SOUTH AFRICA FACES ANARCHY September 2, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.Tags: anarchy, ANC government, ungovernable
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South Africa risks sliding into anarchy if level-headed people within the ANC as well as other influential people in society do not speak out against dangerous utterances which undermine the country’s constitutional democracy, legal expert, Professor Extraordinaire Shadrack Gutto has warned.
Speaking at the inaugural lecture of the Tshwane University of Technology/Pretoria News Intellectual Public Lecture Series, Gutto said South Africa was experiencing an absurd situation, where functionaries of the ruling party were labelling the courts as “counter revolutionary”, and were threatening to make the country ungovernable if the courts made decisions which were not favourable to the ruling party.
Read the rest of this article written by Babington Maravanyika (a black person) by going to this link:
This is a MUST read for all those who are interested in politics in SA!
Popularity: 14% [?]
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN SOUTH AFRICA DEBATE TO PHASE OUT August 22, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News, Uncategorized.Tags: , affirmative action, whites
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Good news for white South Africans!!!
The ANC has opened the door to a debate on whether a sunset clause should apply to affirmative action, after Kgalema Motlanthe, the new minister in the presidency, announced that the government would consider phasing out the programme. (Ref: The Business Report.)
The affirmative action policy was set in 1998, when labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana piloted the Employment Equity Act through parliament. The act sets targets for companies to meet so that their workforces become demographically representative.
It has been welcomed by the Afrikanerbond as well as by the most strident supporter of the programme, Jimmy Manyi, the employment equity commission chairman and Black Management Forum president.
A clearly pleased Solidarity yesterday said the union had been in talks with ANC president Jacob Zuma and his deputy Motlanthe - both before and after the watershed Polokwane conference last December - to shift the ground on affirmative action. Motlanthe had suggested that a joint ANC-Solidarity task team should discuss the matter, the trade union reported.
The union (Solidarity) argues that a moratorium should be placed on affirmative appointments in scarce and critical positions, and that young people should be exempted.
The Afrikanerbond said that Afrikaners are flowing out of the country while jobs are deliberately kept vacant in all spheres of the government. While Dirk Hermann declared “the end of the Jimmy Manyi era” and a sign of a new willingness of the government to engage, Manyi said Hermann had misinterpreted or misunderstood the issues involved.
Motlanthe had specifically referred to taking into account scientific considerations, noted Manyi. In this context, he pointed out that in top management positions blacks held about 20 percent of the posts - far off the 87 percent target set in terms of equity legislation.
Once the targets for designated groups - women, coloureds, Indians, Africans and the disabled - were met, the need for legislative teeth would fall away, Manyi said.
Thus he had no difficulty with the statement by Motlanthe, who said: “Perhaps if we take an approach in an objective and scientific way, we can then have a way of phasing it [affirmative action] out rather than say, ‘Let’s do away with it.’ You may find that we do away with it prematurely and settle with a problem.”
The time is long overdue to end this type of discrimination, especially to those born after the Apartheid era, why must we lose our young people to overseas destinations when there is such a shortage of engineers, scientists, etc in our country.
Popularity: 32% [?]
MILLIONS OF RANDS WASTED AT BEIJING OLYMPICS August 18, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.Tags: Beijing, olympics, wasted
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Apparently a large number of rooms (conference) were hired in a luxury hotel in Beijing by the South African Olympic administration with the view to using them to “advertise” South Africa and the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
True to form these rooms are being under utilised and when a spokesman for the SA olympic administration was queried he came across as a person who has no communication skills and does not know about the cost factor versus “advertising” and “goodwill” he should have had.
When I sat listening to this interview I thought that my “gardener” could have handled the situation better than the inept man they had sent across to organise the programme to provide information about SA to the world.
Once again the tax payers money is being wasted because they do not employ people who are qualified for the job to go and represent South Africa.
Popularity: 34% [?]
THE BLUE LIGHTS BRIGADE August 3, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.Tags: blue, lights, menace
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Blue lights brigades are supposed to accompany the various government VIP’s to provide security and to protect them whilst they travel by motor vehicle on our roads. Apparently they are speeding and acting very badly on our roads causing accidents, attacking motorists with their bear hands and shooting at them from their speeding vehicles.
There are very clear laws, rules and regulations governing what the “blue lights” vehicles are allowed to do and how motorists must respond to them, but the drivers of these vehicles have now become a law unto themselves and nobody seems to be doing anything about it.
How many more motorists must die before the SA Police and the government clamps down on this new menace?
I actually do not know why every “minister” should have this type of protection, they draw more attention to themselves by travelling in this manner that if they just got into a chauffeur driven car to get from point A to B.
Nelson Mandela who is probably the most VIP in South Africa said publicly that he did not see the need for these blue lights brigades and he personally does not use them when he travels by road.
Mike Allison, 61, was killed in a collision involving Arts and Culture MEC Weziwe Thusi’s state vehicle in September. The accident prompted calls at the time from the Zululand Chamber of Commerce to provincial MECs to “slow down” their convoys.
Now in July 2008 still grieving for her husband who died in the abovementioned crash with a government VIP protection vehicle last year, Tina Allison is now reeling from her own recent encounter with the blue light brigade.
Allison told the Tribune Newspaper how she had been blocked by a speeding, blue light motorcade at the uMvoti Toll plaza two weekends ago.
“The driver commandeered the one exit toll, in front of me, so the other cars could pass. I couldn’t move. I was so cross and upset, I was indicating to them that what they were doing was wrong.”
Click on the following links to read about the other stories of motorists experiences with this new menace on our roads:
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20080622092044182C550562
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20080622092053861C351041
Popularity: 46% [?]
WHITE POVERTY IN SOUTH AFRICA July 24, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.Tags: poor, whites
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In July 2004 the following was reported “Today 430 000 whites, of a total white population of 4,5-million, are “too poor to live in traditional white areas” and 90 000 “are in a survival struggle”, says Lawrence Schlemmer, director of the Helen Suzman Foundation. Of these, 305 000 are Afrikaans-speaking and 215 000 speak English.”
Since then it has become worse! Jacob Zuma has recently started visiting white “squatter-like” areas in Pretoria and Bethlehem and said: “I am shocked and surprised by what I have seen here. The vast number of black poverty does not mean that we must ignore white poverty, which is increasingly becoming an embarrassment to talk about.”
He said he had seen the same problems facing white residents of the township as he had seen in black squatter camps.
“This is not about politics, it’s about people who are poor, who are in need and want to be helped by government,” he said, quoted by the AFP news agency.
Solidarity deputy secretary general Dirk Herman said the face of poverty in South Africa was changing. “All wealthy South Africans are no longer white and all poor South Africans are no longer black.
“(But) white poverty is silent poverty. It is not politically correct to talk about it, making it probably the only poverty in the world that is politically incorrect,” he claimed.
Many of these white people have skills that can be used in the country, especially the government departments where there are thousands of vacant posts, which cannot be filled by blacks as there is a skills shortage amongst blacks in this field.
I would suggest to Mr Zuma that he asks them to fill in a form listing their skills and previous employment details and I am sure that many of these white people will be employable!
The whites do not need handouts they need jobs, use this source of skills that is left out in the cold and forget the black/white issue, we are now 14 years into the “new” South African, is it not time now?
Popularity: 64% [?]
ROBBEN ISLAND GOOD NEWS! July 20, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.Tags: derman, robben island, searl
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Apparently Searl Derman has obtained approval to capture and move the fallow deer on the Island and he will also capture and sterilise the rabbits with the help of vet Douw Grobbelaar.
Read more about this at: http://allafrica.com/stories/200806090801.html
I promised “Joe” from Durban to find out more about Searl Derman so that if anyone else wishes to pledge funds for this project they can contact Searl Derman direct. Go to:
http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/Pages/profilefull.aspx?IndID=6497
Popularity: 60% [?]
NELSON MANDELA - 90TH BIRTHDAY July 17, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.Tags: birthday, mandela, nelson
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Nelson Mandela is celebrating his 90th birthday on 18 July 2008 and when you look at the man you cannot help thinking about his life.
The world is lifting him up and making him into an idol, which is not right, but he remains a humble man and it seems that his main concern is to help children through his children’s fund.
They say that you can only know what a persons life is like after you have walked a mile in their shoes.
As a white female I tried to visualize what it must have been like for Nelson Mandela in his beloved country, South Africa, being oppressed by racism, but I failed horribly because I just cannot know what it was like because we as whites just take too much for granted.
I heard him say the following when he was addressing a crowd of people: “I do not believe in blacks being dominated by whites…..(lots of cheering) ….I do not believe in whites being dominated by blacks…..(less cheering)….. I believe in democracy!”
As a young man he had ideals and was prepared to fight and die for them, apparently he first tried the passive, peaceful route and when that was not successful his organisation decided to fight for the right to be equal. Many men go to war and kill for what they believe in and if it is such a moral issue it is difficult to condemn them because they believe in their hearts that they are right. Innocent people always die in a war and a lot of innocent people died on both sides during this struggle for equality. I do not believe in war, but it is a fact of life in this world!
It is amazing how things turned out! When Nelson Mandela was found guilty by the State he was supposed to get the death sentence (by hanging), but apparently at the time Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd changed it to a life sentence! At the time he did not know that Nelson Mandela was destined for something great in the future and could not die then!
Nelson Mandela could have become a bitter and vengeful man after spending so many years of his life in prison, under bad circumstances for most of the time, but he came out with a smile and a hand of peace held out to all South Africans. He is a humble man, but a strong man who is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in.
I would like to know what he is thinking now when he sees what has become of South Africa! His dream of having all South Africans equal has not been realized as the black ANC government now dominates the other race groups in the country with Black Empowerment and Affirmative Action causing inequality! What a shame, it could have been so different. Democracy does not work!
What a pity he did not have age on his side so that he could have had a second term in the office as President, I believe it would have made a huge difference to this country.
Happy birthday Madiba, may you still have many years left to enjoy the freedom and peace you strove for, for so many years!
Popularity: 61% [?]
ROBBEN ISLAND UPATE July 8, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.Tags: deer, fallow, robben
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I am happy to report that some progress has been made on Robben Islands problem. A South African businessman has come forward and offered to pay for the capture and relocation of the Fallow Deer on the Island to more suitable sanctuaries. His proposal still has to be approved by the authorities, but there is some hope for these animals now.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the feral rabbits on the Island, it looks like they may be culled, but the verdict is not out yet.
It is always wonderful when someone who has the money to help steps up to the plate and not only offers to pay but has a “hands on” strategy too. Well done Searl Derman for offering your help and money!
Popularity: 61% [?]
FLAMINGO COLONY UNDER THREAT July 4, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.1 comment so far
Kimberley in South Africa is best known for the “Big Hole” where thousands of miners dug a huge hole whilst mining for diamonds. This town was also where the American singer the late Jim Reeves starred in a movie called Kimberley Jim.
What many people do not know is that there is a wonderful new attraction just on the outskirts of Kimberley on Kamfers Dam i.e. flamingos.
Two brothers who owns a mining company called Ekapa Mining heard about the plight of the Lesser Flamingo. They used their own finance and resources to build an island in the middle of Kamfers Dam in an S-shape to attract the flamingos in order to establish a safe breeding place for them. This venture worked wonderfully and the flamingos loved the pristine environment and up to 60000 came to breed there and 9000 chicks where born.
Now due to GREED this habitat is in peril and we need every-ones help to save it from being destroyed. The mismanagement of the municipality of Kimberley has allowed raw sewage to overflow into the Kamfers Dam causing some of the flamingos legs to have sores on them.
Secondly, although this site is declared a National Heritage site, the mayor of Kimberley and his team have agreed to re-zone part of the area to allow a huge development by Group One to be built. This permission was granted without an impact study being done about the effect it will have on the flamingos or input being asked for from the conservationists or the people of Kimberley.
Please go to the following website and sign the petition so that we can stop the development and force the municipality to sort out the sewage problem:
http://www.savetheflamingo.co.za/index.php
Please share this story with as many people as you can and I ask all my entrecard readers to help us by carrying a link of this on their blogs!
Thanks to each and everyone who responds to this call for help.
Popularity: 57% [?]
ROBERT MUGABE RUINED ZIMBABWE June 25, 2008
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It is amazing how such a well educated man like Mugabe can deteriorate into what he has become. He is the laughing stock of the world and does not even seem to realize it.
Everybody says that they should negotiate with him, has nobody noticed that it cannot be done!
You can not reason with an unreasonable person!
He is in a world of his own and sees himself as wonderful so no matter what the world says he will continue with his violence and intimidation.
Since the MDC leader has announced his retirement from the race the violence against his supporters and himself has escalated. Does that make any sense? Not to a normal human being, no.
Popularity: 60% [?]
