The practice of -isms must fall

The furore that is currently making headlines over South African president, Jacob Zuma’s autonomous and shocking decision to fire Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister and replace him with an unknown, David van Rooyen, has made me do some thinking.  Linked to that fiasco is the public outrage that has been unleashed on Zuma, namely the #ZumaMustFall campaign and that too, got me thinking hard.

What is there to think about, one might wonder?  This is an obvious case of the evil forces of cronyism and favouritism taking centre stage in government and an indication of clear abuse of presidential power. It is therefore no wonder that many folk are hot and bothered in the collar. Well the thoughts that are churning in my head have to do with wondering just how much of cronyism, favouritism, nepotism, racism, tribalism and other “ -isms” are out there.  We often attribute these undesirable practices to government departments and government officials.

Do not be hoodwinked though to think for a minute that the private sector is clean of such ills. It is not a lie to state that some of the most corrupt and underhanded dealings and deeds are found in the private sector, in small companies, large corporations, as well as NGOs (who on paper are the embodiment of transparency).  What Zuma did to Nene, is what scores of corrupt and power hungry managers and employers do every day in the corporate and non-governmental worlds. They hire and fire willy-nilly, based on discriminatory “-isms” without considering qualifications, competence, experience and other factors that are in the interests of the organisation.

Huge sums are diverted to the personal coffers of company administrators at the expense of shareholder’s dividends. Other millions are rerouted away from the tax man through complex tax evasion tricks masterminded by accounting wizards. Price fixing cartels are created by industrial giants to eat away at the consumer’s pocket. Workers are exploited and abused and yet they continue to toil in silence for fear of losing their jobs.

Why then is it that we hear mostly about the incompetence and mismanagement of President Zuma and his government officials and very little of what happens in the private sector? The answer lies in the number of stakeholders. A company manager probably has to account only to the board of the company and to a lesser extent, the shareholders and unions. This number is very small in comparison to the millions that have a say in the affairs of government by virtue of being tax payers. If a company is headed by its owner, accountability can be close to non-existent. Unlike the voting populace that has strength in numbers and can easily march to the Union Buildings, employees of private concerns are often overcome by the fear that they can be easily replaced or victimised if they dare voice any dissent publicly.

Unions are not always able to expose and fight against these evil practices. Perpetrators of  unethical “-isms” often go scot free as a result of these challenges. This should not be the case, and I personally believe that anyone who heads an entity, be it a charity, an NGO, a government department or country for that matter, should always be made to account for his or her actions of governance. Even where it may seem as if there are few or no available options of redress, remember that there are always options. At times just exposing bad governance is enough to keep it in check. The practice of “-isms” must fall and everyone has a duty to stand up and play their part in this noble and necessary fight.

What you might not have known about the Malema effect

Julius Malema expelled from the ANC

The last nails of the casket of Julius Malema's political career seem to have been hammered and all that is left is for the ANC to bury its wayward son. His foes are probably celebrating and breathing sighs of relief, while his diehard fans strategise on what to do next. Friend or foe, have you stopped to consider the not so obvious ways in which the era of "Malemarism" changed the world?

First of all, news bulletins and newspaper headlines became something of a national interest. It is without doubt that his feather ruffling comments, uncouth outbursts and verbal assaults on journalists lured many to take a more active interest in following the news. Stop and consider how many school children might have benefited from improved literacy levels, thanks to always reading articles, tweets and status updates about Juju. While his personal endeavours in the matric examination room were not exactly successful, it is very possible that Juju has single handedly assisted many students to read and therefore has helped to boost their literacy.

Needless to say, our "Dear Comrade" managed during his tenure as South Africa's chief entertainer, to create a boom in the media and entertainment industries. Where would comedians like Trevor Noah and Loyiso Gola be without the rich comical fodder for their shows? Would the likes of Third Degree presenter Deborah Patter have enjoyed high ratings, were it not for their interviews with the likes of Malema? Think as well of the job opportunities created for journalists, photographers and news readers. Imagine the high sales of newspapers giving the latest scoop on this "champion of the poor," and you will realise how the news and entertainment world might be about to hit a slump! Even party and event organisers are likely to weep at the loss of their main crowd puller at their functions.

Speaking about industries and job creation, the legal and law enforcement industries could also be adversely affected. With the departure of Julius, a time will come in the future when the Hawks will be hard pressed to find other dubious tender deals and family trusts to investigate. His security entourage will soon have to hang up their dark suits and dark glasses, or else look for employment elsewhere. The lawyers of pressure group Afri-Forum are probably biting their nails, wondering if they have lost the lucrative clientage of Afri-Forum and other civic groups engaged in legal battles against the axed ANCYL leader for his hate speech.

On the economic and political front, what is to become of Floyd Shivambu, Sindiso Magaqa and the rest crew that rode on the Malema band wagon? Through dubious dealings with Malema, some of these so called “youth” have been able to secure lucrative government tenders and live the high life under the pretentious title of “entrepreneurs.” Some thought they were climbing the political ladder as they piggy backed on Juju. Is it back to the drawing board or on to the rubbish heap for these ambitious men who have just had candy snatched from their mouths? Who knows, they might just be forced to do the ghastly; an honest day’s work and display basic manners!

As you either bemoan or celebrate the the ANC’s axing of Malema, you must admit that many moons from now, the world will look back and say: "Hate or love him, Juju was a character and a half whose name shall be etched in the history books!"

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Wa Africa's battle won but not the war

In a previous blog post I gave you all the reasons why I say "Big up!" to Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Africa. My reasons for holding this pensmith in high esteem ranged from light hearted nostalgia evoked by his name, to more serious admiration of his fearless determination to expose the corrupt and wayward ways of South African public officials.


As Mzilikazi wa Africa was hauled to the courts on flimsy charges meant to intimidate and muffle him on the 4th of August, it was definitely a sad time for all supporters and lovers of press independence. It is therefore a cause to celebrate now that the National Prosecuting Authority has "provisionally" withdrawn charges. There is more reason to smile considering that complaints against the conduct of the police are to be lodged with the Independent Complaints Directorate. Labour movement, COSATU has called for a public enquiry into the whole saga of Wa Africa's harassment and Wa Afrika himself has indicated that he intends suing for wrongful arrest and defamation of character.


Somehow though, I do not see South African media grinning from ear to ear over this latest victory for press freedom. Why not? For the simple reason that this is merely a battle won, not a war. With the South African president Jacob Zuma and his ruling ANC party going full steam ahead to set up a media tribunal and pass their Protection of Information Bill, there might be more grief to come for Mzansi's journos. The best that they can do in this circumstance is to sharpen their pencils and refill their pens, in preparation for more battles in this soon-to-be bloody war. Once again we cry "Bayethe" to you all.

Come September, we might finally have to take Malema seriously

So the truth is finally out, Nationalisation is on the ANC agenda, if reports in the South African Sunday Times are anything to go by. Quoting Julius Malema the issue tells us that the ANC Youth League have successfully placed on the agenda of the party's September National General Council, the issue of a government take over of mines as well as land reform along the lines of Zimbabwe.



Shame on those of us who ever doubted Malema's insistence that Nationalisation was part of the ANC's plans. At times his statements contradicted those of his boss, South African president, Jacob Zuma. On more than one occassion, JZ has gone to pains to allay investor fears that nationalisation of mines will take place or that a chaotic Zimbabwe like land reform programme will ever occur in South Africa. Even when Malema jetted off to Venezuela and then Zimbabwe to learn the ropes from his Marxist leaning peers, we convinced ourselves that he was on a solo megalomania driven mission.


Now the cat is out the bag and the fact that this controversial and potentially detructive idea is being toyed with at the highest party level can only confirm that Juju and his Youth League lieutenants are the only ones frank and brave enough to admit to the nationalisation agenda. It could also be a deliberately planned move to use the Youth League to test the waters and kick start the agenda while the rest of the party sits innocent like in the sidelines and claim that it is Youth League policy and not the official stance of the party. Whatever the case is, maybe it is high time that we began to look at Malema from a different angle. The man might actually be the only truthful reflection mouth piece of ANC policy. The September tete-a-tete will be the decider as to whether we finally take Juju seriously or not.

Julius Malema - The Last King of the Amazon

So the infamous Julius Malema has been found guilty of hate speech by the equality court for comments he made about Jacob Zuma’s rape accuser. He said that she enjoyed the act, hence the court has told him to unconditionally apologize and pay a fine of R50 000. Will this be a deterrent for the foul tongued motor mouth? I hardly think so, R50 000 is small change for this young and wealthy "revolutionary." Recent revelations exposed that he has allegedly earned millions through tenders awarded dubiously to companies linked to him.

Last week's racist utturances at a University in Johannesburg show that Malema is not the least worried by legal implictions of his continuos hate speech. His song that urged his student audience to "Dubul'ibhunu" (Shoot the Boer) have sparked another legal response from a civic body. The ANC although admitting that Malema must be treated of his verbal spasms, stills feels that there is nothing wrong with singing a song that is part and parcel of the glorious history of the ANC struggle. The party argues that even white ANC members such as Joe Slovo, sang the song in the days of the struggle.

My question is this: Is Malema’s megalomaniac struggle the same as the struggle of decades ago, before he was born when his forebears were being chased off their land and facing the most horrible of abuses? While it is true that back in the day, most of "Ambhunu" were seen as the guardians and proponents of a sick, oppressive regime, is it fair in this day and age to still label them as such? Granted, there are still many white racists out there who will never accept blacks as human beings, let alone equals, but there are also Black, Asian and Coloured racists in our midst. Surely Malema as a national figure should be singing about "Shooting any racist," or is he scared that this will be tantamount to shooting his own brains off?

One shudders to think of the course of national destruction and division that this young man is headed for. Sadly the powers that be see no evil and besides the occasional half hearted frown, they say and do nothing. If he is not roped in, many will fall helpless victim to his venomous speech and ideologies. We have seen such man made tragedies occur before in Africa and beyond and as long as fifty thousand rand slaps of the wrists are all the action that can be taken, South Africa is set to become another statistic in the scroll of tyrannical regimes. Idi Amin one of Africa's most psychopathic leaders said he was the Last King of Scotland, who will JuJu eventually be, the Last King of the Amazon?