The shit they’re saying in politics #1

Inspiring new ways…

Minister in the Presidency ** Collins Chabane announced a new slogan for marketing the country – South Africa: Inspiring new ways.

Given the current climate of perverse over-taxation of the citizens of South Africa, and the  continuous brazen looting of the treasury by government,  I wonder if this catchphrase is intended to inspire both parties differently.

For government:

1. Inspiring new ways for members of government to loot and pillage without getting caught as often as they do
2. Inspiring new ways to tax their citizens into oblivion

For citizens:

1. Inspiring new ways to ridicule arrogant members of government, especially when they get caught with their hands in the cooky jar
2. Inspiring new ways to dodge taxes and finding new driving routes to avoid paying ridiculous tolls

On leased buildings

Bheki Cele our “shoot first, talk later,” Police Commissioner is currently facing a commission of enquiry into his approval of outrageous lease agreement deals involving hundreds of millions of Rands.

This exemplar of police brutality, while revealing that he signed the contracts without reading, told the inquiry “I also knew there could be a re-prioritisation of funds”, knowing that there were none.

With South Africa facing a spiralling crime wave, our government has left the safety of the public in the hands of a bozo who believes that moving into comfortable new offices is more important than providing much-needed resources to the police officers struggling to fight crime.

** As opposed to Ministers out of the Presidency such as Minister of (non-existent) Transport, Minister of (shoddily built) Housing, Minister of (inferior) Education, etc.

 

A police lineup in South Africa. I kid you not!

How many countries in the world do you know of that could potentially pack a police lineup with policemen only? And not because it’s a ruse to uncover a false witness!

Not many, I’ll wager. But how many countries do you know of where the government proudly packs the police service with people of known ill-repute and deviant, often criminal disposition?

Introducing the proudly South African Police Service…or Force or whatever weasel word the government spin-doctors will dream up:

Zapiro, M

Now, if you think that was shameless, consider also that South Africa’s National Police Commissioner, Bheki Cele, whose own character is rather dubious to put it mildly, has been reported recently to have stated publicly that it’s just dandy to have criminal elements in the Police Services. And no, not because it’s shrewd to set a criminal to catch a criminal…no, no, no. Cele thinks it’s perfectly all right because Jesus had a criminal among his disciples. And the mythical Garden of Eden had two people who committed a crime.

Yes, if it’s alright for a mythical religious ideology to have criminals, then why shouldn’t the SAPS have them too!

Well folks, that’s the kind of childish, backwards logic and just plain criminality we are dealing with in South Africa.

How's this for bare-faced cheek from a government spin-doctor?

Image via Wikipedia

No so long ago the Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa published a damning investigative report [story with timelines here] about the irregular signing of a R500-million lease agreement which involved the National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele.

After receiving a request by the Director of the South African Institute for Accountability, the Public Protector conducted an investigation which has found the Commissioner guilty of improper conduct, a ruling which most sane people will find grossly under-exaggerates his guilt. There was certainly much more involved in this whole saga, as suggested by the Sunday Times report.

Today, the ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu released this highly amusing statement, following heated calls for the Police Commissioner to be axed:

We note that the violation of public administration laws, in terms of the public protector’s conclusion on the matter, does not necessarily amount to a criminal finding.

He followed up with this absolute howler when requesting all parties to take the…

…necessary corrective action in a manner that restores public confidence in our administration

Here’s the obvious problems which the ANC seemingly have failed to take notice off:

1. Misconduct and violation of administration laws are deeply frowned upon in the private sector and invariably leads to dismissal and in some cases further criminal prosecution of the offender. In the case where the offender is employed as a servant of the public and has abused both trust and public funds, the offence should be deemed to be doubly [if not more] serious. We should not be baying for the cretins head, but for the rest of his miserable, thieving body too.
2. How can the ANC seriously expect public confidence to be restored when this is but one of a very long list of transgressions involving corruption? The ANC must surely consider their voters to be seriously ignorant or retarded or both.

Once again, we’re being shown the utter contempt that the ANC has for the people.

Can our mines rescue us from the politicians in power?

It seems that not a week goes by in South Africa without a new revelation of fraud, corruption, blatant theft or gross mismanagement of public funds, by the politicians in power who would have the world believe that they were installed in government by politically savvy supporters.

Today, I read with utter dismay (yes, yet again) about how the tax-payer funded our Police Commissioner’s house to the tune of 3.7 million rands. According to the Minister of Police, Commissioner Bheki Cele personally approved the allocation of funds from the police budget to purchase this lavish house. One can’t help thinking that whoever approved his appointment certainly did take the old adage, set a thief to catch a thief, very seriously.

However, that pales in comparison to the other news report today of 44 billion rands that cannot be accounted for by the education departments of three of South Africa’s Provinces. That kind of money does not simply get lost; it takes a special kind of incompetence to mismanage that amount of money. Or it’s quite simple – fraud or theft or both. Or perhaps a combination of fraud, theft and mismanagement.

If one adds up all the many billions of rands that have found their way into the pockets of our thieving politicians since they came into power in 1994, starting with the arms scandal, I’m sure it will be mind-blowing. Think of all the things that kind of money could have done for the development of this country and its people?

This thieving by our politicians has got to stop!!! We must take whatever action is necessary to stop it, and make sure that these bastards never do it again.

Watching the dramatic rescue of the Chilean miners who were trapped more than 600 meters underground in a mine, gave me an idea of how to dispose of our scumbag politicians. How about performing the Chilean rescue mission in reverse? What if our mines came to our rescue by gobbling up these cretinous villains?

We could lower them down into unused mines, 1200 meters deep or more (just to make sure they can’t get back out); leave them there to contemplate nationalization of mines, and then rot. Uncivilized?

Surely not! These vile crooks, have had years fattening up on our hard-earned tax money, so I’m sure they could last a week or more down a mine. We could throw some clergymen down to join them in penance, and prayer. That would be a last act of kindness, from a nation wronged. How about that lot from Rhema Bible Church? 

Think that’s barbaric?

No, that’s more consideration than they gave us poor South Africans, when they stole from us…

Social attitudes in South Africa

Came across a report today, which has been published in a book by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). Reflections on the Age of Hope makes for pretty interesting reading – and interpretation.

The one that interested me the most is this:

The HSRC study revealed that the most trusted institutions in the country were churches, trusted by 80% of the respondents, and the SABC [South African Broadcasting Corporation], trusted by 75%.

WTF? The masses trust snake-oil salesmen and the government propaganda machine, more than any other institution? This can’t be right! If the sample can be assumed to be fairly representative of South Africans, then this statistic explains why the masses persist in delusional thinking, and voting the Hog Trough Cartel (a.k.a. the ANC) into power at every election.

Here’s another:

The least trusted were the police (46%), political parties (43%), and local government officials (49%).

Less than half the people trust the police. No surprises there; our last Police Commissioner, Jackie Selebi has been tried, convicted and sentenced for corruption, and the incumbent, Bheki Cele appears well on his way to distinguishing himself, likewise. Most of  the remaining police officers are relics from our apartheid past, and were trained to serve the government, not the people.

Further, less than half the population trust political parties and local government officials, but it seems the public broadcaster (SABC) is doing a bang-up job of convincing them to vote for these loathsome creatures anyway.

Now this one’s no real surprise; it’s inevitable:

But as much as 75% of the population felt that they don’t really trust people from other race groups, so, despite the strides we’ve made since 1994, and race relations improving, we still don’t trust or like each other too much.”

As a matter of fact I distrust people of my own race group (Indians, if you didn’t figure it out yet) much more than people of other race groups. And the reason why is that I don’t like the fact that so many of them seem to be hovering around President Jacob Zuma, wherever he happens to be.

And finally, these two are no-brainers:

About 83% of black and 58% of white respondents listed unemployment as their biggest concern;

73% of Indians and 68% of whites were concerned about crime, as opposed to only 36% of blacks;

Even though a sizeable number of Black people don’t have formal jobs,the ANC policy of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and cadre deployment [deployment of mostly incompetent ANC cronies] into strategic positions in the economy, is really hurting the credentials of competent black job seekers.

White folk and Indians are more concerned about crime because they are materialistic and hence tend to have a lot of shit which they would like to guard well. Which is fair enough, I suppose…