Global South African Weekly News Wrap 04 April 2012

Global South African Weekly News Wrap Up 4 April 2012
Contents
State allocates R102bn to NGP and Ipap sectors over 5 years ................................ 2 League accepts Malemas fate, wants Zuma out....................................................... 3 Zuma strikes back ........................................................................................................ 4 Malema to reveal Zuma secrets and weaknesses ...................................................... 6 Battle for top ANC job ................................................................................................ 7 Zuma 'will be kicked out' as leader ............................................................................ 9 Crunch time for Zuma............................................................................................... 10 Secrecy laws raised in Basson hearing ..................................................................... 12 ANC voices support for secrecy bill in March ........................................................ 13 Cosatu chief hits out at state secrecy bill ................................................................. 14 Vavi, Bizos threaten to take secrecy bill to court .................................................... 15 Gordhan sees room for cautious optimism as deficit lower ................................ 17 Vavi slams secrecy Bill in Parliament ...................................................................... 18 Mittal fury over states local content policy snub ................................................... 21 IDC puts R3,4bn into Pallinghurst platinum mine as strategic venture ............ 23 'We are ready for SKA' ............................................................................................. 25 Women being sidelined ........................................................................................... 26 Affluent have done well out of ANC dominance ..................................................... 27 ANC top six move to dispel talk of divisions ........................................................... 29 ANCs top brass fail to convince on unity ............................................................... 31 Madonsela's solution .................................................................................................. 33 Constitution not facing any threat under ANC .................................................... 34 ANC mum as IECs party funding comes under scrutiny ..................................... 35 ANC top brass torn apart.......................................................................................... 36 Mkhize and Mbete attack Malema ........................................................................... 39 ANC will support the people: Mbete ........................................................................ 40 Moe Shaik up for top bank job ................................................................................. 40 Damning memos into MTN's Iran escapades .......................................................... 42 'Zuma must be disciplined' ....................................................................................... 45 Phosa risks backlash for supporting change in Mangaung ................................... 47 The Thick End of the Wedge .................................................................................... 48 SA strikes right tax balance to address its challenges ............................................ 50 Hlophe ruling puts JSC almost back where it started ............................................ 52 SAs strange breed of leaders a threat to democracy .......................................... 54 DGs R1.4m bribe .................................................................................................... 55 How SAs witness helped Dewani ............................................................................. 59 Police now in crisis .................................................................................................. 61 Cele inquiry resumes ................................................................................................. 62 Have your day in court, President Zuma................................................................. 62 Mdluli report's shocking revelations ........................................................................ 66 Appeal court crossed limits on Simelane............................................................... 71 Government has nothing to hide, says Manyi ......................................................... 72 If the secrecy bill becomes law .............................................................................. 74 Fear grips top cops after Mdluli's 'return' .............................................................. 75
05 April 2012 News Wrap-up
3 April 2012 Business Report Page 1 AyandaMdluli
State allocates R102bn to NGP and Ipap sectors over 5 years

About R102 billion has been earmarked for investments in key manufacturing, labour intensive, technological and innovative industries by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), it was announced yesterday.
This comes as both parties seek to implement objectives highlighted in the second Industrial Policy Action Plan (Ipap) for 2012/13 to 2014/15. At the launch of the Ipap in Sandton yesterday, dti industrial development division deputy director-general Nimrod Zalk said R102bn over the next five years would be put aside for investment in the governments New Growth Path (NGP) and Ipap sectors. The first industrial policy action plan was launched in the 2007/2008 financial year. The government had since launched a revised three-year rolling Ipap on an annual basis. The governments NGP aims to create 5 million jobs by 2020 through focusing on labour-intensive sectors believed to have the potential to stimulate economic growth. These include infrastructure, transport, energy, water, communications, housing, agriculture, mineral beneficiation, the green economy, manufacturing and tourism. However, Zalk said the department was drafting an integrated monitoring and evaluation reporting system that would quantify the governments shortcomings and achievements with Ipap. He blamed the post-2008 unfavourable global economic conditions, which led to the projected target of 850 000 direct jobs failing to materialise in the projected time frame. In many cases we achieved our objectives, which were implemented in a challenging environment. In more favourable economic conditions we would have seen more growth and job creation, he said. Sectors that were earmarked for financing include the automotive industry, clothing and textiles, agro processing, the green economy, as well as industries that produce metal fabrication, capital and transport equipment.
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies revealed plans to speed up regulation and support mechanisms to start up a large-scale biofuels industry. The identification and promotion of export market opportunities to net food importing countries and product development and standards support will provide further impetus to this sector, he said. IDC chief executive Geoffrey Qhena said the institution would play a major role in identifying various projects and carrying out feasibility assessments where investments were concerned. He highlighted that the IDC would conduct economic and industrial research as well as assist with advice and support for policymakers. 3 April 2012 Business Day Page 3 Sam Mkokeli
League accepts Malemas fate, wants Zuma out

An official of the league says they have accepted that ANC leaders have made up their minds over ANC Youth League president Julius Malemas expulsion. The African National Congress (ANC) Youth League has accepted that saving its president, Julius Malema, is impossible, but will push on with a campaign to replace President Jacob Zuma .
An official of the league said yesterday they had accepted that ANC leaders had made up their minds over Mr Malemas expulsion. The ANCs disciplinary committee of appeals is to hear Mr Malemas appeal against his sentence of expulsion from the party. The league sees the outcome of the appeal as a foregone conclusion that the committee chaired by Cyril Ramaphosa will uphold the expulsion, handed down by Derek Hanekom s disciplinary committee last month. Mr Malema, together with senior leaders in the ANC, have set their sights on the Mangaung conference. The league is campaigning for Deputy President KgalemaMotlanthe , also Mr Zumas deputy in the party, to take over. The league is banking on canvassing enough members to get the Mangaung conference to throw out the disciplinary processes. This is unlikely to happen if Mr Zuma is re-elected. If Mr Malema is indeed expelled, the league would be without a president, with deputy Ronald Lamola due to remain in his position. A list of the leagues preferred leaders has Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale as deputy president. Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula is their preferred secretary general. He would replace Gwede Mantashe.
The league, however, still sees a role for Mr Mantashe in the leadership after Mangaung, as chairman. Keeping Mr Mantashe in the "Top Six" would be their leagues way of enticing the Eastern Cape Mr Mantashes birth province to back its campaign. Mr Mantashe has butted heads with the league on numerous occasions. But a youth league insider says: "Ideologically and politically, we dont disagree with Gwede." The league has a mountain to climb if it is to succeed in its campaign to bring back Mr Malema, and change ANC leaders. Getting all their preferred names to be elected would be difficult, as some provinces would be seeking endorsement for their own preferred candidates, which means the list being pushed by the league could change. The league is facing tough competition from those wanting to retain Mr Zuma, who are believed to be trying to woo Mr Ramaphosa to become deputy president. Also, South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimandes name has been mentioned as a possible deputy president. But the names mentioned could also be resisted because of the dominance of leaders from KwaZulu-Natal. One slate has Public Enterprises Malusi Gigaba and Police Minister NathiMthethwa as candidates for positions on the Top Six. That is unlikely to work, considering complaints that KwaZulu-Natal leaders were already too dominant in Mr Zumas Cabinet. Political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi said the balance of forces was still fluid, with major battles to convince lower structures yet to unfold. The league has been analysing the chances of its campaign succeeding, with its number crunchers confident that Mr Motlanthe would get sufficient endorsement ahead of the Mangaung conference. They have written off KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, but are confident that provinces such as the Eastern Cape and Gauteng would back them.
4 April 2012 The Times Page 1 AmukelaniChauke and ThandoMgaga
Zuma strikes back
President Jacob Zuma yesterday reclaimed his control of the ANC after weeks of ill-discipline and insults levelled at him by members of the ANC Youth League.
In a show of force and unity, Zuma and the party's other top five leaders came out publicly and denounced what they termed "alien behaviour" within the ANC ranks. The media were given the rare opportunity to question the top six Zuma, his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe, secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, treasurer-general Mathews Phosa, deputy secretary-general Thandi Modise and the party's national chairman, Baleka Mbete, at Luthuli House in Johannesburg. Mantashe said the ANC was concerned about the "alien behaviour" shown by some members. He said the continued attacks on ANC leaders, particularly by youth league president Julius Malema, were "disingenuous" and "reckless", and that the party had decided to put a stop to the public spats. He did not explain how it would go about doing this. The ANC has been battling to put a lid on public statements by the youth league on who should lead the party after the national elective conference in December. The league, led by Malema - who the ANC has fired for sowing divisions in its ranks - has been vocal about Zuma's poor leadership. It has openly called for leadership changes after the ruling party's conference in Mangaung, with Zuma being replaced by Motlanthe. Last week, an increasingly defiant Malema called Zuma a ''dictator'' who was ''traumatising'' youth league members. Finally yesterday, the ANC presented a united front and hit back. Mantashe lashed out at Malema, saying the time had come for the ANC to put an end to ill-discipline. He said Malema's statement that Zuma was a dictator was a direct attack on the ANC leadership and its executive. "That is not an insult directed at Jacob Zuma. It is an insult directed [at] us, that we are dwarfs around this dictator. [That means] we can't think, we just wait for a directive by a dictator. "I think it is a serious insult directed [at] all of us .because the statement [implies] the leadership, not only [the top officials], the entire national executive committee is an NEC of just dwarfs who are . praise singers." He said ''these alien remarks and actions'' were being used to create an impression that the ANC leadership was divided. While Zuma played a supporting role at yesterday's briefing, the presence of Motlanthe and Phosa sent a strong political statement. The two leaders recently shared a stage with Malema where the youth leader attacked Zuma's leadership and questioned his integrity.
Both Motlanthe and Phosa yesterday denounced the youth league's recent criticisms of Zuma and emphasised that ANC unity was the ultimate objective. While the ruling party tries to put out fires within its structures, it seems the youth league is not about to abandon its attack. Earlier yesterday, league spokesman Floyd Shivambu insisted in a radio interview that Zuma needed to be removed as ANC president. Next Thursday, the ANC's national disciplinary committee of appeals will hear Malema and Shivambu's appeals against their sentencing. Malema has been expelled and Shivambu suspended.
1 April 2012 The Sunday Independent Page 1 George Matlala
Malema to reveal Zuma secrets and weaknesses

As Julius Malemas strategy to expose President Jacob Zumas weaknesses and secrets intensifies, the ANC has warned him that his missives have reached intolerable levels of disrespect. An ANC Youth League official close to Malema told The Sunday Independent on Friday night that the tactics of the young leaders faction was to ensure that Zumas weaknesses are exposed by publicly telling the nation about his secrets. This was soon after Malema told students at Wits University that under Zuma the youth league was traumatised and suppressed by the presidents dictatorship. However, the ANC has warned Malema that attacks against Zuma have been going on for some time and have reached intolerable levels of disrespect. In a blistering attack, Malema said the league was radical when it viciously attacked Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe but ill-disciplined when it criticised the president. As the crowd cheered, Malema tore further into Zuma: We have seen the youth being traumatised being expelled from their own home. It is under Zuma we have seen a critical voice being suppressed. We have seen under Zuma democracy replaced by dictatorship. The ANC warned him that if he didnt stop he will be unwittingly dragging himself to a precipice where a point of return is impossible in the eyes of ANC members.
At the same event at Wits on Friday, ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa encouraged young leaders to continue to be critical of their elders. You can never become the lackeys of the older generation, he said. Meanwhile, Phosa has accused ANC communications official Keith Khoza of a smear campaign. Khoza had sent an opinion piece to The Sunday Independent under ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembus name. The article stated that Phosa had contradicted Zuma when he said in an interview that high unemployment could lead to Arab Spring-type uprisings here. However, the article suggested that Phosas comments were an example of a breakdown of discipline in the ruling party and portrayed the organisation as a divided house. As to what would inform a senior ANC leader in the highest decision-making body to contradict the president of the ANC about what these protests means for the ANC and for the country boggles the mind, the article reads. The suggestion that the people have so lost hope in the ruling alliance that they would resort to the kind of insurrection that has seen rulers in North Africa go down is highly sensational and is not in keeping with the view of the ANC that these protests need to be understood as the very catalysts of the development agenda as well as the exercise and growth of our young democracy. After being contacted for comment, Phosa called Mthembu, who denied ever writing the piece. Khoza subsequently demanded that the article be pulled. Mthembu said: I have said to Keith they cant write an article in my name. They must own up to the article. We will deal with the matter. However, Phosa accused Khoza of being involved in a fraudulent smear campaign against him. Khoza confirmed to have co-ordinated the article and claimed he had not proof-read it. It was a mistake on my part, which is why we want to withdraw the article. 3 March 2012 Sowetan Alex Matlala
Battle for top ANC job

The outcome of the coming ANC elective conferences in Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga will have a bearing on the balance of forces going to the organisation's conference in Mangaung. Mpumalanga will be in the spotlight this weekend when provincial chairman and premier David Mabuza battles it out for the province's top position against health MEC Clifford Mkansi. The election is expected to be hotly contested given Mkansi's track-record.
He is a former secretary of the award-winning Sondelani branch at Thulamahashe outside Bushbuckridge. Mabuza, on the other hand, has received overwhelming support during the ANC regional conferences. "It must be borne in mind that the province's four regions have all put their weight behind Mabuza during regional conferences. "But his re-election as provincial chairman could be difficult because Cosatu, the ANC Youth League and the SACP have already voiced their disapproval of him as leader," said a provincial executive committee member who spoke on condition of anonymity. A win by Mabuza - a known Zuma ally - will be an indication of how the province will vote in Mangaung. The conference will be held at Nelspruit's Mbombela Stadium between Thursday and Sunday. The other three provinces that are yet to go to their elective conferences include Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape. This has to happen before the end of May following an instruction from the ANC national executive committee that all provinces must have had their conferences before the party's policy conference in June. ANC spokesman Keith Khoza said: "Part of the directive was that all provinces must have completed their audits before June except for Limpopo and North West, which had their conferences last year." Free State province's branches go to branch general meetings (BGM) this week. "The party caucus this weekend decided to officially open nominations today where premier Ace Magashule's contender, if any, is poised to emerge," said ANC provincial spokesman William Bulwane. Free State will hold its elective between May 25 and 27. Independent political analyst Elvis Masoga yesterday said current developments favoured President Jacob Zuma to retain his position as party leader. "It is a known fact that the four provinces have leaders who are known Zuma supporters. "It is only Limpopo and Northern Cape which are known to be 100% against Zuma. "North West and Gauteng are divided while Western Cape was unpredictable.
"Remember, Zuma was recently booed by members of the youth league during his visit to the province," added Masoga yesterday.
4 April 2012 The Times Page 4 Chandr Prince
Zuma 'will be kicked out' as leader
Suspended ANC Youth League spokesman Floyd Shivambu threw down the gauntlet yesterday, saying President Jacob Zuma was not the right person to lead the ANC and that he would be kicked out as party leader at Mangaung. In a frank radio interview, Shivambu said the league had assessed Zuma's performance and that he had failed to implement mandates as adopted in Polokwane in 2007. "I doubt that he will be re-elected. Actually, I'm not even doubting. I know he will not be re-elected as a president of the ANC at the 53rd national conference," Shivambu told 702 talk show host RediTlhabi. The league was instrumental in driving Zuma's rise to topple former president Thabo Mbeki at Polokwane. Asked if they now regret their unwavering support for Zuma at the time, Shivambu said: "He [Zuma] did not carry out the mandate that was given at 52nd conference. We did not know then . [but] he is not the right person to lead the ANC." Responding to Shivambu's statement, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said: "We can only wish him luck in being a prophet. It is such a reckless statement, very much reckless." Shivambu said the league's leadership was now being persecuted for talking on resolutions adopted in Polokwane in 2007, but that they would fight back without fear. "People must not purge us and remove us from the ANC because we don't support them." Shivambu said that though the ANC had called for the leadership debate to be opened only in October, the league was never told not to assess the performance of its leaders. "The ANC has never said we must not do leadership evaluation. We have a right to do that."
He said that even though the youth league leadership had a sword hanging over its head, he was confident that his suspension and Malema's expulsion would be overturned during the December conference. 4 April 2012 The Times Page 15 S'ThembisoMsomi
Crunch time for Zuma
It was on his return from the first ever meeting of the ANC's officials - commonly known as the "top six" - when President Jacob Zuma apparently told some of his aides that he had been struck by how little his new team knew about each other. This was in early January 2008, barely three weeks after the ruling party's Polokwane conference. Those who were close to Zuma at the time say what struck him the most about his new team was that they had never met as a group before being elected to discuss what they saw as the future for the ANC. As a result, each came with his or her own vision of what the postPolokwane ANC would look like. Many of them had made it into the top six as a result of fierce lobbying and horse-trading among the disparate groupings that came together ahead of Polokwane in order to unseat the then ANC president Thabo Mbeki. Zuma, who had been Mbeki's ANC deputy for 10 years, was the rallying point of this campaign - with all the groupings in agreement that he was the only leader best positioned to stand against Mbeki and win. KgalemaMotlanthe, elected as Zuma's deputy at the Polokwane conference, was the only other official who had served with Zuma in the previous top six. The rest were new and had been voted in as part of the election slate agreed to by the broad anti-Mbeki coalition. During the horse-trading that preceded the conference, the "Left" made up of Cosatu and the SA Communist Party - had insisted on veteran trade unionist Gwede Mantashe as ANC secretary-general. Cosatu and the SACP played crucial roles in Zuma's campaign and their preferred candidate had to be accommodated. So did the ANC Youth League under its then president Fikile Mbalula. Although the league did not demand that any of its members serve in the
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top six, they did lobby for Mathews Phosa to be elected as the party's treasurer-general. Zuma's supporters in KwaZulu-Natal initially wanted Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who was at Foreign Affairs at the time, to become national chairman. But Dlamini-Zuma turned them down in favour of an Mbeki slate in which she appeared as a candidate for the deputy presidency. As a result, Zuma supporters opted for the then national assembly speaker Baleka Mbete - who had initially been a candidate for the deputy secretary-general's post. With Mbete running for the national chairmanship, the youth league and the MK Military Veterans' Association - which was also vocal in its support for Zuma - pushed hard for ThandiModise, who is now North West premier, to become Mantashe's deputy. In all honesty, there was very little that ideologically united this top six, with the likes of Phosa being seen as too pro-business, while Mantashe was viewed by some of his comrades as too much of a Cosatu/SACP man. As a result, throughout much of its five-year term in office, the top six has demonstrated little sense of common purpose. In recent months, with the Mangaung conference approaching, as well as divisions about how to handle the ANC's problem child, Julius Malema, deepening, the levels of trust among the top six officials have been at their lowest. Almost all of the top six members deny in public that they are divided, but the evidence is to the contrary. Much of the internal crisis the ruling party finds itself embroiled in today is a result of this collective failing to give coherent and effective leadership to the ANC. All of this should be food for thought for ANC members as they prepare for Mangaung and a number of provincial conferences scheduled to be held this year. Election slates do not work in the long run. They may be useful for putting together a winning coalition ahead of the elections, but they eventually lead to an ineffective leadership collective that is beholden to competing factions. Moreover, election slates tend to lead to the most talented and able leaders being left in the cold if they happen not to be in the good books of the dominant factions.
29 March 2012 Mail & Guardian Faranaaz Parker
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Secrecy laws raised in Basson hearing

A lengthy argument broke out during the professional conduct hearing of apartheid-era chemical weapons developer WouterBasson on Thursday when the defence tried to call surgeon general Daniel (Niel) Knobel to give evidence.
Knobel read out a statement notifying those present that, having consulted members of the legal services of the South Africa National Defence Force as well as the state attorney, he had been advised that section 103(7) of the Defence Act and the Protection of Information Act 84 of 1982, prevented him from disclosing classified information or information on military or security matters to unauthorised individuals. "I have not been authorised to disclose any classified information, I may not lawfully disclose it and it is not my duty to disclose it. Please regard my evidence in light of the limitations imposed upon me by these Acts," he said. Knobel added that by law, one may not reveal secret documents. "It applies to all of us," he said. "I want to make quite sure I'm not going to be arrested next week because of this." The difficulty this poses is that it may be possible to simply raise the sceptre of secrecy if one does not wish to answer questions on a certain topic. The pro-forma complainant SalieJoubert (SC) strongly objected to Knobel's statement, saying that it was the first he had heard of this limitation and that he had not seen the statement that Knobel had read out. Joubert asked that the matter be adjourned until Friday morning so that he could have the opportunity to read the statement and also to consult with the instructing attorneys and the client, the Health Professionals Council of South Africa. He first said that the prosecution would opt not to cross-examine Knobel at all but then said that even if the prosecution was compelled to listen to Knobel's testimony, it would not finalise the cross examination but would have Knobel return for cross examination at a later stage, after it had a chance to examine all of the evidence he would be relying on. "We have to ask if it's in the interest of a witness to testify on day one and then five weeks later to be cross examined," he asked. But Tokkie Van Zyl, lawyer for the defence, was adamant that Knobel give testimony the same day. He said Knobel was simply stating the fact that certain issues -particularly those that concerned his discussions with ambassadors or heads of state -would be off limits. JaapCilliers (SC), also for the defence, said they were exercising a "basic fundamental right" in calling a witness.
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"Almost every witness available in this regard has passed away. General Knobel is one of the few witnesses that is able to testify. Does he [Joubert] want to postpone the hearing until that witness passes away and at that point we might not have any witnesses left," he said. At which point the 75-year-old Knobel interjected: "Mr Chairman, I have no intention to pass away." The members of the professional conduct committee of the HPCSA conferred briefly behind closed doors before agreeing to hear Knobel's testimony. Committee chair Jannie Hugo said the committee needed clarity and asked for "openness" from the witness so that they could understand Basson's situation properly. "For the committee, on behalf of the profession, it is of crucial importance for us to understand such a complex situation, the issue of the doctor, the conflict and the military," said Hugo. Despite Joubert's continued objections, the committee asked Knobel to proceed with his testimony. To reassure the committee, Knobel offered to the evidence from his trial -- comprising about 1 000 pages of testimony -- to the state attorney for advice on whether any of it might be deemed secret. The hearing continues on Friday. 2 April 2012 Business Day Page 3 Wyndham Hartley
ANC voices support for secrecy bill in March

An African National Congress (ANC) march in defence of the "secrecy bill" has given a knock to hopes that the ruling party is willing to make the significant changes to the bill that have been called for in public hearings this week.
The march came on the fourth and last day of public hearings in the National Council of Provinces ad hoc committee on the Protection of State Information Bill. Thousands of South Africans have, in submissions and petitions, called for the bill to be either scrapped or amended. The issues include the absence of a public interest defence for the publication of state secrets and the heavy prison terms for those committing an offence in terms of the bill. At the conclusion of the hearings on Friday, chairman of the committee Raseriti Tau thanked all the organisations that made oral submissions. His statement that "the
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extensive public consultation process undertaken by the ad hoc committee both in the nine provinces and in Parliament this week is a testament to the seriousness it takes in dealing with this piece of proposed legislation" was in sharp contrast with the ANCs march outside Parliament. While the march was small in number, it gave a very loud expression of support for the bill and launched a scathing attack on the bills most strident critic the Right2Know campaign. Posters held by the marchers said that the hysteria of the Right2Know campaign should be rejected, that the media was not the custodian of public interest and that the ANC supported the Protection of State Information Bill. Another told editors to stick to editing and "we will get on with governing". At almost the same time the campaigns leaders were making its submission to the ad hoc committee. 30 March 2012 The Times Page 4 Thabo Mokone
Cosatu chief hits out at state secrecy bill

It is very dangerous, inconsistent with the constitution and will turn South Africa into a police state wherein every piece of government information is classified as secret.
This is how Cosatu general secretary ZwelinzimaVavi described the Protection of State Information Bill yesterday during public hearings held by an adhoc committee of the National Council of Provinces. In his damning submission, Vavi said his labour federation remained stubbornly opposed to the proposed law, which has been termed "the secrecy bill", because it undermined transparency and would take South Africa back to the dark ages of apartheid, when all state information was hidden from the public. Vavi said the bill would criminalise shop stewards for acting as whistle-blowers against corruption in the government, parastatals and other state organs. Vavi said the bill, which the government has argued was designed to protect national security but not to conceal corruption, went far beyond that mandate because it gave heads of state organs the power to classify information "willy-nilly". "This is no longer state security we are talking about and in the context of today's politics of fraud and corruption, and of disingenuity, including by the most trusted public servants, you have to be concerned that the scope of the bill is extended way beyond what is necessary," Vavi said.
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"We feel the need to draw attention to the concern as to whether the bill does not inadvertently draw us close to a thread of entrenching a security state .back to where we come from, the police state [in which] everything is marked confidential. We may unwittingly be rolling the clock [back] and taking us back to a police state." The bill, which proposes a jail term of up to 25 years for anyone publishing classified state information, was approved by the National Assembly in November amid huge controversy. Almost all the opposition parties are against its passage. All eyes are now on the National Council of Provinces to see if it will be sympathetic to calls for the inclusion in the act of a public interest defence. Cosatu was firmly behind the inclusion of such a defence in the bill because the media had a critical role to play in exposing corruption in society. Vavi said, had it not been for the media, the public would not have known about the litany of scandals involving high-ranking politicians, such as the police leases scandal that led to the firing of Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde. Advocate George Bizos also slammed the bill. He said it was inconsistent with the constitution in that it failed to provide for a public interest defence and allowed for "improper delegation of powers" in classification. He said the proposed jail term of 25 years "for exposing corruption was undemocratic". 30 March 2012 Business Day Page 3 Wyndham Hartley
Vavi, Bizos threaten to take secrecy bill to court

Cosatu general secretary ZwelinzimaVavi says if the secrecy bill remains unchanged the union will immediately launch a Constitutional Court challenge.
The secrecy bill offends the constitutional presumption of innocence and if it remained unchanged, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) would immediately launch a Constitutional Court challenge, its general secretary, ZwelinzimaVavi, said yesterday. He was joined, in public hearings in the National Council of Provinces, by veteran human rights lawyer George Bizos in predicting that a queue of individuals and institutions was waiting to take the bill to the court if it was not changed. Literally thousands of South Africans have objected to the Protection of State Information Bill, calling for it to be either scrapped or substantially amended. The main call has been for the inclusion of a public interest defence for whistle-blowers and journalists.
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At issue for both Mr Vavi and Mr Bizos is the penalties provision, which contains a reverse onus. It requires someone who is accused of illegally publishing classified information, to prove that they did not know it was secret. This would mean the normal responsibility requiring the state to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt would be reversed. Mr Vavi said Cosatu felt so strongly about the threat to the presumption of innocence, that on this issue alone it would take the matter to the Constitutional Court "our lawyers are standing ready". Mr Bizos agreed, saying the reverse onus was unconstitutional, and he urged the committee to remove the offending clause. "There will be a never-ending queue waiting to take this bill to court if it is passed in its present form," Mr Bizos said. Mr Vavi, referring to the clause that stipulates that it would be a crime to classify information in order to cover up fraud and corruption, said there was always room for abuse, and for this reason there was a need for the inclusion of a public interest defence. He also expressed concern that, because the Protection of State Information Bill insists that it prevails when it is in conflict with any other law, the ability of trade unions to bargain would be negatively affected. Mr Vavi said the Labour Relations Act entitled unions to demand information from employers during collective bargaining. But if the employer was able to convince security authorities that technological secrets would be compromised, it could be withheld. Mr Vavi said the secrecy bill was "unwittingly" taking the country back to a security state, and created the danger of an "everlasting fear of shadows". He said the bill was unconstitutional and strongly objected to a recent statement by ANC national executive committee member NgoakoRamatlhodi that the constitution was a collection of miserable compromises. He said the freedoms enshrined in the constitution were fundamental to a constitutional state. Mr Vavi said the bill was too broad, and things that were not about national security could be included in its ambit . He said the bill was tantamount to using a sledgehammer to kill a fly on the TV screen and destroying the whole TV in the process. He agreed that there were many things wrong with the media, but to threaten the media with lengthy terms of imprisonment would harm the free flow of information.
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Mr Bizos said it would take "a very brave person" to publish in the public interest when faced with penalties of up to 25 years in jail. Meanwhile, the ANC, the South African Communist Party and the South African National Civic Organisation from the Cape Metropole are set to march to Parliament tomorrow in support of the bill. A statement issued on behalf of the organisations objected to what they called a "consistent campaign of disinformation and hysteria propagated by the Right to Know Campaign against the bill". They said the bill made provision for the courts to adjudicate in cases where the media wanted to obtain and publish classified information. 2 April 2012 Business Day Page 1 Mariam Isa
Gordhan sees room for cautious optimism as deficit lower

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced a lower than expected budget deficit for the fiscal year 2011-12 yesterday, and painted an upbeat assessment of the economys growth path in the months ahead.
He also unveiled a broad new tax compliance programme focusing in part on the construction industry, which the South African Revenue Service (SARS) says is the least tax compliant in the formal sector of the economy. Mr Gordhan indicated that improvements in the global and domestic economy meant that growth and tax revenue this year could surpass expectations. "There is a cautious recovery and room for cautious optimism." Mr Gordhan gave no forecast, but hinted that the economy may expand faster than 2,7% this year, the pace projected by the Treasury in its February budget. It grew by 3,1% last year. He also said that SAs budget deficit would amount to 4,5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fiscal year that ended at the start of this month an improvement on the 4,8% outcome predicted in February. The news supports an official goal of cutting budget deficits a few days after Standard & Poors changed its outlook on the countrys sovereign credit ratings to negative from neutral due to its concerns over fiscal policy. The Treasury wants to reduce its budget deficit to 4,6% of GDP in this fiscal year and to 3% by 2014-15.
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"The improvement in fiscal revenue supports our view that the domestic economic recovery is gaining momentum," said Standard Chartereds regional research head for Africa, Razia Khan. "With the greater likelihood of faster growth than the Treasury has forecast and better revenue collection, there is every likelihood that the deficit may narrow faster than previously assumed," she said. The government received R742,7bn of tax revenue in fiscal 2011-12, R4bn more than estimated in the budget in February and 10,2% higher than in fiscal 2010-11. Spending came to R968,5bn, R4bn less than anticipated. SARS said revenue last year was boosted mainly by personal income tax, which grew by 10,3% to R251,bn. That was R1bn above the estimated budget amount. Corporate income tax grew by 14,2% to R153,7bn, in line with budget projections. Value added tax rose by 3,8% to R190,5bn, a touch below budget forecasts. Mr Gordhan said that corporate taxes were supported by "strong contributions" from the financial sector, which is the economys biggest. He warned that the government would take a much harder line on recipients of benefits from tenders in the construction industry, which was the least compliant in the formal sector of the economy. The crackdown forms part of a stringent new five-year programme which focuses on several areas of the economy that pose risks to tax compliance, SARS said. Construction was a big concern because of its links with the governments infrastructure spending programme, projected at R845bn over the next three years. "We need to take a much harder line on recipients of benefits from government tenders ... beneficiaries and culprits must be brought to book," Mr Gordhan said. SARS Commissioner OupaMagashula said the government would investigate the abuse of trusts by wealthy people as vehicles to hide income and assets. There would be a probe into the conduct of tax practitioners, who represent about 3-million taxpayers, Mr Magashula said. More than half were not tax compliant, and a proposed bill to regulate their industry would be circulated soon. The new tax compliance programme would also look into transfer pricing by large business, the trade in illicit cigarettes, and illegal practices in the clothing and textile industry, Mr Magashula said. 29 March 2012 Mail & Guardian Glynnis Underhill
Vavi slams secrecy Bill in Parliament
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The general secretary of trade-union federation Cosatu, ZwelinzimaVavi, told the public hearings on the Protection of State Information Bill in Parliament on Thursday that the federation remained critical of the "chronic problems" of bias, lack of balanced reporting and diversity in the mainstream commercial media.
But state censorship and the potential persecution of journalists and the media would only exacerbate the problems of inaccuracy and bias, he warned. "We have bemoaned the concentration of ownership in the media in our country, which means there are inadequate levels of diversity and plurality that is so essential to media freedom," Vavi said in his hard-hitting oral presentation. "However, in our view, in the absence of other viable alternatives, it remains one of the broadest forms of disseminating and implementing rights of access to information for the masses." Dressed in a colourful green shirt, Vavi did not try to woo the assembled media during his address. Yet he won acclaim for pointing out that public awareness was integral to holding state institutions accountable and acted as a check against irregularities. In Cosatu's view, it was necessary to facilitate and enhance reporting and investigative journalism in the public interest. "However, as the Bill currently placed extensive restrictions on access, possession and disclosure of classified information, it would necessarily severely curtail this objective," he said. A public interest defence was necessary in the Bill, especially to support whistleblowers and the media. "We do not believe that there would be much scope for abuse, because the defence would not be available should a person not be able to demonstrate that there would be a public interest to protect or promote." In fact, failure to prove a valid public interest defence would invariably result in the imposition of a criminal sanction, he said. 'Problematic' Vavi said the Bill in its current form criminalised the possession of classified information by an unauthorised person under clauses 15 and 44. In terms of clause 14, it also stated that any person who conspired with, aided, abetted, induced, or even counselled another person to commit any offence was guilty of an offence. "Quite problematically, this section makes no distinction between wilful criminal intent, where someone aids and abets a crime on the one hand, and those on the other who may be providing necessary support for blowing the whistle on corruption. "This would have the consequences of criminalising the obligations that trade unions officials and advice offices have to assist whistle-blowers with advice, or even blow the whistle on their behalf where a person wishes to remain anonymous. With the increasing risks associated with blowing the whistle, this support may be the only way to incentivise the exposure of corruption or other irregular activities." The Bill would have a "dampening effect" on encouraging the exposure of corruption, Vavi said. Criminal penalties would be applicable in some cases, regardless of the seriousness of the irregularity that was exposed by an unauthorised disclosure. "The
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reality is that, often, whistle-blowers are driven to illegally obtain information only because it would expose an irregularity or corruption, despite that person ordinarily not displaying similar criminal tendencies," he said. A common problem faced by trade unions and advice offices related to whistleblowers sending information on irregularities anonymously to their offices, he said. "In such cases, these organisations would have no authority to possess the classified information. This poses the serious dilemma [of] whether, in order to avoid prosecution in accordance with security legislation, an organisation may be forced to ignore even grand-scale corruption or irregularities." The Bill allowed for the absolute exclusion of any whistle-blower protection for the disclosure of information classified as a state security matter by intelligence and security agencies under Clause 49, he warned. This was illustrated by the fact that a disclosure of ordinary classified information in violation of clause 43 carried a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment, whereas under clause 49 the penalty for disclosure varied between 10 and 15 years. Clear warning Whistleblowers and journalists facing the imminent threat of detention for the possession or publication of classified information can take heart from the clear warning to Parliament from distinguished human rights advocate George Bizos. "If the current Bill proceeds unchanged, section 80 of the Constitution empowers the members of the National Assembly to apply to the Constitutional Court for an order declaring that all or part of an act of Parliament is unconstitutional. We [the Legal Resources Centre] would strongly encourage the National Assembly to make such an application," he said in his representation at the public hearings on the Bill in Parliament on Thursday. Bizos was representing the Legal Resources Centre, but his words carry weight because of his heroic past, which is steeped in the campaign against apartheid. The government has a fundamental duty to protect the safety and security of its people, he said. "The Bill is aimed at promoting that duty, which we perfectly understand. However, we believe that the proposed Bill, if passed as it currently stands, will operate to return South Africa to the secrecy and securitisation that pervaded our dark history, rather than moving us forward with a democracy built on openness, transparency, accountability and the rule of law." Bizos said that when the Legal Resources Centre was considering whether to make submissions on the Bill, it was careful to confine itself to identifying the probable unconstitutionality of specific provisions of the Bill. In doing so, he wanted to guard against "joining the chorus of those involved in sensationalising the issues".
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Bizos said the Legal Resources Centre, like the government of South Africa, was committed to protecting the legitimate classified state information. "In doing so, however, we believe that the values enshrined in the Constitution should not be undermined, but must be respected and protected." As a human rights organisation, the Legal Resources Centre represented the helpless, and more often than not, the hopeless. The "bone of contention" with the Bill rested on seven key points, he said: the Bill does not include a public interest defence the Bill adopts a standard of "ought reasonably to have known" the Bill allows for an improper delegation of powers the Bill does not include an improper classification defence the Bill adopts disaproportionately severe penalties the Classification Review Panel lacks independence The review jurisdiction of the Court must be maintained By far the main criticism of the Bill has been its exclusion of a public defence clause which, if included, would allow public disclosure of classified information if public interest in such disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests, said Bizos. He pointed out the Constitution protects the right of freedom of expression. Bizos said failure to protect legitimate disclosure, which unreasonably limits the rights to freedom of expression and which is exacerbated by harsh punishments, was clearly unconstitutional. 2 April 2012 Business Day Page 1 Carol Paton
Mittal fury over states local content policy snub

No preference to steel producer in governments infrastructure procurement plan.
The government and steel giant ArcelorMittal SA could be heading for a showdown over the governments refusal to grant it preferential status in its infrastructure procurement programme. ArcelorMittal said yesterday the move last week was a surprise, "most unfortunate" and could lead to job losses in the steel industry.
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Under the new preferential procurement regime, which came into force in December, the Department of Trade and Industry may designate a certain level of local content to an economic sector or subsector for public procurement. But when it comes to steel likely to be the single biggest input in the infrastructure plans all products will be treated the same, regardless of origin. The rationale for excluding steel is to ensure that ArcelorMittal, SAs biggest producer of most steel products, does not benefit disproportionately from the infrastructure programme. The government in particular trade and industry and the competition authorities has been engaged in disputes with ArcelorMittal over its pricing policy, which the government says is strangling downstream manufacturers. A Competition Tribunal finding in 2007 that the company had engaged in excessive pricing by charging import parity prices for flat steel came to nothing when the complainant in the case settled with ArcelorMittal. Last week, Nimrod Zalk, deputy director-general for industrial development, said steel was being given special treatment because of ArcelorMittals dominance in the local economy. "In all steel-intensive areas, we will deem steel to be local even if it is imported. This is to ensure ArcelorMittal doesnt get carte blanche to rack up steel prices. If they want to get the business, they will have to give the best price." ArcelorMittal spokesman Themba Hlengani said this came as a surprise, "and if correct, we believe it would be most unfortunate and raise questions regarding the fair and equitable application of government policy". "Despite the negative perception of steel pricing practices, this exclusion will have minimal impact on current pricing structures, which are already based on international steel price levels. "The impact will be rather to further worsen the industrys competitive position versus steel producers who enjoy government subsidies in their home countries, which has a major impact on the downstream steel manufacturing sector and may unfortunately lead to further job losses ," Mr Hlengani said yesterday. In past clashes, the government said high steel prices were constraining the downstream steel manufacturing sector. Three of the six subsectors designated for local content are steel intensive : rolling rail stock, power pylons and buses. The level set for rolling rail stock is 65% and for buses 85%. This is based on what is feasible, says Mr Zalk, and allows for technologically more advanced components such as gearboxes and engines to be imported.
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"We went through a detailed exercise exploring what we can produce competitively, what level of effort would be required to produce particular components. The idea is ultimately to shift up the value chain, but not in an unrealistic way," he said. It is likely, said Mr Zalk, that global original equipment manufacturers will bid for contracts to manufacture rolling stock, knowing that they will either have to partner with a local firm or invest directly in SA themselves. US firm General Electrics establishment of local capacity to build 90 locomotives for Transnet showed what could be done. 30 March 2012 Business Day Page 1 Allan Seccombe
IDC puts R3,4bn into Pallinghurst platinum mine as strategic venture

Platmins successor, temporarily called NewCo, has set ambitious goals on output, jobs and beneficiation in its bid to become the worlds third-largest platinum producer.
From the ashes of Platmin, once listed on the Johannesburg and Toronto bourses, a R23bn company has emerged that intends to become the worlds third-largest platinum producer. It will meet two key demands of the government by providing work for 9000 people and beneficiating its product. The new company, temporarily called NewCo, counts amongst its major shareholders Pallinghurst Resources, the 35000-strong Bakgatla Ba Kgafela community and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). It plans an aggressive, tenfold increase in output to 1,1-million ounces of platinum group metals by 2017. Platmin produces about 130000oz a year. Platmins shares fell 10% last December when it said it was delisting from both bourses and would return to the JSE this year as a bigger company. Its executives urged shareholders at the time not to sell their equity. Platmin had a net asset value of R6,9bn, compared with NewCos R23,2bn. The IDC said at a press conference yesterday that it was investing R3,4bn in NewCo in exchange for a 16% stake in the project, which has 70-million ounces of platinum group metals resources in cheaply accessible deposits. Pallinghurst will hold 42% of NewCo and the Bakgatla 27% with the balance held by "other shareholders". The companys creation comes at a time when the CEOs of established platinum miners are bemoaning the nonperforming rand price of platinum and high input costs
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particularly of electricity and labour which are not conducive to new investments and projects. NewCo would list on the Johannesburg, Hong Kong and possibly the London bourses within a year, Pallinghurst CEO Arne Frandsen said yesterday. Mr Frandsen said the companys shallow ore bodies gave it a cost and safety advantage compared with its mature peers, which are mining at depths of 2km in some instances. NewCo did not need to raise capital, Mr Frandsen said, as it had $500m cash on its balance sheet to reach its production targets of 1,1-million ounces at the Bushveld Igneous Complex, where about 80% of the worlds known platinum deposits are to be found. Geoffrey Qhena, CEO of the IDC, said at the press conference that the investment the largest the government-owned funder has made in five years met two of the states key agendas, of employment creation and adding value to raw minerals. "This strategic partnership between the IDC and Pallinghurst will certainly transform the local platinum mining and beneficiation landscape," Mr Qhena said. The funds capital was the "catalyst" needed to consolidate a number of contiguous properties to the north of the Pilanesberg nature reserve in the North West. Pallinghurst chairman Brian Gilbertson, founder of BHP Billiton , the worlds largest resources company, said it had been Pallinghursts vision and that of the Bakgatla king, KgosiPilane, to put the properties into a single company to create a megamining project. "As Pallinghurst, wed never have invested in Platmin as a standalone entity. From day one weve been following this consolidation strategy," Mr Gilbertson said. KgosiPilane said his community had invested R1bn and its stakes in the properties abutting the Platmin project to earn its stake of 27% in NewCo, worth R5,4bn. Unlike many other empowerment deals, the Bakgatla have not incurred debt. The IDC and Pallinghurst plan to set up a joint-venture processing and beneficiation business. Mr Gilbertson said no final call had been made on smelting technology but the Kell Process could be favourable. It uses 140kWh of electricity per ton of concentrate, against a conventional smelters 1000kWh. The plant will be available to other platinum producers, which receive about 80% of the value of the metal they send for processing. 30 March 2012 The Times Page 2 AmukelaniChauke
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'We are ready for SKA'

Science and Technology Minister NalediPandor has remained tight-lipped on whether reports that South Africa has been recommended as the preferred site for the world's largest radio telescope are true.
But she did hint yesterday that the reports may be true when she said there was "no plan B" to the original bid, and that sharing the project with rival bidders Australia was not an option. Dr Bernie Fanaroff, director of the SKA South Africa project team, hinted that a panel of experts may have boosted Africa's chances to host the 1.5-billion (about R15.26billion) telescope when he said he would not comment on reports by an Australian newspaper. Earlier this month, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Australia's chances of hosting the telescope had been "dealt a crippling blow" after South Africa was recommended as the preferred site. The SKA will, upon completion in 2024, have the capacity to generate an immense amount of data - reportedly enough to fill 15million large iPods every day - and will look deep into the universe. Pandor said yesterday while she would not comment on the recommendations made by the SKA site advisory committee, South Africa was ready to host the project. "I agree with the Australian minister that a joint site is not a good option at all. I agree with him in that regard. "We believe we are ready. Our site is the better site. We believe we have the astronomers, engineers, technology [and] world support. We think we will be a brilliant choice. "It [the SKA site advisory committee report] is confidential and should be treated as such. We can only infer from the reports from Australia what [the committee's] report says," she said. The SKA board is due to convene a general meeting of members from countries that make up the site advisory committee - excluding South Africa and Australia - at which they will consider the report's recommendations. It is unlikely, however, that they will decide on the preferred site at the meeting. It is not yet known when the announcement will be made. Fanaroff, meanwhile, said his team had seen the recommendation but was not at liberty to make it public because it was part of a confidential report. "There have been leaks to the media. Many of you will have seen the report in the Sydney Morning Herald, which is the one of the world's leading science journals, which reported that the Southern African site has been recommended by the international site advisory committee. We can't comment on that. We can simply say
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that you are from the media so you must decide whether you believe what the media writes."
29 March 2012 The New Age Warren Mabona
Women being sidelined

The ANC Womens League (ANCWL) yesterday said preparations were gaining momentum within its ranks for the ANCs elective conference which will be held in Mangaung, Free State, later this year.
ANCWL spokesperson Troy Martens told The New Age that the league was looking forward to cementing the place of women in the economic sectors of South Africa. She said pushing for gender equality in various facets of life would also take centre stage. Women are being sidelined on many fronts of the economy, Martens said. We have drafted a gender policy document that contains our proposals on this matter. The ANCWL under the presidency of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has been largely invisible in the past several months, but the body became vocal recently. Most notably, the league raised eyebrows by announcing a policy discussion document to be presented to the ANC policy conference in June and then pushing through a proposal for Mangaung. Included in the document is a call for the decriminalisation of prostitution and equal representation of women in the economy. This has raised speculation that the leagues leaders are changing tack, shifting from a wing of the ANC that during the struggle fought for political freedom, to taking up more gender-based struggles in a free South Africa. But the league might also be flexing its muscle to take up the partys commitment to a 50-50 quota of women representation in the partys leadership, and looking to being considered in greater numbers for top positions at the much-awaited conference. This was denied by Martens. Keith Khoza, a spokesperson for the ANC said: We have achieved a lot because women are now widely represented in all spheres of government. In terms of premiers, we have women who lead the provincial governments, like NomvulaMokonyane and ThandiModise.
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However, Martens said there was still a long way to go as the womens wing still wished to see more women being represented at a party level and in government. We are happy with the female gender representation but our goal is to bridge the remaining little gap, she said. Martens also admitted the womens wing had been silent for a long time, partly because it had not had a national spokesperson for a while. We will not talk about the succession debate until October when nominations are made, but people can expect to hear our voice on several other issues even after the conference, she said Expelled ANCYL president Julius Malema was embraced by the Limpopo womens league leadership at its provincial executive conference (PEC) earlier this month. Martens set the record straight on the matter, saying the PECs public support for Malema was not the position of the ANCWL. At the conference, ANCWL provincial chairperson MaiteMarutha said Malema would always be part of the ANC structures in Limpopo. You are welcome, our son, you will remain with us throughout. We shall never divorce you. We will even come to you to seek advice, Marutha told Malema at the conference. The ANCWL has recently held conferences in KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Limpopo. Martens said similar gatherings were being planned for Eastern Cape and North West provinces. The purpose of the conferences is to assess the state of the ANC Womens League and to discussing the policies of the ANC.
4 April 2012 Business Day Page 9 Steven Friedman
Affluent have done well out of ANC dominance
A party that does not face defeat has no need to buy voter support by spending money it does not have. IT IS the great irony of our politics that the minorities who bemoan the African National Congresss (ANCs) dominance at the polls benefit most from it, while the losers are the majority that returns it to power.
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A string of local by-election results last week reminded us of something much of our overheated political reporting obscures that, despite its many problems, the ANC is in no danger of losing its majority. While the occasional opposition win in an ANC seat prompts headlines and confident predictions from the Democratic Alliance of massive swings to come, a solid majority of voters is still loyal to the ANC and will remain so for a long time. The governing party will continue to win general elections until it splits again, at which stage two parties will compete for the support of most voters, who identify with the traditions of the ANC and will only support a party that is loyal to them. For many years, no party will win nationally unless most voters feel they can support it without turning their back on the ANCs history. This is not happy news to most of the affluent, who are drawn mainly from the racial minorities and who see the ANCs continued victories at the polls as a threat to civilisation. An astute business analyst pointed out in a conversation recently that, when many people in business and the professions ask when this country will become "a real democracy", they are asking how long it will take for the ANC to lose at the polls. But the affluent who bemoan the ANCs dominance have done very well out of it. Despite endless breast-beating about affirmative action and black economic empowerment, data show that the biggest economic winners since 1994 are the minorities who did well out of apartheid. Most whites, and the better-off sections of the other racial minorities, have flourished as their advantages allowed them to use the new economic opportunities democracy brought. Some Africans have gained too, but most have made modest progress or are roughly in the same place. This has happened because the ANC has, for several reasons, respected property rights and the markets which go with them. It may not have done this if its majority was threatened. The scale of poverty and inequality here make it probable that, if parties were competing for the votes of the majority, they would try to impress voters by promising tougher action against privilege. Similarly, fiscal discipline has been a feature of ANC government; a party that does not face defeat at the polls has no need to buy voter support by spending money it does not have. Most people in the suburbs may not elect the government but they can make their voice heard because they are organised into business and professional associations and ratepayer organisations, which know how to make sure their concerns are aired. In any democracy, the better organised are heard most and the well-off are almost always well organised. ANC dominance at the polls means the organisation of the affluent is not cancelled out by the voting power of the majority. Politicians are under pressure to listen to organised minorities who can make life uncomfortable for them, not the grassroots voters who re-elect them.
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At the grassroots, continued ANC majorities may be welcomed. But they make it more difficult for the poor to be taken seriously. The poor have less access to organisation and so they have a far greater need to be taken seriously by politicians. But if no one is going to lose an election by ignoring poor people, there is no pressure to take them seriously. In Indias shack areas, activists make sure the poor are heard by making deals with parties who are competing for their votes. That leverage is obviously not possible if the parties are not really competing. Even the visible expressions of unhappiness at the grassroots, social protests, do not change government behaviour because they do not threaten the ANCs hopes of re-election. More than a few of the protests are organised by ANC politicians trying to get onto election lists. Because the poor do not decide who makes it onto the lists, there is no incentive to take them seriously they are simply used to fight political battles. This will continue until politicians compete for the votes of the poor. Of course, grassroots people choose to vote for the ANC and it may be tempting to blame the poor for their limited options. But poor people do not have the resources to form political parties and so must make do with the options the elites offer them. At present the ANC is the only credible option available. This will, in time, change. The ANC will split again and competition for the majority vote will be a reality. The result will be a democracy in which more voices will be heard. Minorities will be able to look after their interests then far better if they begin now to face the social realities which ANC dominance at the polls hides.
4 April 2012 Business Day Page 1 Sam Mkokeli and Natasha Marrian
ANC top six move to dispel talk of divisions
African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema singled out for trying to sow conflict with dictator jibe. TOP leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) yesterday condemned deep divisions in the partys lower structures and leagues, while claiming they themselves were united. In a rare press conference which failed to live up to expectations held by all six of the ANCs top officials, including President Jacob Zuma the leaders complained about divisions in the party and singling out the ANC Youth Leagues recent statements as a source of conflict.
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Party sources last night said the ANCs top brass had pulled out of a plan to kick youth league president Julius Malema out of the party. A source said there was a plan to suspend Mr Malema and youth league spokesman Floyd Shivambu summarily for last weeks comments. Mr Malema called Mr Zuma a "dictator", while weekend newspapers published articles penned by Mr Shivambu, also criticising ANC leaders. Another option the party was considering was invoking the suspension relating to Mr Malemas 2010 disciplinary hearing, where he pleaded guilty to sowing divisions in the party. That sentence was suspended. It appears there was no agreement among the ANCs top leaders on how to implement the new suspensions, which would effectively have cancelled Mr Malemas appeal hearing, scheduled for next Thursday. Addressing journalists on behalf of the "top six", ANC secretarygeneral GwedeMantashe said recent remarks were "meant to portray the national officials as disunited as well as competing against each other for positions within the organisation". He said: "We wish to state at the outset that the national officials of the ANC are at one with regard to any matters of discipline within the ANC as well as action taken as informed by the ANC constitution. We remain loyal to all decisions we were part of." Members of the party had used its centenary celebrations "to divide the ANC along narrow ethnic and racial lines as well as to insult and denigrate the leadership of the ANC, its values and principles", Mr Mantashe said. Mr Malema had called Mr Zuma a "dictator" at a centenary lecture organised by the ANC Youth League last Friday. Mr Mantashe said the leaders around Mr Zuma took offence, because Mr Malema likened them to "dwarves" who blindly followed a bad leader. "The assertion made by Julius Malema, that new ideas are suppressed and that the present leadership of the ANC is dictatorial and does not appreciate new ideas, is not only disingenuous but a deliberate falsehood." He said calling Mr Zuma a dictator was an insult. "Its not an insult directed at Jacob Zuma, its directed at us we cant think for ourselves. Its a serious insult directed to all of us. The brazen and often rude and crude rhetoric to detract from real issues facing our youth does nothing to add value to the integrity of the ANC and its leagues. "The ANC discourages the elevation of individuals and personalities above the organisation; this inevitably leads to the creation of personality cults, which hamper collective decision making." The ANC leaders took turns answering questions about the state of unity among them.
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Deputy President KgalemaMotlanthe said he and Mr Zuma had worked hard to build unity in the party. " Those who try to use our names to divide the organisation will not succeed." Mr Mantashe said it was reckless of youth league leaders to carry on discussing the ANCs December elections, when the party had decided to open nominations only in October. Mr Shivambu said on radio yesterday Mr Zuma would not be re-elected in Mangaung. "It is reckless and very careless to talk like that on the election of an organisation that is 100 years old," Mr Mantashe said. "If we opened the (leadership) discussion in January, there will be no application of minds on policy documents we are opening nominations in October. Well tear each other apart." The UmkhontoweSizwe Military Veterans League called yesterday for Mr Malema to be "summarily expelled" for the disdain he showed for ANC leaders. The league responded by accusing the veterans of wanting to be on TV to impress their girlfriends.
4 April 2012 Business Day Page 3 Sam Mkokeli
ANCs top brass fail to convince on unity
Its the first time the ANCs top six have addressed a press conference since the 2007 Polokwane conference at which they were elected. If there ever was an admission that the African National Congresss (ANCs) top six officials were not in charge of the party, it was made yesterday. They came out for a rare press conference at which five leaders, including President Jacob Zuma , lined up behind secretary-general GwedeMantashe to blast unruly followers, journalists and business leaders, while at the same time declaring that there was unity among the top officials. It was the first time the group had addressed a press conference since the 2007 Polokwane conference at which they were elected. Yet, the ANC national officials known as the "top six" are divided right down the middle. The top six are Mr Zuma, Mr Mantashe, Mathews Phosa, BalekaMbete ,ThandiModise and Deputy President
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KgalemaMontlanthe. Three want leadership change in Mangaung and three want to remain in charge. At the source of the division is the fact that no one is allowed to discuss the Mangaung elections. The ANC national executive committee (NEC) decided that leadership discussions for the Mangaung conference should be held only from October, when branches will be allowed to officially nominate candidates. The freeze on open discussion of the leadership question is the main source of conflict in the ANC, but its top leaders, heads in the sand, swear that allowing people to drop candidates names would lead to chaos. In the words of Mr Mantashe, allowing people to discuss leadership names and ideas "will open the organisation to tear itself apart". But the chaos has already occurred. It is so out of control that the top six leaders decided to hold a press conference to claim that they are united, and also tell their followers to play ball. Mr Mantashe called for unity yesterday, listing recent incidents of bad behaviour by youth leader Julius Malema, and those doing Mr Zumas bidding in tackling Mr Malema publicly. This is not the first time Mr Mantashe has called for an end to disunity, and his previous attempt has clearly not worked, so what makes him, and the rest of the "top six", think yesterdays press conference will yield better results? The ANCs national general council was strong on the need for discipline when it met in September 2010. Subsequent NEC statements said the same thing almost to the point of tautology. But nothing changed. Not even the disciplinary hearing Mr Malema is going through has led to better behaviour. The ANC top brasss message on Mr Malema has also been confusing. One moment they behave as though Mr Malema and the youth league are yesterdays news. Then this week they respond to him, through a statement on Saturday, and then at yesterdays press conference. Mr Malema must have felt good about himself yesterday, seeing the most senior leaders doing their best to prove that they are in charge and united. Though it is clear that Mr Malema cannot escape the verdict of the disciplinary committees, Mr Zuma and those close to him are clearly nervous about him and his potential to cause a tsunami in the build-up to Mangaung. There should be no need to declare unity if indeed the top brass is united. It is naive at best for them to line themselves up in front of journalists, thinking that will change their image as a group deeply engaged in a power struggle. One of the conferences aims should have been to round up the suspected Judases in the top six to force them commit themselves publicly to playing by the rules, and to reassure the public that they are not working to oust Mr Zuma. And there they were treasurer-general Mr Phosa, deputy secretarygeneral Ms Modise and Mr Motlanthe talking about unity and working together. Political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi said the press conference
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failed to convince the public there was unity. The content lacked the gravitas expected. "In the end it was just a show." He said the ANC faced a leadership crisis and the top six lacked the moral authority to assert themselves and stamp out divisions. "The lack of confidence in our leadership extends beyond the youth league, into society as a whole," he said. Analyst Steven Friedman said it was clear Mr Zuma had demanded a show of unity. "I dont think its going to have any credibility for as long as they insist people should pretend there is no election until October. Nobody will believe them." He said while the public show may make it difficult for people like Mr Phosa to align themselves with the youth league, those who wanted change were encouraged to work harder behind the scenes. Mr Zuma was "ANC old school" and dealt with divisions "by convincing everyone we are united".
4 April 2012 The Times Page 8 NashiraDavids
Madonsela's solution
Public Protector Thuli Madonsela posed an unnerving question about corruption at the 13th International Winelands Conference in Stellenbosch yesterday. "Have we as a society improved? Are we still sick or have we grown sicker?" Madonsela's question arose from an address by former president Nelson Mandela at the opening of parliament in 1999. Mandela labelled corruption a sickness. "Our hope for the future deeply depends also on our resolution as a nation in dealing with the scourge of corruption. Success will require an acceptance that, in many respects, we are a sick society," Mandela said at the time. Madonsela said there are leaders in the public and private sectors who have the best interests at heart of the people who entrusted them with power and work daily to make the constitutional dream a reality. "But there are dream stealers or thieves, chief of which is the scourge or sickness of corruption," Madonsela said.
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She said while Mandela likened corruption to a sickness, others called it a cancer. As a nation, she said, we should empower ourselves to deal with the cancer afflicting our body by isolating it and do "all we can to get rid of it with a view to saving ourselves from death or disability". Madonsela said she had been asked what it would take to end corruption. She came up with a three-step solution. The first, she said, was strengthening public accountability. Society should be empowered to ask more questions and know how the government works. Should service or conduct fail, they would know what questions to ask, of whom and which channels to follow. "We need people who have been entrusted with public power to understand that this is not your power, you are a trustee. When people ask you questions - even if they go to the public protector - don't get annoyed. "When you have done nothing wrong, what's wrong with telling the people what happened and how you made a bad decision?" Second on her list was strengthening transparency. "When there's openness there is less opportunity to engage in corruption and abuse resources." Madonsela said whistleblowers should be protected and laws put in place to do just that. Media freedom was another key aspect to ensuring transparency. Madonsela said the last step is ending impunity .There should not be "protected people or holy cows". "Ultimately we need selfless, committed and unwavering leadership in the area of combating corruption and promoting good governance. That is what President Mandela was calling for."
3 April 2012 Business Day Page 4 Natasha Marrian
Constitution not facing any threat under ANC

The African National Congress (ANC) was the only protector of the constitution, which faced no threat under its leadership, the party said yesterday in reaction to sharp criticism from Nedbank chairman Reuel Khoza.
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ANC spokesman Keith Khoza said Reuel Khoza had to qualify his comments because SA was not in disarray and remained a country in which the rule of law and the constitution were upheld. Reuel Khozas criticism was carried in the banks latest annual report, released on Friday. He wrote that SAs democracy was under threat by a "strange breed" of political leaders who appeared incapable of dealing with the demands of modern-day governance and leadership. "Our political leaderships moral quotient is degenerating and we are fast losing the checks and balances that are necessary to prevent a recurrence of the past," he wrote. His comments came amid concern about reports of political meddling to facilitate the lifting of the suspension of crime intelligence boss Lt-Gen Richard Mdluli, and the withdrawal of murder and corruption charges against him. Lt-Gen Mdluli is being tipped to become police commissioner. Reuel Khozas comments followed moves by the government to review the judgments of the Constitutional Court. Keith Khoza said the party would protect the constitution as it had played a central role in its drafting. Reuel Khozas views represented his personal thinking and not the thinking of the private sector as a whole. Reuel Khoza was the second prominent businessmen to openly criticise the government about proposed policy in recent months. Pick n Pay chairman Gareth Ackerman last year spoke out on the Protection of State Information Bill currently before Parliament. Economist Mike Schussler said many business owners were likely to share the views expressed by the Nedbank boss. People had been saying SA had now had two police chiefs who were dishonest and might get a third. 3 April 2012 The New Age Warren Mabona
ANC mum as IECs party funding comes under scrutiny

Some political parties yesterday called for the transformation of the party funding mode, while the ANC remained mum on reports that the party could approach the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to increase the funding of political parties.
Keith Khoza, ANC spokesperson, told The New Age that the reports might have emanated from the ruling partys discussion on organisational funding, which was leaked.
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He said the ANC would not be engaged in any matter pertaining to the contents of the document. We cannot comment on the document since that would prematurely reveal its contents, Khoza said. Asked if the ANC was satisfied with the current party political model of the IEC, Khoza said: We cannot comment on that either. The document will be tabled for discussion at the ANCs policy conference in June. The IEC manages the Represented Political Parties Fund. Political parties with a representation in Parliament are funded proportionally to parliamentary seats on an annual basis. United Democratic Movement spokesperson BonganiMsomi said the current funding mode favoured bigger parties, while smaller organisation such as the UDM got a little slice of the cake. Msomi said half of the IECs allocation should be distributed to all the parties and the rest be granted on proportional representation basis. He said the gap between big and smaller parties is getting wider, meaning the latter might be unable to survive in the near future. PasekaMoshoadiba, secretary-general for the African Peoples Convention, agreed, saying it was not good to see the ANC receiving millions of rands every year, while other parties got less than R100000. Jonathan Moakes, CEO of the DA, bemoaned the impending request for an increase of funding. The amount of money is sufficient and I dont think we should make the taxpayer fork out more, Moakes said. The IEC was not available for comment. 2 April 2012 The New Age Warren Mabona
ANC top brass torn apart

Despite attempts to project a united front, events in the past few weeks have sent a clear signal that the cracks are widening within the ANCs leadership structures as the party prepares for its policy and national elective conferences later this year. Against the backdrop of the partys deputy president, Kgalema Motlanthe, and treasurer-general Mathews Phosa openly throwing their weight behind suspended youth league leader Julius Malema, analysts said these cracks were a consequence of
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a difference among the partys leadership over its vision rather than the ongoing saga of Malema. Prof TinyikoMaluleke of the University of South Africa said the ANC top brass were rooting for a leadership that would quell several challenges that made the ANC look inefficient as a ruling party. These include the high rate of unemployment and economic deterioration that often triggered service delivery protests in some parts of the country. Its a question of vision to overcome the challenges other than a personal attack on Zuma, Maluleke said. Maluleke was responding to the appearance of ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa with Malema at Wits University in Johannesburg on Friday. During the event, Malema launched a public attack on Zuma, saying the league was being traumatised and democracy in South Africa has been replaced by dictatorship under Zumas leadership. Phosa, in his speech, concurred with Malema, saying the ANC should protect other peoples right to differ. Motlanthes appearance with Malema in Limpopo last week also raised speculation that he was siding with the embattled youth wing leader. But Motlanthe has always played his cards close to his chest on the succession debate issue. Maluleke pointed out that while Motlanthe and Phosa claim that they were just performing their duties, their public utterances indicated a need for a change in the ruling partys leadership. It can become problematic for the ANC leaders if they say they cannot address the people alongside Malema, he said. According to Maluleke, Malemas constant attacks on Zuma were unlikely to erode Zumas credibility and diminish his chances of being re-elected ANC president. Malema has been very critical of white people in the past, publicly attacking them for what he called stealing land from black people. But during his address at Wits University, he introduced on stage Jonathan Ovadia, a young white man as his protg. He said he mentored Ovadia in radical politics and a non-racial South Africa. Malema also called on black South Africans not to chase white people away, but let them share the land with them. Maluleke interpreted Malemas action as an attempt to reinvent himself in order to retract his previous attacks on white people. Another analyst, ZamikhayaMaseti, said the ANC top six had been torn apart by the political and ideological differences long before Malema started having brushes with the ANC.
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The glue that kept the ANC top brass together has melted, Maseti said.
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1 April 2012 The New Age Sapa
Mkhize and Mbete attack Malema

KwaZulu-Natal ANC chairman ZweliMkhize launched a scathing attack on unruly youth in the party, calling for an end to the use of derogatory language directed at the ANC and its' leadership.
Mkhize was addressing a rally at Osizweni outside Newcastle in northern KZN for the arrival of the centenary torch in the province on Sunday. His comments came two days after Malema criticised ANC president Jacob Zuma of dictatorship during a lecture at Wits University on Friday. Mkhize told supporters that while the party accepted diverse views, the use of foul language and an attack on the party was unacceptable and would not be tolerated. He also warned about the party running out of patience over bad behaviour. We hope that people can behave themselves before it gets to a point where the ANC gets fed up with unruly behaviour, said Mkhize. The ANC has enough might to expel anyone who displays unacceptable behaviour inside the party. He emphasised that the ruling party was bigger than any individual and had in the past 100 years survived challenges by individuals who failed to follow party discipline. Party national chairwoman BalekaMbete echoed Mkhize's sentiments of a party that needs disciplined young people who will lead the party in the future. While not mentioning Malema by name, she said the party wouldl eventually run out of patience with unruly individuals. The arrival of the torch marked the beginning of a host of activities by the ruling party in KwaZulu-Natal and will see the torch circulating around the province. Among the key activities in April would be a lecture on former party president Josiah Gumede to be delivered by president Zuma in Durban later this month.
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1 April 2012 The New Age Sapa
ANC will support the people: Mbete

The ANC will always be on the side of the people, the party's national chairwoman BalekaMbete said on Sunday.
"As we celebrate 100 years of the existence of our organisation, we would like to stress that the ANC will always on the side of the people," she told a church service in Newcastle on Sunday. Calling on community members to continue supporting the African National Congress, she said they should not be swayed by views of individuals who spoke outside party structures. "We appeal to you to continue putting your trust in the ANC, because we are the party that stands by the people, even though sometimes some of our members will do things that are not in line with party principles," she said. Mbete watched as the ANC centenary torch was delivered by Mpumalanga ANC chairman David to his counterpart in KwaZulu-Natal Dr Zweli Mkhize. Mbete said the ruling party's centenary activities would help with healing, especially of those who suffered the loss of loved ones during the struggle. "A celebration like this helps with such a process because the more you talk about something the better you feel and you get strong and heal," she said. The torch accompanied ANC officials as they visited a number of homes of former struggle heroes in the area. 1 April 2012 Sunday Times Page 1 CaiphusKgosana
Moe Shaik up for top bank job

Top spy Moe Shaik is set to join the Development Bank of Southern Africa as head of its international division, a move that has caused some unhappiness within the bank.
The Sunday Times has learnt that high-level talks are under way to move Shaik from intelligence services - where he clashed with State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele - to the state-owned development finance institution as the head of its international operations.
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It is understood that President Jacob Zuma is facilitating Shaik's move through Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, who is the shareholder representative. As head of the international division tasked with identifying investment opportunities in the Southern African region and expanding its investments into developing countries such as China, India and Brazil, Shaik will be one of the most powerful executives at the institution. The bank is planning to invest R45-billion in massive infrastructure projects, R15billion of which will go to projects in other Southern African countries. But there are murmurs of discontent within the bank over Shaik's imminent appointment. CEO Paul Baloyi is said to be among those unhappy with the move. A spokesman for the bank refused to discuss the matter. "We are not aware of such a move, it has not been confirmed internally," said spokesman Jacky Mashapu, declining to comment further. But bank insiders and intelligence sources said it was almost a done deal. Shaik - who heads the foreign branch of the State Security Agency - is under pressure to leave following his much-publicised spat with Cwele. Their relationship soured when Shaik refused to obey certain instructions from Cwele. Shaik's attempts to get Zuma to intervene on his behalf failed, so the former spy had no option but to find other employment. State Security Agency head Jeff Maqetuka and head of the agency's domestic branch Gibson Njenje - who also had a fallout with Cwele - have already left the agency. Negotiations have been going on behind the scenes for months to pave Shaik's way out of the agency, and are said to be at a sensitive stage. A senior manager at the bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some of his colleagues had raised concerns when they heard Shaik would be joining them. "What I pick up is fear, people fearing the reputation of his family and its history. They fear what it will do to our reputation," said the insider. Shaik's brother Schabir - who was Zuma's financial adviser - was convicted for fraud and corruption relating to bribes he solicited from a French arms company, allegedly in return for Zuma's protection of the arms manufacturer against investigation of the multibillion-rand deal. However, the insider said he favoured Shaik for the position, given his experience as a former ambassador to Algeria; his extensive international contacts and networks; and his access to those in power.
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"You need someone who can call the minister of international relations and talk to her directly," the senior manager said. "Most of our executives do not have that kind of direct access." The insider said the bank now had a mandate to move beyond Southern Africa and tap into the enormous market offered by South Africa's participation in Brics - the forum of the world's top developing countries. The bank has been given a role within the Brics Secretariat which will help it identify investment opportunities in India, China, Brazil and Russia, and help similar institutions in those countries gain access to investment opportunities in South Africa. Shaik, a former adviser to Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma when she was foreign affairs minister, has held various influential positions, including that of South Africa's consul-general to Hamburg. He helped wind up Schabir's company, Nkobi Holdings, and pay its debts to the state after his brother was sent to jail. Presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj had not responded to queries sent to him regarding Zuma's involvement in efforts to secure Shaik a job at the bank at the time of going to press. 1 April 2012 Sunday Times Page 2 Rob Rose, Stephan Hofstatterand MzilikaziWaAfrika
Damning memos into MTN's Iran escapades

The Hawks priority crimes unit yesterday confirmed they were "considering opening an inquiry" into whether MTN's bosses broke the law, presumably including the Corruption Act, in efforts to secure a licence in Iran.
Among those fingered in court papers filed by rival bidder Turkcell in Washington DC this week is MTN chairman and ANC heavyweight Cyril Ramaphosa, who is accused of being an accomplice in the controversy. Evidence lodged in the US courts on Wednesday claims MTN scored a cellular licence in Iran in 2005 after bribing a slew of politicians and promising that the SA government would supply arms to Iran and support the country's nuclear programme. Turkcell claims that Ramaphosa was part of a conspiracy called "Project Snooker" with MTN's former boss, Phuthuma Nhleko, CEO Sifiso Dabengwa and former executive Irene Charnley to "steal" the licence. In November 2005, Iran granted the licence to Irancell, in which MTN owned 49%.
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"Each of these four individuals directed the activities ... were principal decisionmakers and architects of the MTN strategy [and] were directly involved in the approval of the actions taken by MTN," Turkcell said in court papers. Turkcell says Ramaphosa helped get political support for Iran and was aware of the bribes and how MTN tried to get arms to Iran after SA's arms control committee had blocked all such arms deals. Court documents say MTN paid $440-million in secret bribes disguised as "loans" to companies in Iran, paid $400000 to Iran's deputy foreign affairs minister, JavidGhorbanoghli, and bought a house in Pretoria for SA ambassador to Iran Yusuf Saloojee. Secret MTN documents, disclosed for the first time this week, include: A 2007 memo sent to Nhleko in which MTN officials said Iranian politicians had "reminded [former president Thabo Mbeki] that certain defence-related promises were made by [defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota] in 2004 in exchange for which MTN was allowed to replace Turkcell in the Irancell consortium"; A memo from Charnley in November 2004 to Iran's deputy defence minister, in which she offered to facilitate a meeting between SA arms company Denel and Iran's helicopter agency. Iran wanted to buy South African Rooivalk helicopters; A draft letter from Nhleko to Iran's deputy defence minister in late 2004 saying "the matters you raised relating to national security and defence matters between SA and the Islamic republic of Iran has (sic) been fully accepted by MTN"; A May 2007 MTN memo titled "Top Secret" says Saloojee was "told by [Charnley] that our minister of defence has agreed to give them the 'Fish'". "Fish" was a codeword used by MTN for arms; A December 2006 memo from Nhleko to Charnley ordering her to "finalise all agreements with consultants" that helped MTN get the Iran deal. These consultancy agreements set out a one-off fee of $400000, allegedly paid to Ghorbanoghli as a bribe; and Transfer documents for a property in Faerie Glen, Pretoria, to SA ambassador Saloojee, dated February 2008. This property, worth about R1.57-million, was paid for by MTN, according to Turkcell. The memos have been submitted to a commission of inquiry set up by MTN and chaired by retired UK judge Lord Leonard Hoffman, which began investigating the claims last month. Although MTN claims this commission is independent, the four-member panel includes Hoffman and three MTN directors, Jan Strydom, Jeff van Rooyen and Peter Mageza. It is expected to finish its work by June. David Maynier, the Democratic Alliance spokesman on defence, sent a letter to Hawks boss General Anwa Dramat on Friday asking for a criminal investigation into this case.
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"It is not good enough for MTN to be investigated by an internal committee. It seems to me that there is a compelling case that MTN may have been involved in corrupt acts," he said. Ramaphosa yesterday rejected Turkcell's claims that he pulled political strings to benefit MTN, saying that all Turkcell's allegations against him and Dabengwa were "non-specific and unsubstantiated". "Suggestions that MTN influenced South African policy with regards to its armaments and nuclear programme are ludicrous and have already been denied by the SA government," he said. Sources close to Ramaphosa told the Sunday Times that while he certainly did not organise meetings between Mbeki and Iranian officials, as Turkcell claims, he was still quite shocked at some of the internal MTN memos revealed in Turkcell's papers. Charnley vehemently denied the allegations, telling the Sunday Times: "I can categorically state that those allegations are absolutely fictional." But, in its court papers, Turkcell says Charnley was "key to the political clout" with government, as she was a business partner of Mbeki's wife, Zanele, and a close friend of Lekota. Saloojee, meanwhile, "had been housemates" with Mbeki, according to the papers. "Saloojee explained [in 2007] that he was hoping to purchase a home in SA that required the equivalent of $200000. MTN agreed that it owed [him] the bribe payment. On April 26 2007, MTN provided the direct payment into a trust account for ambassador Saloojee," Turkcell said. One of the more damning claims is that MTN leant on government to abstain from a crucial United Nations vote in November 2005 declaring that Iran was breaking the rules on nuclear disarmament. South Africa did abstain from the vote, which gave Iran extra time to comply with the nuclear rules. Three days later, the Iranians granted the licence to MTN's Irancell consortium. Although Nhleko signed most of the damning memos, he did not return calls or SMSes from the Sunday Times.
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1 April 2012 Sunday Times Page 4 SibusisoNgalwaand SibongakonkeShoba
'Zuma must be disciplined'

Controversial ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema and his comrades have intensified their assault on President Jacob Zuma by openly calling him a dictator and asking that he be disciplined.
Youth league secretary-general SindisoMagaqa wrote to GwedeMantashe, his counterpart in the mother body, asking him to consider whether Zuma had breached the ANC's constitution. In a letter dated March 19 2012, Magaqa complained about the answer given by Zuma at a business breakfast in Port Elizabeth last month, when the president was asked about the future of the league once Malema had gone. Magaqa wrote: "We believe that [Zuma's] utterances are a contravention of the ANC constitution and conduct because they violate Section 25.2 of the ANC constitution, which forbids usage of discipline to settle political scores and suppress dissent. "The utterances also undermine the integrity and consistency of the ANC officials, who have the obligation to provide objective, consistent and fair leadership ..." Magaqa reminded Mantashe that, in February, the ANC secretary-general had chastised ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa for speaking about the disciplinary action against Malema. Phosa had told a rally in Limpopo that the ANC did not throw away its own - a reference to Malema's case. Magaqa's letter said: "The statements of [Zuma] not only undermine the statement and public commitment of the ANC officials, but brings into question the integrity and fairness of the disciplinary hearing, which is still in process." Magaqa said Zuma had sought to influence the ANC's national disciplinary committee of appeals, and had in fact given a "directive" to the appeal committee. The league has embarked on a full-scale campaign against Zuma as it becomes clear that opposition to the president is mounting ahead of the ruling party's national conference in Mangaung in December. The youth league has been circulating an SMS with the line-up of its desired leaders. The SMS has Zuma's deputy, KgalemaMotlanthe, as president, Phosa as his deputy, GwedeMantashe as national chairman, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma or Thandi Modise as deputy secretary-general and Tokyo Sexwale as treasurer.
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In an unprecedented attack on Friday evening, Malema accused Zuma of intolerance and of traumatising the youth league. At a public lecture at the University of the Witwatersrand to celebrate the ANC's centenary, Malema accused Zuma of being intolerant and of suppressing divergent views. "It is under President Zuma that we have seen the youth in the ANC being traumatised; the youth in the ANC expelled from their home; the critical voice of the voiceless being suppressed. "We have seen under President Zuma democracy being replaced by a dictatorship," Malema told the audience in the packed Wits Great Hall. He said previous ANC leaders had given the league space to be critical and to differ from them, but when it came to Zuma, the league's militancy was seen as illdiscipline. Phosa spoke at the same meeting, and stressed that the ruling party needed to give the youth league space to be able to think and express its views. Magaqa refused to comment on the letter to Mantashe, saying the ANCYL did not communicate on internal matters to the media. Mantashe was not available for comment and did not respond to a text and voice messages. But ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu reacted angrily to Malema's comments. Mthembu said Malema's utterances were a "distortion" and had no basis. Mthembu issued a veiled threat to the youth leader. "If this assault and insults on the ANC leadership by Malema continues, he will be unwittingly dragging himself to a precipice where a point of return is impossible in the eyes of ANC members... We remain totally opposed to any notion that President Zuma is a dictator and that he traumatised any structure of the ANC..." said Mthembu.
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2 April 2012 Business Day Page 4 Stephen Grootes
Phosa risks backlash for supporting change in Mangaung

African National Congress (ANC) treasurer-general Mathews Phosa appears to be emerging as one of those spear-heading the campaign for change at the ANCs Mangaung conference in December.
While much of the attention has focused on the possible ambitions of Deputy President KgalemaMotlanthe to take over from President Jacob Zuma , Mr Phosa also seems to be playing a role in the succession battle. He is the only one in the ANCs top six office bearers prepared to appear in public repeatedly with ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema. On Friday night, he shared the stage with Mr Malema at the University of Witwatersrand, telling the crowd: "Let us engage robustly, but let us do this with the best interests of the country at heart. We must not be scared of ideas, they are the spears of tomorrow." Mr Phosa appears to be in full campaign mode. If history is any guide, ANC leaders are very coy about making their leadership ambitions public. Mr Zuma's campaign at Polokwane in 2007 was a rare exception. In the rough and tumble of ANC politics, a leader who lets it be known that they are ambitious can find themselves the target of vicious campaigns. This makes it difficult for a figure like Mr Motlanthe. If he is seen as the main contender against Mr Zuma, then Mr Zuma's allies will attack him. He already faces claims in the court of public opinion over Sunday Times reports that his partner, GuguMtshali, solicited a bribe in a deal involving helicopter parts and sanctions-busting with Iran. This leaves Mr Phosa to play a campaigning role. Since he has already publicly aligned himself with the Malema camp, by saying the ANC "doesnt have a dustbin for comrades", Mr Phosa could feel that he has nothing to lose. The ANC has already condemned him for those comments. Independent political analyst NicBorain says: "It makes a lot of sense tactically that (Mr Phosa) goes out there and takes the heat for Motlanthe. He knows he has not got a shot (at the top job) but he could end up with a senior position." On Friday, Mr Phosas speech was aimed at the poor. "Being unemployed is undignified," he said. "Its like being uneducated." Taken with his comments last week that SA was at risk of a North African-style revolution, Mr Phosas use of the phrase "economic freedom" and his appearance with Mr Malema on Friday, it could be argued he is attacking the economic status quo, and therefore criticising current ANC policies. His follow-up line that "If
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government and private sector can join hands to unlock opportunities inherent in these opportunities, we can go a long way towards the goal of economic freedom" sounds like a campaign speech. His choice of words has a key resonance with Mr Malemas "economic freedom" march to Pretoria last year. But will Mr Phosas public alliance with the league lead to success in Mangaung? "You cant spend most of your time being seen with people who are not credible. Effectively, we will see Phosa being tarred with the same brush," says political analyst and Graduate Institute of Management Technology director Prof SiphoSeepe. He points out Mr Malema is not just facing political pressure from the disciplinary machinery of the ANC, but also investigations of his finances. Prof Seepe explains that any campaign by Mr Motlanthe and Mr Phosa faces a problem because of the small number of organisations supporting them. "From an organisational balance sheet, they still have much work to do," he says. So far, it is only the youth league that has publicly backed the Motlanthe-Phosa camp. He says Cosatu and other organisations all appear to back the Zuma camp. But Mr Phosa'sspeech on Friday, and other recent appearances, are only the start of his public campaign. He is likely to spend more time in the company of Mr Malema, well aware of the political message that sends. 2 April 2012 Business Day Page 10 Peter Bruce
The Thick End of the Wedge

The reporting by City Press on the sorry saga of President Jacob Zumas attempts (and his attempts to deny it) to reinstate General Richard Mdluli as head of crime intelligence in the South African Police Service has been exemplary.
THE reporting by City Press on the sorry saga of President Jacob Zuma s attempts (and his attempts to deny it) to reinstate General Richard Mdluli as head of crime intelligence in the South African Police Service (SAPS) has been exemplary. To recap very briefly, Lt-Gen Mdluli was arrested last year and charged with murder and kidnapping, relating to a love triangle 13 years ago. He has since also been accused by colleagues of nepotism and abuse of police funds. Last month the head of the intelligence inspectorate, Faith Radebe, recommended the SAPS investigate the latter accusations, the murder and kidnapping charges having been mysteriously dropped earlier. Then, last week, in a terse and as yet unexplained announcement, the SAPS said Mdlulis suspension had been lifted, implying he was free to return to his old job running police intelligence.
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Yesterday, City Press gave a chilling account of the political pressure brought to bear on Ms Radebe and on acting National Police Commissioner NhlanhlaMkhwanazi, to back off and leave Mdluli alone. Things have apparently gotten so bad that Mkhwanazi, a career policeman, has threatened to resign if Mdluli returns. Needless to say, a battery of "spokesmen", including Mac Maharaj at the Presidency, have been dancing up and down denying that Jacob Zuma is orchestrating this and, if you follow their logic, barely knows anything about it at all. Quite reasonably, no sane person believes them. This is just another example of what Zuma is doing to our national life. As I have said way too many times for my own good, the president is in this for himself first and the country second. He still has Shaik-related fraud and corruption charges stalking him and will do anything to keep them at bay. Fortunately, wiser heads in the ANC are beginning to appreciate that the country cannot be held to ransom for the presidents personal safety. There is talk now (once again reported in City Press) of splitting the jobs of ANC party leader (for which Zuma is running again at the party congress this coming December) and head of state. As a matter of principle, that makes sense. There is a lot of talk in the land about changing the constitution one change that would get overwhelming parliamentary support would be to disallow party leaders ever to become president or, in any way, run the state. Jacob Zuma could chalk the change up as a personal legacy, so much damage has he done to the body politic. Ideally, we should elect a parliament and a president in separate elections. As for Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi, we should all be praying for him this week as he seeks to explain to Zuma why he doesnt approve of the Mdluli reinstatement. Already there are dossiers flying about with all sorts of allegations about the acting commissioner. We should, for the moment, dismiss those for the political interference they are. THE Taco Kuiper investigative journalism award is about the only genuinely authentic media award given in SA. It isnt from a company hoping to generate some media goodwill towards itself and it isnt from some bogus PR front posing as a "Press Club". Kuiper was a decidedly odd fellow, filled with conspiracy theories about everything. But the most important thing about him is that he is dead and thus cant benefit in any way from the award. It was won (again) by the Sunday Times investigations team of Rob Rose, MzilikaziwaAfrika and Stephan Hofstatter, whom City Press (well, actually, its publisher, Media24) has very recently tried and failed to poach. The attempt doesnt surprise me. Theyre a good team. That it failed is just fascinating. Ill swear none of those guys takes home more than R45k a month.
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2 April 2012 Business Day Page 11 Bob Head
SA strikes right tax balance to address its challenges

By cutting the tax on the rich we would not see much more growth and we certainly would not have the resources to fix what needs to be fixed.
An Article on these pages last week suggested disappointing economic growth makes a good case to lower tax rates in SA. It was a good article and it keeps rattling around in my mind. The issues raised were important and we should think about whether we should have lower taxes for the rich. The nub of the article rested on three statements. The first was to "lower tax rates, if they lead to faster growth, enable a government to spend more while appropriating a smaller, less suffocating share of a larger economy". This is almost a tautology or, put another way, is always true. The premise is that lower tax rates lead to faster growth and the supposed consequence is that the government collects more taxes. But that is simply not the case. Look at the countries where the tax take as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is over 40%. They are often wealthy and they have consistently grown. Compare that with SA, where the tax percentage to GDP is in the mid-20s, just over half that rate. According to the lower tax premise, we should be enjoying stellar growth. The second statement was that "the discouraging growth performance and growth outlook for SA makes the case for lower tax rates and a smaller share of gross domestic product taken by the government a powerful one". My flippant response is that "the discouraging performance and growth outlook for SA is because bananas are yellow" it has about the same level of logic. Growth is driven by many things new ideas, energy, application, greater efficiency, technology, the skill and education of the workforce, the ease of doing business, and ego. We will get great growth if we leverage our competitive edge in the world economy and for that to happen the nation has to be equipped. The legacy human and infrastructure needs to be fixed. And of course there has to be an incentive as well. And that is where the article does make a valid point 100% taxes do destroy that incentive. But our percentage tax take in SA is in the mid-20s, low by world standards. And over the past 15 years that tax has been spread more evenly across the economy. The third statement was "the bottom 20% of income earners, many of whom report no earned income at all, would have been much better off for a tax and regulatory regime
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more sympathetic to high-income earners. Benefits would have been provided in the form of employment opportunities and employment benefits and in the actual benefits provided by the government." My experience of rich people is that they like expensive goods, great holidays, big cars, and they are not altogether focused on creating 5-million new jobs. But perhaps I am just too cynical. While economists naturally focus on economics, we do have to have regard for other issues beyond economics and that means social and political issues as well. To be a successful economy we need social cohesion and stability. Virtually everyone appreciates that social cohesion is key to the development of a safe and prospering SA. Freedom, social order and safety are things we crave. We need to tackle the enemies of social cohesion to enjoy these things. And what are the enemies? The enemies of social cohesion anywhere in the world are unemployment, massive income and wealth disparities, lack of health, lack of education, lack of housing, lack of opportunities and the lack of basic facilities. SA has significant challenges with each of these enemies. To tackle each of these enemies requires that the private and public sectors help generate growth and for the public sector to tackle some of the issues directly where the private sector is unable to do so. The public sector requires resources to this. These resources can come either from taxes or from borrowing or both. We can see the dangers of excessive borrowing from the difficulties many supposed developed states currently face. US president Herbert Hoover noted at the time of the Wall Street crash in 1929: "Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt." So some prudence is required to keep the budget in reasonable balance. And that means taxes. One of the great successes of the democracy years is the fiscal management in SA. It has also been suggested that the progressive tax system in SA may not be fair. We are not unusual in having a progressive tax system where the higher earners are expected to shoulder more of the burden to provide the resources to those who need them. Sadly I have never inherited anything and whatever I have I made I have seen a lot of it disappear in tax. That is just the way it is. I find inherited wealth more difficult to stomach and when the income on that wealth is hidden in trusts and structures to avoid tax, then I really do see red. My view is that our tax system is reasonable, responsible and balanced given the challenges that SA faces. In fact, if the government had more capacity I would argue for higher taxes to fix the legacies of the past and to improve our competitiveness. Some critics of SAs tax structure make the connection that higher taxes cause higher pay for our business leaders, which in turn feeds through into higher prices to consumers. I have served on half a dozen remuneration committees over 20 years and I can honestly say that pay has never been determined by looking at tax rates. Sadly, it is decided by looking at market benchmarks, which I believe fuels pay levels for our
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senior executives since no remuneration committee wants to pay bottom-quartile salaries and bonuses, and that generates a whole new and different inflation. But that is another debate taking place all over the world. We seem to have lost sight of what is a reasonable salary and bonus as companies look at competitors and listen to some executives who bleat on about not earning the same as others. What are the solutions? It is a question of balance and I believe we have that balance in SA. And like any balancing act, it will require adjustment, refinement and calibration over time. The tax system needs to be fair and clear without acting as a disincentive and we need to get the biggest bang for the buck for government spending. Neither will be perfect but we need to continue to try to optimise the economy. And that is precisely what I believe we are trying to do. By cutting the tax on the rich, I do not believe we will see much more growth and we certainly would not have the resources to fix what needs to be fixed. We are a country with relatively low tax rates with huge challenges. If you love SA then it would be best if we focused on attacking those enemies of social cohesion robustly and resolutely.
2 April 2012 Business Day Page 3 FrannyRabkin
Hlophe ruling puts JSC almost back where it started

The saga has been so prolonged, with so many ins and outs and back and forths, one can be forgiven for having forgotten what it is actually about: the possibility of the first recommendation for judicial impeachment in democratic SA.
IN 2009, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) declared the Hlophe saga the judicial misconduct dispute that rocked the judiciary and polarised the legal fraternity as "finalised". It must now contend with the reality that it is anything but. The saga has been so prolonged, with so many ins and outs and back and forths, one can be forgiven for having forgotten what it is actually about: the possibility of the first recommendation for judicial impeachment in democratic SA. In May 2008, all the then justices of the Constitutional Court complained to the JSC that Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe had improperly tried to influence the outcome of judgments, then pending before their court, related to corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma .
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Judge Hlophe counter-complained that the way the justices had gone about their complaint had breached his constitutional rights. On Friday, the Constitutional Court gave a unanimous judgment refusing to hear Judge Hlophes appeal against two Supreme Court of Appeal judgments that set aside the JSCs initial inquiry in 2009 and its controversial decision to clear both sides in the dispute. A united Constitutional Court in this dispute is a good reflection of the state of SAs highest court. It is also a feather in the cap of Chief Justice MogoengMogoeng, whose leadership of the court was expected to be seriously tested by this case. But the courts decision will be a headache for the JSC, bringing it, almost, right back to where it started. But not quite. Some things have changed since 2008, in particular the law governing how the JSC deals with misconduct complaints. One of the first things it will have to decide is whether the dispute should be resolved under an amendment to the Judicial Service Commission Act, which came into force in 2010, or under its previous rules for dealing with complaints. The first JSC inquiry was conducted under the old rules. But last year, the JSC expressed a "prima facie" view that pending complaints should be decided under the act. There are significant differences between the rules and the act. Under the rules, a formal misconduct inquiry is presided over by the JSC (minus MPs ). Under the act, an inquiry where potentially impeachable conduct is concerned is conducted by a judicial conduct tribunal. The members of the tribunal are appointed by the chief justice and must consist of two judges and another person, not a judge, whose name is on a list kept by the chief justices office. A problem at the moment is that a tribunal cannot be constituted until Parliament has passed regulations allowing the chief justice and the justice minister to compile the list of non-judges who could be appointed to the tribunal. So if the act applies, resolution of the dispute will be delayed. The act is also significantly different in dealing with public access to a misconduct hearing. Under the rules, the default position was one of openness. Under the act, the default position is closed proceedings. However, the benefit of the Supreme Court of Appeal judgments is that they have clarified some of the basics. The JSC now knows that, whether the rules or the act applies, any inquiry must allow cross-examination. The JSCs 2009 decision was set aside as irrational because cross-examination had been disallowed. The Supreme Court of Appeal also held that when it comes to misconduct inquiries against a high court judge, the premier of the relevant province and its judge president are entitled to be part of the JSC when it makes its decision. This would, in theory, take the JSC members up from 13 to 15.
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Finally, the JSC knows its final decision must be made by a majority of it members, and not by a majority of those present and voting. This may add an interesting dynamic as there will be a few JSC members who will likely recuse themselves Justice Mogoeng, who had initially tried to mediate the dispute; JSC commissioners Mbuyiseli Madlanga SC and Dumisa Ntsebeza SC (both had been counsel in the first JSC process); and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, whose reported public comments on the dispute in its early days were not very temperate or evenhanded. Even if 11 out of 15 JSC members participate in the decision, the judgment implies that at least eight votes are needed for a particular outcome to make it a decision of the JSC. 2 April 2012 Business Day Page 1 Sure Kamhunga
SAs strange breed of leaders a threat to democracy

The chairman of Nedbank , SAs fourth-largest listed banking group, Reuel Khoza, has warned SAs democracy is under threat from a "strange breed" of political leaders who appear to be incapable of dealing with the demands of modern-day governance and leadership. He said SA was fast losing the checks and balances provided by the constitution, and called on South Africans to hold to account "putative leaders who, due to sheer incapacity to deal with the complexity of 21st century governance and leadership", could not lead. "We have a duty to insist on strict adherence to the institutional forms that underpin our young democracy," Dr Khoza wrote in Nedbanks latest annual report, which was released on Friday. His comments are the first so far by the chairman of a JSE-listed banking group since the government announced plans to review the judiciary, and some leaders in the African National Congress (ANC) called for the constitution to be reviewed as it hindered social and economic transformation. On the same day, the embattled president of the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema, derided President Jacob Zuma s leadership, describing it as a " dictatorship" at a public lecture at Wits University. The fact that the chairman of one of SAs largest companies has publicly rebuked the political leadership could be seen as an indication of the depth of disquiet in the private sector about the political direction of the ANC ahead of its elective conference in December.
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"Our political leaderships moral quotient is degenerating and we are fast losing the checks and balances that are necessary to prevent a recurrence of the past," Dr Khoza said. "SA is widely recognised for its liberal and enlightened constitution, yet we observe the emergence of a strange breed of leaders who are determined to undermine the rule of law and override the constitution ." Dr Khoza said this was not the accountable democracy for which generations had suffered. "The integrity, health, socioeconomic soundness and prosperity of SA is the collective responsibility of all citizens, corporate or individual," he said. He also called for a partnership between the government and the private sector to solve SAs worsening unemployment crisis. This could be achieved by dismantling barriers to entrepreneurship and seconding graduates to local authorities to gain the experience needed in the private sector. SA has more than 800000 unemployed graduates, most of whom studied humanities and arts, which the private sector does not need, says research company Adcorp Analytics. Dr Khoza said: "One of the major socioeconomic and political challenges facing our country is addressing unemployment and creating jobs. While these issues are priorities on the national agenda, it should be acknowledged that there are few cases in the world where government and big business have been able to create jobs on a large scale. "Job creation is also stifled if our economy is not expanding. The issue needs to be addressed by focusing on entrepreneurship. Government should create an enabling environment with minimal regulation to enable entrepreneurs to flourish," he said. Dr Khoza said the education system was producing thousands of graduates each year, yet the lack of skills and experience made it difficult to accommodate the m in the formal economy. "At the same time local governments ... are in dire need of efficient administration and management. We believe government and the private sector should collaborate to create a programme to deploy these unemployed graduates and recently qualified people to local authorities for a few years," said Dr Khoza. " Corporate SA can play a key role in sponsoring these graduates ." There was also a need to use retired executives to mentor young graduates.
1 April 2012 The Sunday Independent Page 1 Gcwalisile Khanyile and Piet Rampedi
DGs R1.4m bribe
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Soon before director-general Thabane Zulu took part in the awarding of a R10 billion contract, a mysterious R1.4 million was deposited into his personal account. The Sunday Independent traced the amount from a black economic empowerment company that stands to benefit from the multibillion contract awarded in January by the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) a unit of the Social Development Department to Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) to dispense social grants. The BEE company is known to The Sunday Independent. The Sunday Independent followed the money trail after the awarding of the contract. According to documents in our possession, an intermediary deposited R2m into the business account of African Access Information and Communication Technology, on behalf of the BEE company. The deposit was done at the beginning of October last year. A few days later, on October 10, 2011, African Access transferred R1.4m into Zulus account. The transactions between African Access and Zulu took place a few weeks before the process to adjudicate the contract and three months before the successful bidder was announced. Zulu is a former director of African Access. A month after the money reached Zulu, he and three other adjudication committee members awarded the tender to CPS. According to a Sassa memorandum, dated November 25, 2011, the four-member committee signed a letter in which they individually and collectively accepted the bid evaluation committee recommendation that CPS be awarded the contract. Zulu has denied any wrongdoing. In a terse SMS, Zulu dismissed the allegations as preposterous and challenged critics to report him to law enforcement agencies if they had proof of wrongdoing on his part to avoid speculative innuendos, whose motives are unknown (sic). His lawyer, Naren Sangham, also emphasised that there is absolutely no basis for these allegations. My client treats these allegations with the contempt that they deserve and invites any person or group of persons or any organisation or organisations, who claim to be in possession of any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of my client to conduct whatever investigation that they may so desire. My client maintains his innocence and further stands by his impeccable reputation and honesty, Sangham said. He twice refused to respond directly on whether Zulu received the money or not. On the third occasion, he finally said: My client categorically denies receiving the money.
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CPS is wholly owned by Net1 UEPS Technologies. The Sunday Independent has established that Zulu was appointed as a director of African Access on August 19, 2008. He was appointed director-general of the Human Settlements Department in April 2010. Monwabisi Ludonga, one of African Accesss directors, denied that the company transferred R1.4m into Zulus account. He insisted that no such payment was made to Zulu, since he left in 2010 and he was no longer a director and did not render any services to the company. I am a signatory of everything that goes out of my account at African Access and have never paid Zulu that money. I do not even know about it. If there was something that was paid (out), I would have known about it. Even if you can come to my company and check our books, we do not have that kind of transaction, said Ludonga. Net1 UEPS Technologies CEO Serge Belamant dismissed as baseless claims that her companys partners paid Zulu. I must say that the unsubstantiated attacks on our company are getting a little tiresome as invariably the accusations made never seem to have any foundation or substance. I assure you, however, that if you provide me with the proof of reliable source, I will commence a full investigation into this matter, Belamant said. I will also consult with my attorneys as I believe that it is in the public interest that you disclose your credible source so that all can determine if there is any truth to these allegations or if these are simply made up in order to attempt to derail the tenders implementation. Some key players in the awarding of the contract could also be linked to the companies that benefited from the contract. Some directors were influential in the evaluation of the contract. The Sunday Independent has also learnt that R600 000 was paid towards a mortgage bond of one of the committee members soon after the contract was awarded. The contract has led to a tug-of-war between CPS and the losing bidders, led by Absa subsidiary AllPay. Senior politicians have been dragged into the controversy. AllPay and Empilweni were contracted to dispense the grants for the past decade, but the deal expired yesterday.
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Some of the losing bidders have since taken the department to court demanding a review of the CPS contract, alleging irregularities and conflict of interests. Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale has been sucked into the saga. The Mail & Guardian linked Sexwale to the contract through Mvelaphanda Resources former director and employee, Brian Mosehla. The businessmans company, Mosomo Investment Holding, has apparently acquired a 20 percent stake in CPS. CPS announced two weeks after winning the tender that it had brought in Mosomo as one of its BEE partners. However, The Sunday Independent can reveal that the two had sealed a deal in October last year already. Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlaminis spokeswoman, Lumka Oliphant, has refused to say whether she was aware of any payment to Zulu by the beneficiaries of the tender. It may well be that Mr Zulu sits on different directorship positions and/or is a shareholder of different companies which may have been declared to Sassa, but you have not given us anything to work on in order to verify the information at your disposal, Oliphant said. Last week we reported that Absa allegedly ripped off the social grants beneficiaries as the battles for the billions gets uglier, and political and business heavyweights get dragged into the fracas. Absa has denied the allegations.
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1 April 2012 The Sunday Independent Page 3 Shaun Smillie
How SAs witness helped Dewani

It was the SA governments own expert psychiatric witness, ironically, who did most to persuade the British High Court this week to stop Shrien Dewanis extradition to SA to stand trial for the murder of his wife, Anni. On Friday, High Court Judge John Thomas surprised and disappointed Annis family by upholding Dewanis appeal against the decision of a lower court that he should be extradited. He and an associate judge ruled that it would be unjust and oppressive to extradite Dewani in his current condition. He is said to be suffering from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The judges ordered that the case be sent back to Westminster Magistrates Court, suggesting that it will be a long time before Dewani faces justice in SA, if ever. If the case comes back to the High Court as expected, and Dewani loses, he may still appeal to the Supreme Court and then the European Court of Justice. Senior District Judge Howard Riddle had ruled in the Westminster court last year that Dewani should be extradited. He dismissed his lawyers arguments that Dewanis human rights would be violated because of the threat of rape by HIV-infected inmates in SA prisons. However, the High Court judges ruled on Friday that Judge Riddle had not given due consideration to the evidence of psychiatrists from both sides that Dewani was not mentally fit to stand trial. Judge Thomas did add that he believed Dewanis mental health was improving and he would eventually be fit enough to be extradited. The strength of the psychiatric evidence was a striking feature in this case, the High Court judgment read. Not only were the principal witnesses called by the appellant and the government of South Africa psychiatrists of great eminence and distinction, but their evidence before the senior district judge was essentially agreed, as we have set out. On July 14, during Dewanis extradition hearing in the Westminster court in London, neuropsychiatry expert Professor Michael Kopelman who was called by Hugo Keith QC, representing SA surprised the court by issuing a joint statement with psychiatrist Professor Nigel Eastman, who was testifying on behalf of Dewani.
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In it, they agreed that Dewani was suffering from severe depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. They also said he was a suicide risk and was unfit to plead because he was unable to follow the detail of evidence or instruct his advocates. Most importantly, both agreed that Dewani was unfit to travel to SA. Kopelman also testified that psychiatric care offered at the three SA prison hospitals was inadequate for the patients condition. During cross-examination Kopelman said that after examining Dewani twice over the preceding months, he did not think he was faking mental illness as the SA governments lawyers had suggested. However, he did add that he could not completely rule out this possibility. In Fridays judgment the two High Court judges said: We attach significance to the evidence of Professor Kopelman on 19 July 2011 that extradition would worsen his condition and make it more difficult to get him into a position where he was fit to plead. The High Court judges also hinted that the SA government had blundered by not ensuring that Professor Sean Kaliski, a psychiatrist at Cape Towns Valkenberg psychiatric hospital, give evidence by video link in the Westminister court hearing because this would have allowed him to be cross-examined. The experts based in London did not have first-hand knowledge of what was available in Valkenberg, read the judgment. There were issues raised that were not fully answered in Kaliskis written submission, it added. This omission could come back to haunt the SA government because the judges suggested the Valkenberg facilities could be a factor in future hearings on the case. Rachael Collins, spokeswoman for the UK judiciary, said on Friday that they didnt have a date for the next hearing as yet, although it could take place as soon as next month. It will probably be administrative in nature, where the judge will agree with the High Court findings, she said. The hearing would likely iron out the logistics of monitoring Dewanis mental health.
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30 March 2012 The New Age Abram Mashego
Police now in crisis

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) on Thursday said the decision to reinstate controversial crime intelligence boss, Richard Mdluli, was highly irregular, lacks transparency and is unconstitutional. Mdluli had been suspended from the police force and was facing serious charges including murder, bribery, nepotism, theft of state funds, intimidation, abduction and fraud. Earlier this week, the SAPS announced the lifting of Mdlulis suspension allowing him to immediately return to work. On Thursday, ISS senior researcher Johan Burger said the mere fact that the police had decided to reinstate Mdluli without any explanation being given to the general public created a confidence crisis. Mdluli is holding a senior position within the crime intelligence and public confidence is crucial. Transparency is one of the fundamental principles of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. In a brief statement issued on Wednesday night, police head of communications Brig LindelaMashigo said a decision had been taken to lift the suspension of Lt-Gen Mdluli and Maj-Gen Solomon Lazarus concurrently. Mashigo said the decision, which took effect on Tuesday, had been an internal process and would not be discussed with the media. Sources within the police said the decision to reinstate Mdluli appeared to be an instruction from the top. Mdluli, whose charges were inexplicably withdrawn, had previously compiled a secret intelligence report detailing how certain top politicians were allegedly plotting to oust President Jacob Zuma. Unconfirmed media reports this week suggested that Mdluli, whose relationship with suspended police chief Gen BhekiCele had allegedly soured, was influential and in the running for the top cop job. Police sources further claimed that several provincial commissioners attended a meeting two weeks ago, where Mdlulis reinstatement was discussed. Efforts to confirm Mdlulis status drew a blank as neither the police spokesperson Mashigo andMdlulis lawyer Ike Motloung were prepared to talk about the crime intelligence bosss reinstatement.
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Mdlulis expected appointment to replace Cele, which has been described as a disgrace by the DA police spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard, remains a closely guarded secret. 30 March 2012 The New Age Sapa
Cele inquiry resumes

The board of inquiry investigating misconduct allegations against suspended police chiefBhekiCele resumed in Pretoria on Friday.
The matter was postponed two weeks ago after a key witness in the police lease saga stalled proceedings, claiming she was sick and could not testify. Public works official MokgaetjiTlolane requested to first see a doctor before she gave evidence. She also had problems taking the oath, looking confused. Evidence leader ViweNotshe hoped Tlolane's evidence would eliminate the probability that property mogul Roux Shabangu could have been tipped off by public works officials that the police needed office space. Shabangu has identified Tlolane as the person who informed him that the police wanted to lease the Sanlam Middestad building in Pretoria. This is reportedly contained in a 60-page affidavit Shabangu aims to use to absolve himself of any wrongdoing in the police lease saga. Shabangu claims Tlolane arranged the first meeting with the SA Police Service, and told him the matter would not go out to tender because of its urgency. Tlolane had been eluding Notshe since the hearing started. She initially demanded a subpoena to appear, and then a letter from her superiors instructing her to do so. 30 March 2012 Mail & Guardian Floyd Shivambu
Have your day in court, President Zuma

In December the ANC will have its 53rd national conference in Mangaung. Almost all the media are speculating about what the real issues of focus will be -- and those relating to leadership elections seem to be elevated above all other issues. There is, however, an elephant in the room.
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No one is paying significant attention to it, either because they are oblivious or because they fear those with state power will suppress and isolate them if they speak about this issue. At the risk of being isolated and purged, I want to address the elephant in the room -- which is the reality that President Jacob Zuma is accused of corruption and has yet to have these allegations tested in court. It is a matter of fact that the state, of which President Zuma is head, has a prima facie case to which he should answer in a court of law. In 2009 the charges against him were withdrawn on the basis of the gossiping and backchat of some senior National Prosecution Authority (NPA) officials about whether President Zuma should be arrested before or after the 52nd ANC national conference in Polokwane in 2007. These officials are not said to have concocted charges against President Zuma. They are said to have discussed when he should be arrested and brought before a court to respond to allegations that he illegally exchanged monies with a shady individual, SchabirShaik, who was described by the prosecution as having a "generally corrupt relationship" with President Zuma. The high court's judgment was that Shaik was guilty. The Supreme Court of Appeal has been deciding whether a high court review of the decision to drop charges could proceed. Whatever else can be said, the reality is that the then acting national director of public prosecutions, advocate MokotediMpshe, shelved principle for political convenience in 2009 as a result of political dynamics in the country. The ANC, its leagues and the alliance were unanimous that Jacob Zuma should become president of South Africa and a majority in society accepted that. For the sake of political convenience, which seemed to be a principled intervention at the time, advocate Mpshe decided to withdraw the charges -- not on the basis that President Zuma did not commit the crimes, but on the basis that those prosecuting him were gossiping about when to arrest him. It was the result of public pressure from members and supporters of the ANC, including the commitment to "die and take up arms to kill for Zuma" of ANC Youth League president Julius Malema. Now the people who were gossiping about when and how to bring President Zuma to account are no longer in the NPA. Yet the fact that the state has a case against him remains. Equality before the law The ANC fought for political freedom on the non-negotiable principle that all should be equal before the law. This found expression in the Freedom Charter: "There shall be equal status in the bodies of the state, in the courts and in the schools for all national groups and races." The principle was reinforced in the Constitution of a democratic South Africa. Those who drafted the Constitution deliberately avoided "presidential immunity" because they had learned how that could make leaders refuse to step down from office and opt for "aloota continua", protected from prosecution. As a test of our constitutional democracy, we should allow a court of law to determine whether President Zuma violated the law or not. He should voluntarily answer to the
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allegations. To protect the integrity of our democracy, the ANC leadership should be exemplary in all matters relating to the Constitution. If the ANC and its leadership undermine the Constitution for political convenience, South Africa's democracy is under serious threat. South Africa could degenerate into a banana republic in which state machinery is used to settle political scores and shift the balance of forces. If the truth be told, any president facing the possibility of being arrested is dangerous to himself and the nation. Naturally, hoping to avoid arrest, such a president will surround himself with cronies and blind loyalists in key state security institutions. Such a president could even try to change the Constitution and the law to protect himself from prosecution, or find a way of undermining court decisions through political power. Now, the appeal court has passed judgment against President Zuma, saying that a high court review of the 2009 decision can proceed. Courts shouldn't resolve political squabbles No one in their true political senses would ever agree with the Democratic Alliance's use of the courts to determine political battles and processes. The ANC Youth League rejected this view on various occasions and we remain firm on it. The DA is not representative of the people of South Africa and does not deserve an iota of respect from anyone. The illusion that those in the ANC-led national liberation movement who defend the equality clause of the Constitution are "liberal democrats" should be dismissed with contempt. Some of us have, with no support from the leadership, been proponents of amending section 25 of the Constitution to realise real and genuine equality. Since the beginning of allegations of corruption, fraud and money laundering against President Zuma, most of us have been solid and vocal in defending him against conspiracies to prevent him from becoming president of South Africa. Our view, which we expressed openly, was that those who had control of the criminal justice system, or who acted on the pretext of protecting then-president Thabo Mbeki, used state institutions to prevent Jacob Zuma from assuming the highest political office in the land. We stood firm against the abuse of state institutions for narrow political purposes. We never said or insinuated that we supported corrupt practices. We opposed, and continue to oppose, the abuse of state institutions for political purposes and we are firmly opposed to all crimes, particularly those such as corruption, which deprive the poor masses of resources that could liberate them from poverty and starvation. The Supreme Court of Appeal's judgment says advocate Mpshe's 2009 decision to drop charges is reviewable. It can be reviewed because, in a democratic South Africa, all are equal before the law. No one can believably argue now that state institutions are being used to prevent Jacob Zuma becoming president -- he is the president of South Africa.
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There is a case to answer In dropping the charges, advocate Mpshe did not claim there was no case to answer, but said that interference by some NPA and Scorpions officials suggested there were also ulterior motives for charging him -- it was not just a matter of justice. The conspiracies that led to this situation no longer exist. Those who had ulterior motives are no longer in the NPA or the Scorpions. Yet the state still has a prima facie case of corruption, money laundering and fraud that President Zuma must answer. The interference that happened then did not remove the possibility that he could have been involved in a corrupt relationship with those who have already been convicted in court. If there is dissatisfaction with the involvement of some NPA prosecutors, the president's legal representatives have the right to raise this matter in court. If it is true to its values and principles, the ANC should call on President Zuma not to appeal the judgment of the appeal court, but to allow all due processes to continue uninterrupted. In fact, President Zuma should welcome the possibility of going to court, because that is the only way he will clear the dark cloud over his head. It cannot be right that, for so many years, the ANC and South Africa as a whole have not been able to get to the bottom of these allegations. In allowing the law's processes to happen uninterrupted, President Zuma will retain his innocence until proven otherwise and will be treated like all innocent people. Kgalema sets an example Deputy President KgalemaMotlanthe recently approached the public protector to investigate him over allegations of wrongdoing on his part. President Zuma should follow this noble example. He should avoid the temptation to try to stop the courts listening to his case by causing unnecessary delays. Further delays will bring doubt, even in the ranks of the ANC, that there is perhaps a possibility that he did indeed commit the crimes of which he is accused. This approach will reaffirm the integrity of the ANC as a movement committed to the fight against corruption and all criminal acts, which the Polokwane conference said was a priority. The criminal justice system will also lose integrity, and will be regarded as being open to manipulation in the future, if this case is not responded to in a proper and fair trial. The approach of allowing due process will further enhance and harness the state's fight against corruption. The ANC and all its formations and allies should always stand firm on principles. We will never agree to be drawn into defending possibly corrupt individuals, because corruption is like a cancer eating away at the moral fibre of society.
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Whether we will be purged or persecuted for expressing this view does not matter. The truth must be told at all times, without fear or favour. Only factionalists and proponents of tribalism and corruption can stand opposed to the accountability of the leadership, and unfortunately I am not one. 30 March 2012 Mail & Guardian Amabhungane Reporters
Mdluli report's shocking revelations

Today the Mail & Guardian publishes details from a secret report to the inspector general of intelligence on the allegations against crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli.
The extracts below demonstrate the extent to which President Jacob Zuma and his allies were prepared to ignore evidence of the rot at crime intelligence to protect their man. Publication also represents a defining example of the kind of public-interest disclosure that would be criminalised by the so-called secrecy Bill before Parliament. he report was drafted by Major General Mark Hankel and signed off by then-acting crime intelligence boss Chris de Kock. According to the document, it was drafted as a written follow-up to a detailed verbal briefing given to the inspector general of intelligence, Faith Radebe, on October 31 last year when the Hawks investigation into Mdluli was in full swing. The document is headed: "Report to the inspector general of intelligence on the matter of alleged maladministration and crimes committed in respect of the Secret Services Account (SSA) of the crime intelligence division of the South African Police Service." Hankel begins by setting out the basis for his claims. Corruption and fraud "The report is based on the interaction and insight into the Hawks' case of corruption and fraud as well as personal insight into various documents requested by the Hawks, of which some have been handed over to the Hawks pursuant to a search warrant, while others are being safeguarded as evidence in possible criminal or departmental investigations. "The report is further based on information provided by, and discussions with, certain sensitively placed officers of crime intelligence, an investigation report compiled by the Hawks as well as information under oath. It serves as official written notification to the inspector general in relation to crime, maladministration and nepotism that has come to the attention of the acting divisional commissioner of crime intelligence " Hankel then details the evidence gathered by the Hawks.
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"The Silverton CAS 155/07/2011 (fraud and corruption) was registered after investigation into the murder case against Lt Gen RN Mdluli exposed fraud and corruption involving the selling by a BMW dealer of a private BMW belonging to Lt Gen Mdluli. "This is related to the shortfall in the settlement fee on the finance from the said vehicle being paid through a second dealer with whom crime intelligence does business and from whom Lt Gen Mdluli purchased a vehicle. "It also relates to the purchase of two BMWs from the BMW dealer on which socalled 'trade assist' incentives from BMW South Africa allegedly further influenced the resale price on Lt Gen Mdluli's private BMW. R95 000 benefit "This benefited Lt Gen Mdluli to the amount of about R95 000. Col [Hein] Barnard derived no benefit from these transactions but signed a contract purporting to be RN Mdluli. "The prosecution, however, contends that the two BMWs would not otherwise have been purchased if it was not to be used to offset the shortfall on the settlement amount of Lt Gen Mdluli's private BMW. In reality, both BMW's purchased were then allocated with the one (5 Series) going to Lt Gen Mdluli for his personal use and the other (3 Series) going to his wife (Col T Lyons) in Cape Town." But the Hawks investigation went further, Hankel explains, pointing out that the Hawks had obtained a search warrant for two covert crime intelligence premises to seize documents. He sets out the additional criminal elements being investigated against Mdluli. "The appointment/promotion of his current wife, her brother and other members of her family, his ex-wife, her daughter and his son, as well as two 'girlfriends' in the Eastern Cape. With the exception of the latter two, the investigation also targets their placement in the agent programme of crime intelligence, as well as their current deployment and daily work and productivity. "Furthermore, the investigation team of the Hawks is looking at all salary claims, advances and operational claims submitted by the handlers of the members who were what is referred to as 'principal agents' in the programme. Of particular interest to the investigation team is their utilisation of covert vehicles. "The alleged abuse of covert vehicles by Lt Gen Mdluli, who it is alleged was not entitled to the use of such vehicles in the way he did. In this regard, various vehicles were identified at his two properties. Specific focus is being given to BMWs, a Jeep Cherokee SRT8, two E-Class Mercedes-Benzes and a Lexus. The investigation includes such specifics as his use thereof while on vacation. Overseas trip "An overseas trip to Singapore at the end of 2009 for purposes of viewing and purchasing technical equipment for crime intelligence Of note to the investigation
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team was the fact that the spouses of Lt Gen Mdluli (T Lyons) and Maj Gen [Solly] Lazarus and Col Barnard accompanied them on the trip. "It is evident that Maj Gen Lazarus and Col Barnard financed their spouses trip costs, but that of Col Lyons (who was not a member of the SAPS at the time) was funded from the secret service account." Hankel then goes on to identify "new revelations" that flowed from his own inquiries, notably interference and intimidation by some of those implicated. 'During the investigation certain officers were interviewed by the Hawks to explain certain aspects of documents. One of these officers decided out of his own accord on the third day to reveal the extent of crime that is occurring in the SSA environment. "On the day of the revelations in question, he took a colleague of his into his confidence and admitted that he had provided incriminating information to the Hawks. "That evening and the following morning, he was subjected to intimidating behaviour by some of his colleagues This behaviour included trespassing on his property, being driven around in a vehicle, being taken to the home of a major general and being taken to the office of the same major general, all against his will. This officer is now in the witness protection programme. "Every time certain officers are called by Major General Hankel to hand over documents or explain some or other detail, they are confronted by their major general and requested to reveal what was asked. "The latter occurred despite the express instruction by Major General Hankel not to do so. Tampering and influencing evidence "The component head, in more than one instance, instructed the same subordinates not to co-operate with the investigation. It is also known that attempts have been made to tamper with or influence evidence. "There exists a concerted effort from within crime intelligence and specifically the SSA environment to derail the investigation. The situation includes what is believed to be a threat to the lives and personal safety and integrity of persons involved in the investigation of this matter, including those supporting the investigation." Hankel also details abuse of the so-called agent programme. "It is evident that besides the employment, inappropriate promotion and placing of family members of Lt Gen Mdluli in the agent programme of crime intelligence, [in addition] family members of a major general and colonel in the division, as well as that of a prominent person, were placed in the programme."
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Hankel says that the prominent person, a businessman from KwaZulu-Natal, was allegedly recruited to influence suspended police commissioner BhekiCele in favour of crime intelligence. "In total, approximately 23 persons that fall in the above category are deployed as 'principal agents' in the programme. As far as can be ascertained, none of these are actually involved in bone fide undercover operations in pursuance of the operational objectives of the SA Police Service Crime Intelligence Division. No benefit to the SAPS "Furthermore, no activity reports are generated in respect of these individuals. It is alleged that especially the family members of the prominent person in Kwazulu-Natal go about their 'normal private lives' with no benefit to the SA Police Service. "They were allegedly employed as a favour or as part of a pay-off to the prominent person, in return for consultancy services rendered to crime intelligence in respect of the national commissioner." Mdluli and his cohorts were also flown around the country courtesy of the secret service account. "A travel agent in Westville, Durban, was tasked with the duty of providing a traveloffice service to the SSA environment, ostensibly a covert air travel service. "This arrangement was discovered when Lt Gen Mdluli's journeys were analysed. No agents of consequence utilised the service, rather it was abused by a small group of persons. Principal agents, many of them appointed and promoted in the same covert promotion process as Lt Gen Mdluli's family. "Lt Gen Mdluli and his family travelled on more than 50 occasions while the prominent person and his family, not limited to those in the agent programme, travelled on more than 50 occasions." Safe house abuse Hankel reports that various safe houses have been rented for the exclusive use of Mdluli and his family. "One was rented ostensibly for him to use for strategic meetings with component heads. No such meetings occurred there. Instead, he used it to house his Cape Town family (second wife and two children). They would fly up to Johannesburg and reside in the house. "A property in Gordon's Bay, belonging to Lt Gen Mdluli, was rented by crime intelligence, but used only by him. A possibility that still needs to be confirmed is that during the time that crime intelligence was hiring the property, other tenants were also hiring it from him." Hankel argues that, rather than the Hawks investigation placing sensitive systems in jeopardy, it is the abuse that has done so.
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"They have placed the entire institution, including the agent programme, covert air travel, vehicles, service providers and even operations, at risk by abusing the system and exposing it to individuals of dubious character."
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30 March 2012 Business Day Page 3 FrannyRabkin
Appeal court crossed limits on Simelane

Justice Minister Jeff Radebe says the Supreme Court of Appeal had overstepped the boundaries drawn by the separation of powers principle when it set aside President Jacob Zumas appointment of MenziSimelane.
THE Supreme Court of Appeal had "overstepped the boundaries" drawn by the separation of powers principle when it set aside President Jacob Zuma s appointment of MenziSimelane as prosecutions head, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said in court papers yesterday. While Mr Zuma has said he would abide by the decision of the Constitutional Court on whether he had acted irrationally when he appointed Mr Simelane, Mr Radebe is opposing confirmation of the judgment by the Constitutional Court, and appealing against it. Mr Simelanes appointment in 2009 was met with a storm of criticism, because he had been severely rebuked by the former speaker of the National Assembly, FreneGinwala, in her inquiry into the fitness of his predecessor, VusiPikoli, to hold office. In her report, Ms Ginwala said Mr Simelanes conduct during the inquiry was "highly irregular" and "left much to be desired". The Democratic Alliance (DA) took the matter to court, saying Mr Simelane was not fit and proper for the job and that the appointment was irrational and unconstitutional. The DA won the case at the Supreme Court of Appeal. Mr Simelane was then placed on special leave pending the confirmation of the appeal courts decision by the Constitutional Court. In supplementary legal argument filed yesterday, Mr Radebes counsel, MarumoMoerane SC, said the point of departure in determining whether the president had acted lawfully was the constitution and not the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Act. Looking at the constitutional scheme, the purpose in this case was to find a national director of public prosecutions who would be able to secure the institutional integrity of the NPA including that it exercised its functions without fear, favour or prejudice while "simultaneously having a constructive working relationship with the minister". The appointment of a national director was a "policy driven" decision, and the constitution "provided for a (national director) who is a political appointee", although
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once in office he is bound to secure the institutional independence of the NPA, Mr Moerane said. He also argued the appeal court had not actually found that Mr Simelane was not fit and proper rather that the president had not sufficiently enquired into the allegations. "It is only where a court positively finds that (a national director) who has been appointed by the president is not fit and proper ... that it could set aside the decision of the president as being irrational." Should the court not agree with his argument, Mr Moerane asked it to order that the matter be sent back to the president for him to look into whether Mr Simelane was fit and proper, rather than to set aside the appointment, as the Supreme Court of Appeal had done. 30 March 2012 Business Day Page 3 Linda Ensor
Government has nothing to hide, says Manyi

Chief government spokesman Jimmy Manyi who has been trying all week to co-ordinate the governments response to the Democratic Alliances (DAs) questions over the state funding of officials who attended the African National Congress (ANC) centenary celebrations in Mangaung in January insisted yesterday that the government had "nothing to hide".
His response came after what appeared to be a bungled attempt by the Government Communication Information System (GCIS ) to co-ordinate the governments response to a series of parliamentary questions by DA MPs to Cabinet ministers on the issue. The DA is probing whether state resources were used to send officials to Mangaung in December and January for the celebrations. The GCIS sent out guidelines to government communicators on Monday on how they should answer the questions. It instructed officials to refer the questioner to annual reports to point out it was "not peculiar to have officials travelling to Bloemfontein or any part of the country for that matter for official business". Staff were also instructed to defend officials trips on the basis that the experience would "help shape them into public servants that serve their country with humility". Two days later GCIS chief director Neo Momudu asked the communicators not to answer questions in the manner suggested "until further notice".
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Then new guidelines were issued yesterday, saying government officials were required to attend the celebrations to prepare for the attendance by foreign heads of state and government and to ensure the event ran smoothly. In an embarrassing twist, the memoranda were leaked to the DA, which published them to give an insight into Mr Manyis "machinations" to shut down the DAs requests for information. DA federal chairman James Wilmot accused Mr Manyi of "going to great lengths to ensure that the amount of public money spent on the ANCs centenary celebrations in January remains hidden". Mr Manyi defended his instructions to government spokesmen, saying it was the job of GCIS to give advice. He was not trying to keep the information hidden, but to ensure correct information was given.
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30 March 2012 Business Day Page 14

Editorial
If the secrecy bill becomes law

The lifting of the suspension of crime intelligence boss Lt -Gen Richard Mdluli, who went on to be appointed national police commissioner without ever having to answer the allegations of murder and fraud, would never be discussed if the secrecy bill was in place.
This has been an internal process and will not be discussed further in the public domain," national police spokesman Brig LindelaMashigo said yesterday. And with that he brought to an end the controversy over the lifting of the suspension of crime intelligence boss Lt -Gen Richard Mdluli, who went on to be appointed national police commissioner without ever having to answer the allegations of murder and fraud that have been made against him. The rather distasteful subject was never mentioned in polite company again, and everyone lived happily ever after. The above may reflect the fantasy world inhabited by Brig Mashigo and some of his senior colleagues and political masters, but that is not the world we live in. At least not yet but it could all change if the Protection of State Information Bill is pushed through in its current form. The so-called "secrecy bill" has already been toned down but not by nearly enough from the point of view of those who are concerned with defending the constitutionally protected right to freedom of information. In an SA where the bill had become law, it is more than likely that Brig Mashigos rather quaint desire to quash public discussion of a politically uncomfortable issue such as Lt-Gen Mdlulis frankly disturbing past and why the establishment is so determined to protect him would have the backing of the full force of the law. There would be few, if any, avenues available for the public to challenge the authorities decisions on such matters, largely because they would be unlikely to know anything about them in the first place. Almost all of the background to Lt-G en Mdlulis suspension and subsequent moves to reverse it and drop any charges against him was leaked to the media in the form of anonymous tip-offs and copies of internal police reports. In a post-secrecy act world, much of this information would undoubtedly have been classified and journalists would have published it at risk of criminal conviction and jail terms. It is true the revisions that have been made to the bill provide for a review process, meaning classification decisions could theoretically be overturned if it was determined that the motivation for hiding the information was to conceal criminal behaviour or political interference. But who in their right mind is going to take such a risk, when mere possession of a classified document could land them in jail? The Mdluli matter is serious. The man deserves a fair hearing and if the National Prosecuting Authority decides without being subjected to political pressure that
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it has a prima facie case against him, he must be assumed innocent until proven guilty. But the obvious political manipulation that is going on is all the more reason why the process must be conducted transparently, and why Brig Mashigos bid to sweep the matter under the carpet must be thwarted. There are strong indications that disciplinary action was taken against prosecutor GlynnisBreytenbach because she refused to bow to political pressure to drop the fraud charges against Lt-Gen Mdluli, for instance. And it is becoming abundantly clear that the intelligence community has again been drawn into the African National Congress leadership race, following the dangerous precedent that was set during the buildup to the Polokwane elective conference in 2007. Meanwhile, the ruling party continues to try to use its dominance of the legislature to justify ramming the law through Parliament against stiff opposition from other parties and large swathes of civil society. Some of its members on the ad hoc committee formed by the National Council of Provinces to assess public opinion on the secrecy bill are treating it like the legislative equivalent of a kangaroo court, suppressing voices they do not like and revealing an appalling ignorance of either the substance or the spirit of the constitution.
30 March 2012 The Times Page 1 Chandr Prince and AmukelaniChauke
Fear grips top cops after Mdluli's 'return'

Fear has gripped the officers who investigated embattled police spy boss Richard Mdluli following news that his suspension has been lifted.
Crime intelligence officers who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity said they feared that, with Mdluli back in office, he would target those who investigated him for fraud and murder charges. Mdluli's reinstatement comes a month after the National Prosecuting Authority served suspension papers on top anti-corruption prosecutor advocate GlynnisBreytenbach for her alleged "abuse of power". Many believed she was being punished for refusing to drop fraud charges against Mdluli. Police spokesman B rigadierLindelaMashigo confirmed on Wednesday night that Mdluli's suspension had been lifted, and said the development is an internal matter and that the police will not comment on it publicly. While there is still a veil of secrecy on the reasons for lifting Mdluli's suspension and when he will report for duty, an official from the Hawks said yesterday that the unit still did not understand how the Johannesburg deputy director of Public Prosecutions advocate Andrew Chauke arrived at a decision to withdraw the murder charge.
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"We have done a thorough investigation. Our hands are now chopped off. This is all political." The Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria provisionally withdrew charges against Mdluli in December of allegedly defrauding the police and a Pretoria car dealership of more than R90000, and for causing it to lose a further R1.28-million. The Hawks official said senior officers had been assigned to investigate both the fraud and the murder cases and that the withdrawal of charges and the lifting of the suspension have left a bitter taste in their mouths. Another Hawks official said it had fought for the case to remain on the court roll, but the withdrawal of both the murder and fraud charges was beyond its control. Both officials said their investigations were not politically motivated. National Prosecuting Authority spokesman MthunziMhaga said last night that the withdrawal of both charges were provisional and not clear cut. He said an inquiry into the murder charges would determine whether the prosecuting authority would proceed or not. Mhaga confirmed that the authority recently received a letter from the inspector general, advocate Faith Radebe. "She expressed reservations about our decision. We are considering everything and will then re-evaluate our decision." While officials were still trying to come to terms with the news of Mdluli's return, there have been talks in police corridors that he has been earmarked to take over as national police commissioner from Lieutenant-General NhlanhlaMkhwanazi, who has been acting since the suspension of BhekiCele. Officers said if Mdluli gets the position , it would be difficult for them to trust and respect him. They believe it would have been better if he had been tried in court and found not guilty instead of the charges being summarily withdrawn. In response to Mdluli's possible reinstatement, the DA's Diane Kohler Barnard said: "The DA holds this as an absolute disgrace given the controversy surrounding Mdluli, including allegations of fraud and murder. "The DA maintains that the prosecution of Mdluli was improperly dropped amid allegations of political interference." Kohler Barnard wants the decision to drop the charges to be reviewed, particularly in the light of increasing speculation that Mdluli would replace Cele, and his rumoured ties with President Jacob Zuma.
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But police ministry spokesman ZweliMnisi said: "We urge Kohler Barnard to join a community policing forum and direct her energies towards fighting crime instead of scoring political points. "We do not account to the DA, we account to millions of law-abiding citizens. And when we communicate we do not only target affluent media, which she understands or listens to. "Today we are in Khayelitsha talking to communities, not politicking on crime. We do not conform our engagements to Twitter and online media, we are in touch, speaking the language of the people. So she must relax. The suspension and or lifting of suspensions is a departmental function that is managed by management led by the acting national police commissioner. It's the same management that has reduced crime over the last year."
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Global South African Weekly News Wrap 04 April 2012

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Global South African Weekly News Wrap Up 4 April 2012

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