More on Motshekga

I have written previously about this vile woman, but it seems she is not quite done yet with her acts of unbelievable stupidity…

Angie Motshekga, Minister of Basic Education continues to baffle us all with the levels of depravity, incompetence and utter idiocy she is capable off achieving. In the month of August which South Africa has dedicated to honouring woman, she has chosen to show the world that she can be the worst possible example to humanity, let alone womanhood.

Motshekga is all set to contest NGO Equal Education’s application to the High Court forcing her to promulgate legislation that sets out norms and standards for school infrastructure, which will both compel and hold the government accountable to meet those standards. Apparently she intends using the ludicrous defense that the Constitution does not guarantee children the right to basic education, and that both the budget and resources are inadequate.

That is utterly absurd if you put it in context against the recent (undeserved) 5% salary hike that the government awarded itself, and the fact that they are spending billions where it is least needed. Not to mention the shambolic manner in which her Ministry is being run; what with textbooks being undelivered more than 6 months into the school year, ghost teachers on the payroll and various other forms of maladministration that characterize the Education portfolio. Then there’s the rampant corruption all arms of government are  contentedly engaged in, with the un-mistaken approval of the ANC-government leadership.  Should we even mention, the government’s partner-in-mismanagement, labour union SADTU’s role in destroying education in South Africa?

Wikipedia

Motshekga seems not only determined to follow through on this path of ignominy she has set for herself, she is arrogant beyond measure about sticking it out in spite of the howls of protest from all quarters. It seems that she is hell-bent on competing with President Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema for the title of scumbag of the decade.

But the most baffling thing about this whole saga is the seeming disinterest and apathy from the majority of the Black population whose children are most affected. The same people very quickly formed a mob to lynch an artist whom they were misled into believing had insulted the honour of the President, but cannot raise so much as a whimper to save the honour of their own children. What a sad state of affairs and a telling indictment on their mentality.

Thank god that Motshekga is not Minister of Higher Education too. We seriously cannot afford to have all forms of education totally fucked up. Unfortunately though, the Higher Education Ministry has another palooka in charge, and he’s busy doing a bang-up job of reducing it to the same pathetic level as Basic Education. But that’s another story…

Census 2011: Count me Out

It’s census time in South Africa again. However for those who can’t see the point, or shudder at the thought of the cost, its senseless time again.

I’m one of those who are skeptical about the benefits, especially living under a government that could quite fairly be described as bordering on despotic.

I was contemplating participating in the grand scheme of information gathering, by answering the questions cynically:

Race: Human

Age: Old Enough

Sex: Infrequently

Gender: All for Equality

Number of People Living on the Property: Sorry, there’s no more room at the Inn

Income: You have a bloody cheek asking me that, since your employer appropriates most of it

Etc. You get the point.

However, I just read the Statistician General Pali Lehohla, being quoted in a newspaper as saying that we’re legally bound to answer ALL questions asked by the census takers. And that has peeved me off, big time. Surely there is something in our Constitution such as Title 13 from the US statutes that protects citizens from this sort of government harassment?

That changes everything! I will not be threatened. Pali and his government can kiss my Human ass. I’m not even going to give you bureaucratic scumbags the time of day.

Why should I tell your government anything about me? So that they can budget for how much they can safely raid from the treasury coffers, instead of doing it with impunity, like they do now?

Why should I allow a government who intends passing laws that will silence the public and prevent us from asking them questions, to ask me any questions? You can call me unpatriotic and silly and whatever. I couldn’t be bothered. This is my opportunity to protest peacefully about the thieves who run this country.

Listen up! Count me out!

Blasphemous? Hell no! Desperate? Good heavens yes!

This is a repost of a blog I wrote on another forum. I thought it would be of interest here as well:

There was much consternation this weekend over President Jacob Zuma’s moronic utterance while campaigning for the upcoming election, that a vote for the ANC will get one into heaven.

While many people, including Church leaders saw this statement as blasphemous, others were perturbed that a politician, especially one who wields the ultimate power could so callously drag religion into politics when the constitution clearly demands a separation of Church and State.

Catch the rest here.

In a true democracy, theft should be legal for everyone, not just the politicians

It’s grossly unfair that I can’t steal with impunity. I mean, South Africa has this wondrous constitution, supposedly one of the best in the world; one which guarantees equal rights to all citizens.

So why is it that only the politicians in the ruling government, and their cohorts have the right to steal, embezzle, defraud and mismanage, with gay abandon, while I, a kind contributor to the fiscus, have to face the wrath of the police? Why should the police protect only the governing elite, while I have to pay their salaries to watch? Isn’t it about time I’m allowed to exercise my rights to compete on an equal footing with the government looters?

Even the police should be allowed to steal (those that are not doing it already that is). It’s a slap in the face of labor law, and downright inhuman, to expect the police to protect their employers, who not only pay them a pittance, but steal the taxes they contribute to the country. That’s just sick. You just know these  lame lazy-boy-lovers, would like nothing better than to get a shot at thieving, themselves. You can see it in their eyes, every time they have to escort some fat-fuck politician to his next big swindle.

Consider the billions that have found their way into the back pockets of our glorious liberators from Apartheid, from the hey-days of shady arms deals, to the present billions that cannot be accounted for by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). It’s outrageous that I could not be part of that delightful scheme to divert money away from the greedy recipients of welfare grants. And why couldn’t I have a crack at the billions that has gone missing from the Education Departments of various Provinces? What do snot-nosed kids need an education for anyway; it’s not like they’re going to inherit a functioning country once all the looting has decimated it?

At least give me an opportunity to take back some of the loot from all those fucking cronies you have been so generous to; those who have enjoyed the lions share of government’s theft schemes up to this point. I promise, I’ll be as smooth and non-violent as you bastards have been; I’ll only require that you use your influence to muzzle the press so that they don’t spill the beans on me. Is it too much to ask for? Come on guys, let’s be fair here?

And if you villainous weasels who run this country won’t allow me even that courtesy, then please let’s stop kidding ourselves by calling this country a democracy; let’s call it what it is, a kleptocracy…

A note to the eedyerts in power

Recently I’ve heard South Africa’s political form of government being referred to as a kleptocracy and even an idiocracy. But as the treasury is being raided to enrich a small minority who hold the reins of power, while proposing idiotic laws which are meant to curtail freedom of speech, these two terms will remain pertinent.

It’s therefore time to remind the klepto-idiots in power what DEMOCRACY really means. The simplest definition I can find is as follows:

government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system

However it goes beyond that.  A few other characteristics of democracy are:

• All citizens are equal before the law [those who are politically connected are not more equal than others, as is currently the case]
• The freedom of all citizens are protected by a constitution [whatever happened to ours which was described as a model constitution?]
• The use of checks and balances through legislation ensures that there is no accumulation of power [why are those in power not satisfied with even a two-thirds majority?]
• Freedom of political expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press are essential so that everyone is informed [why are those in power proposing laws that will curtail these freedoms?]
• It goes without saying that civil liberties and human rights are sacrosanct [is this really the case in South Africa where certain individuals in power, not only are more right than others, but enjoy more rights than others]

It’s really simple; you just have to go back to the basics, which you seem to have abandoned in the mad rush to pig out at the trough. Try it; it will be good to feel human again.

While putting this piece together, I stumbled upon a marvellous blog called By The People at America.gov. Please take the time to watch some short videos  by young people from countries such as Nepal, Ethiopia, Spain, Indonesia and Colombia, which convey their idea of democracy, on the blog post titled What Do You Think Democracy Is? The one from Farbod Khoshtinat from Iran is particularly good and relevent to my message above.

Apartheid resurrected to become the tool of the liberator

South Africa’s first all-inclusive democratic elections in 1994, sounded the death knell of apartheid, or so we thought…

More than 15 years later, a country that was on course to buck the trend of liberated African countries, and become a thriving democracy, is now being manipulated by unscrupulous people to create artificial racial tension, in what appears to be a scheme to divert attention away from the real problems.

It all started so well, with the ANC liberating us from years of racial separation and dis-unity; taking over the governing of the country that became known as the rainbow nation. Those years of hope and expectation now seem like so long ago; the rainbow nation now seems to be just a rainbow notion. The ANC has led us into what appears to be a dead-end; from the death of apartheid to the death of democracy.

It would off course be dishonest to not acknowledge the many positive and beneficial changes that the ANC government has brought to South Africa. Most of these changes were effected in the early years, but most of the benefits are still evident to this day. The first truly democratic constitution drawn up with the guidance of the early ANC leadership, embodied ideas that were the envy of established democracies around the world. Then things changed; contempt for this document by its own architects, became all too apparent. What went wrong?

The answer is very simple: the leadership of the ANC went wrong. As the leadership became infatuated with power, and their own self-importance, their greed and arrogance grew in leaps and bounds. While their need to display their new-found wealth and power became more ostentatious, the most striking characteristic of the ANC leadership became the utter disdain for their own supporters and the gross arrogance when confronted with criticism, however mild, towards everyone else, including the world. In time, the party became more important than the country, and it was inevitable that they would declare themselves above the law, as they so often do.

Even though they exhibited this abysmal behaviour, the support from the vast majority of their followers did not seem to wane. How was this possible? Evidently the people did not in their wildest dreams suppose that such behaviour was possible from their liberators, or even if they did, preferred to not even consider it likely, or were not aware of such behaviour, which seems unlikely. A more plausible reason would appear to be that they are being manipulated into believing that their leaders are still pure and trustworthy.

Before we proceed, I would like to point out that I am not stringing together a conspiracy theory, although it may well look like it. I am putting together some thoughts that have been with me for some time now from observation, and seems to be corroborated by others as well.

The ANC leadership have for some time now displayed no will to govern the country in a manner befitting publically elected officials. They have adopted a style of leadership which closely resembles that of common dictatorships, although they have not entirely succumbed to that base level yet. Their inability to govern is manifest in the arrogant manner in which they approach everything to do with government.It’s also evident from the growing discontent of the people in poor towns across the country, where service delivery has all but ground to a complete standstill, and elected officials raid the coffers to line their own pockets.

The only reason, the people have not revolted yet, is because they are being told that all the ills of the country is the result of apartheid. Yes, the self-same apartheid that was supposedly killed more than 15 years ago. The ANC leadership have found a convenient scapegoat for their ineptitude; they have resurrected apartheid.

They have resorted to using structures such as the ANC Youth League to spread disinformation about apartheid’s apparent influence from the grave over the efforts of the ANC to govern (sic), and also to demonize institutions of wealth generation such as the mines, by calling for their nationalization. While they have repeatedly stated that nationalization is not a government policy, their feeble protestations is not at all convincing to all of us who have witnessed their constant raiding of the treasury. In private, they must surely be licking their lips with glee at the thought of this new source of wealth.

It’s all too obvious that the ANC leadership does not want apartheid to die – they need it desperately to hang onto the tenuous grip they have on power. It’s also obvious that to remain in power, they need a constant source of poor, preferably uneducated (but more so, ignorant) people to vote for them.

The elaborate scheme to mislead has probably been taken much further: attention is being deliberately drawn away from government incompetence by buffoons such as Julius Malema who goes around inciting violence and instigating racial hatred by making inflammatory speeches, devoid of truth or intelligence.

Is our liberation at an end? Maybe not entirely, but it’s only a matter of time…