Vote.Them.Out.

I’ve been nursing this cold for a whole week, and it’s mildly annoying. On reading this article about President Zuma’s visit to a squatter settlement in the Western Cape (WC), I became more than a little infuriated. So I guess it’s time for another political rant before I log off and start watching Cloud Atlas which will hopefully calm me down.

The President exclaims that he is “…shocked to see my people live in these conditions.” He was referring to the Democratic Alliance (DA) who he says claims that “…things have improved.” The DA is in opposition to the ANC and is governing the WC – the only Province which is under their control, the rest being under ANC control.

The reality is that there are nine Provinces in South Africa, eight of which is governed by the ANC, of which Zuma is the leader. There are squatter settlements in all these other Provinces, in which people are living in squalid conditions that are equivalent to those of the WC, or worse. Zuma must think that “his” people are as ignorant as this poor woman (Pumla) from the WC squatter settlement who declared that she will vote for the ANC in the upcoming elections and stated that,

It’s just promises probably, but even if the promise is empty you still want that hope.

The reason the ANC are still in power is because there are far too many Pumla’s in South Africa, and far too many people who still believe in the ANC that once was. These people are misguidedly content to live on the hope that some day our politicians will make good on their many promises.

My anger turned to full-blown disgust when a statement was released to the press later this afternoon, in which the ANC stated that public statements that insult the President are “an abuse of the constitutionally enshrined right to freedom of expression.”

The spokesman went on to issue a veiled threat to the effect that:

…Elsewhere in the world, it is a criminal offence to insult a sitting head of state, and South Africans must, together, forge a common understanding on how we halt this impunity and abuse of democratic privilege.

The only countries I know of which actually prosecute and harass their citizens for criticising their President are those rune by demagogues, tyrants an tin-pot dictators. I’d like to think that South Africa is a proper democracy, but there are many, including influential people such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu who think we are on the slippery slope to tyranny.

The ANC that led South Africa to freedom from Apartheid is very different to the one led by Jacob Zuma. It has become in so many ways, a mirror-image of the apartheid era despots, under his leadership, or more accurately his abysmal lack of it.

It is abundantly clear that Zuma’s ANC must perish, so that the real ANC may rise in triumph once again. This can only be accomplished at the voting polls next year; it’s a pity we have to endure his Presidency in the interim.

End of rant; time for that movie…

The party that erected the least number of open toilets stinks the least…

The saga of the open toilets continues…

Seems like politics in South Africa has finally found a home where it belongs…in the toilet. The recent revelation of an ANC administered local council erecting open toilets in informal settlements [exceeding the number revealed as erected by the DA in the Western Cape] was compounded by the revelation that the Mayor of the district was the Director of the company awarded the contract for the construction. Let’s forget for a minute about this whole situation being immoral, illegal and dishonest, but the fact the ANC top brass were aware of the irregular tender makes the situation monumentally disgusting.

It indicates the absolute and utter disdain that the ruling ANC has for the population at large.

Popular cartoonist Zapiro made a commendable effort to sum up this pile of steaming manure:

M&G Online, May 13, 2011

But, this editorial in the Mail & Guardian Online sums things up nicely too:

Put party poopers on the spot

Since this local government election has been reduced to voting for the party that stinks the least, it follows that the votes should go to the one that erected the least number of open toilets.

Real Toilet Politics

Lavatorial politics is common all over the world; politicians are compared to the stuff found in diapers, for good reason after all. But you can’t beat South African politicians for talking crap, especially the stinkers who belong to the ANC.

Recently the Democratic Alliance (DA) controlled local government in the Western Cape came under heavy fire from the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) for constructing toilets without enclosures in an informal settlement. The ANCYL went on to take the DA-led council to court to demand that the offending structures more commonly referred to as open toilets, be enclosed. However, they did manage to first organise some of the thugs that belong to their shady organization into destructive gangs who set about demolishing some of the structures, quite a while before dreaming up the court action.

Although there was what seemed an amicable agreement in place between the council and the locals over the construction of the toilets whereby the residents would self-enclose once the council provided the plumbing, the ANCYL won the case, citing a great victory for human rights and dignity.

Off course anyone with an ounce of intelligence in one hand, balanced with an ounce of decency in the other knows quite well that the ANCYL were merely taking advantage of a stupid lapse on the part of the DA, and were milking the situation thoroughly to score political points for the upcoming local government elections. Human rights and the dignity of the people have not exactly been the focus of the ANC since taking over power from the previous apartheid government; looting, hoarding, lying, cheating and generally fucking up, has.

Barely a few weeks passed, when the ANC-led council in a Free State Municipality were literally caught with their pants down in the same toilet scene. They had constructed open toilets for an informal settlement there, more than 7 years ago. Yesterday the ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, told reporters that the ANC “didn’t know” about the toilets, notwithstanding the fact that a local newspaper broke the story nearly a year ago.

You’ve got to give credit to this bunch of so-called public servants. They’re consistent, very consistent – in denying and lying. They’re very good at it too. Perhaps they practice, while riding about in their chauffeur driven flashy expensive cars bought with taxpayers money, or while lazing on their fat arses, doing NOTHING for the people.

Today, Julius Malema, leader of the ANCYL commented that “heads must roll,” and that someone must take responsibility, most probably without realising the pun in his statement. Will he even admit that his own ANC are now the culprits, with the shoe now being on the other foot?

And will Julius really take the scumbags in his own organization to court to demand the open toilets be closed as in the Western Cape, or will he make good on his threat to knock down some of the heads that have been left un-enclosed for nearly 8 years?

Past experience with these immoral cretins tells me that they will just let this one slide until the stink is over, just as they do with everything else they screw up.

Human Rights Day? What for?

South Africa celebrated Human Rights Day today. Well actually, some of us just celebrated a free holiday and took time to do stuff that had nothing whatsoever to do with human rights.

Personally, I can’t see the point to Human Rights Day – in South Africa, that is. It was put in place by the post-Apartheid government to commemorate the shooting of 69 people by the police in Sharpeville, South Africa in 1969. The same police kill many more people in post-Apartheid times – their Commissioner is a member of the ANC, so I guess that makes it all RIGHT. Is the government going to give us a holiday for every 69 people his policemen kills?

Why bother commemorating Human Rights? This government supports some of the worst violators of human rights across the African continent and abroad. They are friendly with and openly indulge in the favours offered by the slimiest politicians to sully this planet – Robert Mugabe, Muammar Gaddafi, Kim Jong-il, Obiang Mbasogo, Omar Al-Bashier and Paul Biya, to name a few. This government’s own conduct in the general administration of its mandate is not far off from that of the evil tyrants already mentioned – it is only just picking up steam.

And today, they used the Human Rights platform to pay lip service to Human Rights, and perform the more pressing task of electioneering in the Western Cape; the only Province they don’t control politically, the only one in South Africa functioning reasonably well.

How about talking about and showing some responsibility for a change, instead of beating that monotonous RIGHTS drum every time you need to seize the attention of the people?

It’s only a matter of time when that tune goes out of favour with the people, and you need to dance to the sound of anger.

Jimmy Manyifique…only in his own mind

I don’t expect many people outside South Africa to have heard about this racist, elitist scumbag Jimmy Manyi who is the Chairman of that exclusive club known as the Black Management Forum, but it’s not inconceivable since he is also the official ANC-government spokesperson.

When he is not defending the often absurd position of the Black Management Forum, he speaks up for the forever-ridiculous position of the South African government, more especially that of the ANC.

Recently he was castigated by all and sundry, including a Minister in his own government, for stating that the Province of the Western Cape had too many Coloured people [a racial classification in SA].

And to make matters worse, it has been revealed that he also stated that management positions in South Africa are over-represented by Indians “who bargained their way to the top.” Personally I find there’s perhaps some truth here; everyone knows how Indians love bargaining, but the racial overtones has left many people extremely displeased.

What I would like to hear from Jimmy is an acknowledgement of how the ANC-government in South Africa is over-represented with liars and thieves. Unfortunately such a confession is highly unlikely to elicit more than a few chuckles; most people who actually know what’s going on in the country already know this and those who still support this wretched government either won’t care or won’t understand.

What! No camping out, Julius?

You know what they say about politicians and the promises they make? They say something similar about rules too!

With that in mind, I wasn’t expecting too much to come of Juluis Malema’s boast that “some of us” would be camping out in the Western Cape to win back the Metro for the ANC, which it lost quite convincingly to the Democratic Alliance in the last elections. However it did accur to me that this dumbass was crazy enough to actually pull such a stunt.

So while one would have expected Malema to have spent the week shopping at Outdoor Warehouse or some similar place for a tent and other camping essentials, we were informed that he was indeed in Cape Town over the weekend, notably without a backpack and hiking boots. In fact, camping was far from his mind as he joined another degenerate to celebrate the pre-opening of his posh nighclub.

And then they waded into a storm. Apparently the nightclub owner, Kenny Kunene has a penchant for eating sushi off the bodies of half-naked women. And Malema has a penchant for talking absolute rubbish. That combination created a little stir which the ANC tried to wash over, rather unconvincingly, it must be said.

While pondering what to write about this whole saga, editor of the Mail & Gaurdian Chris Roper helped me out with aplomb:

Yes, yes, I know. “We didn’t struggle to be poor.” Absolutely. No question. If there’s one thing democracy guarantees, it’s that to the victors go the spoils. Except, of course, most people in this country apparently did struggle to be poor — although at least they’re free and poor. And in a country where the average monthly income per struggle hero is around R3 375, we need as much free as we can get.

And

As Penny Punani, the famous entrepreneur and feminist, plaintively says when people complain about Kenny Kunene sucking fish off a babe’s body while pouring bubbly into her bek, “Why is it that white people didn’t complain when apartheid ministers were chowing wors out of a hot boeremeisie’s cleavage, but now, suddenly, because black people are doing it, it’s wrong? Why?”

Very good point, very good point. Alas, the answer is simple. In apartheid South Africa we were ruled by morons, now we’re not (mostly). In apartheid South Africa, we didn’t have one of the finest constitutions in the world, now we do. In apartheid South Africa, the only women in government were the ones cleaning the spittle and baccy off the floor, now we have actual women ministers. To sum up — and this is going to come as a shock to Kenny Kunene and Julius Malema, the Mutt and Jeff of Japanese cuisine — I think Winnie Mandela, Albertina Sisulu, Helen Suzman, Lindiwe Sisulu and others did in fact struggle to be politically correct.

Catch the whole hilarious article here.

How much honesty is there behind charity?

Last week, a furore broke out among opposition political parties in South Africa over the handing out of food hampers by the ruling ANC party’s youth wing (ANCYL), to destitute communities in Phillipi in the Western Cape. It is alleged that the food hampers were provided by a government ministry.

To those not familiar with South African politics, this apparent act of kindness by the government and one of its agencies not normally known for any sort of decency, would have gone unnoticed and unquestioned. However if you are in opposition politics or familiar with (well publicised) government dishonesty, or even just plain cynical, this act of generosity would have raised a few eyebrows at the least. You see, the Western Cape is the only Province in South Africa which voted overwhelmingly against the ruling ANC in the last general elections, and the selective targeting of poor people in this particular part of the country for charity, could and should be construed (in all fairness) to be clearly politically motivated. The poor in Phillipi are no worse off than the poor elsewhere, and surely those who voted the ANC into power in the other provinces would be equally, if not more appreciative of some assistance? The truth is that when the government’s humanitarian efforts become selective, rather than nationally organized, you can bet that some grubby politicians are thinking about where their next votes are coming from.

However, dishonesty in charitable work is not confined to government or politics. In fact, the motivation to be charitable, from a religious perspective are far more dishonest than any emanating from politics or big business. This scandal-in-the-making in the Western Cape (which will be swept under the carpet as usual) reminded me of an e-mail I received from a church elder a few months ago, about how they had so kindly fed about a hundred or so, sickly and poor people waiting at a public hospital for treatment. And again, for those of you not living in South Africa or are fortunate enough not to have to attend one of these institutions of gross inhumanity; public hospitals are a cesspool of neglect, mismanagement, and fraud perpetrated by both administrators and public officials alike, understaffed and under-equipped. Anyway back to the e-mail, and the now infamous words that still trouble my mind:

THANKS FOR THOSE THAT ASSISTED IN SPONSORSHIP FOR SANDWICHES ,MIRACLE REVIVAL CENTER NOT ONLY PROVIDED FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY ,BUT ALSO SPIRITUAL FOOD FOR THE SOUL. REFER TO ATTACHMENTS BELOW...

WITHIN 30 MINUTES OVER 200 SANDWICHES OF VARIED TASTE PROVIDED NOURISHMENT TO HUNGRY SOULS ,SOME WAITING IN THE HOSPITAL FROM 03H00 IN THE MORNING WITHOUT ANY NOURISHMENT .BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY OVER 100 TRACKS[WITH MRC DETAILS ] WERE DISHED OUT TO PEOPLE WHO WERE ACCEPTING TO THE WORD OF GOD AND HAVE THE TIME TO DIGEST IT....????

THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE WILLING TO SHARE IN THIS EXPERIENCE ARE MOST WELCOME AS WE PLAN TO MAKE IT A ONCE IN A MONTH EFFORT ..........WE COULD LOOK AT THE OTHER HALF OF THE MRC BEING FULL UP BY DECEMBER 2009...?????

Clearly the effort to feed these helpless people was motivated by the desire to proselytize and proliferate a particular insidious religious doctrine with the end-expectation of causing half-empty churches to magically fill up again. For church administrators, full churches equate to a steady job and income, and off course the perpetuation of a belief system. For religious individuals the effort represents a way to solicit favor with a supernatural benefactor and supposedly pave the way for an easy entry into the famous afterlife. However for individuals, an even more crass reason to be charitable is to satisfy a religious or scriptural requirement. It’s as good as saying that if it was not a tenet of their faith, then it would not be required of one to be charitable. Fortunately religion advocates charity and thus earns itself a minor saving grace.

As an afterthought; it’s now December and I wonder if the Miracle Revival Center’s other half  is now full with sick people hoping for a miracle cure. Or, failing that, as is the most probable outcome, would they be happy with a sandwich and a tract instead?

Big business is another contributor in the dishonesty stakes when it comes to charity. You’ve all heard about those social responsibility programmes which every modern company seems to have. It looks good on the balance sheet and is useful for tax purposes. It is also useful as a motivational tool for making your employees think they are doing great humanitarian work, while they enforce your despicable shareholder-enriching policies, poverty-inducing price schemes and couldn’t-give-a-shit service practices, which fucks the poor anyway. Yeah, it’s always nice to make everyone think you’re giving back some of what you stole in the first place.

And back to individuals or even organized groups; there is always dishonesty when the object of your supposed benevolence is limited to a particular ethnic, racial or social group. Only last week, the daughter of a friend told me of a group of cute Indian children that she and her church had assisted. She had meant for me to also single out that particular racial group of children for special attention. While I believe that she did it unthinkingly and innocently, it is still not acceptable behaviour.  Charity is not charity when it is targeted at certain individuals, racial, ethnic or even religious groups. It is nothing short of bigotry; only done to appease your own troubled mind.

The big question is, should it matter to the poor and destitute what the motivations are behind their benefactor’s supposed good deeds? One could argue that they should not be choser’s, and they should not question the intentions of those that contribute to their well-being. Off course they shouldn’t have to! The situation that the poor and destitute find themselves in should not be exploited by those with hidden or dishonest agendas. It’s up to honest people to not allow the religious, the politicians, business and others to take advantage of the poor, and must expose it wherever it happens.