SOUTH AFRICAN NEWS

Mbeki denies axing Zuma as ANC deputy president

2016-01-25 18:31

Mpho Raborife, News24

Johannesburg - Former president Thabo Mbeki did not fire Jacob Zuma as the deputy president of the ANC in 2005.

Zuma stepped down, Mbeki insisted in a letter published on the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute's Facebook page on Monday.

It was in response to a 2007 article in UK newspaper, The Guardian, in which Chris McGreal critiqued Mbeki's leadership during his tenure as president.

In the letter, Mbeki said the story that delegates at the national general council (NGC) in July 2005 had defeated a national executive committee (NEC) decision to remove Zuma from his position as the ANC deputy president, after Mbeki himself had removed him from his position as deputy president of the Republic, was pure fabrication.

Mbeki had announced on June 14 2005 that he was releasing Zuma from his responsibilities as deputy president of the country. He made the announcement during a special joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament.

Zuma stood down

Mbeki's announcement came almost two weeks after Zuma was implicated in corruption during the Durban High Court trial of businessman Schabir Shaik, who had acted as his financial adviser.

In the letter, Mbeki said the party's NEC did not make the decision to remove Zuma as the deputy of the party.

"The truth, as I can recollect, is that Comrade Zuma had decided to stand down as deputy president of the ANC – at least for a while – to give him(self) a chance to focus on the case against him. And the NEC had reluctantly accepted his chosen path after a long meeting which went into the early hours."

Mbeki said the public was made to believe the NEC had taken a decision to suspend Zuma behind the scenes at the NGC. 

"This in itself had been dramatic. There was intense controversy.

"This event was of course rolling out at a time when Zuma was under tremendous pressure because of the legal action being taken or threatened against him. Yet the reality, as it was presented to me, is not quite the same as that (public) report," Mbeki said.

Disgusted

He said he recalled one of his colleagues expressing his disgust at their fellow comrades and the level to which they had lowered themselves.

"Apparently another meeting had been held at which it was agreed to reinforce a lie that the NEC had suspended or removed Zuma from his [ANC] position. Meanwhile, they knew very well that this was not the case.

"And so it happened that, also by agreement, one of [the delegates] would take the platform and call for Zuma’s reinstatement. The expectation was that he would then be asked to respond and accept their plea.

"My comrade said to me: 'Watch it and you will see this being played out.'

"And it did. It was like a choreographed show, and regrettably not a single member of the NEC was bold enough to stand up and stop the lie. It felt as if everyone froze on stage," Mbeki said.

SOUTH AFRICAN NEWS

Plans to regulate 200,000 traditional healers in SA

By The ConversationJanuary 23, 2016

South African traditional healers play a significant role for people that follow African cultural beliefs. There are more than 200,000traditional healers across the country.

Until recently, traditional healers have operated relatively freely from government interference, though many work under governing structures such as the Traditional Healers Organisation, which has more than 29,000 members.

In 2014, the Traditional Health Practitioners Act was passed to standardise and regulate the affairs of all traditional healers. Late last year additional regulations were published to give effect to the act. The government has invited public comment on the regulations.

Both the act and the proposed regulations have been criticised by some traditional healers who believe they are unrealistic and unworkable.

Protection for practitioners and users

The act has established an interim council to provide a regulatory framework. This allows for traditional healers to be registered and categorised according to their different healingspecialities. These include:

• a diviner (those who have a calling from ancestral spirits);
• a herbalist (someone practising herbalism);
• student (someone training to be a traditional healer);
• traditional birth attendant (a midwife);
• traditional tutor (a traditional healer trainer); and
• traditional surgeon (someone performing cultural operations such as circumsion).

The proposed regulations would require all traditional healers to register before being able to practise. This means all traditional healers will have to apply to the council to be registered. They will also have to pay R200 for a practising certificate.

This will only be issued if the registrar, who is appointed by the health minister after consulting with the council, is satisfied that they meet the requirements. These include:

• being a South African citizen;
• providing character references from people unrelated to the applicant; and
• proof of qualifications.

There are several advantages to registering traditional healers. Aside from the government being able to exercise greater control over the quality of the profession, the public will also be protected from swindlers.

Although legislation is not always the best way to address problems, it might be the only way to provide protection to both the profession and its users.

Regulations need to be realistic

The regulations place several additional responsibilities on traditional healers, which could be costly and time-consuming.

As a start, the proposed regulations will require traditional healers to undergo education or training at an accredited training institution or educational authority. This is to ensure that the profession complies with universally accepted health care norms.

But the practicalities of how, when or where this training will take place remains indeterminate. This will be particularly challenging as there are currently no accredited training institutions.

A prospective trainer will have to register at a cost of R500. They would need to provide a list of their qualifications and details of the course modules, practical skill that would be acquired and duration. But the minimum skills or qualifications are not defined in the regulations.

One of the most bizarre requests is for trainers to produce copies of their teaching or learning materials. This may have serious implications for intellectual property rights. The tutors or training institutions will also need to keep in mind that there are different categories of traditional healers that are recognised in terms of the Act. Each category has different training needs.

For students to be considered, they would need an Adult Basic Education Training certificatelevel 1. This amounts to basic numeracy and literacy skills. The regulations also propose an age restriction of at least 18 years for student diviners and herbalists. Traditional birth attendants and traditional surgeons would need to be 25 years old before they can be registered to practice.

Diviners, herbalists and traditional birth attendants need to train for a minimum of one year while traditional surgeons need to train for at least five years.

The onus will be on trainers to ensure that their students are registered with the council. At the end of their training, students need to submit a log book to the council, providing details of the observations and procedures they undertook during their training.

Better cover for employees

Employment laws in South Africa require employees absent for more than two consecutive days to provide a valid medical certificate. This certificate must be issued and signed by a medical practitioner, registered with a professional council. If this does not happen, the employer has the right not to pay the employee.

As none of the traditional healers associations in the past were registered with a professional council, employers were not obligated to accept medical certificates from traditional healers.

The introduction of the act means that traditional healers would be registered by a professional council and employers would no longer be able to refuse a valid medical certificate issued by the traditional healer.

By Renee Street, Project Manager, South African Medical Research Council and Christa Rautenbach, Professor of Law, North-West University

This article was first published on The Conversation.

SUNDAY TIMES NEWS BY PIET RAMPEDI

'We need Mbeki's wisdom to rescue SA', says Mathews Phosa (podcast)

Matthews Phosa, former ANC treasure general, on 13 January 2016. 
Image: Simphiwe Nkwali / Sunday Times.

Even as he rejects the former president's washing of hands over claims of a plot against him, Mathews Phosa says the ANC still needs him. He spoke to Piet Rampedi

ANC veteran Mathews Phosa has called on the party to rope in Thabo Mbeki in an advisory role, arguing that the former president's "wisdom" is crucial to help resolve South Africa's crises.

Mbeki, said Phosa, should not be "hanged for one mistake" - a reference to perceptions that Mbeki had mistreated his political rivals, including President Jacob Zuma, when he was in power.

Phosa made his call in response to an article Mbeki published online this week giving his version of events in the alleged 2001 plot, later found to be false, to assassinate him.

Thabo Mbeki insists he had nothing to do with conspiracy allegations against rivals when he was president Image: JAMES OATWAY

Ironically, Phosa was named as one of the plotters - alongside Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and businessman Tokyo Sexwale.

Phosa this week urged Zuma and the ANC to create a council of elders to advise the party on difficult situations, rather than allowing personal differences to trump national interests.

"Mbeki is a great asset to this country and he will remain that," he said. "He is a strategist. He is a good leader. He is one of those leaders who was a shining example of strategy in action. He could find solutions where many people would see darkness."

A former ANC treasurer, Phosa said that despite Mbeki's weaknesses, his leadership capacity and management of the economy remained unmatched.

The ANC, which recalled Mbeki as president in September 2008, eight months before his five-year term would have ended, should "maximise the use for Mbeki", he said.

"Why is he locked up in Sudan and other far places? What are we making him do in this country? We should make use of the wisdom he has in the sense of giving advice on difficult issues, like economic issues.

"He is a very serious economist. He didn't read it from in the streets. He read it from the books," said Phosa.

  

Under Mbeki, he insisted, the economy had performed extremely well - the "graphs speak for themselves".

Asked whether he thought Zuma had allowed his personal differences with Mbeki to overshadow reason, Phosa replied: "My view has always been that if there are personal differences, they should not become more important than national interests because if they [do], then we are acting incorrectly."

Mbeki had all the time in the world as a retired politician, said Phosa, and "all those people in the cabinet are busy".

Phosa said Zuma's sacking of Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister was "unfortunate" because it destroyed the world's confidence in South Africa's fiscal management.

"It doesn't matter whether you put Pravin [Gordhan] or you put whomever. That confidence is not going to come back tomorrow. And we all must sink that in our heads. The confidence in us as a country has been shattered."

Tokyo Sexwale was cleared by state agencies Image: Veli Nhlapo / Sowetan.

Phosa, however, rejected Mbeki's assertion in the letter this week that he, Mbeki, had nothing to do with implicating Phosa, Sexwale and Ramaphosa in the so-called plot to overthrow his government.

He said Mbeki's failure to dismiss the rumour plot when it surfaced in April 2001, the timing of his letter and his failure to break his silence while former Mpumalanga ANC Youth League leader James Nkambule and former safety and security minister Steve Tshwete - the two key players in the saga - were still alive raised ethical and moral questions.

Mbeki's letter opened old wounds and was defensive.

"If it was true, he would have said it when Steve was alive and Nkambule was alive. In the absence of evidence we must hold judgment on it. He should have spoken at the time. Why he didn't speak at the time I cannot explain. It's very strange to me and it's a bit of a problem."

Mbeki's failure to reprimand Tshwete in public meant that "he failed a moral standing there", Phosa said.

Mbeki's decision not to follow suit when Nelson Mandela dismissed the claims on the spot was a sign of "weakness in leadership" because he chose to "govern by gossips" rather than facts.

Mbeki's letter denied accusations that his administration had orchestrated the conspiracy claims. The former president said such beliefs were "based on deliberate misinformation" and "gross distortion" of history.

"The Nkambule saga . . . had nothing whatsoever to do with my alleged paranoia, which the domestic and international media has continuously trumpeted for almost 15 years now, to date, based on false deductions and pure self-serving speculation," Mbeki wrote.

SOURCE: SUNDAY TIMES NEWS BY PIET RAMPEDI, 2016-01-17

TRANSFORMATION NEWS

The trouble with whites and transformation in South Africa

By Staff WriterSeptember 12, 2015

 

Frans Cronjé, CEO of the South African Institute of Race Relations, says that young white South Africans must use every resource they have to help build South Africa into a world-beating nation.

According to an opinion piece in the Daily Maverick, Cronjé said that in the media, the concept of transformation has been abused to limit freedom of speech and shield the government from scrutiny.

“The trouble with whites’ relationship with transformation in South Africa is that the term has been so abused and corrupted that it has become a repugnant concept to them. In many cases, it has become a proxy for anti-white nationalism.

“What the government calls transformation is a means to increase state control and erode civil rights,” Cronjé said.

The chief executive said he recently witnessed a group of black private school-educated businessmen complaining about their disadvantage.

“In the hands of certain black activists the term ‘transformation’ is abused to represent nothing more than ‘white-hate’. Yet it remains essential that young whites remain committed to advancing true transformation in pursuit of a just and prosperous society,” he said.

Stellenbosch University has been embroiled in a debate about race following the release of a documentary titled: Luister – showing the lives of students of colour who attend the institution.

The university has since been criticized for being institutionally racist, leading to Prof Wim de Villiers, the vice-chancellor, to come to its defence.

Cronjé said he believes where de Villiers erred in his defence of Stellenbosch is to quote examples or statistics of where the university was transformed.

“It is almost as if the university sees transformation as an event or a project with a budget that must meet a target. However, it is not that – it is an attitude that says: can I use the position I am in to try and make South Africa a little bit better of place for the people around me?”

Cronjé said that he once wrote in a national paper that young whites do have to pay for the evils of Apartheid.

“By this, I did not mean that they must buy into all the socialist claptrap about redistribution and equality. This is a negative and destructive approach to transformation. What I meant is that they must use every opportunity to make the country better for all its people. This does not mean hand-outs or anything as paternalistic as that blacks need whites’ help if they are to succeed.

“What I mean is that young whites must use every resource they have to help build South Africa into a world-beating nation. They must invest themselves in launching new businesses, building the economy, creating employment, contributing to innovation, paying tax, building new skills, and increasing exports. They must work hard to create an opportunity for someone else – especially if they come from a different background.”

“It means becoming teachers, and doctors, and university lecturers in order to help shape new generations of world-beating South Africans. It means as a third- or fourth-generation Stellenbosch student going out of your way to make the first-generation student feel welcome and included. It means intervening when you see a fellow student tapping a black restaurant worker on the head and calling the police to lay a charge of assault against that student.”

He said that he believes that there are many whites who do far more for real transformation than many black business leaders, academics, journalists, and activists – a truth that the white-hate brigade seek to deny.

“Many whites owe their fellow citizens a hell of a lot for the ravages of Apartheid. They can best repay that debt by doing everything possible in support of the true transformation that builds the country and economy to ensure that, for all its people, today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today.”

Frans Cronjé is CEO of the South African Institute of Race Relation (IRR).

This article first appeared on The Daily Maverick

SOUTH AFRICAN NEWS

Why it’s hard to be black in South Africa

By Staff WriterSeptember 22, 2015

Bongani Mbindwane, CEO of mining company Platfields, says that “there remains a whiff of racism directed at blacks in most of South Africa’s news stories” and denying this is not assisting the country’s democracy.

Mbindwane has been involved in a war of words with political commentator and journalist Max du Preez in recent weeks over racial stereotyping.

In a column published on News24 on Tuesday, Mbindwane said that black people go through a life feeling that white people can be very cruel on a daily basis.

“Some, if not the majority of whites, do not carry on this way knowingly. It has been part of life. It’s the way things are. Unconsciously the black body gets ill-treated, abused, looked down upon and simply suppressed.

“Those of us who have a voice are duty bound to sensitise our fellow countrymen to understand that some of the acts they do are, in fact, racist and injurious.

“After saying this, we hope the perpetrator will take a step back, will not argue and will hear the victim out,” Mbindwane said.

He said that, unfortunately, victims of racism are shut down, told to keep quiet or told they are playing a game – a card game, the trump card being the “race card”.

“The use of the term ‘race card’ is offensive, racist and harmful. It aims to shut the victim down, rob the victims of a voice whilst delegitimising their complaint as worthless. Black lives are not a game, there is no trump card. There are real experiences of abuse, oppression and there are great anxieties,” the columnist said.

“It is not easy to live in a black skin across the world…The hardship is racism. Blacks are regarded as ‘black savages’, ‘coup plotters’, ‘thieves’, ‘backward’, ‘lazy’ and ‘corrupt’ among many other very negative stereotypes.”

“Laws have been passed, with our Constitution being supreme, abolishing all discrimination. However discrimination persists and suppresses the black body,” Mbindwane said.

He said that it now operates in a form of economic, media and education segregation. “This combination leads to many writers and the media being desensitised about what they publish. It should be a simple thing to settle if one person says you have offended them and have racially stereotyped them.

“Explicitly racism is gone, however, the victims of racism are still the experts in identifying racial undertones where they exist, be it consciously or unconsciously.”

In a follow-up column, du Preez said he was becoming concerned about the phenomenon where some black commentators, intellectuals and politicians give themselves license to insult the white minority.

“I sometimes get the idea that some of the gross insults dished out are the result of a form of bravado; saying, look what a brave African and militant I am, I fearlessly tell whites that they are evil intruders, rapists and murderers who should go on their knees to thank us for not taking their property or chasing them into the sea.

“It’s as if black people aren’t the overwhelming majority in South Africa; as if the political power hadn’t shifted into the hands of the majority 21 years ago,” he said.

“I believe there is a duty on politically aware black citizens to continue to challenge ‘whiteness’, to assert themselves, to take the lead and tailor our society into something that acknowledges and represents them fully.

“I’m asking whether it is reasonable and fair to expect the white minority to just take more and more extreme and generalised abuse in passive silence,” du Preez said.

The original columns can be found here.

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING NEWS

Skills development worth the investment

 

In the realm of skills development, innovation leads to greater ROI, while the effective management of people impacts on the holistic performance of the organisation - offering elevated ROI in terms of productivity and profitability.

© Robert Churchill – 123RF.com

At the MGIP Conference - Skills Development Laws and Policies Updates, held in the final quarter of 2015, Gizelle McIntyre, director of The Institute of People Development (IPD), confirmed that skills development is an investment; one which offers both short term and long term benefits. With reference to Benjamin Franklin's wise words, 'An investment in knowledge pays the best interest', McIntyre encouraged organisations to develop their workforce in 2016. 

"Audit the employees' current level of skill, plan their development and invest in their skills now. By doing so, your organisation will hold a competitive edge. Yes, skills development takes some investment, but compared to the cost of unskilled labour, it is worth every penny." 

She confirmed that an audit allows for investigation into the organisation as a whole, providing valuable guidance for the development of a unique and targeted skills development strategy and a valuable opportunity to see what is really going on in the business. "The TV show 'Undercover Boss' gives an interesting slant on this, with the same or similar result at the end of each show; top management needs to listen to those on the floor!" 

Example of costs saving

McIntyre illustrated the point with the example of Joe, a fictitious, under-skilled operator that makes 10 mistakes a day, costing his employer R12,000 per month. "If the company was to conduct a skills audit for R3,000, an observation session of R500 and coaching of R1,500 to correct the mistakes identified, it has spent R5,000. Even if Joe continues to make a couple of mistakes a day, the company will have received full ROI within the first month and will save a hefty amount going forward." This is without even considering the positive motivation and engagement possibilities emanating from the exercise. 

At management level, there is no doubt that skilled managers will make - while unskilled managers will break - any team or organisation. "If management itself is hungry to learn, it will pass this learning culture on to its subordinates. As the workforce continues to grow and develop, employees will begin to think 'out of the box', while identifying further skills scarce areas." In addition, managers that are aware of the areas in which their staff both excel and lack are better equipped to intervene when necessary, avoiding costly mistakes or strategic errors. 

McIntyre confirmed that skills development should be applied to all aspects of the company, while fostering an atmosphere of continuous learning and professional development. She concluded with the notion that creativity is key to successful planning, development and ROI. "Designing new ideas allows for an entirely new playing field in the world of skills development. As Steve Jobs said, 'Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things'."

HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS

Last call for African Leadership Academy applications

 

Young leaders, aged 16 to 19 years from across Africa, are invited to submit their applications to participate in a unique curriculum at the African Leadership Academy (ALA) before 31 January 2016.

ALA identifies young leaders from across the continent with demonstrated leadership potential, a passion for Africa, an entrepreneurial spirit and a track record of community service and offers them a two-year pre-university programme.

The curriculum includes courses in Entrepreneurial Leadership, African Studies, Writing & Rhetoric and Cambridge A-Levels at its Johannesburg-based faculty. It offers a strong student-centred learning environment that provides young leaders with the knowledge and inspiration they need to develop as effective, positive-change agents on the African continent

For more information, go to www.africanleadershipacademy.org/apply.

Posted on 14 Jan 2016 16:02