With the recent events surrounding the forced removal of settlers at the Fire-break on the Sentinel out at Hout Bay, one is left with some very interesting questions.
The land ivaders moved in without any permit from the City and without giving any notice and illegally occupied a area of the lower stretches of the mountain. They claim to be representing the local indigenous peoples of the Western Cape, though there is no proof of this claim nor do any of the participants belong to any of the Griqua or Khoi-San Tribes that inhabited the Cape. This makes one wonder why suddenly an attempt to embarrass the DA Administration was made. And this leads one to ponder a Third Force support by instigators inside the Western Cape Province's political arena, vis-a-vis: ANC's unfinished business in Cape Town Metropole.
The problem is that the residents of Hangberg have been neglected (and arguably forgotten) by both the current DA government and by the ANC Administration under Ebrahim Rasool (WC Premier) and India Nomafaketu (Mayor: CT). Hangberg, itself, is a relic of the Apartheid Era's Group Areas Act and along with the small African township (Mandela Park) keep Hout Bay a divided community sixteen (16) years after the Election of Nelson Mandela and nineteen (19) years after his release from Victor Vorster Prison, which should be a crying shame for all South Africans. Many of the so called "Colored" people of Hangberg feel forgotten, as they were "too black under Apartheid and too white under the ANC".
The other viable issue raised by this incident is that the Hangberg residents feel cheated, "because Africans are allowed to just move in wherever they like, but we have to get permission". This is a thorny issue, as the informal settlements are not safe for people to live in (unzoned location) or the site is a liability to the health of all those living there (unsuitable for human habitation - Khayelitsha was a garbage dump at one time). In addition to this, the informal settlements lack the vital infrastucture necessary for basic inhabitation (fire/crime prevention; water supply; sanitation, road access; and electricity), which creates serious life threatening conditions of anyone, who would want to live there and, as such, the continued state of these areas is arguably a violation of the inhabitants human rights.
However, Hangberg can be redeveloped to improve conditions to acceptable levels, but Khayelitsha and the other informal settlements can't be completely redeveloped. Therefore, neither the ANC national government or the DA provincial government can be excused from correcting the problem any longer, as it is a black mark on South Africa's record for either of these groups to not take steps to change it.
There is also a logical argument by a lot of people that informal settlements need to be regulated and transformed in a orderly planned way, as the long overdue RDP housing backlog will never be remedied when new shack-dwellers just move in and replace the last resident that just received an RDP house. The authorities must prevent reinhabitation of unsuitable areas and redevelop each section to provide the basic necessities for the remaining residents (like water, electricity, sanitation, road access, and fire/crime prevention.).
As until these ongoing inherent problems are dealt with nothing will change for South Africa's "impoverished millions" of all colors.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
The Far Side of South African Schools...
Anyone can understand the stresses and strains that students have to deal with after having to deal with the recent and protracted Public Sector strikes, but one has to wonder about the sanity of the South African Students Unions when they demand that the Basic Education Department grant them an autmatic 25% bonus to their preliminary exams scores... This is just plainly laughable, as it would render the results of the exams null-and-void in as far as national statistics are concerned.
Nobody gets a free ride in life... If the students want to be given their Matric Certificates without having to write the exams then the Certificates will be worthless and the students might as well have stayed at home in the first place.
In addition, granting a 25% bonus mark to students will result in the students being unable to gain admission to universities or jobs, as the certificates will be worthless and valueless, as a basic requirement for employment.
Nobody gets a free ride in life... If the students want to be given their Matric Certificates without having to write the exams then the Certificates will be worthless and the students might as well have stayed at home in the first place.
In addition, granting a 25% bonus mark to students will result in the students being unable to gain admission to universities or jobs, as the certificates will be worthless and valueless, as a basic requirement for employment.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The Upsurge of Retalitory Violence & Intimidation in South African Schools...
This current event is both shocking and ludicrous in that after having struggled to continue their studies for Matric exams during the recent 21 day Public Servants Strike (which so teacher abandoning school en mass because of atrocious salaries), the students now in Standard 10 (Matric) are being prevented from writing the exams by violent thugs, whose only intent is to disrupt and cause chaos in the public schooling system that is already on its knees, due to the continuing decline of standards in the South African Education System. In a country where the National average pass rate is less than 45%, it is unbelievable that the Government allows these thugs, who are mostly high-school drop-outs or criminals organised by a Third Force syndicate!
What makes it even more ridiculous is that year in and year out the Government continues to blame the failures of the Education System on the Legacy Of Apartheid, when they have done scant little to improve the plight of the school learners in the last 16 years of the New Democratic South Africa.
More and More South Africans are shaking thier heads at the elitist snobs in politcal circles, who continue to perpetuate the nonsensical paradox of Affirmative Action (which forces African people in South Africa to accept hand-out appointments in companies for laughably low salaries, as they're still working for peanuts...). While the rank and file of the ANC Government focusses on personal inrichment and nepotistic agrandisement of their friends, as honorary directors and stakeholders in multi-million Rand companies.
There is only a few of the original caucus of Struggle Veterans from the ANC heirarchy that have not been intimately linked to or indirectly with corrupt or illegal practices in the South African media. This is the real reason behind the Government's attempts to silence the National Media with their new Media Laws that they are trying desperately to force through the South African Parliament.
It all looks like the Shadows of Zimbabwe and ironically that also started with choas in the schools...
What makes it even more ridiculous is that year in and year out the Government continues to blame the failures of the Education System on the Legacy Of Apartheid, when they have done scant little to improve the plight of the school learners in the last 16 years of the New Democratic South Africa.
More and More South Africans are shaking thier heads at the elitist snobs in politcal circles, who continue to perpetuate the nonsensical paradox of Affirmative Action (which forces African people in South Africa to accept hand-out appointments in companies for laughably low salaries, as they're still working for peanuts...). While the rank and file of the ANC Government focusses on personal inrichment and nepotistic agrandisement of their friends, as honorary directors and stakeholders in multi-million Rand companies.
There is only a few of the original caucus of Struggle Veterans from the ANC heirarchy that have not been intimately linked to or indirectly with corrupt or illegal practices in the South African media. This is the real reason behind the Government's attempts to silence the National Media with their new Media Laws that they are trying desperately to force through the South African Parliament.
It all looks like the Shadows of Zimbabwe and ironically that also started with choas in the schools...
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Continuing the magic of the 2010 World Cup
Many people in South Africa are wondering how we, as a nation can continue the amazing spirit of Ubuntu that was so obvious during the World Cup. But how?
It requires that you take a personal investment in your surroundings and enact the changes that are needed. As an individual, you are fundamental to enabling the events around you and also responsible for correcting anti-social or criminal behavior of others. Any society is a sum of its parts: The individual is the core support of the group or community, not only its subject; The society is accountable to the individual for the effects of the environment that surrounds the individual as well.
1. Look around you and observe what is going on.
2. Investigate the factors that are effecting the situation.
3. Seperate the individuals from the social events, as enablers/participants or as spectators/victims.
4. Identify the cause of that provides the instigator and other accomplices to carry out his actions.
5. Look out for side-effects arising from the situation being resolved, like opportunistic individuals that might want to seek to gain some form of profit from opposing you.
6. Look out for and try to enlist the aid of other people that may want to help you bring about change.
7. Pre-plan your actions and involve interested individuals to help or assist you.
8. Take action to remedy the situation for the good of all those effected.
9. Doublecheck to make sure that the changes you have made are working or reassess the situation again.
There are many situations that we regularly encounter daily and we can make a difference, if we want to by becoming leaders in co-ordinating our surroundings...
It requires that you take a personal investment in your surroundings and enact the changes that are needed. As an individual, you are fundamental to enabling the events around you and also responsible for correcting anti-social or criminal behavior of others. Any society is a sum of its parts: The individual is the core support of the group or community, not only its subject; The society is accountable to the individual for the effects of the environment that surrounds the individual as well.
1. Look around you and observe what is going on.
2. Investigate the factors that are effecting the situation.
3. Seperate the individuals from the social events, as enablers/participants or as spectators/victims.
4. Identify the cause of that provides the instigator and other accomplices to carry out his actions.
5. Look out for side-effects arising from the situation being resolved, like opportunistic individuals that might want to seek to gain some form of profit from opposing you.
6. Look out for and try to enlist the aid of other people that may want to help you bring about change.
7. Pre-plan your actions and involve interested individuals to help or assist you.
8. Take action to remedy the situation for the good of all those effected.
9. Doublecheck to make sure that the changes you have made are working or reassess the situation again.
There are many situations that we regularly encounter daily and we can make a difference, if we want to by becoming leaders in co-ordinating our surroundings...
Monday, September 13, 2010
Julius Malema & The Great Nationalisation Debate
Hey! Guess What? The Fat Offensive Guy Is Singing.... (Groan)
Once again the inauspicious personality of Mr Julius Malema has raised it's ugly head (So to speak) and created a furore about the so called need to nationalise the mines in South Africa... This coming from a self-obsessed loud-mouth with more than an a acceptable paid stake in various mining, manufacturing, BEE and numerous other business enterprises, entities or companies! The Man makes a "killing" out of his business connections: So why would he want to nationalise these cash cows; except if he had something to gain financially from it!
The one fact that everyone still seems to forget is that nationalisation has never worked no matter were it has been implemented (Then USSR; ZIMBABWE; VENEZUELA; etc...). The first thing that happens is that the specific industry deteriorates to the point of total collapse because of rampant incompetance and indemic corruption. Then the workers go on strike because they can't survive on being paid peanuts and the economy takes a nosedive, due to the "Public Sector Strikes" - leaving the country on it's collective knees...
There are already several state-owned monopolies that are trembling in an effort to stay vertical and remain afloat financially (SABC; ESKOM; TELKOM; SA AIRLINES; HEALTH DEPARTMENT; etc...). Let's have a look at the Trail of Carnage:
1. SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation)
This monopoly is sadly out of date and has major financial and leadership crisis, where it can't pay its bills even though its directors earn mega-salaries and its workers frequently complain about their wages. The majority of its programs are two to three years old and still get repeated every month in the TV schedule, while the management struggles to convince the public to pay their TV licences for programming that they have seen several times before. This is because the program providers refuse to provide new material until the old episodes are paid for (not surprising really) and, shockingly, the SABC has not paid all of the royalties for the international material either.
2. ESKOM (South African Electrical Supplier)
This Monopoly is woefully mismanaged, even though the CEO is earning 13 million Rand a year in salary, without bonusses and they have to beg the World Bank to lend them money to build power-plants just so that the country is not plunged into darkness. Their workers are always threatening to strike and the Government continues to complain about a shortage of skilled workers...
3. TELKOM
This is the monopoly that overcharges the average citizen and continues to complain about copper-thieves being the cause for the poor service to the nation. Their infrastructure dates back from the Apartheid Era and their CEO earns more than the State President. They chrage a monthly rental of R40 for the phone receiver in excess of the customer's actual phone bill and charge a basic call rate of 80c per minute or part thereof, which is scandalous and practically unique of the world. Then they routinely complain about loosing customers to Cellphone companies, who dont charge rental fees and they have several callrates for the customer to choose from...
4. SA AIRLINES
This Monopoly is nearly bankrupt and its workers are demanding higher wages, even though the system is plagued by corruption and mismanagement to the point of complete ludicrousness. Their spokesperson and their board of directors are repeatedly hauled in by Parliament to explain all of the problems and errors that occur in the operation of the monopoly. Their fleet of airplanes is rapidly ageing and already there are reports surfacing of equipment failure and malfunction due to poor service schedules, but the board of directors and the CEO have implicitly prevented the necessary maintenace because of cost-cutting policies... They have changed CEOs a few times alreadyover the last couple of years, even though the CEOs have received large bonusses and enormous "golden handshakes" that will allow these fatcats to never have to work again.
5. HEALTH DEPARTMENT
This Government Department is in a complete shambles, as there are not enough medicines and equipment available at most of the local hospitals and, as well, the department is suffering large-scale staff shortages, because of qualified nurses and doctors being lured overseas by foreign countries, who offer a better living wage and work conditions. The department is routinely demoted in the world rankings, because of wholesale corruoption and nepotism, as well as horrible conditions and ageing infrastructure. All this while the Government ministers earn millions of Rands in salaries and still spend more millions on hotel bills and luxurious cars at the taxpayers expense.
The real problem is the antiquated and ineffectual implementation of Affrimative Action over the last 15 years, which has done absolutely nothing to redress the inequalities in employement. Despite the fact that many people have advocated the implentation of Affirmative Skills Development to solve the obstacles that all South Africans are facing.
So go ahead, ANC... If they nationalise the mines the workers will be roiting on the streets and the industry will be on its knees in five to ten years guaranteed!
Once again the inauspicious personality of Mr Julius Malema has raised it's ugly head (So to speak) and created a furore about the so called need to nationalise the mines in South Africa... This coming from a self-obsessed loud-mouth with more than an a acceptable paid stake in various mining, manufacturing, BEE and numerous other business enterprises, entities or companies! The Man makes a "killing" out of his business connections: So why would he want to nationalise these cash cows; except if he had something to gain financially from it!
The one fact that everyone still seems to forget is that nationalisation has never worked no matter were it has been implemented (Then USSR; ZIMBABWE; VENEZUELA; etc...). The first thing that happens is that the specific industry deteriorates to the point of total collapse because of rampant incompetance and indemic corruption. Then the workers go on strike because they can't survive on being paid peanuts and the economy takes a nosedive, due to the "Public Sector Strikes" - leaving the country on it's collective knees...
There are already several state-owned monopolies that are trembling in an effort to stay vertical and remain afloat financially (SABC; ESKOM; TELKOM; SA AIRLINES; HEALTH DEPARTMENT; etc...). Let's have a look at the Trail of Carnage:
1. SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation)
This monopoly is sadly out of date and has major financial and leadership crisis, where it can't pay its bills even though its directors earn mega-salaries and its workers frequently complain about their wages. The majority of its programs are two to three years old and still get repeated every month in the TV schedule, while the management struggles to convince the public to pay their TV licences for programming that they have seen several times before. This is because the program providers refuse to provide new material until the old episodes are paid for (not surprising really) and, shockingly, the SABC has not paid all of the royalties for the international material either.
2. ESKOM (South African Electrical Supplier)
This Monopoly is woefully mismanaged, even though the CEO is earning 13 million Rand a year in salary, without bonusses and they have to beg the World Bank to lend them money to build power-plants just so that the country is not plunged into darkness. Their workers are always threatening to strike and the Government continues to complain about a shortage of skilled workers...
3. TELKOM
This is the monopoly that overcharges the average citizen and continues to complain about copper-thieves being the cause for the poor service to the nation. Their infrastructure dates back from the Apartheid Era and their CEO earns more than the State President. They chrage a monthly rental of R40 for the phone receiver in excess of the customer's actual phone bill and charge a basic call rate of 80c per minute or part thereof, which is scandalous and practically unique of the world. Then they routinely complain about loosing customers to Cellphone companies, who dont charge rental fees and they have several callrates for the customer to choose from...
4. SA AIRLINES
This Monopoly is nearly bankrupt and its workers are demanding higher wages, even though the system is plagued by corruption and mismanagement to the point of complete ludicrousness. Their spokesperson and their board of directors are repeatedly hauled in by Parliament to explain all of the problems and errors that occur in the operation of the monopoly. Their fleet of airplanes is rapidly ageing and already there are reports surfacing of equipment failure and malfunction due to poor service schedules, but the board of directors and the CEO have implicitly prevented the necessary maintenace because of cost-cutting policies... They have changed CEOs a few times alreadyover the last couple of years, even though the CEOs have received large bonusses and enormous "golden handshakes" that will allow these fatcats to never have to work again.
5. HEALTH DEPARTMENT
This Government Department is in a complete shambles, as there are not enough medicines and equipment available at most of the local hospitals and, as well, the department is suffering large-scale staff shortages, because of qualified nurses and doctors being lured overseas by foreign countries, who offer a better living wage and work conditions. The department is routinely demoted in the world rankings, because of wholesale corruoption and nepotism, as well as horrible conditions and ageing infrastructure. All this while the Government ministers earn millions of Rands in salaries and still spend more millions on hotel bills and luxurious cars at the taxpayers expense.
The real problem is the antiquated and ineffectual implementation of Affrimative Action over the last 15 years, which has done absolutely nothing to redress the inequalities in employement. Despite the fact that many people have advocated the implentation of Affirmative Skills Development to solve the obstacles that all South Africans are facing.
So go ahead, ANC... If they nationalise the mines the workers will be roiting on the streets and the industry will be on its knees in five to ten years guaranteed!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Jackie Selebi
Dude! What is Going on with this guy?
And it's so embarrassing for our country to have a former police commissioner, who has been convicted for corruption and has been sentenced to 15 years in prison... And now, the inconsiderate inveterate-liar is wanting to appeal, because he says that the prosecutor's case was flawed. THAT'S REALLY like the proverbial pot calling the kettle black!
The Guy commited the crime, now why can't he be a real person and do his time! AFTER all, he was the police commisioner and supposedly in charge of maintaining law and order in this country...
And it's so embarrassing for our country to have a former police commissioner, who has been convicted for corruption and has been sentenced to 15 years in prison... And now, the inconsiderate inveterate-liar is wanting to appeal, because he says that the prosecutor's case was flawed. THAT'S REALLY like the proverbial pot calling the kettle black!
The Guy commited the crime, now why can't he be a real person and do his time! AFTER all, he was the police commisioner and supposedly in charge of maintaining law and order in this country...
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