UK gives £19million aid to South Africa - its president spends £17.5million on his palace Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2238017/UK-gives-19million-aid-South-Africa--president-spends-17-5million-palace.html#ixzz2DPk2Xz7L Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

By BARBARA JONES PUBLISHED: 23:50 GMT,
24 November 2012
| UPDATED: 23:50 GMT, 24 November 2012 Comments (480)

It is a nation racked by poverty, where 13 million people survive on less than £1 a day, and two million have no access to a toilet.
Yet as his people struggle in squalor, South African president Jacob Zuma has sparked outrage by spending £17.5 million to upgrade his rural family home.

Lavish works – which include the construction of 31 new houses, an underground bunker accessed by lifts and a helipad – will cost almost as much as the £19 million British taxpayers send to South Africa in annual aid.

Not quite right...South African president Jacob Zuma continues to have a lavish lifestyle despite many parts of his country struggling for survival The costly upgrade to Zuma’s once-humble home in the village of Nkandla includes Astroturf sports fields and tennis courts, a gymnasium and state-of-the art security systems, including fingerprint-controlled access pads.

And nearby roads have benefited from a further £40 million of improvements. When African journalists revealed the astronomical cost of the work, Zuma’s ministers turned on the whistle-blowers, saying that revealing the details of ‘top secret’ documents was illegal. Originally the cost of the project, which began two years ago, was put at £500,000 – but it has since skyrocketed. South African taxpayers are footing most of the bill, although Zuma, a polygamist with four wives and at least 20 children, is said to be contributing £700,000 of his own money – a stretch on his annual £185,000 salary.

More than 150,000 forced off benefits after refusing to participate in Iain Duncan-Smith's back-to-work scheme However, he also receives a controversial £1.2million in ‘spousal support’ for his wives – despite recently calling on fellow politicians to tighten their belts – and pays only a peppercorn rent of £560 on the tribally owned plot in the Zululand hills where his mansion sits. Zuma has named his residence a ‘national key point’ – a status invented by the previous paranoid apartheid government – which means it is entitled to security measures ‘in the interests of the nation’.

Bewildering: Work continues on Zuma's 'palace' as 31 buildings in his residence get given the go ahead Last week he was grilled in parliament about what he and his family were costing the nation, and struggled to answer, protesting that he was unaware of the scale of the work. ‘All the buildings and every room we use in that residence were built by ourselves as family and not by the government,’ he protested. He did not know the amount spent on bunkers, claiming: ‘I don’t know the figures; that’s not my job.’ Under pressure, Zuma has been forced to agree to two investigations: one to probe the spiralling costs at Nkandla, the other to see if there was a breach of parliamentary spending rules.

Support: Zuma, pictured left, remains high in popularity in South Africa much to do with his friendship with Nelson Mandela (right) ‘Nkandlagate’ – as the state-owned media have been banned from calling it – is just the latest scandal to engulf the 70-year-old African National Congress leader. In 2004 he faced trial with his financial adviser Schabir Shaik over racketeering and corruption claims for accepting tens of thousands of pounds in bribes from European arms firms. Shaik was imprisoned for 15 years, but Zuma’s case was ‘discontinued’ after complicated legal wrangling – even though a judge said there was ‘overwhelming’ evidence of a corrupt relationship between the two men.

The following year, a 31-year-old HIV-positive woman accused him of rape. Although he was acquitted, Zuma’s ludicrous claim that he took a shower after sex to prevent contracting HIV made him a laughing stock. His personal life also came under scrutiny following the 2000 suicide of his first wife, who left a note describing ‘24 years of hell’ with him, and again after the illegitimate birth of another child in 2009. He accused the media of invading his privacy when revealing the scandal.

Meanwhile, South Africa is in an increasingly parlous state, having had its credit rating downgraded following industrial unrest. Workers at the Marikana platinum mine were mown down and killed by armed police last month when they dared to demand better pay. A truck-drivers’ strike later led to more deaths, and last week thousands of farmworkers downed tools in protest at their £4.85 day-rate. Yet Zuma – who glories in his nickname ‘100 per cent Zulu boy’ – still has substantial support among the people, bolstered by his freedom-fighter credentials, having spent ten years imprisoned on Robben Island alongside Nelson Mandela.

Britain is committed to spending an average of £19 million a year in aid on South Africa until 2015, mainly aimed at reducing HIV. But the Department for International Development is examining how it spends the UK’s aid budget, and recently announced plans to slash the controversial £280 million a year it sends to India. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2238017/UK-gives-19million-aid-South-Africa--president-spends-17-5million-palace.html#ixzz2DPkErDlj

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Apocalypse South Africa LIKE THIS BLOG2 William By William Ernest Cox Posted Sep 24, 2008 in Politics 1 comment
+ Johannesburg 24September 2008 (Heritage Day) Review JOHANNESBURG

- 2 May 2008Sonny Cox APOCALYPSE SOUTH AFRICA…..“Apocalypse Now, a movie (1979) by Francis Ford Coppola . This surreal, hallucinatory account of the Vietnam War is based loosely on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness . It follows a U.S. captain on his mission to assassinate a rebel officer, played by Marlon Brando, conducting his own independent war in the heart of the jungle“…... The total onslaught against civil society in South Africa is based on politics.

It is a revolution of classism ideals based on socialism.The ruling class were all taken out of their own depth and placed in another aristocratic league in society. Hence, affirmative action, BEE and racial equity.They have outclassed their own capabilities and are headed for destruction.They tend to blame their failures on Apartheid, which, unfortunately died 14 years ago in 1994.South Africa is soon to be plunged into tribal strife which has plagued African tribes since eternity.

The lead up to the ANC NEC conference in Polokwane in December 2007 bore testimony of the future of politics in this country.The Xhosa’s were the forerunners of this young democracy, but they failed to achieve because this decade will see the Zulu’s taking over the political arena with the arrogance and corruption of their members in parliament and State in general.Because of their BEE and equity drives they have turned willing allies into foes.The next decade will experience the political power in the hands of the Zulu’s as the ruling party.

The Zulu people are known for their dominance amongst the black tribes of Africa, particularly the South African region, where they drove their opponents as far North as Rhodesia in the last two to three Centuries.President Thabo Mbebi’s silent diplomacy of Robert Mugabe’s atrocities in Zimbabwe over the last decade is going to be a deciding factor of how the Zulu’s will treat the Xhosa’s in future.Faction division and in-fighting has been the order of the day for Centuries and only the future holds the secrets to the South African Holocaust and destruction of democracy and well earned freedom.

Will the whites have any role to play in the further destruction of the economy and infrastructure of this wonderful nation?Where non delivery has become the order of the day! WEC (C) 2008 Posted by Sonny Cox at 9:29 AM

Labels: Apocalypse, atrocities, corruption, destruction, genocide, holocaust., Jacob Zuma, Robert Mugabe, Thabo Mbeki 8 comments: Sonny Cox said... President Thabo Mbeki is to become one of the top ten role players in the destruction of Southern Africa!He assisted with a shipment of illegal arms to Zimbabwe! May 17, 2008 1:22 PM Comments by author On thursday 25 September 2008 at 11:00 President Thabo Mbeki and 11 ol his ministers will fromally resign from SA politics. Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/blog/1125#ixzz2DPkbsRR5 - - - - - COMMENTS BY SONNY COX THE RISE AND FALL OF JACOB ZUMA OF KZN SOUTH AFRICA. DOES 'OLA' (WELLS) LONDON SUPPLY THE NKANDLA TUCK SHOP WITH ICE CREAM?

Madonsela finds Tina guilty of violating ethics code

26 NOV 2012 15:11 - STAFF REPORTER, SAPA

Public protector Thuli Madonsela has found that Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson violated the executive ethics code. OUR COVERAGE Agriculture ministry frozen by infighting MORE COVERAGE Agriculture minister to hold urgent meeting on De Doorns Agriculture minister denies Zumaville donation President Jacob Zuma should consider reprimanding Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson for violating the executive ethics code, public protector Thuli Madonsela said on Monday.

Madonsela said the department's acting director general should recover about R150 000 Joemat-Pettersson unlawfully incurred for return flights of her two children and their au pair from Sweden to South Africa in January 2010. The minister travelled to Sweden in December 2009 on official business, where she held meetings on matters relevant to her portfolio.

The trip was combined with a family holiday, which started at the end of the official trip on December 23. Joemat-Pettersson, however, had to cut the holiday short when she was recalled by the presidency and returned on January 1 2010. "The return trips of the minister's children and au pair were paid for by the state in violation of the provisions of paragraph 3.4 of chapter 6 of the Ministerial Handbook, in the amount of R151 878," Madonsela found in her report.

The public protector also investigated whether the minister used public funds in occupying expensive accommodation at hotels while she was awaiting the allocation of her official residences in Cape Town and Pretoria. Expenses Joemat-Pettersson incurred include, among others, a month's stay at the Vineyard Hotel and Spa in Cape Town during June and July 2009 at a cost of R134 735, a five-week stay at the Peermont D'Oreal Grande Emperor's Palace in Johannesburg between September 16 and October 21 2009 at a total cost of R289 352 and a month spent at the Pure Toys One CC in Johannesburg during the 2010 Fifa World Cup at a cost of R420 000.

Last year, President Jacob Zuma was forced to fire Sicelo Shiceka, the late minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, after Madonsela found him to have acted unlawfully, of being dishonest with public money and in contravention of the Cabinet's executive ethics code as well as the Constitution. – Sapa MAIL & GUARDIAN - - - - -

COMMENTS BY SONNY Is Tina the only "Fall Woman" here? If the president can get away with corruption, then, why not his ministers? The ANC is doomed to self destruction!

Man critical after Menlyn mall shooting

Barry Bateman | 4 hours ago

PRETORIA -

An Algerian businessman is in a critical condition on Monday following an attempt on his life at the Menlyn Park Shopping Centre, east of Pretoria. Police arrested one suspect, who is also an Algerian national.

The lunchtime hustle and bustle in the mall was interrupted when a man put a revolver to his former business partner's back. He shot him four times. The victim was meeting with a woman when the gunman approached him from behind.

The police said he left the scene, but was followed by a patron who was eating at the same restaurant as the victim. Mall security was then alerted. The suspect was detained and an unlicenced firearm was recovered. The police say the shooter and the victim have done business together in the past.
The restaurant was cordoned off while police took statements. The mall is still open for business, with shoppers seemingly unaware of what happened. Eye Witness News
- - - - - - - - COMMENTS BY SONNY The Mall were old friends used to meet. Now they come from Algeria to make war here. The Land of Milk and Money. If he was shot with this Desert Eagle he would have been in a box back to Algeria! Partners in business 'sometimes' end up partners in crime!!

Violence between IFP, NFP supporters erupts in KwaMashu

25 NOV 2012 19:47 - SAPA Police were unable to contain violent clashes between National Freedom Party (NFP) members and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) supporters in KwaMashu. MORE COVERAGE IFP block chairperson shot dead in KZN You still need the IFP, Buthelezi tells SA IFP says New Freedom Party an 'ANC clone' NFP's apology demand delays IFP coalition talks South African Press Association reporter Giordano Stolley lost his car in the unrest in the Durban township on Sunday. "There were too few people for the tensions that existed," he said. He estimated that 100 police officers were at the scene, where NFP leader Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi was blocked from entering KwaMashu's A section. Most of the police attended the front of her convoy, which was initially peaceful. Her convoy consisted of about 30 cars or more. A group of about 200 IFP supporters blocked their way carrying sticks and bottles. Two people were carrying a banner bearing a picture of IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Trouble Protesters ignored an order to disperse. The convoy's tail end was stoned and shots were fired. "When the tail end got hammered there was nothing [the police] could do," Stolley said. Realising there was trouble ahead, he pulled his car over and got out to take pictures. While he was gone, the car was moved out into the road and set on fire. Two journalists who had remained with the car were pelted with stones by the crowd. "I realised there were no cops anywhere," said Stolley. By the time he managed to get back to the car, with bricks and stones flying, it was too late to intervene. By the time police arrived on the scene, the car was already burnt out, he said. 'Angry' Stolley also lost his laptop, hard drive, and camera bag in the blaze. "I really liked the car. It was one of those imported Brazilian Fiats that went everywhere and anywhere, and it was very economical," he said. Stolley also lost pictures and videos of his daughter which had not been backed up. "I'm just angry and agitated," he said. "My feeling is that there were too few people for the tensions that existed. I'm not sure Msibi was wise to even be there," he said. Other cars were also damaged, with another press car pelted with stones, and NFP car windows were shattered. Police said investigations were continuing into public violence and malicious damage to property. Colonel Vincent Mdunge said no arrests had been made yet. 'A terrible situation' NFP spokesperson Nhlanhla Khubisa said when their supporters entered KwaMashu they saw a group of singing IFP supporters carrying pangas and sticks. "When we were passing by our cars were stoned, windows [were] smashed. It was a terrible situation. And a car belonging to a journalist was burnt to ashes," said Khubisa. The NFP had intended to prepare for by-elections next month at a hostel in the area. IFP spokesperson Mdu Nkosi said the party wanted to sympathise with Stolley. "For now we can't take the blame or deny it. In those hostels there are people staying there but not belonging to political parties… they might have taken opportunity to do criminal acts hiding under politics," said Nkosi. He said the IFP would do its own investigation to find out if their members were involved. "I don't want to say we know who did it," Nkosi added. – Sapa Mail & Guardian - - - - - - COMMENTS BY SONNY ONE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO SEE THAT THERE IS A THIRD FORCE AT WORK HERE. It is obvious whose side the 'police' are on. Definitely not on the side of the IFP. THE PEOPLE SHALL OVERCOME THE OPPRESSOR!

'Botched heist was not an inside job'

'Botched heist was not an inside job'

The scene of the Robertsville botched cash heist on 24 November 2012.

Picture: Supplied.Multimedia Theo Nkonki | 07h30 26/11/2012

JOHANNESBURG - Protea Coin security said on Sunday it has ruled out a possibility that a botched heist at its Robertsville depot was an inside job.

The company received information about the robbery and gave it to police who staked out the depot on Saturday night.

When 16 armed men arrived at the depot and rammed one of their vehicles into the gates, police pounced.

A shootout ensued and seven gang members were killed and nine were wounded.

The dramatic shooting was evident at the scene with bodies of robbers scattered around the entrance of the depot.

The scene of the bloody shootout was also littered with bullet cases of different sizes.

Protea Coin's Val de Waal said the work was carried out by an organised crime ring.

The Hawks’ Paul Ramaloko said six of the men were still in hospital under police guard.

He confirmed that authorities were not searching for any more suspects.

“We are convinced that we managed to get the crew and its ring leaders.”

Three suspects who have recovered from their injuries will appear in the Roodepoort Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Gauteng police said the botched heist would send a strong message to other criminals ahead of the festive season.
(EWN)

SAPS Task Force members want out - POPCRU

SAPS Task Force members want out - POPCRU
Theto Mahlakoana
25 November 2012

Union says 27 out of 35 member of Pretoria unit have applied for transfers

SAPS Task Force Members still treated like dogs and are demanding transfers

22 November 2012

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) is extremely disappointed by the SAPS senior managers who have total disregard for the members' complaints that fell on deaf ears despite the union's engagement in meetings.

Twenty seven (27) out of 35 members from the Pretoria Special Task Force unit have applied for transfers. We were informed that ten (10) members from the Durban unit have also applied for transfers. This element of reluctance to remain in the unit is posing a great security risk for the country considering the lengthy period and quality of international training they have undergone.

A lot of these members are a first line of defence to our country have resigned and sought employment in private security companies and in other countries.

The next bargaining council meeting to entertain their complaints is to be held in February next year. Members will suffer and as usual SAPS management will sit in cosy and air-conditioned offices without lifting a finger until they draw their fat cheques!

Despite being treated like dogs these are the SAPS members who have done our country proud in various international events and paid with their lives in any some task that they have been assigned to including the recent rhino poaching incident and the rescue of a medical doctor in a Mangaung Prison in a hostage situation that ended without any fatality!

POPCRU is eagerly waiting for an urgent meeting with the National before the end of this weekend. Our country deserves better than this!

Statement issued by Miss Theto Mahlakoana, Media & Communications Officer, POPCRU, November 25 2012



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1 responses to this article

The Parallel ANCpf Task Force....

....is ready & waiting in the wings to be deployed into the shoes of the well-trained apolitical professional current incumbents.

If truth be known, they are probably already deployed within these task forces in terms of AA and BBeee etc . .more

by John Austin on November 25 2012, 22:04

Body armor used by special ops troops recalled

Body armor used by special ops troops recalled
Rob Curtis, Military TimesShare

A manufacturing defect found in about 5% of the armor plates tested could compromise their ability to stop direct hits.
Coalition force members walk through an Afghan National Army compound during a visit with Afghan National Security Force partners in Farah province, Afghanistan.(Photo: Department of Defense)
Story Highlights
The equipment is made by Ceradyne Defense
There have been no injuries as a result of the defective places, a military spokesman says
Similar problems were found during tests of other plates built by Ceradyne

November 24. 2012 -
More than half of the tens of thousands of body armor plates worn by special operations forces in the U.S. military are being recalled for replacement, Military Times has learned.

The equipment is manufactured by Ceradyne Defense, a company that has supplied the U.S. military for decades and shares similar technology with other armor plates used in the Defense Department's inventory.

The technology failure has been the focus of months of analysis overseen by Special Operations Command, according to documents reviewed by Military Times.

A SOCOM spokesman acknowledged the problem in an email, saying a manufacturing defect was found "in a small percentage (of) ballistic armor plates issued to Special Operations Forces."

"SOCOM implemented measures to test and if needed withdraw (affected) plates from operational inventories," spokesman Kenneth McGraw wrote.

"To date, there has not (been) an impact on Special Operations missions or (any) injuries as a result of defective plates."

McGraw said the defect has been found in less than 5% of the plates tested. He credited Ceradyne with identifying the root cause of the defect and taking action "that should correct" the problem

Dave Reed, president of North American Operations for Ceradyne, would not comment on the recall and referred questions to SOCOM.

Officials who oversee acquisition and upkeep of SOCOM's personal protective equipment determined the SPEAR Generation III armor plates, as they're known, "display a latent delamination defect," according to an unclassified message sent in March to all members of SOCOM. The message was updated in October and obtained by Military Times.

When delamination occurs, the plates' internal components separate, creating a void that compromises the ability to stop direct hits.

Ceradyne describes itself as a developer and manufacturer of ceramic components and systems for a wide range of uses. Defense products account for about 40% of its business. The 3M Co. has offered to buy Ceradyne for $860 million. Ceradyne's shareholders are scheduled to vote on the deal Nov. 27.

According to documents posted on ­Ceradyne's website and since removed, the defect seen in SPEAR Gen III plates is similar to problems previously identified in other plates built by Ceradyne for use by SOCOM.

The defect was uncovered during a government quality assurance lot test of the company's swimmer's plates. Officially called Tactical Stand Alone Gen III armor plates, they were part of the same $406 million contract SOCOM issued to Ceradyne Defense in January 2008.

The swimmer's plates were recalled in 2011 after limited fielding. Testing showed internal components of the plates failed, rendering them ineffective. These results alerted government officials to a possible problem with the SPEAR Gen III plates, which use the same technology. .

Documents filed in late September with the Securities and Exchange Commission outline the trouble between Ceradyne Defense and SOCOM. Among other things, they detail several stop-work notices and point to a mixed reaction to Ceradyne's plan to fix defective plates and the manufacturing process. SOCOM refused to buy any more swimmer's plates, Ceradyne reported, but it allowed for future purchases of SPEAR Gen III plates.

In January, after the SPEAR Gen III plates were widely fielded, testing revealed plates that previously passed quality assurance tests during the manufacturing process were later failing without explanation.

Since the recall, SOCOM has agreed to allow Ceradyne Defense to resume production of the SPEAR Gen III plates remaining on its contract — about $17 million worth of equipment, according to a SOCOM source — using a revised manufacturing method the company says may reduce failure rate. These plates could be used to replace recalled plates from earlier lots.