SA's dodgy doctors

The deterioration of South African health care has been so rapid, at this stage the government can only hope to do an assessment of the damage. They are too slow to identify the cause, which is mainly affirmative action. At this rate we are heading for a complete break down to African health standards. I haven't been to any public health care facilities in South Africa lately but I am told it is only possible to grasp the horror when you see it in person.

South Africa's medical professionals are in the dock over claims that some sexually abuse patients, suffer alcohol and drug addiction or battle to pay bills.

This is according to the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) the statutory body that oversees the conduct of health-care workers in the country.

Amid a spate of high-profile cases involving medical practitioners and patients, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi is finalising the establishment of the Forum of Statutory Health Professional Councils.

The oversight body will protect the public by holding the statutory health councils to account for their performance as competent public authorities.

In the past year medics have faced a litany of grievances from patients, including claims of sexual misconduct, overcharging, wrong treatment and fraudulently writing out certificates, according to the HPCSA.

The number of complaints against medical professionals, according to the latest available statistics, increased from 2 036 in 2007/08 to 2 310 in 2008/09.

A total of 336 doctors were found to be struggling with drug (including morphine, cocaine, mandrax and heroin) and alcohol dependency, compared with 110 in the previous period.

At least 29 medics were dealing with depression and cheques written by 350 doctors and dentists for registration with the council last year had bounced.

Statistics for the past five years show that past year 190 cases were finalised, with 71 doctors paying admission of guilt fines, 16 acquitted, 45 suspended, four struck off the roll, six reprimanded and 48 referred to a committee for their transgressions merely to be noted.

Nine doctors were struck off the roll in 2007/08, against 10 in the previous year and 18 in 2005/06.

The HPCSA has 105 000 members, comprising doctors, dentists, dieticians, medical technologists, occupational therapists, opto-metrists, dispensing opticians, physiotherapists, podiatrists, biokineticists and psychologists.

Most of the complaints are against doctors and dentists.

The shocking revelations come after former Cape Town specialist orthopaedic surgeon Johannes Albertus Roux Volsteedt was found guilty in the Bellville Magistrate's Court on Friday of raping and indecently assaulting a former female patient.

He was also found guilty on 14 counts of indecent assault of nine female patients. And he is on trial in the Witbank Regional Court on three charges of indecent assault that allegedly took place while he was practising at the Park Medical Centre in Witbank.

Last week the HPCSA held a hearing in a misconduct case against a Joburg doctor accused of having sex with a patient in his rooms at Life Flora Clinic in Roodepoort.

The doctor is still on duty at Life Flora Clinic. His legal representative confirmed yesterday that a summons pertaining to a civil case against his client had been served.

Communications manager for the Life Healthcare Group, Marietjie Shelly, said the case of unprofessional conduct involved only the specialist, not the hospital.

"The hospital will await the findings and ruling of the HPCSA in this case," she said.

Communications officer for the HPCSA, Lize Nel, said for sensitive cases, identities were withheld to protect the complainants, but the practitioner did not have the same protection.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the charge sheet, the doctor's legal representatives requested the committee of inquiry to grant a similar ruling in respect of the doctor. The committee ruled that the doctor's request to have his name not published was granted."

The annual report from the council for 2008/2009 said in addition to claims of improper sexual relations between doctors and patients bringing the profession into disrepute, there had been complaints of overcharging, instances of wrong treatment and other claims - all of which were being investigated.

Last year Mpumalanga medic Ebrahim Dafi was given a suspended sentence after being found guilty of unprofessional conduct for having sex with a patient who had gone to see him because she suffered a loss of libido.

Dafi, chief medical officer in the paediatrics department at Rob Ferreira Hospital in Nelspruit, was warned that his six-month suspension would take immediate effect if he was found guilty of a similar offence within two years.

The incident took place in 2005 when Dafi and the patient had sex at Embhuleni Hospital, where he had been in charge of child health.

In another incident Ninandu Mafulu, the senior Joburg district surgeon, was accused of sexually assaulting female rape victims who came to him for help. The case is continuing in Randburg Magistrate's Court amid claims that more complaints have been received.

SA Medical Association chairman Norman Mabasa said of all cases reported to the HPCSA, only about 10 percent reached the hearing stage.

Registrar of the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa Louis Mullinder confirmed that the council for alternative medicine had also received complaints about complementary and alternative health practitioners relating to improper conduct.

From Tribune, 28 March 2010

On the limits of affirmative action

The Barnard case was a legal victory but in future blacks will just appoint the unqualified candidates in positions, out of spite and as a result of racism.

Pierre de Vos, 1 March 2010

The decision by the Labour Court in Barnard vs SAPS did not come as a surprise. In effect the Court found that the SAPS had unfairly discriminated against Barnard by declining to approve her promotion merely because she happened to be white, despite the fact that she was recommended for such a promotion. What is surprising, perhaps, is that the SAPS lawyers contested the case at all.

Both the Constitutional Court and the Labour Court have already made clear that although affirmative action is constitutionally mandated and sanctioned by the Employment Equity Act, representativity cannot be the only criteria used to decide on the appointment or promotion of an individual. The Employment Equity Act had to be interpreted in the light of the Constitution – especially section 9(2) of the Act which prescribes at least three conditions for a valid affirmative action policy.

As the Constitutional Court found in the case of Minister of Finance v Van Heerden, for an affirmative action plan to be valid there had to be a plan (not random preferential treatment) in which the overwhelming majority of the group targeted for advancement had to consists of individuals who belonged to a group who had suffered from past unfair discrimination.

Second, the measures had to be designed to protect or advance those disadvantaged by past discrimination. This meant that the measures had to be reasonably capable of achieving its goal. If the measures were arbitrary, capricious or displayed naked preference it would not be constitutionally valid.

Third, the measures used had to promote the achievement of equality in the long term. While the achievement of this goal may often come at a price for those who were previously advantaged (in other words, whites), the long-term goal of our society is a non-racial, non-sexist society in which each person will be recognised and treated as a human being of equal worth and dignity. In assessing therefore whether a measure will in the long-term promote equality, it should be asked whether the measures constituted an abuse of power or imposed such substantial and undue harm on those excluded from its benefits that our long-term constitutional goal would be threatened.

The Employment Equity Act reflects this careful balance struck by the Constitutional Court between the important goals of correcting past injustices and challenging inherent pro-white racial bias in appointment and promotion on the one hand, and guaranteeing respect for the human dignity of excluded individuals on the other.

The Act places a positive duty on employers to implement corrective measures but places several limits on the way this could be done.

First, it could not be done through the imposition of rigid employment quotas but rather had to be done by setting (and trying to meet) certain targets for each category of employment. Second, where there were inherent requirements for a job and members from designated groups (blacks women, the disabled) did not meet these requirements, white (often male) applicants who did meet these requirements could be appointed. Lastly, employment policies or practices which had the effect of placing an absolute barrier on the appointment or promotion of white employees would not be allowed.

In the case of Barnard she applied twice for a promotion. Twice she was recommended for the promotion and twice this recommendation was rejected by police management because her appointment would not have advanced the achievement of the race targets for that level of employment in the SAPS. Twice no other appointment was made despite the fact that other ostensibly suitably qualified candidates with far lower scores than Barnard had applied.

It is important to note that the panel which recommended Barnard’s promotion seemed to have been slightly confused. While it found that some black applicants were suitably qualified for the post (but not as qualified as Barnard), they also found that if any of them were appointed “service delivery” would have suffered. This suggests that the other applicants were not really suitably qualified, a view that the National Police Commissioner seemed to have endorsed by failing to appoint any of the other candidates, thus leaving the vacancy unfilled.

The Labour Court found that it was not rational to leave a post unfilled merely because the appointment of suitably qualified white candidate would not have advanced the employment equity goals of the employer. Where service delivery would suffer if the black applicant was appointed over a more qualified white one the white candidate had to be promoted. As I read the judgment, the question was really whether there were suitably qualified black candidates to appoint. In this case there were none because the appointment of any of the black candidates would have impacted negatively on service delivery, so the post was left vacant rather than appoint the white candidate. This was impermissible.

If a suitably qualified black candidate had applied (in that his or her appointment would not have negatively affected service delivery) it would have been perfectly legal to appoint that black candidate over the white candidate – even where the selection panel thought the white candidate was the best candidate for the job.

The judgment therefore has an important but limited effect on the way in which the application of affirmative action should be understood. It does not constitute a rejection of affirmative action, but merely confirms, first, that an unqualified black candidate could not be appointed above a qualified white candidate, and second, that a white candidate could not be denied appointment merely because no suitable black candidate applied for the job.

In my view the judgment therefore strikes the correct balance between the need for affirmative action, on the one hand, and the need for effective service delivery on the other. “Merit” (however one might define this nebulous concept) must play a role, but it must not play the only role when appointing or promoting members of the civil service or police. Race must also play a role, but it cannot play the only role when appointing or promoting members of the civil service or police.

The problem with affirmative action is that these rules are often ignored when affirmative action is used as a smoke-screen to hide nepotistic or corrupt appointments of friends and family members who are not qualified for a job. It’s the employment equivalent of Julius Malema’s company obtaining R140 million worth of tenders in Limpopo despite not having any obvious qualifications to deliver the work contracted for. Opponents of affirmative action point to such cases to challenge the correctness of applying affirmative action at all. In this they are wrong.

Way forward on affirmative action ruling still unclear: SAPS

That's one thing I've experienced first hand from our government. They will NEVER admit they were wrong. We congratulate you Captain Barnard on a big achievement!

The SA Police Service has not decided on the way forward after the Labour Court on Friday ordered it to promote Captain Renate Barnard to superintendent in a landmark affirmative action case.

"We are looking into the matter, we will be studying the judgment along with our legal team," said National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele's spokeswoman, Nonkululeko Mbatha.

"After carefully studying the document, I'm sure that will be the route we will be pursuing, but for now we cannot say for certain," she said in reply to whether the SAPS was considering appealing the decision.

This was after Judge Paul Pretorius ordered the police service to promote Barnard to superintendent from July 2006 and pay her legal costs.

Trade union Solidarity acted on Barnard's behalf. (These guys need a medal.)

The judgment said the failure to promote Barnard was a decision based on her race and constituted discrimination. (Right, anybody still want to tell me that whites feel like they're part of this country?)

The court found that "it is not apparent that consideration was given to the Applicant's [Barnard's] right to equality and dignity".

The police services' failure to promote Barnard was unfair and therefore "not in compliance with the Employment Equity Act".

Solidarity deputy general secretary hailed the ruling, saying it would have a "far reaching effect". (Hmmm...there are no more whites left in the government. It's too late to have any far reaching effects.)

The Social Movement Against Racist Tendencies said it's "taken note of the "upper hand enjoyed by anti-transformation forces who use the courts to advance their hatred of transformation laws". (Oh, bring out the big words..er..guns so that we all crap ourselves!)

"We will register our displeasure if the court grant Solidarity union the right to reverse the need to ensure representivity within the police force," said the organisation's leader, Panyaza Lesufi in a statement. (Seriously, how many whites are left in the police force??)

"We call on fellow South Africans to reject the criminalisation of representivity in our workplaces."

Freedom Front Plus spokesman on labour, Anton Alberts, said the party was "elated" by the ruling.

"This is the clearest sign that affirmative action's days are counted and that this policy should finally be brought to an end," he said. - Sapa

Obama’s Affirmative Action and Bush’s Legacy Admission

Guy White has such a lovely way with words. About Michelle Obama he explains, "she's not outright dumb...."

I’ve written before that Affirmative Action is far more harmful than admission of rich kids whose parents donated money. Rich parents improve education by funding libraries, labs, scholarships – all while causing only one or two students to be admitted per year in a given school. Meanwhile, affirmative action floods universities with a huge percentage of students who are simply not capable of doing college-level work, and therefore, lower standards, as well as the future ability to network, seeing as many of them don’t even graduate.

What’s interesting also is our media could not stop talking about George Bush’s admission to Yale. He was a legacy student. His father was rich and powerful. And yet, his IQ score is in the 120’s, definitely high enough to do college-level work.

This was partly a political issue where the liberal media was coming after the Republican President. However, even John Kerry’s grades and aid in getting admitted came up.

On the other hand, Barack and Michelle Obama may not be assailed for benefiting from affirmative action. Any such criticism will result in the modern version of burning witches at the stake – accusation of racism. As Bill Clinton once said, there’s nothing worse than racism. Truly, in our society, there definitely isn’t anything worse.

Barack is decently bright, though it’s doubtful that a white law student would get away being a Harvard Law Review editor without publishing a single article (”note”, actually). Furthermore, many whites are perfectly qualified to get admitted to Harvard, but are rejected just because the competition is so stiff that there’s simply not enough space for everyone. If you are black and even remotely qualified, you’ll get scholarships and the Dean of Admissions will be calling you at home begging to choose Harvard’s full scholarship over Yale’s.

Thus, even if Obama is bright enough to go to Harvard, there’s still a decent chance that he’d have been rejected had he been white. Do we hear anyone discuss that?

Michelle Obama is an even worse case. She’s clearly unqualified. I’ve heard that her SAT scores were in the 900s, and I believe it. Every time she opens her mouth, you know that she doesn’t belong anywhere outside an Associate’s program at a local Community College. She’s not outright dumb, but she’s just not Princeton/Harvard Law smart.

I can’t imagine that a white person with her IQ would wind up as anything more than a paralegal. Again, it’s not a bad thing to be a paralegal, and I don’t mean to be a snob (I do realize that this is how I come off right now), but there’s a difference between an AA from Indiana’s Gary Community College and a JD from Harvard Law.

Steve Sailer posted parts of her senior thesis and it’s absolutely brutal. It wouldn’t get a C in a nice suburban high school.

She hyphenated “thank you”. In her senior year in Princeton, she couldn’t spell a word that people across the world, people who never even studied English, would know how to spell. Are you kidding me?!

George Bush would’ve been killed for this. Remember Dan Quayle misspelling potato? Yet, nobody dares to call Michelle on it.

Why was Bush’s Legacy Admission fair game, but the Obamas’ affirmative action sacred? Likewise, why was it acceptable to discuss that JFK Jr failed the bar, but not that Michelle did? (New York’s black governor David Patterson took it multiple times, but never passed. The bar makes proper accommodations for the blind, so it’s a fake excuse.)

Why was it acceptable to say that George Bush (both of them, actually), Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Dan Quayle are stupid, but not acceptable for anyone to say that Obama is anything short of genius? Why must his intelligence always be praised before one either agrees or disagrees with him?

Why was it acceptable to discuss the motive of Bush, Richard Nixon, Herbert Hoover, but not Barack Obama?

Why is this President different from every other President? Why is he different from every President outside of Africa and other Third World rat holes?

This is not a Barack issue, this is a black issue. Blacks are beyond the pale of criticism. Thus, we can talk about legacy admission, but not affirmative action, even though the latter is weighed far more heavily than the former. (At University of Michigan, which was the site of the latest affirmative action Supreme Court case, legacy was worth 4 points, while blackness was worth 20. Perfect SAT/ACT scores were worth only 12 points, almost 50% less than blackness.)

The most central point of democracy is the ability to criticize our rulers. America is democracy no more.

Inflation figures inflated

I’ve picked on Stats SA over the past days because of one reason. They are morons.

The SA gubbermunt relies on the figures those buffoons tally up with their fingers and toes to determine when to raise/drop interest rates, what our spending habits are, what the rate of inflation is plus a lot of determining factors that go into decision making that affects you and me in the pocket.

It is the blind leading the blind.

It is because of Stats SA that interest rates have been raised 5 big ones in the last year or so.

Now it turns out, Stats SA has had it wrong all along – working on figures TWO YEARS late. Our inflation rate is actually 2.2% lower!

See what I mean? This is baseball to the knee-caps time.

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A two-year delay by Statistics South Africa to implement rebasing and reweighting of the consumer price index basket has resulted in inflated data, Investec Asset Management said on Tuesday.

Data from Stats S.A. shows that the main CPIX consumer inflation gauge has persisted above the top end of the central bank's 3-6 percent target band since April 2007, accelerating to a 5-1/2 year high of 10.9 percent year-on-year in May.

The Reserve Bank has cited soaring food and energy prices as the main drivers of inflation.

"Calculations by Investec Asset Management have shown that the real inflation rate in the economy is probably far lower than the official inflation number," Investec said in a statement.

"Official CPIX for May was 10.9 percent, but had the numbers been rebased and reweighted last year as they should have been, our calculations show actual CPIX of 8.7 percent," said Andre Roux, head of fixed income at Investec Asset Management.

Earlier this month, Stats S.A. said the consumer price inflation basket would change from 2009, with the weighting for food falling and transport increasing to reflect changes in spending patterns.

The agency said the new weights would be effective with the January 2009 consumer inflation release and were based on the 2005/2006 Income and Expenditure survey released in March, which showed that transport was the fastest growing spending category for South African households.

The survey showed that expenditure on food had declined proportionately since 2000, largely due to increasing wealth. Investec's Roux said the official rate of inflation would peak in September "in the order of 13 percent" once the impact of this year's electricity tariff adjustments was incorporated.

South Africa's national energy regulator has allowed state power utility Eskom to raise tariffs by a total of 27.5 percent for 2008/2009. The utility had requested a 53 percent increase to help it cope with a power crisis.

The central bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) has increased interest rates by a total of 500 basis points since June 2006 as it battles against inflation.

It has raised rates by 100 basis points this year.

"There is no question that monetary policy has been based on the official published inflation rate.

Rate increases this year would have been less likely had the MPC been aware that the real inflation number in South Africa was significantly lower," Roux said.

"Monetary policy going forward should be based on the true inflation rate. They should not wait until January for the new official numbers."

State of our nation

Bear in mind that these figures come from that old 'reliable' source "speak out of my arse" Stats SA - so take the figures with a bucket of salt - even though the figures are still quite dismal.

What these figures don't tell you is the quality of life and services.

If 'housing' includes sticking a family of ten in a matchbox house the size of a double garage that starts to fall apart after a year, yeah, then those people have been 'housed'.

If supplying water and electricity means giving them water that contains cholera, blood worms and faeces, then yeah, they have water. I won't talk about electricity.

And how long can these 'services' be maintained if only two-thirds of the people pay for them?

I know, as long as YOU, the honest taxpayer, Mr Sucker, continue to shut up and put up.

- - - - -

Most of us do not get to Matric, a quarter of us are jobless, and most of us depend on the government for health services.

This is according to the General Household Survey for 2007. The survey has been conducted annually since 2002.

EDUCATION
The number of people who completed Grade 12 (Matric/NSC) increased to 23.6% (from 22.1%).

Statistics SA said the percentage of individuals attending an educational institution increased slightly - to 33.7% (from 32.6%) between 2002 and 2007.

The percentage of children aged 0-4 years attending an educational institution increased to 16.6% in 2007 (from 7.6% in 2002).

The percentage of 5-year-olds attending educational institutions increased to 60.4% in 2007 (from 40.1% in 2002), whilst the percentage of learners in the six-year age group increased to 87.7% (from 70%), Stats SA said.

The percentage of individuals with no education (aged 20 and above) decreased to 9.3% (from 11.8%).

Among persons aged 7-24 years, the most common reason for not attending an educational institution remained lack of money for fees.

THE JOB MARKET
The number of employed individuals increased from 11,145,000 in July 2002 to 12,720,000 (12.7 million) in July 2007.

There was a small increase during the same time period, from 39.2% to 41.9%, in the labour absorption rates.

In July 2007 the unemployment rate of 24.8% was 3.8 percentage points lower than in July 2006 and 0.7 percentage points lower than the unemployment rate measured with the Labour Force Survey of March 2007. (*cough* bullshit..24.8% unemployment..? Yeah, right)

The percentage of “more skilled” personnel employed in manufacturing decreased from 18.9% to 16.6% since 2002.

The trade sector experienced the biggest growth in the percentage of ”more skilled’ employees, from 12.7% in 2002 to 17.7% in 2007.

A total of 163,000 people older than 65 were employed. They mainly worked in the services industry (22%), trade (18.4%) and agriculture (19%).

HEALTH SERVICES
Medical Aid coverage is lowest amongst blacks, with only 7.4% of individuals covered, and highest in the white population, with a 66.5% coverage.

In the general population, 79.7% of those who were ill or injured consulted a health worker.

More individuals who used public sector health care facilities were satisfied with the service they received in 2007 (87.6%) than in 2006 (84.2%) and in 2002 (81.6%). (nearly 90% of people happy with public health facilities...?! Have you been to one of those cesspits lately?)

In the private sector, satisfaction levels increased slightly from 95.35% to 96.5% between 2002 and 2007.

ACCESS TO WATER
The Eastern Cape has the lowest percentage of the population with access to on-site or off-site piped or tap water (at 72.8%). “In spite of this the Eastern Cape has made considerable progress since 2002 when only 55% of the population had access,” Stats SA said.

Improvements were also noticeable in KwaZulu-Natal where access increased to 83.8% (from 75%), and Limpopo at 83.4% (from 73.5%). Of those who received piped water from a municipality, 63.5% last year said they paid for the water.

Reasons for not paying include: No metering system (38.7%), no billing system (25%), cannot afford it (22%) and a belief that water should be free (20%).

In spite of the positive ratings of water services, nearly a quarter of water users (24.4%) said last year that they had experienced interruptions in their piped water supply at least once a month or more often.

Water service interruptions were the most common in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and North West.

HOUSING
The ownership of traditional houses increased slightly to 91.4% (from 90.5% in 2002), whilst the ownership of formal separate dwellings increased to 69.8% in 2007 (from 63.4% five years ago).

GRAPHS
In numbers, from Stats SA Percentage of households living in formal separate, informal and traditional housing types who own their dwellings.

Poll Results: Reasons for emigrating

The option “Other” attracted 1 vote out of 71.

The fact that 99% of people would leave because of bad ANC policies and governance - which have resulted in rampant crime and corruption - topped with a huge dollop of reverse apartheid that makes millions of people second-class citizens in their own country (with no hope of seeing that status ended) is a sad indictment on the “rainbow nation”.

A rainbow that is comprised primarily of the colour black – black racism, black outlook, black crime.

If this poll had been taken in say, Australia or the US, I am willing to bet that the option “Other” would be 99%. We are heading in the wrong direction.

Metro police's drug unit shut down

This is unbe-f**king-lievable! We need more police, more specialised units, more stations, we need more, more, more!

Someone has been bought.

We do not need to be closing police units down! Just when one thinks the limbo stick of stupidity cannot be lowered, the morons-that-be, come up with this.

To quote unit commander Superintendent Mark Newham, to whom the decision came as a surprise, “It is absolutely devastating, especially given the extent of the drug problem in Pretoria.

The drug problem is completely out of control," he said.” He said the closure would have a devastating effect on crime in the capital because drug syndicates would be able to operate without fear.

Drug money buys power and someone, somewhere in higher office has been compromised because that can be the only reason for an asinine decision like this.

Then again, the ANC is comprised of people who stood at the back of the line when intelligence was being given out so it is entirely feasible that these idiots actually believe the decision is a good one.

- - - - -

The Tshwane (Pretoria) Metro Police Drug Unit has been closed with immediate effect.

The unit, which is being shut down for the second time since its conception in 2003, has seized narcotics worth hundreds of thousands of rands and arrested more than 200 drug peddlers and syndicate members since January.

Since Friday the unit has seized R70 000 worth of narcotics such as Cat, Ecstasy and cocaine, and arrested 16 people in drug raids in Centurion and Garsfontein.

The unit's last raid was at a brothel in Centurion on Thursday. Unit members arrested 14 people - including a lawyer from Laudium - and recovered hundreds of rands worth of Cat. The house, valued at more than R2-million, was seized as it is believed to have been bought through the proceeds of crime.

Unit members on Thursday said the closure came as a surprise.

Documents in the Pretoria News's possession show the members are to be absorbed into the metro police operational unit's equestrian and canine crime prevention sections and the special operation services section.

Unit commander Superintendent Mark Newham said that at recent meetings, Tshwane executive mayor Dr Gwen Ramokgopa had given assurances that the squad was to be expanded and get more members.

"My commander has, however, informed me that the unit is to be closed with immediate effect and that all operations are to cease," he said.

Added to the mayor's assurances were the assurances from Hlula Msimang, the metro police chief at the time, that the unit's existence and its operational autonomy were guaranteed and in line with the mayor's plans, Newham said.

"Now this happens. It is absolutely devastating, especially given the extent of the drug problem in Pretoria. The drug problem is completely out of control," he said.

He said the unit was about to embark on a drug prevention programme in Atteridgeville, Mamelodi and Soshanguve. "We were about to move in there and clean up the areas because of the crippling crisis that nyope, a mixture of heroin and dagga, is having there," he said.

Newham confirmed that they would now fall under the metro police's operational unit. He said the closure would have a devastating effect on crime in the capital because drug syndicates would be able to operate without fear.

"We were doing so well that we had the lawyers of drug syndicates contacting us and asking for a 'peace deal'.

We were hitting them where it hurt, confiscating properties, drugs and money, and they couldn't handle the pressure.

"But now they're going to run riot in Pretoria once again. Those who are going to suffer are the city's youngsters," he said.

The South African National Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Sanca) said the closure was bad news. Sanca Northern Gauteng region director Estelle van Schoor said Pretoria had lost a huge crime-fighting asset and it would have a devastating effect on the fight against drug-related crimes in the city.

"We relied heavily on the metro police drug unit who partnered us in the fight," she said. Jacques Botha, Stabilis drug rehabilitation centre director, said the drug syndicates would definitely be celebrating.

"Pretoria can't afford to be without a drug squad because the narcotics problem is going to spiral out of control once again," he said.

Chris Barkhuizen, a Lyttelton Community Policing Forum member whose suburb benefited from the unit's operations, said they would petition the mayor to try to prevent the closure.

"We'll do everything in our power to keep the unit going," he said Metro police spokesperson Louise Brits said they would only be able to comment later on Friday.

Tshwane Metro Council spokesperson Console Tleane had not responded to requests for comment on the mayor's remarks by the time of going to press.

(Hat tip: Denise)

Sasol Directors Pile Into BEE Shares

Forgetting for a moment the whole blatant racism angle of the scheme, while the plebs for whom this BEE scheme was intended stand in long queues in post offices with defective equipment etc that stops them purchasing shares, it seems the directors at Sasol are not experiencing the same ‘difficulties’.

Indeed, as the story below demonstrates, the directors themselves – who were part of the concept in the first place - are the BIGGEST beneficiaries of this sham. Shocker!

They may even be responsible for causing oversubscription for the scheme which would mean the people who stood in the queues will be allocated far less shares than they anticipated and it may not even be worthwhile keeping the shares.

The directors though will not suffer the same fate as their portions are guaranteed.

Ironic justice of sorts. It was a racist rubbish scheme that should not have been permitted in the 21st century (so goeth the liberal credo of equality of the races).

The plebs deserve it because my guess is their crosses at the elections have been for the ANC so they are doing this to themselves.

- - - - -

DIRECTORS of petrochemicals giant Sasol have emerged as among the biggest beneficiaries of the group's Inzalo empowerment share scheme.

With no cap on the amount prospective investors could apply for, the scheme attracted a number of cash-flush investors, enhancing the possibility of an oversubscription.

It appears investors who lined up for a slice of the shares this week may not get as many as they wanted, if the scheme is oversubscribed.

According to the prospectus, executive director and one of the key Sasol personnel behind the deal, Nolitha Fakude, intended to apply for 73200 shares on the funded option and 200 000 shares under the cash option.

Fellow executive director Benny Mokaba would apply for 273 200 shares under the funded option and financial director Christine Ramon would also apply for 273200 shares under that option.

The prospectus said Fakude, Mokaba and Ramon would be granted vested rights to 25000 ordinary shares.

Nonexecutive director Imogen Mkhize would buy 130000 shares in the funded option and 2500 in the cash invitation.

Sam Montsi opted for 120000 (funded ) and 20000 (cash ), Hixonia Nyasulu 112000 (funded ) and Mandla Gantsho 273200 (funded) and 68300 or "25% of 273200", as the prospectus put it .

Sasol shareholders had approved the participation of the directors in the scheme, the company said. (how convenient)

Legae Securities analyst Zandisile Mabuya said investors who had put a lot of money in the scheme were likely to stay.

"The investor who bought for millions is likely to be in for the long haul. Chances are that these are people who have made their millions in other empowerment deals.

There is, however, a question about whether investors who put in smaller amounts will stay."

(Hat tip: Denise)

To BEE or not to BEE?

The brouhaha surrounding the Pretoria High Court’s ruling to reclassify South African-born Chinese (pre-1994) as coloured is turning into a “broken telephone” message — ironically, also known as a “Chinese whisper”.

When viewed from outside the country, the issue would seem quite farcical, if only it were not so tragic.

The nitpicking and mud-slinging that has emerged in the wake of this ruling boggles the mind.

Even the Labour Minister, Membathisi Mdladlana (of all people), displayed an eyebrow-raising grasp of the ruling and context of the Chinese community’s court application.

As Patrick Chong — chairman of Casa — responded, the minister not only missed the point, but also missed this community completely.

The high court ruling applies to a tiny community of about 10 000 people. Recent immigrants, who have created areas like the Chinatown in Cyrildene, Johannesburg, are excluded from this ruling, but this fact just doesn’t seem to sink in.

Of those 10 000 born-and-bred South African citizens, a small percentage will now be appraised — along with other historically disadvantaged groups — when applying for jobs.

In terms of affirmative action, South African Chinese are now allowed to join the queue, but know in their heart of hearts that such a tiny minority group will never really find themselves anywhere near the front of the queue.

So what’s the fuss all about?
The main objections are two-pronged, but converge in a rather chilling and ominous path.

Firstly, there’s the consortium of black business groups that has vowed to fight this ruling.

They somehow assume that lucrative BEE deals are now going to be snapped up by this small community. This is rather telling.

It’s a knee-jerk reaction to guard jealously the right of admission on to the BEE bullet train on which they have been riding.

The posturing and finger wagging has taken the Chinese community by surprise, as this was not the reason they embarked on this eight-year journey in the first place.

Then one reads Dupree Vilakazi (president of the Black Business Caucus) ranting that: “If Chinese are now part of the BEE deal, then Jews, who were also victimised during the apartheid era, should automatically qualify for these benefits.”

Did I mention a broken telephone? The static on the line must be dreadful.

But besides another eye-raising interpretation of this ruling, the fact that religious or cultural groups are being dragged into this debate indicates that we have started skating on thin ice.

Hold that thought. The other voice of dissent, and one that has received the message on a particularly bad line, is the man in the street.

There is an even broader misconception that Chinese people are now going to “take our jobs away” — a phrase that sounds horribly familiar.

With the repercussions of xenophobic stereotyping still fresh in the memory, that belief is cause for grave concern.

In this week’s Mail & Guardian, a spaza shop owner was quoted as saying that “allowing them access to BEE deals and all that is unfair to blacks.

As it stands, it is hard for us to access these deals.” And therein lies the problem.

The golden goose that is black economic empowerment has yet to reach and empower the people it was designed to help.

There are already suggestions from certain quarters — notably from people like Mamphela Ramphele — that empowerment procedures need to be reassessed, as the benefits are not filtering down to the masses.

So we have the new elite outraged that they (might) need to be a bit more welcoming, and the yet-to-be-empowered masses outraged that the Chinese are now going to cut the queue and add to their frustrations.

In both cases, the simmering racism and xenophobia are gift-wrapped in the argument that this Chinese community did not fight against apartheid or was not affected by it.

On a personal note, I have a great-grandfather buried in Brixton cemetery. My father grew up in Sophiatown, from which his family was forcibly removed in 1955. They were relocated to the “coloured” township of Lady Selbourne in Pretoria.

So the Chinese community was subject to apartheid laws such as the Immorality Act and Group Areas Act. When we found ourselves in the twilight zone of “honorary white” status (a label bestowed on the Japanese, not Chinese — but we all look alike anyway), we were still subjected to exquisite forms of humiliation.

Imagine trying to rent a flat. You find one, but there’s a condition. The flat’s yours … as long as no one in the building minds.

So, to get the flat, you’d have to knock on every door in the building to ask if anyone minded Chinese people moving into the building. If one person objected to “the Chinks”, the application would be rejected.

What has not been brought to light is the fact that the Chinese community’s involvement in the political landscape in this country stretches as far back as 1906.

Indian and Chinese communities joined forces to oppose the Asiatic Amendment Act. The Transvaal Chinese Association worked together with none other than Mahatma Gandhi to fight against an unjust system.

One hundred years later, the same Chinese community finds itself in the very same position.

History does indeed repeat itself. As for direct involvement with the ANC, in 1952 when the organisation launched its defiance campaign — a national civil disobedience drive defying apartheid laws — the ANC approached the Chinese community for support, and received it.

A community elder, Stanley Man, even met the then ANC Youth League president, Nelson Mandela, and made donations to the organisation.

As we’ve seen with the recent xenophobic attacks, historical support for the liberation movement is reciprocated in the strangest ways.

How is it that 14 years into democracy, we find ourselves bickering and splitting hairs about racial classification yet again?

It is exactly what made apartheid such a despised system.

This ruling and the venom that is being spewed show our true colours as a society.

What does this say about our levels of tolerance and, more importantly, our acceptance and respect for difference in South Africa?

That is the question.

South Africans still upbeat. Really?

Read this shite and try and keep a straight face.

- - - - -

South Africans are generally positive and passionate about the country.

But they want a South Africa that is free from poverty and crime. (no shit, Sherlock!)

This is the finding of a survey conducted by the International Marketing Council (IMC) during a recent nationwide campaign titled: “What kind of South Africa do you want to live in?” (You need a survey for such a dumb question? Yes, we’d all like a country rife with crime, corruption and where I fear for my life every waking moment)

Sophie Masipa, marketing manager of the IMC, said the responses to the campaign have been positive, proving that the Rainbow Nation is intact. (Who did she ask? The people in the office don't count)

She said that South Africans unanimously reject racism, xenophobia, inequality and intolerance. (duh!)

“Despite the concerns around crime, poverty, unemployment and other related issues, there is still a deep love for the country. South Africans are still proud of it and want to see it reaching its full potential,” said Masipa. (We all do, dearie, but it isn’t happening. I’d love the tree in my back yard to grow money but it doesn’t. Talking ain't doing)

Comments received ranged from wanting to have a happy, winning nation, where justice and respect are the keynotes; a country that is crime-and poverty-free and in which an individual’s value is not dictated by his background, colour or language. (What stupid, obvious answers. Er, I’d like the sun to come up every day)

Said a respondent, “I want a South Africa that is happy … that is positive! I love this country with all my heart and will do anything to make South Africa better. It really hurts me when people are negative about our country … We all need to live together in unity. Only then will all people see what a great nation we are and what an even better nation we can become if we all work together to build it.” (We’d all love a happy, safe country, morons. It is the elected buffoons you keep putting back in power that can’t bring that reality to fruition!)

Another said, “The government should try and create a kibbutz … where people can at least have a plate of food … at the end of the day.” (What..?)

The IMC, custodian of Brand South Africa, launched the campaign in June, inviting South Africans to phone or SMS their views on what kind of South Africa they would want to live in. Responses are being collated and will be broadcast in an advertising campaign. (Oh, for f**k sakes..! An ad will make crime and the fear go away? Hey people, the solution has been found: sms crime away)

Standard of Living 'Is Better'

Submitted by CaN-d-AcE

Work out the logic - hilarious, and this kind of rubbish actually goes to press. It's as if they are thinking out aloud, very strange.

- - - - -

Living conditions for South Africans continued to improve last year, with less people going hungry and more getting access to electricity, water and toilets, data from Statistics SA showed yesterday.

Its annual household survey also showed that cellphone ownership has doubled over the past five years, while the ratio of people with TVs rose to 67% from 56,5%.

But the raft of figures -- which also shows that more people have an education -- appears to be at odds with rising frustration over bad service delivery among the country's poor majority.

"There's a good news story here, but the big question I'm asking myself is how does one relate that to growing disenchantment with service delivery?" said Azar Jammine, chief economist at Econometrix.

"The two trends appear to be incongruous." Jammine said that social frustration may stem from rising income inequality, particularly among SA's black population.

An estimated 70% of the country's 48-million people are earning less than R12000 a year while just 2,2% earn more than R194701, research from the University of SA shows.

According to Stats SA, the proportion of people with no formal education fell to 9,3% last year from 10,4% in 2006, and 11,8% five years ago. But its data also show that the ratio of black people with university degrees has stuck at 1,8% in the past two years, while climbing to 17% from 15% for whites.

Jammine -- who has been monitoring the survey for three years -- says it also indicates the number of white South Africans has fallen sharply, compared with a surge in the number of black South Africans.

Last year alone, the number of blacks in the country rose by 389000, while the number of whites fell by 18000.

"This suggests the decline in the white population is due ...to emigration," Jammine said. (you, thunk..?! That or being killed.)

- - - - -

Stats SA is infested with affirmative action appointees who couldn't count to ten without using their fingers.

Their 'statistics' have been proven, year after year, to be baloney and based on thumbsuckery of the highest order.

Azar Jammine, chief economist at Econometrix said "The two trends appear to be incongruous." Duh!

Stats SA puts out what the SA gubbermunt tells it to put out. If the sky were purple, it would say that.

The people on the ground know that the standard of living is worsening - you feel it in your pocket yet these morons come out with numbers that are devoid of rationale.

As for the black population increasing by 389 000 - what..?! What about the THREE million migrants from Zimbabwe alone not to mention the rest of Africa? Just 398 000? Pull the other one.

And as for the white population declining by 18 000, how the heck can they come up with a number like that?! When you leave SA, for holiday or permanently, there is no need to state the reason for your trip.

Stats SA talks through their arses.

Selebi paid over one million to stay home!

While most South Africans are scraping together their pennies to pay for the basics, suspended Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi will be sitting back in his easy chair, earning a cool one million rand.

You almost have to give it Selebi for pulling this off. It is quite unbelievable isn't it!

Just think, while Selebi enjoys some quiet reading time and a whisky or two, other members of the SAPS are out there patrolling our streets, fighting dangerous gun-weilding criminals - and all for a meagre salary of R3000-R5000 per month.

Official figures released to the Democratic Alliance by the SAPS reveal that Selebi's package (to stay at home) is worth over one million rand, pending the outcome of the criminal case against him.

"According to the SAPS salary scales, Selebi will earn over the next year between R912,918 and R1,094,748, which equates to over R90 000 per month," said DA spokesperson on safety and security Dianne Kohler Barnard.

Well, I guess, all we can hope for is that "justice will be served".

Land reform unproductive

This was anticipated yet the ANC, as always, was not listening. What is it with those people?

Like so many broken election promises and harebrained schemes such as affirmative action and BEE meant to ‘empower’ blacks, land reform is going wrong and having the inverse effect.

It seems the ANC suffers from the anti-Midas touch: everything they touch turns to shit.

Affirmative action causes the loss of skills out of the economy and the country. Without skilled people to mentor the unskilled, skills cannot be learnt because there are no ‘teachers’.

Skills are acquired on the job, not in books.

BEE similarly encourages incompetency and scouring the bottom of the “best of the rest” barrel - yet an entire race group exists that has the skills to perform the tasks the country needs.

Vital skills and experience are ignored in the name of cheap political profiteering that would have, again, helped mentor and train others in much needed skills. This is not a racist statement, it is a historical fact. Whites are better educated by virtue of South Africa’s education legacy and it does not take a genius to grasp the fact that holding on to that educational advantage and transferring the skills gradually is better than excluding them.

Skills shared are skills integrated. It is a win-win situation and also encourages co-operation and cohesion between the races.

At the moment it is a “us versus them” situation. Whites ‘retired’ early asked to return to mentor blacks refuse because why should they? They have nothing to gain.

Had affirmative action and BEE not been implemented, and incentives offered instead to encourage skills and business interests to be transferred, at some stage the point would have been reached where skills and economic sharing would have overlapped. Instead the ANC was in a hurry to transfer wealth but threw the baby out with the bathwater.

The country would have kept its skilled people and true BEE would have occurred naturally, instead of the current farcical BEE that only benefits a tiny minority.

Simply shutting people off because they are white does not mean that the next best, a black person will be found that can take up the slack left by that skilled white person or company.

It is in this vein that land reform and farming is suffering as well. There is no transference of skills and no incentive to transfer skills.

So, like the rest of the country, and other industries, goes the loss of farming skills and productive farms and the country sinks deeper into the quagmire.

- - - - -

Land reform in South Africa is a key ANC policy but it is going badly wrong.

Rosie Goldsmith, Reporter for Radio 4 Crossing Continents, met black claimants and white farmers who are caught in the struggle over land.

Bernhard Mojapelo is university educated, with a good job in the city. But his main passion in life is for a vast stretch of barren rural scrubland. Thanks to South Africa's land reform, he and his tribe have been able to lodge a claim for it.

"Land is a source of life," Bernhard says. "When we were dispossessed and driven away from the land we felt shame and our children looked down on us. Land reform is a victory for us Africans in terms of social prestige and dignity."

Land is an emotional issue in South Africa. Millions of blacks were made landless under colonial rule and apartheid. When the ANC took over in 1994, a minority white population - about 10% - owned nearly 90% of the land.

The transfer of land to black hands became an ANC priority. But, as land reform approaches its deadline there are signs that for rural and farming communities it has failed.

Once a loyal ANC supporter, Bernhard now feels cheated. "The government was very ambitious with its land reform. But it had no blueprint or master plan," he complains.

"It was only a political goal. They didn't monitor it or work out what people really need."

Down the dirt track from Bernhard's house lives another land claimant from his tribe - Patrick Mojapelo. They are claiming ancestral land from before 1913, when the colonial Land Act forced blacks off their historical land.

Patrick has lived though colonialism and apartheid: "My land is my home. This is where I was born and grew up," he says. "This feeling is stronger among blacks than whites. It's part of myself. It's where we have our graves."

It was promised that 30% of agricultural land would be transferred to black claimants by the official deadline of 2014. So far it's just over 4%.

Transfer has been slow and inefficient. And in the successful cases the complaints are that there's too little money or training to support the new farmers.

Patrick and Bernhard live near Polokwane, the capital city of Limpopo - South Africa's most northerly province, bordering Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Zimbabwe's disastrous land reform - with farm invasions and racial violence - are close and constant reminders to South Africans.

Travelling north through Limpopo, the dry flat scrubland gives way to deep valleys and green hills covered in tall blue gum trees and farms growing macadamias, guavas, avocados and mangoes.

Limpopo is the most productive fruit and vegetable-growing region in South Africa and nearly the whole province is under land claim.

For decades agriculture here has been dominated by successful white farmers, like Theo De Jager, who is also regional president of the largest farmers' lobby group, Agri SA. Originally an enthusiastic supporter of land reform, he sold his first farm two years ago under the government's "willing buyer, willing seller" scheme, where cooperating farmers are paid market price for their land, which is then transferred to the black claimants.

But Theo's former farm now lies in ruins - dead cattle, dead crops, abandoned by the new owners.

All the buildings, including the grand family home, have been ripped apart and pillaged for cables, glass and wood.

Most of the transferred farms have failed and there is mounting concern over food productivity.

Theo's new farm is also under claim but this time he will not be a "willing seller": "If we want to feed 50 million people in this country," he says, "then we need to think differently about land.

People will die of hunger if we keep saying we must give land back to those people who roamed here 150 years ago. They're not farmers today."

Since 1994 about 15,000 white farmers have sold up and many have left South Africa.

Theo de Jager speaks for many when he says: "We have three options: to stay and risk losing everything; to pack our bags and go to Canada or New Zealand, or stay and try to convince the government that they're wrong."

Theo and his friends voice some of their other fears: "I don't farm any more," says one, "out of fear, seeing what happened to family in Zimbabwe. It could happen here."

"We've already had over 2,000 murders of white farmers on their land," Theo adds. "Most are due to the general crime situation in South Africa," he admits, "but some have been linked in court to claimants who killed farmers who were not "willing sellers".

And that adds to the fear."

Theo's struggle for his land has only just begun. The ANC has decided to introduce a new Expropriation Bill, a controversial move which, if passed, will give the government greater powers to expropriate land and property from existing owners.

For many, this Bill conjures up visions of Zimbabwe. For others, like Bernhard and Patrick, it is a welcome move to speed up land reform.

It is farmers like Theo, they say, who are obstructing the process: they are no longer willing to sell and are asking too much money for their land.

Doors Le Roux, an Afrikaner guava grower in the Levubu Valley and a member of the Transvaal Agricultural Union, says if the claimants come to take his farm he will defend it by force. "This is delayed revenge. It's revenge, black on white.

The Expropriation Law is a short-cut to stealing our land."

"We could move to a land grab situation - we're already moving towards it. The government says people will get their land and they're not. The claimants are getting restless. I will fight with all possible means. It could get very ugly."

The Expropriation Bill has already been through tempestuous Public Hearings across the country. It will be voted on in parliament when MPs return after their winter recess.

Despite the criticisms, the ANC is committed to making it work. Their line is clear: the legacy of apartheid and colonization are still hard realities in South Africa today and land reform will help overcome that legacy.

With a general election early next year this showcase policy will be displayed in all its glory. For Bernhard, Patrick and thousands of other black South Africans, when they get their promised land it will be a dream come true.

Stadium unlikely to be ready in time

One football stadium in South Africa is unlikely to be completed in time for the Confederations Cup, the FIFA World Cup Committee said Tuesday.

In a development likely to spur more questions about whether South Africa will be prepared to host the 2010 World Cup, the Port Elizabeth stadium will not be used for the Confederations Cup, a test tournament to be staged in the country in June.

FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke cited technical problems with the roof, but said the venue would be ready for the World Cup.

Port Elizabeth acting mayor Bicks Ndoni objected, saying in a statement Tuesday that his stadium would be ready in time for the Confederations Cup.

Two weeks ago, FIFA president Sepp Blatter confirmed for the first time that a plan exists to move the World Cup in the event of a natural catastrophe.

Valcke would not comment Tuesday on where the World Cup could be moved. He said a "Plan B" was particularly necessary because cancelling the tournament at the last minute would prevent FIFA from raising World Cup funds necessary to hold other tournaments.

"If something happens in a country that is out of your control ... then you must somehow have a way of saving the event and saving the value of the event," he said.

The 2010 tournament has been plagued by stadium construction delays, transport problems, the possibility of power outages and security fears, leading to concerns the first World Cup set in Africa might have to be shifted to another country.

More than 50 people are killed every day in South Africa, according to government statistics.

Last week in Pretoria, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said levels of crime "continue to be unacceptably high."

However, Danny Jordaan, the chief executive officer of the South African 2010 organizing committee, dismissed concerns that South Africa was ill-prepared to host the tournament.

He said the negative speculation comes hand-in-hand with hosting a major international event, noting Greece had undergone similar criticism before it successfully held the 2004 Olympics.

"We must not be too sensitive," he said. "We'll be ready."

Tim Modise, a spokesman for the organizing committee, said South Africa was roughly 10 per cent over its budget for the tournament.

Jordaan had earlier said rising prices around the world, including the skyrocketing price of oil, was affecting the budget. For example, he said last month, roofing materials for new stadiums were being imported and the shipping costs, which are sensitive to fuel prices, were expected to go up.

Jordaan said Tuesday that the committee was appointing a team of specialists to investigate the budget excesses. "The costs are enormous," he said. "And they are a major concern."

2010 transport plan 'off track'

Was it ever ‘on track’?

With the buffoons we have in government, with the ANC’s policies of picking skin pigment colour over merit and ability, with the nepotism, cronyism and klepocracy of the ANC gubbermunt, was there any doubt that this show would never get off the ground?

I am tending to agree with a commenter that said that Fifa should hold the 2010 WC here just so the world can see for themselves what incompetents we have running the country.

Imagine thousands of news crews covering every angle of the event including the side-show which will be attacks on visitors etc - and the news crews themselves. Camera equipment fetches good money.

What better way to open the eyes of the world to the realities of the utopia that the world helped create at the foot of Africa?

Bring on 2010! Viva!

- - - - -

Cape Town - MPs have heard that time is running out to build an effective transport legacy for the 2010 soccer World Cup.

They also heard that the Tshwane metro is having a number of problems in getting their transport act together.

Jeremy Cronin, the chairperson of Parliament's portfolio committee on transport, told the National Assembly before members left for their winter break: "We are quite concerned to be honest about what is going wrong with planning for public transport for 2010, and especially for the legacy we want to put in place beyond 2010."

Moving for the adoption of reports of the committee visits to Tshwane, and also to London and Manchester in England, Cronin said that in Pretoria the council was talking about metro rail improvements, upgrading stations and building some new ones, and they were planning ("we hope they are still planning," he said) a bus rapid transit system.

However, he added, they raised a number of concerns with the committee. "The South African Rail Commuter Corporation is planning a big Moloto rail extension from Pretoria to Moloto," he said. "But they have not consulted the city effectively.

So where they are planning to end up in Tshwane is not very suitable for the spatial planning and public transport planning that Tshwane is looking at.

"We also had the impression that there wasn't a very clear vision, frankly, coming from the Tshwane officials around their preparation for 2010 transport.

This might have been the result of the fact that there are two members of the mayoral executive committee involved in public transport. One is involved in roads and infrastructure, the other with public transport.

"And the reports we got didn't quite add up to a clear integrated perspective." Cronin also pointed out that Tshwane had another serious problem to do with funding their transport plans.

"The bulk of the funding they want for their 2010 transport planning is only earmarked for 2010/11, which is clearly too late to put in place for transport in time for 2010."

One lesson the committee learned in London, where the city is getting into gear to host the 2012 Olympics, was that the authorities got their funding up front and very fast.

"One of the problems we are suffering now in South Africa is that cities are planning nicely very often, sometimes not so effectively, for transport for 2010, but the money doesn't flow in," Cronin told MPs.

"Treasury says 'Yes, that looks good, but we are not convinced that your business plan is effective', and so on.

"And the problem then is that deadlines get pushed back and frankly we are running out of time if we are going to get a decent public transport legacy before 2010."

(Hat tip: Denise)

Keystone cops anger hijacked woman

Then we wonder why we can’t bring the crime beast under control if this is the reaction of the SAPS.

Untrained, under-equipped, rudderless, overwhelmed and basically given up the fight.

The criminals aren’t just winning, they’ve won.

- - - - -

Claire Jones is looking for hijackers who wear Axe deodorant, drink bootleg whisky, listen to violent music and can't drive.

Jones was hijacked on May 25 at the gate of her Linbro Park, Joburg, home by three armed men and badly beaten.

She got her car back, badly damaged, two weeks later, but is furious that police have yet to find her attackers. "I'm so angry that I just want to kill," said Jones.

"I gave the police everything and they did absolutely diddly squat."

'If it's hectic, we receive about eight or nine hijackings a week'

The Sandringham police station, which is dealing with the case, is one of Gauteng's "top 10" hijack areas. "Out of 20 hijackings a month, we are lucky to arrest seven people," said Inspector Moses Maphakela.

Last weekend was a good one for Sandringham, he said: "From Friday till today we were clapping hands because we had only two hijackings.

"If it's hectic, we receive about eight or nine hijackings a week," Maphakela said.

Police recorded 52 car hijackings in Sandringham in the six months to September last year. Two hijack-related suspects were arrested in Sandringham last week and another four in nearby Bramley last month.

The latest trend is the double hijackings now seen in Sandringham. "They are hijacking two vehicles and abandoning one in the area so that the police will concentrate on that one," said Maphakela.

Jones said police bungled her case, but police said they dealt with it by the book, and hijackers were hard to catch.

She said she immediately reported the attack to the 10111 police emergency number, but they weren't interested because there was no tracking unit in the car.

The attackers couldn't drive properly, crashing into Jones's gate instead of reversing. Her grey BMW was found abandoned two weeks later in nearby Alexandra.

Police handed it back to Jones with items in it left behind by the hijackers, which included three heavy-metal CDs (including a song about "how to get away with murder"); an orange Axe deodorant; a cardboard crate for Jack Daniel's whisky; equipment for siphoning petrol; and plates with the false number JGN440GP.

Days after handing the car back, the police returned to get more fingerprints. More than three weeks later, the fingerprint results are still awaited.

(Hat tip: Denise)

Cop gets top marks

To prove that we do not just post about the bad apples in the SAPS, here is evidence that good cops do exist and these should be encouraged and supported to reach the highest levels in the service.

While this is a good news story, we must remember that there are thousands of white police men and women who have already surpassed this person’s qualifications and experience that are being held back because of affirmative action.

We need to understand that crime is at the root of all evil in South Africa, that everything flows from the problem of crime i.e. confidence, skills exodus, loss of productive family earners, etc and until we bring crime under control nothing else will flourish.

It is like trying to preserve a tree while the grass around it is on fire. We need the best minds and skills in the force and the bad apples tossed out. The SAPS is also the last place where affirmative action should be implemented.

People’s lives and the country’s future depends on the maintenance of law and order.

As can be seen by the chaotic nature of the country, this message is not getting through to the ANC regime.

- - - - -

Constable Dalindyebo Dyani is not only winning the fight against crime, but he is excelling academically too. Dyani, 31, recently graduated with a B-Tech in Policing from the University of South Africa (Unisa).

A member of the Crime Combating Unit at East London’s South African Police Services, Dyani completed his studies last year. At a recent graduation party at his home in Ngqamakhwe, Dyani was joined by his two siblings – - his sister Andiswa ( BSc in Information Systems) his brother Lindela (Diploma in Tourism).

Dyani started working as a police officer in 2003 after leaving his job at Daimler Chrysler to fulfil his childhood dream. “I was happy because I was going to do something that was close to my heart.”

Once in the police force, he did not rest and enrolled at Unisa. He decided to study to challenge the notion that police officers were not educated.

“I always wanted to be a policeman but I hated the fact that their profession was not getting the recognition it deserved,” he said.

Although he is still in the lower ranks, Constable Dyani hopes that his new qualification will help him to gain promotion.