Councillor's Corner
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Lifetime Bluff resident serving his third term in office as representative
of the area. Member of the Democratic Alliance.
of the area. Member of the Democratic Alliance.
This weeks Councillor comments
| Duncan Du Bois |
Phone:467-0343 or mobile:083 291-4913
Municipal Manager - Dr Sutcliffe: Tel 311-2130 ;
SutcliffeM@durban.gov.za
SutcliffeM@durban.gov.za
Report dumping or unauthorised use of verges; Phone 311-7448
Metro All-Call / All hours Tel No.: 361-0000
Metro Police: Tel 402-0680
Brighton Beach SAPS: Tel 451 8060 / 8059
Brighton Beach Community Policing Forum Chairman: Carl Knauff : 082 449-6503
Metro All-Call / All hours Tel No.: 361-0000
Metro Police: Tel 402-0680
Brighton Beach SAPS: Tel 451 8060 / 8059
Brighton Beach Community Policing Forum Chairman: Carl Knauff : 082 449-6503
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| Bluff Ward 66 Sub Pages |
Caught in a state of drift
•Fri, 17 Aug 2007
It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that South Africa’s position today is more uncertain and
more vulnerable than it was in 1990 following the unbanning and return of the ANC., writes
DUNCAN DU BOIS
In an article published in the Guardian in London in January, former African National
Congress member of Parliament Andrew Feinstein described the ANC as “weak and divided”.
Nothing in the current record of the Thabo Mbeki administration suggests that Feinstein’s
observation needs revision.
Repeatedly, ANC spokesmen refer to the ongoing “democratic revolution” which has yet to
run its course. Ironically, it is that so-called democratic revolution which is debilitating
governance. The bloated 70% ANC electoral majority is the root cause of the state of drift,
inefficiency and corruption that characterises what passes for government today. Instead of
acting on the mandate it received to deliver, the government under the ANC has come to be
regarded as a trophy from which endless patronage can be doled out. It’s an unhealthy and
disquieting situation that is likely to continue unless opposition parties can rein in the ANC’s
arrogance or the spats within the Tripartite Alliance have a similar effect.
Feelings of hopelessness
The slide in governance under these circumstances is harmful to democracy because it
engenders a feeling of hopelessness. If people see no tangible results from the exercise of
their democratic choice they become reluctant to vote the next time. While voter apathy is
unlikely to threaten the ANC’s stranglehold on power, it hardly buoys the health of
democracy. Worse still, it sustains mediocrity in government. That, in turn, promotes the
process of Zanufication which thrives on the absence of political challenge in a climate of
moral bankruptcy.
Strong leadership premised on accountability and proficiency is the only way to combat that
slide. But implicit in Feinstein’s analysis is the glaring absence of such leadership in the ANC.
Mbeki presides over the ANC but he rarely prevails. This is the reason the Tripartite Alliance
is racked by spats. If Mbeki had a handle on things and ran a tight ship as regards
competence and delivery, loose statements from his Alliance partners would be less likely to
occur. The absence of such parameters, however, has encouraged a political vacuum to
develop.
The credibility of the ANC is taking a hammering in the wake of the incendiary issues
surrounding Jacob Zuma, still deputy president of the ANC, the hoax e-mails saga and the
firing of spy boss Billy Masetlha, and the regular salvoes from the firebrand secretary
general of Cosatu, Zwelinzima Vavi. In May he likened a claim by the ANC of an economic
boom in the country to “Nazi propaganda”. South African Communist Party secretary general
Blade Nzimande has deprecated what he calls the “very poisoned atmosphere” which
prevails. This week Vavi was again in full cry denouncing the “deadwood” in the ANC.
Ironically, Vavi’s view would find widespread support as regards incompetence in Mbeki’s
cabinet. The backlash from his firing of the former deputy health minister, Nozizwe Madlala-
Routledge, proves that.
Coinciding with that development is a new controversy regarding Health Minister Manto
Tshabalala Msimang’s consumption of alcohol while in hospital. Once again, as in the case
of the appalling conditions in the maternity section of Frere hospital and her beetroot and
garlic diet for Aids sufferers, Mbeki is standing by her. Perhaps, however, his support has
more to do with the fact that Tshabalala-Msimang’s husband is the ANC’s treasurer.
That situation parallels the one regarding the Travelgate MPs. Nono Maloyi was found guilty
of fraud involving R150 000 in service benefits and mileage claims. His reward: redeployment
to the North West legislature as chief whip. Ndaleni Duma, who was found guilty of theft of
R51 000 in service benefits, has been promoted to MEC for Agriculture in the same
province. Good governance can never take root and become entrenched as long as posts in
government are filled in this manner. That will be Mbeki’s worst legacy — failure to root out
incompetence and to punish larceny.
Drifting and rudderless
Just 13 years into ruling South Africa, the ANC has shown itself to be drifting and rudderless.
Deterioration and decline (except in tax collections) has become the hallmark of its
governance. Divided and weak, its condition is being exploited by its own in-house
carpetbaggers. This squalid state of affairs is reflected in the role the country now plays in
Africa. Nowhere is that more emphatically demonstrated than in the ANC’s posturing towards
the tyranny of Robert Mugabe.
The growing number of refugees crossing into South Africa from Zimbabwe constitutes a
growing monument to the extent of Mbeki’s failure to translate his grandiose ideas of “the
African century” and the “African renaissance” into reality. If those utopian thoughts had a
shred of credibility Mugabe’s despotism would have been confronted and halted years ago.
Instead, South Africa is now reaping the socio-economic effects of Mbeki’s utter failure to
apply the precepts of Nepad in his own backyard. At this rate where will the country be in five
years’ time?
All things considered, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that South Africa’s position today is
more uncertain and more vulnerable than it was in 1990 following the unbanning and return
of the ANC.
• Duncan Du Bois is a Durban Metro DA ward councillor. He writes in his private capacity.
Published: 17 August 2007 The Witness, Pietermaritzburg
Learn more TRAFFIC CALMING: ITEM BY CLLR DU BOIS: INFRASTRUCTURE
COMMITTEE AGENDA : AUGUST 6, 2007 Click Here
•Fri, 17 Aug 2007
It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that South Africa’s position today is more uncertain and
more vulnerable than it was in 1990 following the unbanning and return of the ANC., writes
DUNCAN DU BOIS
In an article published in the Guardian in London in January, former African National
Congress member of Parliament Andrew Feinstein described the ANC as “weak and divided”.
Nothing in the current record of the Thabo Mbeki administration suggests that Feinstein’s
observation needs revision.
Repeatedly, ANC spokesmen refer to the ongoing “democratic revolution” which has yet to
run its course. Ironically, it is that so-called democratic revolution which is debilitating
governance. The bloated 70% ANC electoral majority is the root cause of the state of drift,
inefficiency and corruption that characterises what passes for government today. Instead of
acting on the mandate it received to deliver, the government under the ANC has come to be
regarded as a trophy from which endless patronage can be doled out. It’s an unhealthy and
disquieting situation that is likely to continue unless opposition parties can rein in the ANC’s
arrogance or the spats within the Tripartite Alliance have a similar effect.
Feelings of hopelessness
The slide in governance under these circumstances is harmful to democracy because it
engenders a feeling of hopelessness. If people see no tangible results from the exercise of
their democratic choice they become reluctant to vote the next time. While voter apathy is
unlikely to threaten the ANC’s stranglehold on power, it hardly buoys the health of
democracy. Worse still, it sustains mediocrity in government. That, in turn, promotes the
process of Zanufication which thrives on the absence of political challenge in a climate of
moral bankruptcy.
Strong leadership premised on accountability and proficiency is the only way to combat that
slide. But implicit in Feinstein’s analysis is the glaring absence of such leadership in the ANC.
Mbeki presides over the ANC but he rarely prevails. This is the reason the Tripartite Alliance
is racked by spats. If Mbeki had a handle on things and ran a tight ship as regards
competence and delivery, loose statements from his Alliance partners would be less likely to
occur. The absence of such parameters, however, has encouraged a political vacuum to
develop.
The credibility of the ANC is taking a hammering in the wake of the incendiary issues
surrounding Jacob Zuma, still deputy president of the ANC, the hoax e-mails saga and the
firing of spy boss Billy Masetlha, and the regular salvoes from the firebrand secretary
general of Cosatu, Zwelinzima Vavi. In May he likened a claim by the ANC of an economic
boom in the country to “Nazi propaganda”. South African Communist Party secretary general
Blade Nzimande has deprecated what he calls the “very poisoned atmosphere” which
prevails. This week Vavi was again in full cry denouncing the “deadwood” in the ANC.
Ironically, Vavi’s view would find widespread support as regards incompetence in Mbeki’s
cabinet. The backlash from his firing of the former deputy health minister, Nozizwe Madlala-
Routledge, proves that.
Coinciding with that development is a new controversy regarding Health Minister Manto
Tshabalala Msimang’s consumption of alcohol while in hospital. Once again, as in the case
of the appalling conditions in the maternity section of Frere hospital and her beetroot and
garlic diet for Aids sufferers, Mbeki is standing by her. Perhaps, however, his support has
more to do with the fact that Tshabalala-Msimang’s husband is the ANC’s treasurer.
That situation parallels the one regarding the Travelgate MPs. Nono Maloyi was found guilty
of fraud involving R150 000 in service benefits and mileage claims. His reward: redeployment
to the North West legislature as chief whip. Ndaleni Duma, who was found guilty of theft of
R51 000 in service benefits, has been promoted to MEC for Agriculture in the same
province. Good governance can never take root and become entrenched as long as posts in
government are filled in this manner. That will be Mbeki’s worst legacy — failure to root out
incompetence and to punish larceny.
Drifting and rudderless
Just 13 years into ruling South Africa, the ANC has shown itself to be drifting and rudderless.
Deterioration and decline (except in tax collections) has become the hallmark of its
governance. Divided and weak, its condition is being exploited by its own in-house
carpetbaggers. This squalid state of affairs is reflected in the role the country now plays in
Africa. Nowhere is that more emphatically demonstrated than in the ANC’s posturing towards
the tyranny of Robert Mugabe.
The growing number of refugees crossing into South Africa from Zimbabwe constitutes a
growing monument to the extent of Mbeki’s failure to translate his grandiose ideas of “the
African century” and the “African renaissance” into reality. If those utopian thoughts had a
shred of credibility Mugabe’s despotism would have been confronted and halted years ago.
Instead, South Africa is now reaping the socio-economic effects of Mbeki’s utter failure to
apply the precepts of Nepad in his own backyard. At this rate where will the country be in five
years’ time?
All things considered, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that South Africa’s position today is
more uncertain and more vulnerable than it was in 1990 following the unbanning and return
of the ANC.
• Duncan Du Bois is a Durban Metro DA ward councillor. He writes in his private capacity.
Published: 17 August 2007 The Witness, Pietermaritzburg
Learn more TRAFFIC CALMING: ITEM BY CLLR DU BOIS: INFRASTRUCTURE
COMMITTEE AGENDA : AUGUST 6, 2007 Click Here
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You can contact Councillor D Du Bois by e-mail @ dubois@axxess.co.za