City Press

Guest Column

EFF’s loss did nothing for ANC’s reputation

2017-03-05 06:10

The Constitution

Makhosini Nkhosi
The “failure” by Julius Malema and his Red Berets to get the ANC to support their motion to have the Constitution amended so that land could be expropriated without compensation was a welcome loss. But it was worse than a hollow victory for the ANC, and one it will probably regret later.
Remember that, recently, President Jacob Zuma intimated that the party may have the Constitution amended to allow for land expropriation without compensation. Recent history has taught us that former liberation movements that face a possible loss of political power often resort to playing the land card to galvanise popular support.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and its strategists saw this as a weapon the ANC could use more effectively than it ever could, and figured out a way to delegitimise the ANC and wrest back the moral high ground, at least when it comes to land.
The ANC, which is permanently lethargic – its leaders have bigger fish to fry ahead of the December electoral conference – surrendered the fight to the EFF. By opposing the motion, it severely weakened Zuma at best, and, at worst, projected the party as out of touch and not quite serious about radical land reform.
Yes, the EFF outfoxed the ANC in Parliament on Tuesday.
How does the EFF find it so easy to run rings around the ANC the way it does? The EFF is on top of its game with its young and hungry political operators in Malema, Floyd Shivambu, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and others.
The ANC does have similar talent, but they are “deployed” in government and other places, where their political voices are muted.
ANC leaders, who mostly serve in Parliament and the executive, are absorbed in the game of Survivor as they fight hard for the powerful positions that will be contested at the December conference. What makes matters worse is that they have to influence the membership in person, which is a costly and time-consuming exercise because they are not allowed to openly campaign. Thanks to their preoccupation with the conference, Parliament and executive duties suffer.
This leads to the real problem facing the ANC: it is stuck in a political strategy formed in 1997, when it had no real challengers and minimal internal issues. It was the year that saw former president Thabo Mbeki and Zuma elected unopposed as party president and deputy president, respectively. It was the year in which former president Nelson Mandela gladly surrendered power to a younger man who was not his first choice.
The ANC is a totally different animal now. It needs to start adapting to the 21st-century way of doing politics or prepare for its eventual demise. The ANC needs to modernise.
Crying victim to the bogeyman that is “white monopoly capital” is more a poor reflection of its own performance as a ruling party than it is the intransigence of those who control the economy.
After its dismal showing in last year’s local government elections, the party promised to become more introspective. Instead of going back to its supporters and voters, the ANC has been very busy speaking to itself. Branches and regions are party machinery, not its target audience.
This lapse has cost the ANC a golden opportunity to reboot itself by being informed by its support base. With a denialist Zuma downplaying the losses, the party is bound to repeat the loss and even do worse in two years’ time.
To modernise itself, the party must go back to basics. Its main tasks are to govern the country and lead society. To be effective in that regard, the ANC doesn’t need the kind of bloated structure it has – it needs a lean and mean force. At Luthuli House, it needs only a general secretary or CEO, overseen by the party president or chairperson and a national executive committee with fewer members. Functionaries must be professionals selected from the best its membership has to offer.
Elections that should matter are national, provincial and local government contests, not party positions. The ANC must allow its support base to nominate its candidates for such elections. Nothing energises the support base quite like being involved in such important contests, and that also keeps the base engaged. Engaged supporters energise their families and friends to go out and vote for their party when it matters.
An analysis of social-media insights suggests that ANC supporters want to have a say in political matters pertaining to the ANC. They long for the days when the ANC was a congress of the people and not a congress of “members in good standing”. However, the party isn’t hearing these voices because it is atrocious when it comes to public engagement.
This has also led to the popular belief that it has become arrogant.
When leaders only need to impress the voters and not the party bosses to earn and keep their jobs, they will do better for the party and the country. That will encourage excellence and the party will always field the best among its membership and not the most conniving.
As we defer the dream, 2017 will be bumpier, and the likes of the EFF and the DA are rubbing their hands with glee.
Nkosi is an independent strategic communications and public engagement specialist

Descendants that scattered & lost their way

War History Online

The Harlem Hellfighters – The Most Famous African-American Combat Unit of World War I

Nov 2, 2016 George Winston

 

15th Infantry in France, wearing French helmets.

 

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In World War I, nearly 380,000 African-Americans served in the U.S. Army. African-American soldiers primarily served in the 92^nd and 93^rd Divisions.
While there was no official segregation policy outlined in the draft, African-American volunteers were told tear off one corner of their military identity cards so they could be identified and separated from their white counterparts.
These all-black units served mostly under white officers and were assigned to non-combat roles, such as digging ditches, building roads, and supplying the front lines.
Throughout the course of the war, only about one in ten African-Americans in the U.S. military served in a combat role. The 369th Infantry Regiment of the 93rd Division, nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters, was one of the exceptions.
The 369^th Infantry Regiment was originally shipped to France in December of 1917. They were meant to stay on the side-lines, but their fortunes changed when General John Pershing assigned them to the 16^th Division of the French Army. The French Army, unlike the Americans, were happy to accept any soldier willing to fight, regardless of ethnicity.
In March 1918, the regiment began training under French command. Although the assigning of these soldiers was expected to be temporary, but members of the 369th never again served under American command during the war, and by the summer they were fighting in the Champagne-Marne Defensive and the Aisne-Marne Offensive.

Harlem Hellfighters in action. Here, the men of the 369th are depicted wearing the American and British Brodie helmet; however, after being detached and seconded to the French, they wore the Adrian helmet, while retaining the rest of their American uniform. This particular image displays the action at Séchault, France on 29 September 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. They would have worn the American Brodie helmet at this time.

Known for their stubbornness and refusal to cede an inch of ground, the 369^th soon became one of the most feared and respected Allied units. They were given the nickname “Harlem Hellfighters” by the Germans, and since over 70 percent of the unit called Harlem “home”, the name stuck.

Their French allies gave them another nickname: the Men of Bronze. The Harlem Hellfighters would spend 191 consecutive days out on the front lines, the more than any other American regiment during the war.

During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which began on September 26 of 1918, the Harlem Hellfighters captured the town of Ripon and pushed forward one kilometer the following day. By the end of the month, they had advanced to a critical position near Séchault, capturing a key railroad junction.

These advances cost the regiment 851 men dead or wounded in a matter of days. In recognition of their bravery, 171 officers and men received medals for bravery, while the entire regiment received the Croix de Guerre from the French Government.

Off the battlefield, the Harlem Hellfighters entertained their European fellow-soldiers with jazz and American ragtime music.

The 369^th Infantry Jazz Band, also known as the Hellfighters, was led by James Reese Europe.

At the end of the Great War, the Hellfighters jazz band would perform for more than one million people as they marched up Fifth Avenue in New York City during the victory parade. Following the war, people welcomed these brave soldiers home.

Soldiers of the 369th (15th N.Y.) who won the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action, 1919. Left to right. Front row: Pvt. Ed Williams, Herbert Taylor, Pvt. Leon Fraitor, Pvt. Ralph Hawkins. Back Row: Sgt. H. D. Prinas, Sgt. Dan Storms, Pvt. Joe Williams, Pvt. Alfred Hanley, and Cpl. T. W. Taylor.

Despite this, not much had changed in the day-to-day lives of these war heroes. The terrible ‘Red Summer’ of 1919 saw the eruption of anti-black riots in twenty-six different cities. The lynching of African-Americans was on the rise.

At least ten of the seventy-seven lynching victims were war veterans and some were even lynched while in uniform. It would take another war, as well as decades of civil rights movements before equality was achieved.

The U.S. military remained segregated until 1948, and it wasn’t until very recently that some of the inequality was addressed and partially remedied.

In 2014, legislation was passed in Congress to pave the way for Sgt. Henry Johnson, who served in the 369^th regiment, to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War I.

Due to racism in the Armed Services, many African-Americans were not awarded  the honor for their services in the Great War.

As for those soldiers who fell in battle, a total of 169 came from the 369^th Infantry Regiment, they are buried at ABMC cemeteries. A majority are at Meuse-Argonne, but some soldiers were laid to rest at Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, St. Mihiel, and Suresnes.

All AMBC sites are integrated—race and rank had no influence on a dead soldier’s final resting place.

AFRO-MAN KIDS SPACE

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New website for the youth! Knowledge is power! Come check out our new hang out. www.afromankidsspace.com

Daily Sun

National

 

12 hours ago

 

SOWETO DERBY PROMISES!

 

By  Busisiwe MokwenaFriday, March 03, 2017 05:34

 

 

 

Orlando Pirates coach Kjell Jonevret (left) and Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela shake hands yesterday ahead of their Soweto derby. Photo by Trevor Kunene  ~  

 

ORLANDO Pirates’ new coach, Kjell Jonevret, has the chance to capture the hearts of thousands of Buccaneers fans should his side triumph in tomorrow’s Soweto derby.

Bucs visit Kaizer Chiefs for their Absa Premiership clash at FNB Stadium tomorrow (3.30pm).

Although the Happy People may be satisfied with Jonevret after their 1-1 draw with Polokwane City last week, nothing would make them happier than getting the bragging rights and collecting three points against Amakhosi.

The 54-year-old Swede is determined to instil confidence in the Bucs players so they will display their best football.

The ex-Djurgardens IF coach said winning the derby would give him stories to tell his grandkids some day.

He said: “Even though I haven’t played in a Soweto derby, I have played in a lot of derbies before. I am from Stockholm and we have three big teams there.

“It’s pretty much the same, although our arenas seat maximum 50 000. Those games are pretty special. And the winner there walks around happy for weeks while the loser runs to mama.”

Bucs captain Oupa “Ace” Manyisa admits they are under immense pressure to perform and turn their fortunes around. Pirates haven’t won a match in 10 games, which had fans up in arms recently.

Said Manyisa: “It will be difficult for us to go into this match on the back of previous poor results. But the coach has prepared us well. We know what to expect from Chiefs.”

He said he hoped to return to his old self in the derby: “Things have been hectic since my return from injury. I hope I do well and we’re able to get that win.”

Daily Sun

National

 

6 hours ago

 

MAMAZALA, MAKOTI AND THE PIG

 

By  Unathi MshumpelaFriday, March 03, 2017 11:30

 

 

 

The terrified pig screamed a lot when the mamazala tried to sell it for R150. Photo by Unathi Mshumpela  ~ 

 

FOR years, the gogo (81) hoped her son would bring home a makoti. 
 
But when he told her he would pay lobola this weekend, the gogo’s happiness lasted for only a minute.

The gogo from Qweqwe Village in Mthatha, Eastern Cape heard her future makoti used to be a magosha.
She allegedly hired thieves to steal the cows, sheep and pigs her son was going to use for lobola.

But yesterday when she was caught with a stolen pig on the back of a bakkie, she immediately confessed.

“I spent lots of money sending my son to university, and I raised him as a church person. I can’t allow him to bring me a magosha makoti,” she said.

“I was supposed to be happy with the news that I will now become a mamazala, but I just feel sick.”

She said the other gogos in the village have already started making fun of her and her magosha makoti.

Gogo’s son (36) told the SunTeam his mum has always been a bully.

“She always tried to control me. She forced me to study medicine while I was passionate about fashion design,” he said.

“Everyone in life deserves a second chance. I love my wife-to-be. I don’t care about her past.”

He said he caught his mum trying to sell the pig for R150 from the back of her bakkie.

He said two years ago he was his future wife’s client, but now she will be his wife.

“I was tempted to open a case but my uncle and wife-to-be told me to forgive her. The lobola ceremony will take place as planned, whether my mum likes it or not.”

A fruit seller from Penuel Village spotted the gogo trying to sell the pig in town.

He immediately called her son, who rushed to town with his two uncles to stop the gogo’s sale.

The gogo admitted she wanted to sell the pig, but said she did it to protect her son.

Daily Sun

National

4 hours ago

WIFE TRIED TO KILL MY KIDS!

By  Everson LuhangaFriday, March 03, 2017 12:30

This father can still look into the eyes of his loving daughters, after a horrific ordeal. Photo by Everson Luhanga  ~ 

THE TWO girls are only five and ten years old but they are lucky to be alive.
They were allegedly poisoned, kidnapped and thrown from a moving car.
NOW THEY ARE SAFELY BACK WITH THEIR FATHER.
The children’s stepmum (31) is in police custody facing charges of kidnapping and child abuse.
The 36-year-old father from Mfundo Park Section, Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng said when he married the woman in November last year, she promised she would look after his children from a previous relationship.
But on Wednesday, the new wife allegedly poisoned the two children, took the 10-year-old girl and threw her out of a moving car in Germiston, and then threw the five-year-old girl out of a moving car in Zonke Zizwe.
“My older daughter was found by the community patrollers who called the Germiston police. They took her to Vosloorus Police Station.
“The younger girl was thrown out in Zonke Zizwe, near the railway line and was found by a pedestrian in the area.
“I found my children at the police station. I was with my wife, who said she didn’t know where the children were.”
Since the father separated from his first wife in 2012, the kids have been staying at his mother’s house.
The first time the family thought there might be a problem was when the kids’ uncle came running to the father’s house, telling him the children were gone.
The uncle said when he arrived at the house on Wednesday, the gate was locked. When the gogo arrived home, she unlocked the gate and went inside,but the kids were nowhere to be found.
The father phoned his wife. She said she didn’t know where the kids were, although neighbours said they had seen her drive the kids away in the father’s car.
The wife came home and the two went to the police station.
“While we were together at the police station, police from Germiston arrived with my first born daughter,” said the father.
“As she was telling me what happened, cops from Spruit arrived with my second daughter.”
He said he fainted and had to be revived when he saw what his children looked like, covered in grass, tired and scared.
Then his wife allegedly confessed.
“She told the police she had poisoned the kids and thrown them into the bush because they were getting too much love and attention from me.
“My wife was always quiet and down to earth. She was so loving and I loved her very much. But now I don’t want to see her. She must rot in jail.”
The children were taken to a doctor who said the liquid found in a bottle in the car may have contained poison.
He treated them and sent them home with their father.
Vosloorus police spokesman Captain Piet Rossouw confirmed that police are investigating cases of kidnapping and child abuse. Rossouw said there was not enough evidence to indicate the children had been poisoned and attempted murder was not added to the charges.
The stepmother was arrested and will appear in the Vosloorus Magistrates Court today.