Business Labour One battle down: 15 000 transport workers to end strike

9 OCT 2012 11:20 - REUTERS Around 15 000 striking transport workers are expected to return to work on Wednesday, although that will not include the main transport union, Satawu. OUR COVERAGE Test of unions' credibility Transport workers set to intensify strike MORE COVERAGE Road freight talks set to continue Emergency services brace for more injuries as transport strike continues Satawu vows to increase pressure for 12% increase "Three of the unions have agreed to suspend strike action," a spokesperson for the employers' body, the Road Freight Employers’ Association, told Reuters on Tuesday following negotiations. She said the major labour group, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, was not party to the agreement, which was made with three smaller unions: the Transport and Allied Workers Union of South Africa, the Motor Transport Workers Union and the Professional Transport Workers Union. Their members are due to suspend industrial action from 4pm on Tuesday. "They believe that there is now sufficient common ground to suspend strike action at this stage," the employers' body said. Negotiations between the four unions and employers would continue on Tuesday. Satawu spokesperson Vincent Masoga said their members would continue to strike. They represent about 28 000 trucking workers. Unions were back in negotiations with employers. Satawu wanted a 12% increase, but indicated a willingness to drop it to 10%. The freight association said it had already offered a double-digit increase last week, but Satawu rejected it, saying it only amounted to 9%. The strike began on September 24 and had left several trucks destroyed, people injured and – as of Tuesday morning, – at least one fatality. Trucker Gary Stewart died in a Cape Town hospital after a stone thrown by striking truckers penetrated his windshield and struck him on the head on Wednesday. Strikes continued across the country on Tuesday. In Durban cases of intimidation seemed to have died down, local authorities said. At Durban's port a long queue of trucks was forming at the port's Bayhead area, stretching several kilometres over the Congella bridge into the Umbilo suburb. Ethekwini metro police spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Msomi said this was due to truck drivers taking advantage of the fact that "the intimidation had died down". – Reuters, Sapa - MAIL & GUARDIAN - - COMMENTS BY SONNY Part of the strike ends on Tuesday 9th October 2012 - TODAY. The main saboteur Satawu wants their e-members to continue with their unreasonable demands. Sedition, Murder, Sabotage and Terrorism are punishable offences. Why does the SAPS not do their work when crimes of this nature get committed in front of them? The ANC is running scared. Maybe this is all just a class war.

News National De Klerk denies Nkandla-style benefits

News National De Klerk denies Nkandla-style benefits 07 OCT 2012 08:29 - SAPA Former president FW De Klerk has denied receiving benefits similar to those of President Jacob Zuma. OUR COVERAGE Will there be a jail on Nkandla for public works DG? Nkandla upgrade: Last-minute bid to hide costs Editorial: An inconvenient Nkandla truth? According to the Sunday Times, the properties of FW De Klerk did not have work done on them similar to that carried out at Zuma's Nkandla residence. De Klerk reportedly told the paper the state had paid to increase the height of a perimeter wall around his property in Fresnaye, Cape Town. It also paid for the installation of security cameras and the construction of a room and a toilet for his guards. When De Klerk retired, the government paid for a security guard's hut on the pavement of his Pretoria residence. On Friday, Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi claimed the upgrades at Zuma's residents were similar to those of former presidents. He refused to disclose how much money had been spent on the security and other construction at Nkandla. Protector launches probe Meanwhile, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has opened an investigation into publicly funded construction at Nkandla, City Press reported. "Yes, an investigation is under way," Madonsela told the paper. Madonsela said her office began preparing for an investigation after an official complaint was made a few months ago. She said Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko also made a complaint last week. "Because of our resource constraints, the investigation hasn't gone further than contacting the presidency," Madonsela told the paper. "We are asking the presidency who makes what decisions and who is accountable. This involves more than just [the department of] public works. The Mail & Guardian reported on Friday that the Nkandla homestead appeared to have been declared a national key point and was consequently subject to blanket secrecy. The government's own figures show that nearly R240-million is being spent on the homestead. This emerged as the government ratcheted up attempts to suppress the information using apartheid-era secrecy legislation. A document published by City Press last Sunday revealed that in March 2011 the state approved a security upgrade for an amount of R203-million at Nkandla. But department of public works director general Mandisa Fatyela-Lindie refused to comment in City Press, claiming the homestead was a national key point and thus subject to blanket secrecy. Skirting draconian defence laws with ease in Zuma's sleepy hometown Nxesi then defended the enormous expenditure and announced that the mere possession of the "top secret" document was illegal and he would investigate how it had reached the newspaper. However in May this year, Fatyela-Lindie herself supplied Nkandla's detailed cost allocations and projections in a briefing before Parliament's National Council of Provinces. This document can be freely accessed online. It suggests the department and Nxesi's claims that the information is "top secret" could be a recent construct, designed to prevent embarrassment for Zuma in the run-up to the ANC's elective conference in Mangaung in December. The cost schedule presented to the council reveals the following: Contractor fees at Nkandla are expected to total R193-million; Consultant fees at the homestead are projected to cost an extra R44-million. Three engineers canvassed by the Mail & Guardian expressed concern that, at 23% of the contractor's fee, this figure was very high. Consultant fees on such projects typically range between 10% and 15%; Several security upgrades for ministerial private residences are priced at exactly R100 000, which is consistent with the ministerial handbook regulations. The only two exceptions are Zuma's Nkandla, totalling R238-million and former President Nelson Mandela's Qunu residence, at R23-million, a fraction of what is being spent on Zuma; The department misled the M&G last November when it claimed it was spending only R36-million on Nkandla. In the cost schedule, it does reveal that R36-million was spent on contractor fees in "previous years". But the schedule also reveals that during the same period the department spent another R26-million on consultant fees. In addition to this glaring omission, the department was obfuscatory by failing to make reference to the enormous projected costs. - Staff reporter and Sapa Mail & Guardian Public works suffers with growing Nkandla headache 08 OCT 2012 10:29 - PHILLIP DE WET With the public protector investigating and questions being asked in Parliament, spending on government VIPs is causing trouble for public works. OUR COVERAGE Nkandla security dwarfs that of other presidents' homes Will there be a jail on Nkandla for public works DG? MORE COVERAGE De Klerk denies Nkandla-style benefits Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi tried to justify spending R240-million on President Jacob Zuma's private residence in Nkandla on Friday, just as tried to defend his department's prestige portfolio to lawmakers in the past. But in less public settings he is less conciliatory. Minutes show that Nxesi told Parliament in March that spending on prestige projects – including Zuma's home and the official residences of Cabinet ministers – had been "over-sensationalised". But just four months earlier he had himself expressed deep frustration with that section of the department. Also read: Nkandla security dwarfs that of other presidents' homes "Prestige – you are making my life miserable. I used to be well-liked amongst my peers in Parliament. Now I'm rapidly becoming public enemy number one," Nxesi said, according to the written version of a speech prepared for an annual department lekgotla in November. "Prestige manages to combine fruitless and wasteful expenditure on a grand scale with universal client dissatisfaction. You do not fix bad management by throwing more money at it." On Friday he also had harsh words for his department overall. Public works was in disarray, he said, and could not generate trustworthy numbers to begin with – so the media should view with suspicion any information leaked from it. Public Protector Thuli Madonsela over the weekend confirmed preliminary information-gathering, which could lead to a full investigation, had begun, and that it received several complaints around the amount spent on Zuma's Nkandla residence. Several political parties are apparently also considering different ways to raise the matter in Parliament, and media organisations including the Mail & Guardian's Centre for Investigative Journalism are considering legal avenues to obtain details on spending at Nkandla. The public works department said Zuma himself started a big upgrade of the Nkandla compound at the same time as government money was spent to secure it. It has provided broad details on the work done, including providing water and sewage treatment systems, but said releasing financial information would be illegal and would endanger the safety of the president. But comparisons between spending at Nkandla and other projects of the department – provided by the department itself – shows a huge difference in costs. A schedule of expenditure the department provided to Parliament in May shows 16 private residences of office-bearers had been allocated exactly R100 000 each for security upgrades. Of those, four are in Johannesburg, four more in Pretoria, three in Pietermaritzburg, and one each in Kranskop, Bloemfontein, Polokwane, Durban and Cape Town. Kranskop is just a short distance south-east of Nkandla. None of the office bearers are identified, although one beneficiary appears to be Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula. The Ministerial Handbook caps security spending on private residences at R100 000, a number that appears to be used as a target rather than a maximum. In the same document, a three year project for work around the home of Nelson Mandela in Qunu is valued at R22.8-million. On Friday Nxesi implied that spending on the residences of Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and FW de Klerk would be similar to that at Nkandla, although spending "may be at different scales depending on where they are located". The schedule also shows that spending on Zuma's Nkandla residence will make up around two-thirds of the entire budget for all special and prestige projects, and will cost more than the combined expenditure on inner city regeneration, making government buildings more accessible for the disabled and all other private residences of office-bearers combined. Mail & Guardian - - De Klerk paved the way for these greedy despots. He was too busy screwing around on a yacht in the Mediterranean to think about his wife and South Africa. He has no room to comment on conditions in South Africa NOW! Frederik Willem de Klerk has gone down in history as the biggest traitor of the Afrikaner Folk. Okay, we all know the politics behind his agenda. Gained a Greek wife - Lost a Country! CRIME DOES PAY IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Brits ‘murder’ trio to appear in court

THE three men accused of murdering former heavyweight boxing champion Corrie Sanders will appear in the Brits Magistrate’s Court again this morning. 08 October 2012 | JEVANNE GIBBS Paida Fish, 20, Samuel Mabena, 25, and Chris Moyo, 24, face charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. The trio were arrested in the Oukasie informal settlement near Brits after a tip-off. They remained in police custody after the case was postponed for further investigation when they appeared in court last week. Sanders, 46, was shot at the Tha-tch Haven Country Lodge near Brits on September 22. He died the next day in Kalafong Hospital in Pretoria after undergoing emergency surgery. He was laid to rest last week. One of the accused, Samuel Mabena, appeared in court last week in connection with the murder of Mauritz Oberholzer, 65, on September 5 on a plot in Brits. The Citizen Tribute to South African Boxing Legend Corrie Sanders Internationally renowned in boxing circles for defeating Wladimir Klitschko with a second-round knockout in 2003, earning him the title of WBO heavyweight champion, South African boxer Corrie Sanders died in the early hours of 23 September 2012, after being shot during an armed robbery at a restaurant in Brits while attending a family occassion. Tributes and condolences have been pouring in, with his arch-rivals Wladimir Klitschko and his brother Vitali Klitschko expressing their shock and condolences at the news, noting that Sanders will be remembered as a great person both inside and outside the ring, and that he had been a great fighter who positively represented the sport of boxing. Sanders' 2003 victory over Klitschko was named by The Ring – an American magazine dedicated to boxing - as the "Upset of the Year". Born in Pretoria on 7 January 1966, Cornelius "Corrie" Johannes Sanders started his boxing career with a decisive win against King Kong Dyubele on 2 April 1989, knocking his opponent out in the first round. He went on to win his first 23 fights, 15 of which he won by knockout, revealing his strength as a southpaw fighter. Some of the opponents he conquered during this early days of his career included British boxer Johnny Nelson, who went on to become the WBO cruiserweight champion, and American future world title challenger Bert Cooper. His first defeat was at the hands of Nate Tubbs, where on his 24th bout which took place on 21 May 1994, Sanders was knocked out in the second round. Over the next five years, Sanders fought 12 more times, with his victories including a first round knockout over Puerto Rican former world cruiserweight champion Carlos De León, and a knockout in the second round against American Bobby Czyz, who had held both heavyweight and cruiserweight champion titles. Following a break from boxing, when Corrie Sanders returned to the ring in 2001 he defeated British contender Michael Sprott, following up with a win against Otis Tisdale in 2002. On 8 March 2003, at a match in Hanover, Germany, Sanders dropped WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko four times, finishing the fight with a second-round knockout and clinching the WBO heavyweight title. Sanders vacated the WBO title in favor of pursuing a challenge for the vacant WBC belt. His fight against Vitali Klitschko (Wladimir's older brother) took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and he was defeated in the eighth round. The last bouts of his boxing career saw Sanders defeat Alexei Varakin with a second-round knockout in December 2004 in Austria, a second-round stoppage victory over Australian heavyweight champion Colin Wilson at Mmabatho in the North West Province of South Africa, a win against Brazilian Daniel Bispo in a Golden Gloves Promotions bout in South Africa, before losing to Osborne Machimana, after which he retired. During his career, Corrie Sanders competed in 46 fights, won 42 with 31 by knockouts and lost 4 – an impressive record which will remain in the annals of boxing, even as fans, friends and family mourn his untimely death. Tags: boxing, sport, pretoria, north west province, champion, corrie sanders South Africa.Com - - - Comments by Sonny - - - These illegal Terrorists from Zimbabwe should not get bail. They allege that they are running away fro the Despot Regime of Robert Mugabe.. They appear to more likely be disciples of the murdering scum! His time will also come. Death has been evading him for far too long.

Sunday, October 7, 2012 Boeremag Members – Entrapment by Police

This posting is a direct translation from the original Afrikaans article written by Jacques Pauw, as it appeared on the front page of Rapport - dated Sunday, 7 October 2012: ‘Boeremag-lokval’ (Boeremag Entrapment) Conspiracy by police spies exposed Most costly trial must perhaps start over After nine years and after the guilty verdicts of 20 Boeremag members for high treason, there is a possibility that the Boeremag trial can be derailed due to shock allegations of underhanded dealings by the police.


The trial is the most costly case in South Africa’s legal history. New sworn affidavits allege that police spies planted evidence, incited, and enticed Boeremag members to commit crimes.

It is further alleged that crime intelligence eavesdropped on conversations between the accused and their legal representatives while the accused were in custody. A total of 20 Boeremag conspirators have already been found guilty of high treason in the Pretoria High Court.

According to Prof. Pierre de Vos, a specialist in constitutional law, if the sworn allegations are true - the Boeremag trial can be declared null and void. The accused can even be set free. The case has continued for nine years and has cost roughly R100 million. The court record is 50,000 pages long, and exhibits are packed in several storerooms. The State has called 159 witnesses so far.

Media24’s independent investigating team obtained a copy of a sworn affidavit by a former intelligence-officer. The affidavit contained specific allegations, and includes claims of police deception (Afr: polisie-onderduimsheid) and the making available of explosives to the conspirators.

A prominent advocate from Pretoria confirmed this past week that he is acting as the legal representative for “senior and trustworthy” police officials, who submitted sworn affidavits containing details of how crime intelligence had incited, mislead, and entrapped members of the Boeremag.

The advocate, who due to the sensitive nature of the case preferred to remain anonymous, said that he had already informed the authorities and handed over the affidavits to them. Media24’s investigating team has a sworn statement in their possession – made in August by Captain Deon Loots, a former crime intelligence-officer.

The statement identifies current and former crime intelligence-officers, who according to Loots conspired to plot a campaign against the Boeremag. He also alleges that eavesdropping apparatus was planted in the cells of the accused and also rooms where they consulted with their legal representatives. He also states that police officers – all white – wanted to secure their future with the “new management” of the police, and used the Boeremag investigation for this purpose.

Loots mentioned in his affidavit that he has been investigating the right-wing on behalf of crime intelligence, since 1994. He recruited and handled the police-agent JC Smit, who infiltrated the Boeremag. Smit was the main State Witness, and his testimony was described by the judge as trustworthy.

Loots mentions he doesn’t believe that all the Boeremag members are innocent, but that the group was enticed and motivated by crime intelligence agents. He said that the infamous “Document 12”, which was considered by the court as the Boeremag’s master plan for a violent Coup d'état by right-wingers, was typed on his own computer and further enhanced before it was presented to the Boeremag. The court found that the Boeremag leader, Mike du Toit, was in possession of “Document 12” and that he discussed it and also distributed it to other conspirators “The Boeremag was powered, orchestrated and controlled by police members. Right-wingers were incited to create the perfect climate,” Loots said.

Paul Kruger, a lawyer who acted for 13 of the Boeremag members, said that the defence team always suspected their conversations were being eavesdropped on. In December 2003 an eavesdropping device was found in the cell of Lets Pretorius, where he was being held in the maximum security section of Pretoria Central prison. Kruger managed to obtain a sworn statement from a prison warder who confirmed this. Two experts also confirmed that the device was a highly sophisticated and sensitive apparatus, and in good working order.

When Loots was asked in, the past week, why he only decided to provide a sworn affidavit now, he replied that he had for years tried to bring the controversy under the attention of his superiors, but that he was repeatedly shunned. The police agreed that they would react to the allegations by the day before yesterday, but have, until last night, not delivered any commentary yet.

Sourced from Rapport – Print Edition, dated 7 October 2012. Translated into English by Tia Mysoa. Related Post: Boeremag defendants: leftovers of apartheid or freedom fighters? By Avigdor Eskin ********************* ******* *** “A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.

For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men.

He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.

The traitor is the plague.” Marcus Tullius Cicero Posted by Tia Mysoa at 3:21 PM Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Comments by Sonny If this disturbing story is found to be the truth, the heads in the SAPS, NIA, NPA and government should roll.

The present NPA head has already been "stamped" a liar! There are suspicions that the NIA SAPS are busy with volume two of their deceit and betrayal. Another "Boeremag" court case is on the cards.

There is not justice for Whites in this corrupt democracy. There are spies and impimpis everywhere. ENTRAPMENT IS AGAINST THE PRINCIPALS OF THE SA CONSTITUTION.

HomeSouth AfricaArticle 'Don't buy e-tags': Samwu

Sapa | 06 October, 2012 11:17 Traffic pours under one of the many e-toll gantries along the N1 highway. File photo. Image by: HALDEN KROG People should not buy e-tags and should protest against the implementation of e-tolls to ensure the government listens, the SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) said on Friday. SAVE & SHARE 0 inShare EMAILPRINT RELATED NEWS E-toll meeting to resume next week Cosatu vows action if e-tolls are implemented Do not buy e-tags: Cosatu "This union strongly believes that the pressure of the masses is crucial to forcing government to back down on this blatant extortion," spokesman Tahir Sema said in a statement. "We will aim to make the tolls uncollectable and force the government and SA National Roads' Agency [Limited (Sanral)] to find more equitable ways to pay for road improvements." Earlier, it was announced that a meeting between the inter-ministerial committee on e-tolling and Cosatu, chaired by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, would convene again next week. "The meeting [on Friday] agreed that more time was needed for both parties to consider the proposals on the table," Motlanthe's spokesman Thabo Masebe said in a statement. Motlanthe led the government delegation and Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Sidumo Dlamini the labour delegations at the meeting at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. It followed a July 20 consultation. The IMC had been expected to announce its plans on Friday for implementing e-tolling in Gauteng. However, Masebe said this would be delayed because the IMC needed time to discuss the issues raised. Cosatu has mounted a campaign against e-tolling, which it believes is the wrong way to raise money to maintain the country's major roads. The government's plans to introduce e-tolling in Gauteng have provoked opposition by motorists and residents of South Africa's economic heartland. Sema said the government should scrap the e-toll project. "Government must investigate as to who was responsible for steam-rolling these projects past all the relevant processes. This, for us, is highly suspicious, given the amounts of money involved in the various toll road projects." The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) said it was clear the government intended to launch e-tolling in Gauteng before a court review took place. This was judging by the comments made by the transport minister urging the public to buy e-tags this week, it said in a statement. Outa was expecting the IMC to announce it was reducing the e-toll tariff and the capped maximum charge. Chairman Wayne Duvenage said: They [will] go on the charm offensive to woo the public into believing this is the best option. "We also believe their announcement will include the acceptance of e-tolling by a few entities that were originally opposed to the plan." Outa rejected e-tolling under the "user-pays" principle. Cliff Johnston of the SA National Consumer Union said the collection costs and the burden placed on society were independent of the amount charged per kilometre. Road users would still have to foot a bill of more than R1.1 billion a year just to cover the electronic toll collection process. Automobile Association spokesman Gary Ronald said it was worrying that the ETC [Electronic Toll Collection] contracts remained confidential. They should be made public for the citizens who would be paying the toll fees. The Justice Project SA said it supported Outa. "JPSA... remains vehemently opposed to this ludicrously costly and inefficient way of collecting funding and paying for infrastructure in our country, effectively privatising public roads and enriching Austrian-based Kapsch TrafficCom," chairman Howard Dembovsky said in a statement. There was a risk that the e-toll fees could escalate out of control as had happened with other state-owned enterprises, such as Eskom, he said. Times Live South African President Zuma Lashes VP Kgalema Over Transition Document Critique Republic of South Africa President Jacob Zuma has launched an attack on Vice-President Kgalema Motlanthe for questioning the succession issue within the ruling African National Congress (ANC). , a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr. Zuma lashes Kgalema 24 Jun 2012 20:42 Matuma Letsoalo South African Mail & Guardian President Jacob Zuma has launched a veiled attack on Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe for questioning the second transition. Addressing the closing session of the Free State ANC’s provincial conference Zuma gave his blessing to the disputed conference despite allegations of irregularities relating to the auditing of delegates. Senior ANC provincial leaders and the ANC Youth League provincial leadership boycotted the conference which saw Free State Premier Ace Magashule controversially re-elected as ANC chairperson. With less than six months before the ANC holds its elective conference in Mangaung in December, Zuma, who is facing a serious revolt from within the organisation is desperately seeking support from ANC provincial structures for his second term as ANC president. The youth league and other ANC structures, including Limpopo, Gauteng, North West, Northern Cape, Western Cape and a large portion of Eastern Cape, are pushing for Motlanthe to replace him. Speaking at the Harold Wolpe lecture in the Eastern Cape last week, Motlanthe criticised the second transition document, saying it was steeped in the SACP’s Marxist jargon and failed to convey what the ANC wanted to achieve as it grappled with underdevelopment. Direct attack on Zuma This was seen by many in the ANC as a direct attack on Zuma, who has been championing the idea of a second transition over the past few weeks. The majority of ANC provinces, with the exception of KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga and Free State, have also rejected the second transition document – which is expected to dominate discussions at the ANC policy conference this week. In what was a clear response to Motlanthe’s criticism, Zuma lashed out at his deputy for his public critique of the document. Zuma has been using the second transition discussion document as a campaign ticket for his second term. On Sunday Zuma said: “It is important to understand how the ANC works. The ANC produces documents first and they are discussed by working committees. Once they (the documents) are looked at by the national executive committee they are sent to branches. “This is what we did. Comrades at leadership level had the opportunity to see them and the time to look at it, not once but three times. The NEC discussed it three times. It is inconceivable for a member of the NEC to say he is not aware of it”. Zuma said while there was some progress in terms of transformation that the ANC needed to shift into the “second transition” to speed up job creation and service delivery or risk ending up like other African countries who had gained their liberation “but did not know what to do with it”. Review of the Constitution “If we don’t talk about the second transition I don’t know how we are going to face these (unemployment and the growing inequalities in the country) challenges… We need a second transition because we can’t continue with the first,” said Zuma. Zuma hinted that the second transition may include a review of the Constitution. “Ours was a negotiated settlement. People forget this”. Borrowing from one of Malema’s memorable quotes Zuma said: “There were sunset clauses but no sunrise clauses (in the constitution)”. He said: “The ANC must discuss this to help people who are suffering to understand. It is us who must bring this discussion. I do not think we must be loved by people to do that. There will be opposition all the time. That is the way of life. That’s why I am saying let’s occupy the space,” he said. A confident Zuma then stated: “The time has come to do what must be done for our country,(and) not to make a few individuals happy.” “Those who say second transition is not right, they must produce an alternative.” Zuma lambasted Motlanthe for his remarks that ANC leaders should avoid spending more time praising past ANC leaders instead of articulating the vision of the current leadership to take the country forward. “We took a decision to remember our successes in 2012 (ANC centenary celebration). It is not as if the ANC never had challenges. Some challenges made other political parties perish. The ANC did not perish.” He said the “celebration was important to all of us” and that citizens were aware that “it was the ANC that liberated us”. “These matters that must be celebrated by us. We are celebrating those leaders who succeeded against the odds. We celebrate the fact that we got freedom in 1994,” said Zuma. Buoyed by the re-election of his ally – Magashule, Zuma was in a full-blown campaign mode, also launched a blistering attack on Malema, suggesting Malema was never a real ANC member because he insulted elders. “The ANC established the ANC Youth League not the other way around. This is in the constitution of the ANC. The class of 1944 which included Anton Lembede, OR Tambo and Nelson Mandela understood this very well. They never insulted leaders, they never did this. Only those who do not have ANC in their blood do this,” said Zuma. There was jubilation as Zuma entered the conference venue in Parys on Sunday. With their fingers up, signaling second term for Zuma, delegates sang pro-Zuma songs for almost an hour after his arrival, on instruction of the provincial leadership who encouraged them to dance for their president. In Zuma’s presence, members of the NEC deployed to the province including Communications Minister Dina Pule, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Mining Minister Susan Shabangu, also made the signal to show their support for second term for Zuma. The provincial conference rejected wholesale nationalisation, expropriation of land without compensation, but endorsed the second transition document. The conference endorsed the ANC’s decision to expel Malema – saying it must serve as an example to other ANC members. Zuma warned that the ANC would have to take firm action against senior ANC leaders who dissented from the party line. Zuma faction to 'suppress' leadership debate 25 Jun 2012 06:44 - Nickolaus Bauer ANC members aligned to President Jacob Zuma say no discussions about leadership will be allowed on to the agenda at the upcoming policy conference. Supporters of ANC president Jacob Zuma will stop any attempts to discuss leadership issues at the ruling party’s policy conference this week. This is the unyielding view of sources within the ruling party, who told the Mail & Guardian they will “suppress” any attempts to discuss succession within the ruling party. “People wanting to abuse this conference by bringing up leadership will be silenced. They cannot use this conference to put forward their own agenda – it won’t happen,” said one ruling party source, requesting to remain anonymous but known to be a Zuma supporter. Officially, it would seem the party itself officially supports this train of thought, telling the M&G it would be “out of line” for delegates to discuss leadership or succession in Midrand. ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu told the M&G that “only policies” must be discussed at the policy conference which takes place at Gallagher Estate from Tuesday. “The reality is that this is a policy conference and not an elective conference and ANC members must differentiate between the two,” Mthembu said. This is despite nothing being stated in the ANC constitution regarding the rules of engagement within a policy conference. Zuma is currently embroiled in a covert leadership tussle in an attempt to retain his position as president of the party at their upcoming national elective conference in Mangaung this December. Although neither has publicly stated their intentions, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale are both seen as the frontrunners to challenge Zuma in Mangaung. Sexwale recently told a rally in Alexandra that ANC leaders should change or face removal, while Motlanthe strongly criticised the ruling party’s recent calls for a second transition. Both instances are interpreted as veiled attacks on Zuma’s leadership. Zuma, meanwhile, lashed out at critics of the second transition at the party’s Free State provincial conference at the weekend, challenging them to come up with a better plan. While the policy conference is not officially sanctioned as a meeting where leadership can be debated, it is expected to be the arena in which the presidential hopefuls would informally launch and gauge support for their campaigns. These comments follow hot on the heels of a City Press report claiming NEC member Tony Yengeni – who is thought to be anti-Zuma – said issues surrounding succession would be thrashed out at the policy conference. “Leadership will be discussed, especially how leadership conducts itself. There will be an assessment of the current leadership of the ANC,” Yengeni is quoted in the article. Mthembu said that while the party couldn’t control “people discussing things in shebeens and taverns”, anyone attempting to put leadership issues on the agenda will be prevented from doing so. “On Friday when President Zuma closes this conference, the ANC will come out with clear ideas on policies and nothing else,” he said. But, a high level ANC NEC member told the M&G it would be “foolhardy” for the ANC to think leadership won’t come up at the policy conference. “People talk, you can’t stop that.” The issue of leadership of the party won’t come up directly, but it could arise within the policy commissions taking place at the conference,” the source, who requested anonymity, told the M&G. The source also said issues involving “quality” of leadership would more than likely be introduced. “It is possible for members to discuss what type of leadership we want going forward, what attributes and qualities we need in our leadership,” he said. ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe put a lid on any discussions around leadership in the run up to Mangaung, saying leadership debates will only officially be opened in October. PAN-AFRICAN NEWS Simelane judgment welcomed Sapa | 06 October, 2012 09:31 Menzi Simelane. File photo. The Constitutional Court judgment that found the appointment of Menzi Simelane as National Director of Public Prosecutions invalid has been welcomed. SAVE & SHARE 2 inShare EMAILPRINT Centre for Constitutional Rights director Johan Kruger said the ruling was a victory for the South African Constitution. "The court's judgment reaffirmed our constitutional values, rights and principles, the superiority of the Constitution and the importance of abiding by the provisions of the Constitution," he said in a statement. "This judgment by the Constitutional Court -- the ultimate guardian of the Constitution -- was a victory for the Constitution and a reaffirmation that no one, including the president, may act outside of the provisions of the Constitution." The Constitutional Court made the ruling on Friday morning. In reading the unanimous judgment, Judge Zak Yacoob said the court reached a number of legal conclusions, including that the NDPP's appointment was not a matter to be determined by the subjective opinion of the president. "It was rather a jurisdictional prerequisite to be determined objectively," he said. On May 8, the court heard an application by the Democratic Alliance to confirm a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that the decision to employ Simelane was invalid. President Jacob Zuma appointed Simelane as NDPP in November 2009. Kruger said Zuma should explain his appointment because the Constitution required the government to be accountable, responsive and open. The Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution (Casac) welcomed the ruling and said it confirmed the constitutional principles that the office of NDPP had to be non-political and non-partisan. "The Constitution requires the president to objectively ascertain whether the appointee is a fit and proper person with due regard to their conscientious and integrity..." it said. Casac said that when Zuma appointed a new NDPP, he needed to consider whether the new appointee would be able to ensure that the credibility and neutrality of the National Prosecuting Authority was restored. "The president has a legal duty to consider whether his chosen appointee will be able to ensure the NPA take decisions to institute criminal prosecution 'honestly, fairly and without fear, favour or prejudice'," it said. The Inkatha Freedom Party said the fact that Zuma and his legal advisers had been prepared to go to court and had lost was proof that the African National Congress was a "failed government". "This is yet another example of how government's incompetence is costing the taxpayers huge amounts in wasted legal costs," chief whip Koos van der Merwe said in a statement. "The fact that the Constitutional Court gave judgment against the president of the country, is proof that our judiciary judge matters without fear or favour and true only to the Constitution and to their consciences." On Friday afternoon, the presidency said it was studying the judgment. "The presidency respects and will abide by the ruling of the Constitutional Court, which is the highest court in our democracy," spokesman Mac Maharaj said. The report of the Ginwala Commission of Inquiry into Simelane's predecessor Vusi Pikoli's fitness to hold office had raised concerns about Simelane's understanding of the relationship between the justice department, where he was director general, and the NPA. Ginwala, in her 2008 report, found his testimony contradictory and without basis in fact or law. Yacoob said Simelane was evaluated in terms of the Ginwala inquiry and his evidence. "[We] conclude that the evidence was contradictory and, on its face, indicative of Mr Simelane's honesty. It raises serious questions about Mr Simelane's conscientiousness, integrity, and credibility." TIMES LIVE - - Comments by Sonny - - - Now the vice president Kgalema Motlanthe wants to serve his own agenda and that of his Gugu Doll before that of his president. Who will survive the succession battle in December 2012? Hopefully, none of the above. POWER, GREED & CORRUPTION ARE THE THREE PILLARS ON WHICH THE ANC ARE STRUCTURED! THIS IS THE COUNTRY WHERE THE PICK THE WEAKEST AND PREY ON HIS DEDICATION TO THE LEADERS. SABOTAGE IS A NATIONAL SPORT OF THE TRADE UNIONS IN SA.