of events that led to the murder of the AWB leader. Whether the song 'kill the farmer' had a role to play in this crime is a matter that the court should and must not consider. For all we know, these two men didn't even watch the news and had no knowledge of the 'kill the farmer' song debacle.

So, what should we then make of the recent and continuig utterances relating to the 'kill the farmer' song by both the ANC and the ANCYL? These bodies have vowed to challenge the decision of the High Court bannig the song, and claim that the song is not harmful and is part of South Africa's history. While I agree with the latter, I am strongly against having the song being part of the Aouth Africa story post 1994, and the ANC and the ANCYL are being irresponsible in calling for the song to be sung and celebrated. When the Ranbow Nation was born in April 1994, both blacks and whites and all other races in our country, through the promulgation of the constitution, entered into a social contract for purposes of building a united South Africa. That meant that any entintlement for exclusive and preferential treatemnt falling outsisde of the new democratic dispensation were a breach of this social contract, and had no place in our Rainbow Nation. In accordance with the concept of a contract, the parties have both rights and duties.The rights ar entranched in the Bill of Rights and the duties are implied throughtout the body of the constitution. Prime among these duties, is the duty to contribute towards building a united South Africa.

The conduct of the ANCYL recently, and the support of the ANC of the ANCYL in relation to such conduct, runs contrary to this duty. The ANC believes that it has the right to sing the 'kill the farmer' song because it forms part of its struggle histroy. However, what the ANC misses here is that we are no longer in a political struggle per se. Accepting the ANC's position in this regard automatically awards Afrikanners and other formations of our society to celebrate and promote whatever exclusive element of their heritage not consistent with the democratic dispensation. For example, if the ANC wants to continue to sing 'kill the farmer' song bevcause it is part of its heritage, then the Afrikaaners must be allowed to sing 'dela rey' or whatever song that expresses their adherence to an exclusive heritage. All races must be treated equally. The ANC cannot expect preferential treatment. The consitution has provided for preferential programmes such as BEE and affirmative action as part of government's actions to deal with socio-economic disparaties.

There are no two camps in the new constitution. There is one camp, that is South Africa and we are all living in it and have a duty to build unity. The ANC must deposit the song in its heritage bank and call on the ANCYL to stop singing the song, and call for unity in our country. If no action is taken to disarm the ANCYL's destructive missiles, the gain of the Rainbow Nation will certainly dissapear. We cannot allow Julius Malema to send us back to a place where blacks and whites hate each other.President Zuma must take action and call Julius Malema to order. How can we standby and watch our country head straight for civil war on account of a single indicidual who is not soley responsible for the democracy we all built? We have no balls!

mysundaytimes

Sunday, March 21, 2010

ANCYL Mamparas

"Mampara of the week": Floydulence! Vapours! ST: 121/3/2010

So the ST team has awarded Floyd Shivambu, ANCYL Spokesperson, the mapara of the week accolade. He deserves it! Threatening to blackmail the media so that they would not publish any stories that would disgrace the ANCYL in particular its president, Julius Malema, is not a smart move Mr Spokeperson.

First of, one needs to know how to read, write and speak to qualify as a spokesperson. I doubt that Floyd possesses any of these skills to have him in that capacity. In fact, the majority of the members of this corrupt club called the ANCYL is unskilled and lack any meaningful competency to run a national youth organization of this magnitude. The ANCYL ought to define a youth agenda for the young people of this country; to galzanize the youth on issues that require their attention and for their benefit. From the day Julius Malema and his cronies took office in Luthuli House, the ANCYL has been involved in nothing but controvesy that represents and benefits the interests of Malema and his crownies.

We hear about their foolish decisions and actions in the media more often than not, and to my surprise they are always protected by the ANC. The recent controvesy involves a song titled "kill the boer, kill the farmer" that Malema sang at the University of Johannesburg. In response to calls from FF+ and other groups to prosecute Malema for hate speetch, the ANC came out in support of Malema and explained that the song must be understoond within its context and that no harm is intended. In addition, the ANC accused the FF+ of putting Malema's life in danger. Oh my GOD...talk about that! This guys has literally put the entire afrikaaner race in danger by inciting his followers to take up arms aginst them, and he is the one that must be protected? Take a second a think about that. Do you agree with the ANC? I don't. The song reached its sell by date in 1994 when the 'Rainbow Nation' was born. The Rainbow Nation promised all citizens a united South Africa.

The ANC has defended Malema on this one and no one within the ANC is wiling to reign in this boy and discipline him. The FF+ alleges that Malema is inciting violence and causing divisions withint races. I support this allegation and I am black! The ANC says no, he is not. How can this be so when a few years back a song by an afrikaans artist titled 'Dela Ray' was frowned upon by both the ANC and the ANCYL, citing that the song was sowing divisions. The afrikaaners came out in numbers to explain the context of the song, that it was about 'self-determination' of the afrikaaner. Notwithstanding, the song was banned. So, again I ask, how can a song calling for the killing of boers not be against our Rainbow Nation code? The ANC has come out to attack the FF+ and anyone else who is calling for Malema to be prosecuted for hate crimes. Unbeliavable.

In both the Dela Ray and the kill the boer songs, the issue should not be its meaning or context but the fact that considering the contexts thereof, both these songs do not have a place in the Rainbow Nation. If you want to sing about self-determination, then, all races must partake in the process of creating songs that would represent the entire SA.


I hope the ANC is aware of what they are doing? They are jeorpadising the positive gains we have achieved in building a trully united society. The new democracy must benefit all races and it is wrong when the wrongs of black leaders are swept under the carpet and those of the minority whites are dealt with harshly. Selective democracy must be uprooted from our society. We must have courage and boldness to tackle any ill discipline within our society. If we fail to do so, crooks like Malema and Shivambu will ultimately tear us apart. We must be careful of these things and we must act against them together as a matured democracy.

A country led by the current leadership of the ANCYL will ruin us!

Come on South Africans, let's call a spade a spade.

mysundaytimes

Wasteful lifestyles of billionaires

"When a billionaire says 'I do...'" - ST: 21/3/2010-p.g 3

There must be a law against wasteful lifestyles of rich people. ST reports that Robert Gumede's wedding this past weekend costs him around R50 million. The things I would do with R50 million. For example, in the news last week there was a feature about a young girl from Cape Town who was turned away from Groote Schuur Hospital due to a shortage of dialyisis machines...apparently to die waiting! Shocking! The news anchor made a subtle appeal to the public when she reported that the a dialyisis session would cost around R1000. I remember asking myself, "how much do i have in the bank?". Well, that's who I am. I am helper. I always try to change people's lives no matter how insignificant the change and I pride myself of that. I think that is the real measure of ubuntu.

It is reported that it took 1 year to plan this apparently spectacular wedding and that nothing was left unturned. I have nothing against people spending the money they work hard for, but come on...R50 million rand for two days! The wedding festivities were attended by 2500 local and international whos who. This crowd was treated to the best of everything...at a cost of R50 million. It's mazing how far people can go to prove a point. I am sure you wouldn't even have to look further than the bride's and the groom's family to find a real need. I am positive that there are people in the bride's and groom's famaliy who are in desperate need of help. But, unfortunately, they are not worth R50 million a thought.

I see need wherever I go...children in desperate need of proper food, schools in need of books and upgrades, NGOs in need of financial bailouts, etc. No, that is not good enough to convinve Gumede to spend some of his hard earned millions to meet some of those needs. Just imagine for a second what you would do with R50 million. He could have started a foundation with that money. The first of its kind in the country by a black man. I am reminded of a sermon I heard from Bishop T.D. Jakes titled, "Creative Concepts", where he preaches about using common sense to create solutions to solve problems and needs. He started the Porter's House Ministry in this way, and today his ministry serves thousands of people and makes a real and lasting change to people's lives. I don't care what they say about pastors such as T.D. Jakes. I know one thing about these men, they have the interests of the downtrodden in mind. Bill Gates, the US billionaire, commitss more billions than anyone else in meeting the needs of the people. Oprah does the same, so as Richard Branson. These and many more seem to understand the purpose of prosperity. I only wish that when people emulate their charecters they would also take some of their compassion.

Given, Gumede worked for his money and he deserves to enjoy every cent of it. At the same time though I would argue that within the context of the history of our society, Gumede not only owes himself the duty to improve his quality of life but that of the general black society as well. It is becasue of the general men in the street that this country has produced leading black businessmen like Gumede. It is the masses that fought during the struggle and caused the ANC led liberation movement to attain the power to govern South Africa. It is this same movement that created BBBEE to empower the black majority. It is under these policies that men like Gumede secured access to the economy and participated under the guise of BBBEE and ultimately amassed the astonishing personal wealth they have today. One would think that these men would committ real and significant resources towards uplifting societies as it was done during the struggle years. For example, we all know of the community centres that Steve Biko and Dr Ramphele set up to serve their communities. Back then, the struggle was indeed for the people! Today, the struggle is waged at the expense of the massess only to benefit a few and have them show off their wealth to the whole country.

No matter how hard Gumede worked for his wealth, no matter how much he deserves to enjoy the fruits of his work, I am conviced that to a certain extent he owes a great deal to the massess, without whom democracy would be impossible, and of course his economic participation too. Hell, Gumede can spend R5o million for his wedding if he wants to, but would it not be more meaningful to spend that much towards resources to empower the majority? The whos who of South Africa was treated to the best of all things. To think that one of them would not be moved to advise Gumede to make a real commitment to true black empowerment.

Can you imagine a R50 million investment in a foundation to benefit kids who suffer from kidney diseases? Wow, that would have been a wonderful investment. Instead, 2500 people were treated to a menu containing words I can't even pronounce, a wedding dress made out of imported fabric...my God the arrogance of the rich at the expense of the poor! Spending R5o milion rand for a two day wedding indicates the level to which our society has sunk. Amid all these needs that we face, how can a reasonable man with a true moral code spend R50 million for two days? Unbelievable! It is a spit on the face of the poor. It is despicablee and unkind in all respects. I am pretty sure one could have a fabulous wedding for R500 000 or even a R1 million..R50 million! Tjo!

Gumede's wedding bill is a total waste of money and I cannot find any reasonable explanation for this sordid behavior and blatent arrogance. I mean how far can the bride's taste go? Tomorrow, both the bride and groom together with the 2500 rich friends will return to their ordinary lives...where their maids are mistreated, paid peanuts and their labour rights breached...their garden boys sleeping in the garage...and their distant families left to die in poverty! What has happened to communitism and ubuntu? Wasteful lifestyles must be halted, especially in the midst of the challenegs the majority of our people go through. Wasteful lifestlyes must be a crime. I cannot help but wish that this marriage be followed by a divorce so as to show how trivial and senseless these decisions are. But then again, I must be careful to wish for that. If a wedding costs R50 million, how much will the divorce cost? One thing for sure though, when the divorce comes, the 2500 friends will be nowhere to be found. If there is a God and Justice belongs to Him, then I demand justice on behalf of the poor.

Men like Tokyo Sexwala, Cyril Ramapho, Patrice Motsepe and others not mentioned here must pull these wasteful characters aside and teach them what it means to be a true billionaire.

Anyway, I hope the marriage lasts...lol.

mysundaytimes

Mandla Mandela: A true Zumanist

"Row over Mandela's new wife" - ST: 21/3/10-p.g 5

ST has reported that Mandla Mandela (Nelson Mandela's grandson) has taken a second wife who happens to be 19 years old. What the hell is he thinking! I hear myself screaming. This is a pure case of Zumanism. Mandla is a Zumanist. What else could we expect from him when his role model is Jacob Zuma? I am getting so sick and tied of hearing people use the "it's my culture" phrase as an excuse to advance their own moral code over that of a civilized people. Recently, Zuma made a fool of himself when he, at the World Economic Forum, told the audience that polygamy was his culture. If this was so, why is it that not all Zulu man in South Africa have more than one wife? I know so many men who are Zulu and very traditional in their ways but have only one wife. The dicision to have more than one wife is a personal decision and has nothing to do with culture but personal choice. If you want to have two wives or more don't use culture as an excuse, instead be a real man and tell the world that it is your fetish!

In the same light, Mandla's decision to take another wife is personal and has nothing to do with culture or let alone me or you. However, there is a concern that cannot be overlooked. If this type of behavior is allowed and encouraged we run the risk of raising a generation of men who care about nothing but the ability to feed their sexual drive, and I am afraid that this behavior runs contrary to our efforts in addressing the ills of HIV/AIDS. Mandla is a chief in rural area where HIV/AIDS threatenes to wipe out the community. Instead of leading an examplary life, he chooses to follow in the example of his role model, Zuma, hence becoming a Zumanist. Just how many will follow on this Zumanism phenomena is unknown. I suspect Julius Malema is suffering from a mild case of Zumanism...it has been reported that he changes women like he changes his underwears...at least he changes his underwears.

I only feel sorry for Mandela's first wife, Tando. That girl must find herself an excellent divorce attorney and take Mandla to the cleaners! Instead of taking a cue from his grandfather, who divorced his wife, Winnie Mandela, for Graca Mashel. I have always wondered how these two got together initially. Anyway, Mandla has clearly showed who he would rather look up to. I would also not look up to Nelson. Can you imagine being dumped at the height of a new era after you had dedicated all your life to a man who spent 27 years in prison and came out to dump you and take a foreign woman who never spent a minute in the trenches? I feel for that Madikizela woman! She reminds me of my own mother. The plight of black woman who stand by their husbands only to receive the worst handouts when victory finds their husbands. No wonder this unscrupulous obese boy sold his grandfather to the SABC...sis!

Anas Grimaud, the new wife, probably thinks her life will change significantly after acquiring the Mandela name. Well she is right. Her life will change. However, what she does not realize though is that in a few years she will suffer the same fate as her first counterpart...Mandla would have had a piece of her and looking to get into the pants of an 18 year old...the older they get, the younger they pick! Good luck ntombazana...ayeye!

My advise to this boy is to take out a gym contract and work out that fat before he falls victim to it...they say empires are destroyed from within...if he is not careful that fat will kill him sooner than the viagra would.

mysundaytimes