Category: Zuma

Chief okays R2bn ‘Zumaville’

Jacob Zuma in 2008

Jacob Zuma in 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Despite criticisms over state spending on President Jacob Zuma‘s private residence, the controversial R2-billion Nkandla-Mlalazi Smart Growth Centre has been approved by a local chief.

According to the Cape Argus, the development, which has been dubbed Zumaville, will include a school, a sports centre, libraries, a shopping mall, a college, and other amenities. The development, which will be led by Zuma’s Masibambisane Rural Development Trust and will be funded in part by the state, is to be built in an area near Zuma’s Nkandla home.

The Sunday Times reported that residents in the area had originally protested against the development because they did not want to be forced to leave their homes, but that the chief of the area, Vela Shange, had recently given approvalfor the project to go ahead.

President Jacob Zuma has, in the past, been criticised by opposition Members of Parliament for favouring the area around his home over other rural areas in need of development. In October last year, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said that her office would investigate the proposed development, the Cape Argus reported.

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MUGABE PLANNED TO KILL ZUMA

Robert Mugabe

Robert Mugabe (Photo credit: a-birdie)

President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party has viciously dismissed a claim contained in an alleged document which says Mugabe has planned to assassinate South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma together with his outspoken spokesperson Lindiwe Zulu who Mugabe a few days ago labelled a “stupid, idiotic woman” and also a “little street woman.”

The document which claims to have been written by an intelligence  detail claims that Robert Mugabe hired Lebanese marksmen to travel to South African and coordinate the killing of Zuma and Zulu.

The document written in staggering broken English, also alleges the assassins were also hand in glove with Zambia’s president Michael Sata who it says they met just before crossing the border to meet Mugabe, a development which if true also incriminates Zambia’s president.Excited-Zanu-(PF)-Spokesperson-Rugare-Gumbo412x232

The document reads in part:

“Mugabe promised the six Lebonese [sic] an undisclosed fortune in cash if they succeed in getting rid of the two who [sic] South Africa senior officials who are giving him a lot of trouble.

Names of the six could not be established, but they entered into the country via Zambia in the last few days, where they had previously held a close meeting with [president] Michael Sata before travelling into Zimbabwe.”

When contacted, ZANU PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo dismissed the document as rubbish:

“It is all rubbish and hogwash to think a head of state like president Mugabe would set up something like that. We have a disagreement with Lindiwe Zulu but it would not go to that extent,” he said.

 

http://www.codewit.com/africa/9275-mugabe-planned-to-kill-zuma

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Zuma looks to Obama, Mandela for reflective glory

CAPE TOWN/SOUTH AFRICA, 10JUN2009 -Jacob Zuma,...

CAPE TOWN/SOUTH AFRICA, 10JUN2009 -Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa at the Opening Plenary on Africa and the New Global Economy at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa, June 10, 2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With a potential meeting between Barack Obama and his ailing hero Nelson Mandela the focus of the US president‘s trip to South Africa, President Jacob Zuma risks looking like a third wheel.

But for a man who has often found his leadership style called into question, Zuma also has a golden opportunity to bask in their reflective glory and prove himself a statesman.

As Obama’s host and the main conduit for news about Mandela’s health, he is at the apex of world affairs, at least for three days.

With the world looking on, he leads the nation through a key chapter in its history, perhaps the final journey for one of modern history’s most towering figures.

His role can be compared to that of US president Lyndon B Johnson who took charge following the assassination of president John Kennedy.

“It can be potentially traumatic for the nation,” said analyst Muhamed-Nur Nordien.

Independent political analyst Daniel Silke said Zuma’s government is trying “desperately” to be in control of the situation.

Having been sharply criticised for not reacting quickly enough following last year’s shooting of 34 miners by police in Marikana, while he was in Mozambique, Zuma has been more proactive this time around.

He cancelled his working trip to the same country in the wake of Mandela’s illness.

“Being seen as competent in handling this issue is uppermost in the minds of President Zuma and the ANC leadership,” Silke said.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Zuma-looks-to-Obama-Mandela-for-reflective-glory-20130629

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Mbeki blasts Zuma’s leadership

Português: O presidente da África do Sul Thabo...

Português: O presidente da África do Sul Thabo Mbeki. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The gloves came off in the ANC this weekend as former president Thabo Mbeki lashed President Jacob Zuma‘s leadership of the country, warning that South Africa was being allowed to “progress towards a costly disaster of a protracted and endemic general crisis”.

 

Mbeki did not mention Zuma by name, but it was clear whom he had in mind when he expressed “great unease” at “a dangerous and unacceptable situation of directionless and unguided national drift”.

His remarks earned a sharp rebuke from ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, who said South Africa had progressed since Zuma had taken office. He cited advances in the fight against Aids since Mbeki had left office.

With Zuma seeking re-election to the post of ANC president at the party’s national congress in Mangaung in December, Mbeki’s highly critical remarks will strengthen the hand of those opposing him.

Mbeki made the remarks in an OR Tambo memorial lecture he delivered as part of the ANC’s centenary celebrations at the University of Fort Hare in Alice in the Eastern Cape on Friday.

He hinted that he was weighing his options, saying: “As we meet here at Fort Hare, I, for one, am not certain about where our country and nation will be tomorrow, and what I should do in this regard.

“My feeling of unease is also informed by what I sense is a pervasive understanding throughout the nation that there is no certainty about our future with regard to any of our known challenges, and therefore the future of the nation.

“This is underlined by a troubled, pessimistic sentiment among many families in our country about whether their children can expect a better future, contrary to the travails the parents of these young people had to endure, including the students at this university,” said Mbeki.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2012/10/21/mbeki-blasts-zuma-s-leadership

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Proposed Expropriation Bill allows the state to take possession of property before any compensation is paid

Flag-map of South Africa Español: Bandera de S...

Flag-map of South Africa Español: Bandera de Sudáfrica inscripta dentro del mapa Русский: Флаг-карта ЮАР (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The proposed Expropriation Bill – which allows the state to take possession of property before any compensation is paid – is unconstitutional and will hamper economic growth, should it be passed.

 

This is according to researcher Anthea Jeffery, who spoke at a briefing held by the Free Market Foundation in Johannesburg yesterday.

The Department of Public Works published the latest version of the draft Expropriation Bill for public comment in March. The bill is now in front of parliament.

“Although it seems like a major advance, in practice the gain is likely to be negated by other aspects of the bill, in particular it allows hundreds of organs of state to take ownership and possession of property by simply giving notice to the owner and before compensation has been paid,” said Jeffery, who is the head of special research for the South African Institute of Race Relations.

A previous expropriation bill – of 2008 – was “clearly unconstitutional, as it attempted to prevent the courts from deciding the compensation due to the owner of an expropriated property”.

“The current bill gives the courts the power to decide on ‘just and equitable’ compensation, based on market value. However, it allows expropriation to take place before the state has shown that all relevant constitutional requirements have been met. In addition, it fails to recognise that, where the expropriated property includes a person’s home, any eviction requires the express authority of the courts,” Jeffery said.

The option of going to court to appeal the measure of compensation, however, is only suitable to people with “deep pockets”, she said.

Jeffery said instead of passing the Expropriation Bill, government should rather bring the Expropriation Act of 1975 in line with the constitution by making three changes, namely:

  • Allow expropriation in the “public interest”, or for “public purposes”;
  • Balance market value to ensure fair compensation; and
  • Make a provision that the state must obtain a court order confirming the validity of a proposed expropriation before it issues a notice to expropriate.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2013/06/27/land-bill-s-sore-points

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Insults of President are an abuse of the freedom of expression??

Jacob Zuma, former vice president of South Africa.

Jacob Zuma, former vice president of South Africa. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Public statements that insult President Jacob Zuma are an abuse of the constitutionally enshrined right to freedom of expression, the ANC said on Friday.

 

“The African National Congress respects the right of all citizens to make constructive criticisms with the intention to build and strengthen our young democracy,” spokesman Jackson Mthembu said in a statement.

“…Elsewhere in the world, it is a criminal offence to insult a sitting head of state, and South Africans must, together, forge a common understanding on how we halt this impunity and abuse of democratic privilege,” he said.

Earlier, an open letter to Zuma, attributed to flamboyant businessman Kenny Kunene, was published on The Star‘s website.

In the letter, Kunene claimed that people within the ANC were “terrified” to speak out against Zuma because they feared him.

“In public you smile and laugh, but in truth you behave like a monster, a tyrant who will target perceived enemies ruthlessly, and because of that fear few dare to speak openly,” Kunene wrote.

Mthembu said it was a “dangerous fallacy” to claim the party feared Zuma.

“To call President Zuma a tyrant, a monster, and a person who ruthlessly pursues an enemy is tantamount to slander and defamation of the integrity of the president.”

The ANC viewed such comments as disrespectful, distasteful, and insulting and was concerned that criticism of the president had become commonplace.

“Such is a farce that has perhaps gone unattended for too long and has morphed into a normal part of national discourse.”

In the letter, Kunene claimed that Zuma’s relationship with the Gupta family and the recent wedding scandal, and controversy surrounding spending on Zuma’s lavish household at Nkandla, detracted from the president’s credibility.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2013/06/21/zuma-insults-an-abuse-of-freedom-of-expression-anc

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Department ignores DA’s request for info

The Public Works Department has declined a DA request for a copy of an auditor-general report on spending on construction at President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla residence.

This follows a meeting of Parliament’s portfolio committee on public works in October, during which it emerged that the A-G had detailed information about the project, which he said would not be shared with the committee as it was the practice to hand it to the department.

The DA submitted a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act to the Public Works Department for a copy of the report.

But DA public works spokeswoman Anchen Dreyer said on Sunday the department had not responded within 30 days, an indication the request had been declined.

She had lodged an internal appeal against this decision, as provided for under section 75 of the act. Should the internal appeal also fail, only the courts would be able to overturn the decision.

Dreyer said the A-G’s report could have no security implications, but would “simply detail” how R206 million had been spent by the department on Zuma’s private home. READ MORE

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Full bench to hear DA ‘spy tapes’ application

Jacob Zuma, former vice president of South Africa.

Jacob Zuma (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A full bench of judges is to hear an application by the Democratic Alliance to be granted access to the transcripts of the alleged “spy tapes” of President Jacob Zuma, DA spokesman James Selfe said on Monday.

“The case was due to be heard tomorrow (Tuesday), but the deputy judge president decided that a full bench should hear the case instead. No date has been set yet,” Selfe said.

The DA’s application would be heard in the High Court in Pretoria.

The so-called spy tapes are recordings of intercepted phone conversations, which the DA believes will shed light on the dropped fraud and corruption charges against Zuma.

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Property seizure law on its way – Tomorrow is the deadline for public comment on the Expropriation Bill

A LAW that would allow the state to seize private property is close to being enacted. Tomorrow is the deadline for public comment on the Expropriation Bill, which would give the Public Works Minister sweeping powers to expropriate private property – ranging from agricultural land, family homes, business premises, and even shares and other investments – “in the public interest”.
Critics say the proposed legislation is vague and could severely damage the country’s investment credentials.
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Threat to property

A law that would allow the state to seize private property is closer to being enacted.

Tomorrow is the deadline for public comment on the Expropriation Bill, which would give the minister of public works sweeping powers to expropriate private property – ranging from homes to business premises, and even shares and other investments – “in the public interest”.

Critics of the proposed legislation say it is vague and could severely damage the country’s investment credentials.

But yesterday Deputy Minister of Public Works Jeremy Cronin told The Times that the bill “makes sense” in the context of South Africa’s “historical reality”.

Part of that reality was revisited yesterday when tens of thousands of Zion Christian Church members gathered in Pretoria for a prayer meeting to mark the centenary of the enactment of the 1913 Land Act. READ MORE