Congratulations to Alfred Mtsi and Xola Phakathi. I’m certain the people of Buffalo City Metro are delighted to have a brand new mayor and deputy because of their daily experience of the terrible consequences of poor service delivery, mismanagement, corruption and the politicisation of the municipality to the point where every vacant post becomes the terrain of a strong faction.
I am terribly sorry to tell you gentlemen, people are disillusioned and despondent.
You will no doubt remind our rank and file that resolutions and policies of a party can never be easily implemented in government because of other parties’ points of view. But I agree with those who say the ANC has no true contenders in BCM – the only people who will defeat the ANC are those in the ANC itself.
The UDM focuses on those who understand regional politics and rural terminology (a Xhosa region). And of course, the leader, Bantu Holomisa is grounded. And the DA may have some smart ladies and gentlemen in the region, very competent administratively, though not politically, but I doubt they can recruit ordinary people, drink coffee in a ghetto and start conversations without touching issues of social grants and groceries.
To the ANC’s new leadership who may be unfamiliar with the workings of local government, I would warn that the battlefield in the metro is far different from that of the relaxed legislature. It is so hot, factions are visible and people are restless. There is no diplomatic way of addressing issues all the time.
And the masses want drastic change and results. People are desperate for good governance. Oxford Street must retain its place as the pride of the CBD, not of a stream of filthy junk.
And when state funds are misappropriated the media will inform the public. They do so, not because they are intruders or hostile partners, but because they wish to ensure the line is drawn between the party and state because no one wants to be led by a mob. This will apply even if the UDM or DA takes over.
In this context friends become political foes.
I know Mr Mtsi, that you were a smart boxer and a good trade unionist, but this one is different. You go to bed with pills.
I’m worried Mr Mtsi, you are such a very nice person, I hope you will bring unity among the citizens in this region that you grew up in. — Thozamile Lunguza, East London
Beware union leaders
IT IS very interesting to see what happens when a once powerful union in the mining sector holds its elective congress and the leaders of this once beautiful union who have ascended to within the highest ranks of the ANC suffer a great loss and lose their bids to retain their positions.
Piet Matosa was the only survivor.
It has been great to see those fall who think the union is their personal farm, who undermine the ordinary members by taking decisions that are too factional and with the intent of dividing Cosatu, and who spend time and union resources on the succession debate in the ANC instead of dealing with the Marikana crisis and the minimum wage issue under former leaders of the NUM who have become employers in the mining sector.
Leaders in those unions that have not held elective congresses should be aware that even they can fall when ordinary members, perhaps even those sidelined on certain decisions, take a decision against the will of their leaders. Sadtu, Popcru, Nehawu even Cosatu will follow suit. — Thando Witbooi, former Sasco and ANCYL member
Funds should help SA
I AM really disturbed by statements made by Fikile Mbalula, the Minister of Sports in regard to the recent allegations of a Safa-Fifa bribe scandal. He emphatically denies bribery and calls the cash transfer a contribution to the “African Diaspora Legacy Programme”.
No surprises that the ANC comrades in parliament jumped in to save one of their own, Danny Jordaan, the sacrificial lamb for Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. They quite often shield disgraced comrades.
The impression that the minister gave me was that black people in the Caribbean islands are desperately in need of development.
If that was the case why were funds not transferred from rich nations to assist the development of black people in those communities.
South Africa is a poor country with only the top public servants living in luxurious homes that cost exorbitant prices – at the tax-payers’ expense.
To take money from a poor country such as South Africa and contribute it to some so-called “African Diaspora Legacy Project” does not make sense to me.
Much like it does not make sense for a government to protect the expenditure of R250-million on one man’s house.
And what other countries are making contributions to this so-called fund?
Jack Warner is on record saying as far as he knows the African Diaspora Legacy Project does not exist.
After all is said and done, the South African government is notorious for controversial transactions involving highly placed individuals who have political connections.
The way the ANC in parliament acted to defend Jordaan shows that the ruling party knows that there is trouble in the engine-room and is determined that the truth must not come out.
We are used to that.
There is no justification for the transfer of funds meant for football to some shady project. We are sitting with a disastrous national soccer team that continues to lose rankings both in Fifa and Caf. The state of football in our country is appalling and in dire need of rescue, yet politicians collude to protect soccer administrators supposedly responsible for the development of our football.
Development programmes have long been overlooked while fancy power-point presentations are made in hotels. This is a very bad legacy from our own to our own. — MS Milisi, via e-mail
Targeting youth needs
I’VE been listening to many people who continue to refer to June as “youth month”, celebrating and commemorating the anniversary of the 1976 Soweto uprising.
I agree, this historic epoch cannot be forgotten. It is of cardinal importance for it to be commemorated.
However, it is equally important to examine the current challenges confronting the youth of today. There is a “dialectic relationship in the phases of struggles”.
The youth of 1976 fought against the brutal apartheid system that sought to impose Afrikaans as the medium of instruction.
The youth of today is confronted by poverty, unemployment and income inequality that leads to cultural backwardness in some nodes in the country.
There are some students who passed matric and have ambitions but are financially excluded from institutions of higher learning, therefore such dreams cannot be realised.
There are some who went to university and acquired degrees but are unemployed. Some young people are dying of curable diseases and living in conditions of squalor with no hope of seeing their lives transformed for the better.
In acknowledging the progress made by government after the advent of democracy, the following issues needs to be revisited:
l Serious consideration must be given to radically transforming the economy of the country in order to make conditions conducive for people, in particular the black youth, to access jobs;
l Relevant stakeholders must come together across the social and political divides to address radical economic transformation;
l The proximity of youth service centres to youth in the rural areas needs to be prioritised so that young people in both remote rural areas and semi-urban areas can get information;
l Much financial support must be allocated to businesses initiated by young people. This has to be prioritised by government, along with simplifying the tender system.
Many of those involved in service delivery protest are young people. Because they are not working there is all the time for them to be swayed by people with interests outside of youth-centred economic development.
Young people are part of the anatomy of a revolution. They need to be prioritised. The celebration of the strides of the 1976 generation must talk to the economic liberation of the current generation. — Scara Njadayi, regional secretary of the ANC in Sarah Baartman region
Challenges ahead for BCM mayor
I am terribly sorry to tell you gentlemen, people are disillusioned and despondent.
You will no doubt remind our rank and file that resolutions and policies of a party can never be easily implemented in government because of other parties’ points of view. But I agree with those who say the ANC has no true contenders in BCM – the only people who will defeat the ANC are those in the ANC itself.
The UDM focuses on those who understand regional politics and rural terminology (a Xhosa region). And of course, the leader, Bantu Holomisa is grounded. And the DA may have some smart ladies and gentlemen in the region, very competent administratively, though not politically, but I doubt they can recruit ordinary people, drink coffee in a ghetto and start conversations without touching issues of social grants and groceries.
To the ANC’s new leadership who may be unfamiliar with the workings of local government, I would warn that the battlefield in the metro is far different from that of the relaxed legislature. It is so hot, factions are visible and people are restless. There is no diplomatic way of addressing issues all the time.
And the masses want drastic change and results. People are desperate for good governance. Oxford Street must retain its place as the pride of the CBD, not of a stream of filthy junk.
And when state funds are misappropriated the media will inform the public. They do so, not because they are intruders or hostile partners, but because they wish to ensure the line is drawn between the party and state because no one wants to be led by a mob. This will apply even if the UDM or DA takes over.
In this context friends become political foes.
I know Mr Mtsi, that you were a smart boxer and a good trade unionist, but this one is different. You go to bed with pills.
I’m worried Mr Mtsi, you are such a very nice person, I hope you will bring unity among the citizens in this region that you grew up in. — Thozamile Lunguza, East London
Beware union leaders
IT IS very interesting to see what happens when a once powerful union in the mining sector holds its elective congress and the leaders of this once beautiful union who have ascended to within the highest ranks of the ANC suffer a great loss and lose their bids to retain their positions.
Piet Matosa was the only survivor.
It has been great to see those fall who think the union is their personal farm, who undermine the ordinary members by taking decisions that are too factional and with the intent of dividing Cosatu, and who spend time and union resources on the succession debate in the ANC instead of dealing with the Marikana crisis and the minimum wage issue under former leaders of the NUM who have become employers in the mining sector.
Leaders in those unions that have not held elective congresses should be aware that even they can fall when ordinary members, perhaps even those sidelined on certain decisions, take a decision against the will of their leaders. Sadtu, Popcru, Nehawu even Cosatu will follow suit. — Thando Witbooi, former Sasco and ANCYL member
Funds should help SA
I AM really disturbed by statements made by Fikile Mbalula, the Minister of Sports in regard to the recent allegations of a Safa-Fifa bribe scandal. He emphatically denies bribery and calls the cash transfer a contribution to the “African Diaspora Legacy Programme”.
No surprises that the ANC comrades in parliament jumped in to save one of their own, Danny Jordaan, the sacrificial lamb for Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. They quite often shield disgraced comrades.
The impression that the minister gave me was that black people in the Caribbean islands are desperately in need of development.
If that was the case why were funds not transferred from rich nations to assist the development of black people in those communities.
South Africa is a poor country with only the top public servants living in luxurious homes that cost exorbitant prices – at the tax-payers’ expense.
To take money from a poor country such as South Africa and contribute it to some so-called “African Diaspora Legacy Project” does not make sense to me.
Much like it does not make sense for a government to protect the expenditure of R250-million on one man’s house.
And what other countries are making contributions to this so-called fund?
Jack Warner is on record saying as far as he knows the African Diaspora Legacy Project does not exist.
After all is said and done, the South African government is notorious for controversial transactions involving highly placed individuals who have political connections.
The way the ANC in parliament acted to defend Jordaan shows that the ruling party knows that there is trouble in the engine-room and is determined that the truth must not come out.
We are used to that.
There is no justification for the transfer of funds meant for football to some shady project. We are sitting with a disastrous national soccer team that continues to lose rankings both in Fifa and Caf. The state of football in our country is appalling and in dire need of rescue, yet politicians collude to protect soccer administrators supposedly responsible for the development of our football.
Development programmes have long been overlooked while fancy power-point presentations are made in hotels. This is a very bad legacy from our own to our own. — MS Milisi, via e-mail
Targeting youth needs
I’VE been listening to many people who continue to refer to June as “youth month”, celebrating and commemorating the anniversary of the 1976 Soweto uprising.
I agree, this historic epoch cannot be forgotten. It is of cardinal importance for it to be commemorated.
However, it is equally important to examine the current challenges confronting the youth of today. There is a “dialectic relationship in the phases of struggles”.
The youth of 1976 fought against the brutal apartheid system that sought to impose Afrikaans as the medium of instruction.
The youth of today is confronted by poverty, unemployment and income inequality that leads to cultural backwardness in some nodes in the country.
There are some students who passed matric and have ambitions but are financially excluded from institutions of higher learning, therefore such dreams cannot be realised.
There are some who went to university and acquired degrees but are unemployed. Some young people are dying of curable diseases and living in conditions of squalor with no hope of seeing their lives transformed for the better.
In acknowledging the progress made by government after the advent of democracy, the following issues needs to be revisited:
l Serious consideration must be given to radically transforming the economy of the country in order to make conditions conducive for people, in particular the black youth, to access jobs;
l Relevant stakeholders must come together across the social and political divides to address radical economic transformation;
l The proximity of youth service centres to youth in the rural areas needs to be prioritised so that young people in both remote rural areas and semi-urban areas can get information;
l Much financial support must be allocated to businesses initiated by young people. This has to be prioritised by government, along with simplifying the tender system.
Many of those involved in service delivery protest are young people. Because they are not working there is all the time for them to be swayed by people with interests outside of youth-centred economic development.
Young people are part of the anatomy of a revolution. They need to be prioritised. The celebration of the strides of the 1976 generation must talk to the economic liberation of the current generation. — Scara Njadayi, regional secretary of the ANC in Sarah Baartman region
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