DAILY NEWS BULLETIN  –  NO 0224 12 AUGUST 2010

Compiled by the Operations Centre,

Dept of International Relations & Cooperation (DIRCO)

- Sourced from electronic & print media -

INDEX (Scroll Down to View Content)

THE PRESIDENCY & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

President Zuma backs proposed Media Tribunal

President Zuma throws book at cops

Hopes high as President Zuma visits Lesotho on Thursday

SA, Lesotho to strengthen economic ties

SA-US partnership must be founded on economic development: Ambassador Rasool

AFRICAN UNION (AU) & REGIONAL (SADC)

Two grenade blasts injure over 20 people in Rwandan capital

Madagascan parties propose new election calendar

Zimbabwe opens ‘blood diamond’ sale

Botswana reprimanded for denying critic access to court

MULTILATERAL; INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES & SUMMITS

UN climate negotiations “unsuccessful” in raising commitment levels: Bolivia

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT; LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Gauteng to help more women

POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Malema supporters eye Gauteng congress win

ECONOMICS; FINANCE; TRADE & INDUSTRY; MINING; ENERGY; PUBLIC ENTERPRISES

Victory’ for banks as direct equity targets stay at 10%

State holds last rites for pebble bed reactor

Eskom woos private power suppliers

Regulation, not finance, ‘is energy reform snag’

Reprieve for Lonmin as state order withdrawn

JUSTICE & CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT; POLICE; DEFENCE; NATIONAL SECURITY; CORRECTIONAL SERVICES

New law in pipeline to make xenophobia and racism crimes

MPs might subpoena Minister Sisulu over report

Root out all corrupt cops, says Deputy Minister Mbalula

NPA sets free 343 criminals

EDUCATION; ARTS & CULTURE; SPORT & RECREATION

SA’s matrics up to mark

Study shows growing role for ‘affordable’ private schools

TRANSPORT; COMMUNICATION & MEDIA ISSUES; SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Masekela quits amid new turmoil at SABC

Communication Minister Nyanda ‘feels vindicated’ by protector’s reports on contracts

ENVIRONMENT & WATER AFFAIRS;  AGRICULTURE, FISHING & FORESTRY;  LAND AFFAIRS

Environmental courts soon to try water polluters – Minister Sonjica

HEALTH; HOUSING; SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT; WOMEN, CHILDREN & DISABLED

New medicine pricing set-up

PUBLIC SERVICE & ADMINISTRATION; LABOUR; HOME AFFAIRS; PUBLIC WORKS

Public sector Unions, Govt to talk

SPORTS

Bafana Bafana beat Ghana 1-0

Soccer City will stay FNB Stadium

FEATURES; OPINIONS; ANALYSIS

Threat to press freedom is already here by Raymond Louw

ANC should debate issues rather than muzzle critics by Ido Lekota

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Public Service Strike: Productivity is the main thing

Mining Rights: Never too late to do it right

Truth would not be heard

This time police to co-operate with corruption probe

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKET STATISTICS

CONTENTS

The contents, wording and terminology of all items are those of the credited sources and do not reflect departmental or governmental policy. Stories may be edited for clarity and length.

THE PRESIDENCY & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

President Zuma backs proposed Media Tribunal (www.sabcnews.co.za, 20100812) – President Jacob Zuma has thrown his weight behind the proposed Media Appeals Tribunal. Speaking at the launch of the African National Congress’ (ANC) Imvuselelo Campaign in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday, he said people have a right to privacy and need protection from biased and unfair reporting.  The Media Appeals Tribunal seems a done deal as the ruling ANC prepares for its National General Council next month. On Wedenesday, the proposal received support from the highest office in the land despite opposition from the country’s editors.  According to Zuma, the Tribunal issue was discussed thoroughly in the national policy conference of the ANC, presented at the national conference and adopted as a resolution. He maintains that their stance is in keeping with the provisions of the constitution. The President was in Port Elizabeth to drum up support for the ruling party which fears losing the Nelson Mandela Metro in next year’s local government elections. Mr. Zuma has given the assurance that a commitment has been made to change the way things are done in the Nelson Mandela Metro, for the sake of the ANC and of the country.  The Imvuselelo campaign aims to recruit a million card-carrying members by 2012 and Mr Zuma says he wants at least half of those to come from the Eastern Cape.

President Zuma throws book at cops (www.timeslive.co.za, 20100812) – President Jacob Zuma has ordered corruption-buster Willie Hofmeyr to investigate fraud or corruption going back five years in the South African Police Service at national and provincial levels. The investigation will cover procurement of equipment and services, “including leased accommodation”. In his mandate to Hofmeyr’s Special Investigating Unit, Mr. Zuma says the investigation should include procurements for the police by the Department of Public Works or the State Information Technology Agency, which generally handles the government’s computer-related purchases. The Special Investigating Unit describes itself as “a state body that fights corruption through quality forensic investigations and litigation”. Since the Directorate of Special Operations, known as the Scorpions, was disbanded, Hofmeyr’s unit has become one of the few remaining structures independent of the police with the authority to investigate corruption. Mr. Zuma’s order comes soon after the Sunday Times reported that National Commissioner of Police General Bheki Cele facilitated a R500-million lease for new headquarters in Pretoria from a man closely associated with Mr Zuma.  An official familiar with the inquiry told The Times that the new investigation by the Special Investigating Unit was discussed with the police for weeks. It had police backing and promises of co-operation at the highest level. The official said the investigation was launched by the police’s internal watchdog, the Independent Complaints Directorate, but had proved to be too broad for it to deal with.

Hopes high as President Zuma visits Lesotho on Thursday (www.sabcnews.co.za, 20100812) – Hopes are high that President Jacob Zuma will use his state visit to Lesotho to announce South Africa’s plans to help the mountain kingdom overcome its pressing socio-economic challenges. The landlocked southern African state is facing challenges as a result of drought, unemployment and HIV/Aids. This has put the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy under immense pressure from the populace that has accused Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili of failing to stimulate economic growth and create the much needed jobs.  The majority of households subsist on farming or migrant labour which sustains South African mines. Water is Lesotho’s only significant natural resource and is being used by South Africa through the 30-year, multi-billion-dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Pres. Zuma will kick-start his two-day state visit to Lesotho this morning by paying a courtesy visit to King Litsie III, followed by bilateral talks with Mosisili before addressing the country’s joint sitting of Parliament later this afternoon.

SA, Lesotho to strengthen economic ties (www.sabcnews.co.za, 20100811) – Strengthening economic relations between South Africa and Lesotho will dominate discussions during President Jacob Zuma’s state visit to that country from Thursday. This as the economy of Lesotho faces near collapse as a result of the economic recession and dwindling revenues from the Southern Africa Customs Union (Sacu). Lesotho is looking up to South Africa to rescue it from the economic doldrums. “We hope that President Jacob Zuma will explain to the leadership of Lesotho, the border issues which are stifling the Lesotho economy,” says Christian Council of Lesotho’s Archbishop Tlali Lerotholi. The two leaders will also discuss the finalisation of the Agreement on Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. “South Africa needs to integrate the Lesotho economy as the country does not have a strong industrial base,” says SA High Commissioner to Lesotho, Happy Mahlangu The ongoing political instability in Lesotho will also be discussed. The Sotho people commute to South Africa for work and shopping on a daily basis to buy basic food stuffs like bread. The country does not have its own bakeries and this illustrates the level of economic dependency Lesotho has on South Africa, something which is forcing others to call for its full political integration into its neighbour.

SA-US partnership must be founded on economic development: Ambassador Rasool (www.sapa.org.za, 20100811) –  The partnership between South Africa and the United States must be founded on the commitment to economic development, South Africa’s new Ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool said on Wednesday. “Our co-operative partnership must be founded on the commitment to economic development as the most sustainable path to all our goals,” he said in presenting his letter of credence to US President Barack Obama. “We are pleased that there is a convergence in our respective foreign policies of preventing and mitigating armed conflict, supporting economic growth in Africa, and recognising Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world.” This agenda could be advanced if, among other things, the US supported the African Union’s endorsement earlier this year of South Africa’s candidature for the United Nations Security Council. According to a statement, Mr. Rasool described his task as deepening and consolidating the relationship between South Africa and the US into a co-operative partnership. “The time is now to realise our mutual priorities for good governance and democracy, for human rights and dignity, for peace and stability and for growth and development.”  Combating climate change and creating a society free of pandemics like HIV/Aids and poverty were some of the countries’ mutual priorities.

AFRICAN UNION (AU) & REGIONAL (SADC)

Two grenade blasts injure over 20 people in Rwandan capital (www.apanews.net, 20100812) – Few hours after the declaration of President Paul Kagame as the winner of this week’s presidential elections, two grenade attacks in the Rwandan capital left over 20 people critically injured. Ambulances took many of the seriously injured people to hospital. Eyewitnesses said the blasts happened just after 18:00 hours, with the place promptly cordoned off by security forces.The attacks happened during the evening rush hour and in an area where there was heavy human traffic. While no details of the blasts were available, but previous similar blasts had been blamed on two former military officers now living in exile in South Africa. The two, who include a former military chief and a former intelligence chief have both vehemently denied the charges, instead accusing President Kagame of dictatorial tendencies. The Nyamirambo Park where the blasts went off was filled with thousands of people heading home.

Madagascan parties propose new election calendar (www.xinhuanet.com, 20100811) – Madagascar’s Highest Transitional Authority (HAT)

and more than 80 allied parties unveiled a new election calendar with the presidential elections postponed to 1 June 2011 from 26 Nov. 2010, local media reported on Wednesday. The new calendar was proposed on Tuesday at the third meeting of HAT and the 82 parties from the two political alliances — the Space of Concertation of Political Parites and the Union of Democrats and Republicans for Change (UDR-C). Under the new plan, the Indian Ocean island state will hold the legislative elections on April 13, 2011 and the presidential vote on 1 June 2011. Previously, HAT President Andry Rajoelina had announced that the polls would take place respectively on Sept. 30 and on Nov. 26 to end the political crisis dragging on since late 2008. On Monday, the parties also decided to put off the constitutional referendum from 12 Aug. to 17 Nov. Benjamina Ramarcel-Ramanantsoa, an organizer of the meeting, said the new dates would be most convenient to the majority and that the calendar would be submitted to their national conference for final approval. “Even the Independent National Electoral Council would still have words to say about the subject, but for us politicians, the essential is to find an accord on these dates,” he added. The rival camps led by former presidents Didier Ratsiraka, Zafy Albert and Marc Ravalomanana did not attend the meeting and have yet to respond to the proposed new calendar.

Zimbabwe opens ‘blood diamond’ sale (www.timeslive.co.za, 20100811) -

Zimbabwe on Wednesday opened the first sale of diamonds from its Marange fields since international regulators partially lifted a ban imposed after the military violently seized control of the mines. About 900,000 carats valued at about 72 million US dollars were on sale, according to Abbey Chikane, the monitor from the international Kimberley Process which is charged with preventing trade in “blood diamonds”. Buyers from the United States, Israel, Russia, Lebanon and India were at the auction at Harare’s airport, some with pilots waiting to jet them out of the country afterwards. “Indeed it is historic in that we have managed to satisfy the minimum requirements of the Kimberley Process,” Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said in opening the sale.

“We have put in place measures to ensure that we abide by the Kimberley Process principles and sell our diamonds in a transparent manner.”  Kimberley last month ruled that Zimbabwe had ceased abuses by the military, which seized control of the Marange fields in late 2008, forcing out tens of thousands of small-scale miners. Human rights groups say about 200 people died in the operation, and that soldiers then beat and raped villagers to force them to mine the gems in early 2009. Kimberley blocked the sale of Marange diamonds in November last year, giving Zimbabwe until June to clean up its operations.  Zimbabwe has now contracted operations at Marange to two little-known South African firms, Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners, although the region near the Mozambican border remains a high-security zone with a strong military presence.  The diamond sale on Wednesday will be audited by Ernst and Young.  Mr. Chikane said the government’s only role would be in presenting the stones to buyers.  ”I have certified the goods and they are ready for export,” he told AFP.  The current sale only includes gems mined over the last two months, since Chikane certified that Marange had complied with human rights standards.  Zimbabwe says it has a total of 4.5 million carats of diamonds in its stocks, which government values at 1.7 billion dollars — equivalent to more than half the national budget.  The sale is a rare point of agreement for Zimbabwe’s unity government, formed last year by erstwhile opposition leader Tsvangirai and long-ruling President Robert Mugabe.

Botswana reprimanded for denying critic access to court (www.businessday.co.za, 20100812) – In a scathing rebuke of Botswana’s immigration laws, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has found that national security is not a legitimate justification for infringing on the right of access to courts. The landmark decision was emphatic in asserting the importance of judicial oversight of executive decisions and is likely to influence the reasoning of domestic courts in Africa, including SA. The commission’s decision was released recently after a five- year legal battle by Australian academic Kenneth Good, who was declared “a prohibited immigrant” in terms of the Botswana Immigration Act and deported after he co-authored an article critical of the president. The act permits the president of Botswana to expel a noncitizen “in consequence of information received from any source deemed by the president to be reliable” — with no right to challenge the decision in court and no duty on the president to give reasons for his decision.

Mr Good first tried to find out why he was deported through the Botswana courts, to no avail. He ultimately turned to the commission — assisted by international nongovernmental organisation Interights and two South African counsel, Anton Katz SC and Max du Plessis. He said the act violated a number of his rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, including the right “to have his cause heard”.  Botswana argued that the act’s ousting of the courts’ jurisdiction to review the president’s decision was justified in the public interest. But the commission rejected this outright. “Can a victim’s right to have his cause heard be limited … for the public interest? The answer to this is no.” The commission also found that denying Mr Good reasons for his deportation infringed on his right to receive information. National security and the public interest were “recognised as justifiable grounds to limit freedom of expression” under the charter, the commission said. However, in Mr Good’s case, and “especially in a trial for the vindication of a right”, information could not be withheld for any reason. Botswana’s Daily News quoted Foreign Affairs Minister Phandu Skelemani, as saying: “We are not going to follow on the recommendation made by the commission; it does not give orders, and it is not a court. We are not going to listen to them.”

MULTILATERAL; INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES & SUMMITS

UN climate negotiations “unsuccessful” in raising commitment levels: Bolivia (www.xinhuanet.com, 20100811) – The third round of UN climate negotiations in 2010 were unsuccessful in raising the levels of commitment of developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Bolivian ambassador to the UN said on Wednesday. The lack of progress in the negotiations is “something that we must be very worried about,” Pablo Solon told reporters at a press conference here regarding the negotiations that came to a close last week in Bonn, Germany. The Bonn UN Climate Change Conference held on 2-6  Aug., included the participation of representatives from 178 governments and aims to prepare the outcomes of the Conference of Parties (COP) that is set to take place in Cancun, Mexico later this year. Despite the reluctance of developed countries to advance their efforts to curb emissions, Solon indicated some positive developments. “I think the Bonn conference was a step forward in bringing back the process of negotiations to the UN,” he said.

Two ad hoc working groups — the Long-term Cooperative Action ( AWG-LGA) and the group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) — presented in Bonn a draft text to facilitate further negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “We now have a text that reflects the positions of the different parties, of the different states and that is something positive,” said Solon. The text includes a possible set of draft decisions for Cancun, including impacts of agriculture on emissions, carbon markets, greenhouse gases, and the effects on different countries of moving to a low-emissions future. However, the talks remained divisive, as competing proposals have failed in achieving any agreement between states to define a common target for curbing emissions. “We don’t understand why it was so important, so urgent to come to an agreement in Copenhagen, and now the same political leaders are saying that in Cancun the most realistic thing to do is to post-pone a full agreement,” Solon said.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT; LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Gauteng to help more women (www.sapa.org.za, 20100811) – The Gauteng government plans to implement measures to save the lives of more mothers and children, Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said on Wednesday. “It must be about the continuing struggle for the full emancipation of women,” she said after a Gauteng executive council meeting in Johannesburg. A community awareness program to educate young women about reproductive health, more health workers and emergency ambulance services would be put in place. Programs to prevent mother-to child Aids transmission were being expanded and neo-natal death prevention was also planned. The Premier said the government respected public servants’ right to strike. “However we are quite concerned because we can’t postpone the education of the African child.”

POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Malema supporters eye Gauteng congress win (www.businessday.co.za, 20100812) – African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema’s eyes will be fixed on the Gauteng league’s elective congress this weekend, as his supporters attempt to retain control of the province. A victory for Mr Malema’s supporters is crucial for him to improve his chances of retaining his presidency at the league’s national elective congress next year. He is being challenged by league members who want him replaced by his deputy, Andile Lungisa. Mr Malema’s supporters already control Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the North West, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. Gauteng is influential as it is capable of lobbying other provinces behind a candidate. A Malema supporter and current Gauteng secretary, Thabo Kupa, will lock horns with Lebogang Maile for the chairmanship. Mr Kupa told Business Day yesterday that after his election, the youth league in Gauteng will throw its weight behind the national president. Although most of Mr Malema’s opponents in different provinces support Mr Lungisa, that is not the case in Gauteng. Mr Maile’s supporters told Business Day that their camp is yet to decide on who to support next year. The congress starts on

ECONOMICS; FINANCE; TRADE & INDUSTRY; MINING; ENERGY; PUBLIC ENTERPRISES

Victory’ for banks as direct equity targets stay at 10% (www.businessday.co.za, 20100812) – After a two-year impasse over the ownership provisions of the financial sector charter, agreement has been reached between the government, financial institutions, labour and community organisations to restrict the direct black equity target to 10% instead of the more onerous 15% stipulated in the codes of good practice. The deal is a victory for the financial sector over the labour movement and the South African Communist Party, which fought bitterly for the 15% target. Instead, financial institutions have agreed to invest R17,6bn in other areas of transformation such as enterprise development, co-operative financing and procurement. Each institution will invest to the extent of its shortfall below the 15% equity stake, Banking Association MD Cas Coovadia said on Wednessday.  Those above 15% will not be required to invest anything. The fixed R17,6bn is the difference between 15% of the market capitalisation of financial institutions in July last year and the actual level of black equity ownership achieved by then. “We believe it is the right thing to do to achieve sustainable transformation and get assets into the hands of people,” Mr Coovadia said.  Finding the R17,6bn would not be easy for an industry facing serious issues of capitalisation after the global financial crisis. The Treasury’s Deputy Director- General of Financial Sector Policy, Ismail Momoniat, told Parliament’s Finance Committee on Wednessday that the agreement — reached after last-ditch intervention by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies — would achieve much broader transformation and economic empowerment than a higher equity target would do. Financial Sector Charter Council chairman Nkosana Mashiya said the R17,6bn would be distributed thus: 20% for enterprise development and procurement from co-operatives and small black enterprises; 25% for co- operative finance and financial services; and 40% for investment in black agriculture, small enterprises and infrastructure. A still unresolved issue was whether financial institutions could claim “once empowered, always empowered” status if black partners sold their stakes.

State holds last rites for pebble bed reactor (www.businessday.co.za, 20100812) -

Even the most passionate supporter of the pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) must now admit the project is dead in the water. The PBMR company’s failure to attract investors and secure a customer has heralded the end of a dream. The PBMR was established in 1999 as an Eskom project with the intention to develop and market small-scale, high-temperature reactors locally and internationally. At the time, the government could not stop raving about the project’s technical, commercial and export potential. There was reason to be optimis- tic. A year after its establishment, major energy companies invested in the PBMR. First, it was British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) that bought a stake in the project. “As a company at the leading edge of research and development, we believe that the PBMR is a very exciting and pioneering concept with a vast amount of potential,” BNFL technology and operations director Sue Ion said at the time. In August 2000, US electricity company Peco also invested in the project. The outlook could not have been brighter . SA was well on its way to being at the cutting edge of nuclear technology. The reactor was supposed to be the first successful commercial fourth-generation nuclear reactor in the world. It enjoyed unwavering government support, even in the face of criticism that it was a money-guzzling experimental project. Since 1999, the government has spent more than R8bn on the project.  Fast forward to 10 years later: t he project is lifeless; t he government is ready to abandon it. In fact, the government pulled the life support earlier this year when it decided to drastically cut the project’s budget.  “It is well known that PBMR has not been able to acquire additional investment in the project since government’s last funding allocation in 2007, nor has it been able to acquire a customer despite revising its business model in 2008-09. The government has not allocated any additional funding since April 1 to PBMR, which is currently operating on the remainder of its previously allocated funds,” Department of Public Enterprises spokeswoman Ayanda Shezi said. The company had also taken strain from the global financial crisis, according to former CE Jaco Kriek. This prompted the company to put certain contracts on hold “to prevent unnecessary spending,” Mr Kriek said at the time.

After the government’s decision to cut funding, PBMR embarked on a restructuring process that saw most of its employees opt for voluntary retrenchment packages. Ms Shezi says the government is looking at various ways to wind down the project. These include protecting and preserving intellectual property created in PBMR, retaining and developing nuclear skills, plus “protecting SA’s international reputation in the nuclear sector”. In other words, the government is conducting the last rites on the project. Ms Shezi says the Cabinet will “shortly” consider proposals on winding down the project. The department has said it is keen to hold on to the critical skills — but the horse may already have bolted. Trade union Solidarity says all but 25 of PBMR’s employees have opted for voluntary retrenchment packages.

Eskom woos private power suppliers (www.busrep.co.za, 20100812) -

Eskom expected to almost double the level of generating capacity that its grid would get from independent power producers (IPPs) by next March, a senior official said on Wednessday. Eskom, which is battling to raise some of the R385 billion needed to pay for new capacity, is keen to have private players enter the market to boost supply and cut its own cost of building plants. “Eskom has signed up around 215 megawatts of generation capacity from IPPs in the last few months, and we anticipate to get that up to 400MW, essentially doubling it, by March 2011,” said Kannan Lakmeeharan, Eskom’s divisional executive in charge of system operations and planning. Lakmeeharan, who earlier briefed MPs, said the doubling of capacity depended on two new contracts being approved by the boards of IPPs. “Two contracts have been sent to the IPPs for their final approval after negotiations were completed, and we are waiting for responses. We are waiting for their boards to approve them,” he said. Lakmeeharan would not divulge the names of the companies, but said they were local. Eskom had already signed IPP deals with Sasol and UK-based Ipsa, he said. Local media reported in June that Eskom had also signed a contract with Sappi. Business and Eskom agree there is potential for more co-generation projects able to produce between 1 000MW and 3 000MW, although some seem to be self-generation options rather than co-generation. “There are some options where companies have own generation ability, such as discard coal which they could convert into electricity,” Lakmeeharan said.

Regulation, not finance, ‘is energy reform snag’ (www.businessday.co.za, 20100812) – Finance would not hold back the development of a renewable energy industry in SA but a conducive regulatory environment would, Solaire Direct Southern Africa MD Ryan Hammond said on Wednessday. Mr Hammond’s comments reinforce the view that financiers are ready to invest in viable renewable energy projects provided the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) finalises a generic renewable energy feed-in tariff (Refit) power purchase agreement. That particular agreement will guide the relationship between an independent power producer and the buyer of electricity. Nersa spokesman Charles Hlebela yesterday said the regulator was finalising the Refit power purchase agreement in consultation with other government departments and it would be published soon. Mr Hammond said a number of leading banks and potential equity investors had expressed willingness to finance his company’s projects, but he declined to name them.  Solaire, the largest privately owned solar power company in France, has a photovoltaic module manufacturing plant in Cape Town. A 10MW solar plant in SA would cost about R300m, Mr Hammond said.

Reprieve for Lonmin as state order withdrawn (www.businessday.co.za, 20100822)- Lonmin has been given permission to sell base metals from its platinum mines again after the Department of Mineral Resources rescinded an order it made last week that the world’s third-largest platinum miner immediately stop such sales. Lonmin’s statement last week that the department had forbidden it from selling byproduct metals such as nickel and chrome sent its shares into a downward spin and raised questions both at home and abroad about the security of mining in SA. Wednessday’s climb-down by the department, eight days after a letter to Lonmin, suggests it was too heavy-handed in its dealings with Lonmin. “The department and ourselves sat down and they expedited a solution in double- quick time. We are grateful for that,” Lonmin CEO Ian Farmer said last night.  However, the appeal Lonmin has lodged with the department against its awarding of a prospecting right to Keysha Investments 220 over part of Lonmin’s Marikana mine has not been resolved. “The department said this will follow its natural course,” Mr Farmer said, but no time line was given for when a decision could be expected on the appeal, lodged in June this year. Keysha is a company within the HolGoun Group, a family-owned investment holding company set up by Sivi Gounden, who served on the Lonmin board until October last year. Keysha on Wednessday maintained it was by chance that it was awarded a prospecting right over part of Marikana, the largest operating division within Lonmin. Keysha aims to be a chrome producer and has filed 120 prospecting applications over chrome- rich parts of SA, which are entwined with platinum deposits.

“It was a very strange coincidence that one of these rights was for a Lonmin area,” said Anastasia Maimonis, group counsel and head of business development for the HolGoun Group. “The only reason we got it was because Lonmin’s conversion application did not cover these minerals,” she said. Lonmin lodged the required applications to sell associated minerals as soon as it became aware there was this ambiguity in the act when Keysha applied for a right to prospect for these minerals over part of Lonmin’s property in March last year. The right was awarded in May this year. The department has confirmed that all Lonmin’s section 102 applications have been approved and that Lonmin may resume sales of associated minerals other than those that fall within the area to which Keysha holds prospecting rights.

JUSTICE & CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT; POLICE; DEFENCE; NATIONAL SECURITY; CORRECTIONAL SERVICES

New law in pipeline to make xenophobia and racism crimes (www.timeslive.co.za, 20100812) – The Department of Justice is drafting a new law to criminalise racism, xenophobia and hate speech. Deon Rudman, the Department’s Deputy Director-General in charge of legislative development, told parliament’s Justice Committee the Prohibition of Racism, Xenophobia, Hate Speech and Related Intolerance Bill was expected to reach Parliament this year. Ooshara Sewpaul, a senior official involved in drafting the Bill, said it had been made more urgent by the threat of renewed xenophobic attacks after the soccer World Cup. She said it would give police a definition of xenophobia and other forms of hatred and equip them with the means to prosecute actions based on hatred. The Department would consult extensively with civil society groups before finalising a draft for Cabinet before the end of the year. Ms. Sewpaul said that in terms of a United Nations convention on the elimination of racism, all countries were obliged to pass laws criminalising it. But the drafters were aware of the sensitivity and complexity of such laws, she said. They were following the debate about the Protection of Information Bill and its effect on the media. “This bill will definitely affect the media, too. That’s one of the reasons we are being very careful,” she said. Dene Smuts, DA spokesman on justice, said an earlier attempt to legislate against hate crimes had been abandoned in the face of opposition from civic groups. “I’m sure that you can argue a case for a hate crimes law if you look at the phenomenon of xenophobia,” she said. But she cautioned that legislation that adds aggravation to crimes of violence could encourage police to look for factors – such as racism – that might not exist.

MPs might subpoena Minister Sisulu over report (www.businessday.co.za, 20100812) – A legal battle between Parliament and Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu over two interim reports on morale and service conditions in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) will reach a decisive moment next week when a decision is made on whether to subpoena Ms Sisulu. At issue is a request from the Parliamentary Defence Committee for Ms Sisulu to supply two interim reports from the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission, which describe military service conditions as a “ticking time bomb” and a potential risk to national security. Should the Committee decide at its meeting next week to use its constitutional subpoena powers, it would be unprecedented in the history of the democratic Parliament. Ms Sisulu has insisted that the reports are works in progress and cannot be provided to the committee until the commission has completed its work.  In turn, MPs have insisted that they cannot properly process the Defence Amendment Bill, which provides for a permanent service commission to deal with military conditions of service, if they do not have the reports. In an attempt to make progress on the issue, the committee asked parliamentary legal adviser Mukesh Vassen for an opinion on the committee’s legal position. He responded that the committee is legally entitled to request the reports. If the minister still refuses, she can, as a last resort, be compelled to make them available in terms of section 56 of the constitution. In a furious response from the ministry, Mr Vassen was described as incompetent and lacking understanding of the constitution. At issue is the matter of reports that have not been considered by the Cabinet and whether they fall under oversight provisions allowing MPs to scrutinise the work of ministers. The Ministry’s legal opinion said “section 56 of the constitution states that the National Assembly or any of its committees may summon any person to appear before it to give evidence on oath or affirmation, or to produce documents. “It may require any person or institution to report to it; or compel, in terms of national legislation or the rules and orders, any person or institution to comply with a summons or requirement in terms of the constitution, but that does not mean ministers may be forced to produce documents willy-nilly. Any portfolio committee foolish enough to issue a summons to a Minister on a matter pending before Cabinet or the executive will be met with an iron-clad claim of executive privilege.”  In a follow-up response to the committee, Mr Vassen questioned whether such a thing as executive privilege exists in South African law. He said while section 56 of the constitution gives Parliament unfettered powers to summon any person, there is no provision of the constitution or law that provides for or exempts anyone on the basis of “executive privilege”.  He said that because Ms Sisulu acted on the contents of the reports — and “in my view as the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission is appointed by the minister to advise and report to her on matters identified by her within her portfolio and its functioning is reliant on funds derived from the National Revenue Fund — any report by the interim commission falls squarely within the ambit of the parliamentary committee’s competency”.

Root out all corrupt cops, says Deputy Minister Mbalula (www.sowetanlive.co.za, 20100812) – Deputy Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula has condemned senior policemen who are friends with known criminals and has promised to root them out.

“A friend of a criminal is a criminal by association. Our commissioner should have known better (than to be seen associating with alleged criminals). If it means we will not be friends if we tell the truth, then so be it.” Mr. Mbalula was reacting to articles and photographs that Sowetan published three weeks ago of retired Gauteng Police Commissioner Perumal Naidoo attending a party hosted by alleged Hillbrow Mafia boss Alan Kukard and his underworld associates. Kukard owns the notorious Hillbrow Inn and Maxime Hotel brothels in Hillbrow, among other such places. “We are today fighting the image that police are dirty. People do not trust police officers. In society perception is important. It speaks to reality,” Mr. Mbalula said. “We know criminals have taken cover under some popular people and people of the law. Do you mean to say that out of 48million people in South Africa you cannot find friends of good standing? “It is well-known that Hillbrow Inn is a den of drugs, prostitution and exploitation of women. These things are illegal in South Africa. So it is disastrous for an officer to associate with them. “For a police officer to say he-she did not know is scandalous. It’s treacherous.” He also took a swipe at former National Police Chief Jackie Selebi, to illustrate Naidoo’s lack of judgement. “Today we have a situation in which an officer is jailed and a dangerous criminal is walking free. What a disgrace.

“How dare you call yourself a police officer and yet associate with such people? We cannot preach that police are role models in communities and then do this (be seen with people that our communities are crying about). “Our families do not trust that if they report a case, it will not come back to haunt them, that they will not be victimised. People say police officers are dirty and untrustworthy,” Mr. Mbalula said. He singled out the leadership of Hillbrow police station as examples of dirty officers. Its former station commander was fired from the police for his alleged involvement in an airport heist.

NPA sets free 343 criminals (www.timeslive.co.za, 20100812) – Justice Department Director-General Menzi Simelane told Parliament that during a three-month period, the National Prosecutions Authority struck 343 plea bargain deals with criminals. While 57 percent of the plea bargains were struck in cases involving fraud or white collar crime, a staggering 186 plea bargains were entered into with people convicted of violent crimes, and crimes involving drugs and guns. Even sexual offenders were allowed to strike plea bargains instead of serving time in jail – 33 of the plea bargains were for sexual crimes. Plea bargains are unpopular with ordinary people who often say that these deals mostly benefit the rich, while poor people end up serving jail time for petty crimes. Simelane presented the NPA’s quarterly report for April to June 2010 to Parliament’s justice committee yesterday. He said he would do an audit to see if all the plea bargains were justified. He added that in financial crimes, such as tax evasion, people were reluctant to plead guilty unless they were promised a suspended sentence, instead of jail time. Simelane also revealed that 48 public officials had been charged with corruption between April and July this year. Meanwhile, NPA chief operating officer Kgotso de Wee said their budget had been cut by R1,4 billion this year. “That does affect the NPA and we may have constraints in filling posts. We are actually worried about our budget constraints.” ANC MP John Jeffery hit out at the huge backlog of cases in courts. “You are not, as the NPA, really winning. It is clear that more needs to be done.” Opposition parties were also angry with Simelane after he revealed that the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit was reporting to deputy directors of prosecution. He denied a charge from the opposition that this amounted to disbanding the four units in the NPA.

EDUCATION; ARTS & CULTURE; SPORT & RECREATION

SA’s matrics up to mark (www.timeslive.co.za, 20100812)-

South Africa’s matrics are on par with their counterparts in the US, Europe and Asia, according to a report released on Wednessday by the education monitoring body Umalusi and by Higher Education SA. The country’s National Senior Certificate qualification compared favourably with the qualifications of the Cambridge International Examinations and the International Baccalaureate Organisation.  The Cambridge qualifications are used in more than 157 countries, including the US, UK and Pakistan. The IBO’s qualifications are recognised in more than 138 countries, including Australia, China, France, Angola and some institutions in the US and UK.

Umalusi chief executive Mafu Rakometsi said yesterday that South Africa’s National Senior Certificate was considered comparable to international qualifications in terms of curriculum and examinations.  But she warned against viewing matric as only a university entrance qualification because it “equipped pupils for citizenry”.  ”Not all pupils who do the National Senior Certificate go to university, but [they] are adequately equipped,” she said.  Umalusi’s senior manager for qualifications, curriculum and certification, Liz Burroughs, said the study on which yesterday’s report was based compared qualifications, not pupil performance.  ”[It indicates] that our exams are sufficiently demanding and their level of difficulty is sufficient when compared to others,” she said.  The researchers in the study said they chose to compare South African qualifications with those of Cambridge International Examinations and the International Baccalaureate Organisation because those bodies’ qualifications were widely recognised internationally.  Comparisons were also made to the Namibian Senior Secondary Certificate because more than 10000 students in South Africa’s 23 universities came from Namibia.  Burroughs noted that the National Senior Certificate has its shortcomings.  ”Some subjects need to be done in more depth,” she said. Department of Education spokesman Granville Whittle said the report confirmed the department’s assertion that “the National Senior Certificate is a high-skills, high-knowledge curriculum that compares well to the best in the world”.

Study shows growing role for ‘affordable’ private schools (www.businessday.co.za, 20100812) – Parents are increasingly abandoning SA’s public school system and paying for their children to attend private schools, according to a Johannesburg think-tank’s research released on Wednessday.  There is widespread acknowledgment that SA’s public school system is in crisis and a JET Education Services analysis of 2006 matric exam results showed that almost 80% of SA’s schools, about 23000 schools, were “essentially dysfunctional” at a time the matric pass rate was 66,5%. It has since dropped to 60,7%.  SA has seen growth in the high-end private school sector, but yesterday the Centre for Development and Enterprise’s research indicated “massive” growth among private schools that charge an average of R6500 a year.  This trend over the past 15 years indicates “an organic, sociological response to (the) failure” of the South African public school system, said the centre’s CEO, Ann Bernstein. While government statistics estimate that independent schools make up 4,6% of all South African schools, the centre’s research in six areas of the country indicates that the proportion of private schools could be as high as 30% — 56% of the 193 private schools established in six areas of Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Gauteng were established after 1994, Ms Bernstein said. “South African private schools seem to be responding to a demand from parents who cannot access Model C schools (which are government-owned but usually charge more than R1000 a month), but are disillusioned enough with other public schools to pay more for an alternative ,” University of the Witwatersrand economics professor Stefan Schirmer said in the report.  “It seems the very poor, who often have no income and depend on government transfers for survival, have to make do with the schooling government supplies.”

TRANSPORT; COMMUNICATION & MEDIA ISSUES; SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Masekela quits amid new turmoil at SABC (www.businessday.co.za, 20100812) -

Barbara Masekela, former Ambassador to France and a prominent figure in the African National Congress, has tendered her resignation from the board of the SABC, with several more resignations possible, Business Day has learnt. The board has been plagued by division since its appointment in December.  Two reliable sources told Business Day last night that both Ms Masekela and her fellow director, Magatho Mello, had written letters of resignation this month after losing patience with the conduct of Chairman Dr Ben Ngubane and CEO Solly Mokoetle. A board meeting on Wednessday, aimed at addressing these issues and instituting disciplinary proceedings against Mr Mokoetle, was cancelled by deputy chairwoman Felleng Sekha, the sources said. A board member, who did not wish to be named, said: “I and several of my colleagues will resign in the near future if we continue to be unable to exercise our fiduciary responsibilities.” In June, other directors strongly criticised Dr Ngubane in a memorandum to Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda.  The memorandum, which Business Day has seen, accuses Dr Ngubane of misconduct relating to the appointment of Phil Molefe as head of news, and reveals that a special meeting of the board in May decided that its “relationship with, and trust in, the chairperson have irrevocably broken down”. It says that Dr Ngubane cancelled interviews for the head of news position on the day they were due to take place, before seeing to it that the interviews took place on a day when three members of the interview panel where unavailable.  “The chairperson has stated to other directors … that he was operating under the direct instructions of the president of the republic and that he was resolved to appoint his preferred candidate, whom he identified by name,” the memorandum says. It says Dr Ngubane and Mr Mokoetle held a secret meeting on May 20 and it was decided to appoint Mr Molefe as head of news. Two days later, the board cancelled the appointment. Since then Dr Ngubane had refused to meet other directors, and had failed to attend a scheduled meeting. Between them, Dr Ngubane and Mr Mokoetle had “seriously delay(ed) the development and implement (sic) of a turnaround strategy” as required by an agreement with the Treasury, and had “entirely undermin(ed) the ability of directors … to exercise proper oversight or to provide strategic direction to the SABC”. Dr Ngubane last night confirmed that he was aware of one recent letter of resignation by a director, but would not confirm the person’s identity. “I passed on to the shareholder one letter, and the shareholder has not yet responded.” He denied that Mr Mello was the author of the letter, but would not answer when asked if it was Ms Masekela. He was not aware of the memorandum to Gen Nyanda, and denied that he had said he was following the president’s instructions in appointing Mr Molefe.

Communication Minister Nyanda ‘feels vindicated’ by protector’s reports on contracts (www.businessday.co.za, 20100812) – Public Protector Thuli Madonsela on Wednessday essentially exonerated Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda in two reports presented to President Jacob Zuma.  Ms Madonsela, at the request of Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Athol Trollip and Congress of the People MP Julie Killian, investigated whether Gen Nyanda had breached the Executive Members’ Ethics Act and the Executive Ethics Code.  Ms Killian’s complaint emanated from reports that a company in which Gen Nyanda was alleged to have a 45% shareholding — Abalozi Security Risk Services — was awarded a R55m contract by Transnet Freight Rail. Ms Killian alleged that Gen Nyanda had benefited improperly from the contract. The allegations in the second investigation were based on media reports alleging that Abalozi — previously known as General Nyanda Security Risk Advisory Services and GNS Risk Advisory Services — had been irregularly awarded a contract for providing risk management, advisory and security services by the Gauteng public Transport Department on 25 October 2007. Ms Madonsela found that there was no conclusive evidence to substantiate the allegation that Gen Nyanda was personally responsible for securing the Transnet contract, or that he used his position or relationship with the then CEO of Transnet Freight Rail, Siyabonga Gama, to do so, the Presidency said on Wednessday.  However, Ms Madonsela further found the statement issued to the media by Gen Nyanda supporting Gama — who was the subject of a disciplinary inquiry by Transnet — violated section 2.3(d) of the code in that he used his office improperly to benefit the former CEO. On the second complaint, Ms Madonsela found there was no basis for finding Gen Nyanda’s conduct constituted a conflict of interest. Ms Madonsela also made recommendations in her reports, which the president was still considering. Mr Zuma would submit the reports to Parliament. Gen Nyanda’s spokesman, Tiyani Rikhotso, said the minister felt vindicated by the findings. “What was confirmed is the information already in the public domain, which indicates that Gen Nyanda’s children’s trust, the Mphephethwa Trust, to which he donated his shares on becoming minister, owns a 45% shareholding in Abalozi,” Mr Rikhotso said. Any adverse findings by the public protector on this matter did not affect Gen Nyanda’s standing, his credibility and had no effect on his position as communications minister or member of society, Mr Rikhotso said.

ENVIRONMENT & WATER AFFAIRS;  AGRICULTURE, FISHING & FORESTRY;  LAND AFFAIRS

Environmental courts soon to try water polluters – Minister Sonjica (www.busrep.co.za, 20100812) – Environmental courts would be established to address water crimes that threatened an already water-stressed nation, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said on Wednessday. “We are working closely with the SA Police Service and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions to address water crimes that threaten the security of supply to lawful water users,” Min. Sonjica told the Agri SA water conference. “We will invite you to the launch of the first courts in the near future. I understand that water pollution is one of the areas of great concern for the agricultural sector today.” Water pollution is mainly caused by farming, mining, industries and urban development. Unauthorised or illegal water abstraction has also been identified as a problem and the department is strengthening its enforcement capacity. Min. Sonjica said the capacity of her department’s compliance, monitoring and enforcement directorate, known as the Blue Scorpions, had increased significantly, and that 14 water management inspectors had been recruited and trained. In the 2009/10 financial year, the department had issued 239 directives, of which 31 were “resolved positively” while 14 were pending in court.The others were in the process of being resolved. “We will intensify this aspect of our work to ensure that we bring to book all offenders.” The Minister urged farmers to regulate their use of water as it could run out. “Without effective regulation, your water may dry up or the quality may deteriorate significantly. The department is very concerned about the impact of deteriorating water quality on our water resources and on agriculture.” She said the agricultural industry shared concern about the impact of poorly managed sewage systems on the quality of water used for irrigation. Min. Sonjica said the discharge of waste or waste water into a stream was only allowed if authorised by a water use licence or authorisation. The Department had therefore developed the Green Drop certification programme to address challenges in the municipal waste-water sector. “Currently we have more than 50 qualified assessors conducting consultative audits on the management of the waste-water treatment works.” The 2009 Green Drop report found that, of the 449 waste water service systems assessed against stringent criteria, 203 (45 percent) scored better than 50 percent. At least 7.4 percent of all waste water systems were “excellently managed”.

“We are well on our way to meet the 2010 target of assessing 100 percent of the municipal waste water treatment works.”

HEALTH; HOUSING; SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT; WOMEN, CHILDREN & DISABLED

New medicine pricing set-up (www.sowetanlive.co.za, 20100812) – In less than two weeks submissions for comments on the new draft regulation relating to a transparent pricing system for medicines will close. So far stakeholders have indicated that they welcome the proposed regulation, though it was not what they wanted. The draft regulation, published two weeks ago in the Government Gazette, introduces a tiered system of maximum fees, excluding VAT, that can be charged by pharmacist when dispensing medicine. For medicine with a single exit price of less than R75, the draft regulation proposes that the fee cap, added amount, should not exceed R6 plus 46percent of the medicine price. This means that when a consumer buys medicine costing R75 the pharmacist will receive an average of R38 for services rendered. In a case where the single exit price of medicine is more than or equal to R75, but less than R200, the dispensing fee has been limited to R15 plus 33 percent of the medicine. The cap fee rises as per the cost of medicine. The Pharmacy Stakeholders Forum (PSF), a group consisting of several pharmaceutical societies have welcomed the draft regulation but have yet to submit their comments on it. Group coordinator Ivan Kotzé said: “We support the new draft regulation as it indicates that pharmacists will receive an average fee of R38 an item once it comes into effect. “It is not what we wanted but when you are negotiating you need to compromise in order to find an amicable solution. “What we have to do now is to ensure that the draft reaches the indicated R38 average dispensing fee, because if it is not achieved it will have a negative impact on pharmacies in the townships and rural areas.”

PUBLIC SERVICE & ADMINISTRATION; LABOUR; HOME AFFAIRS; PUBLIC WORKS

Public sector Unions, Govt to talk (www.sapa.org.za, 20100812) – Public sector unions and the Government were scheduled to meet for another round of wage talks in Pretoria on Thursday evening, an official said.  ”It will take place at the PSCBC [Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council] in Centurion tonight,” said public service and administration spokesman Dumisani Nkwamba.”It is our hope as government that we would not want to see a full-blown national strike. Our approach as government is that we should find a way to prevent that,” said Nwamba. Members of the Congress of SA Trade Unions and the Independent Labour Caucus went on strike this week to demand better wages. The unions last week rejected government’s revised wage offer of  a seven percent increase and a R630 housing allowance, as well as a  1.5 percent fixed pay progression. Workers were demanding an 8.6 percent wage increase and a R1000 housing allowance, backdated to 1 April.

SPORTS

Bafana Bafana beat Ghana 1-0 (www.timeslive.co.za, 20100812) – New Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane heralded a new era for the national side and punched the air in delight after South Africa sunk World Cup quarter-finalists Ghana 1-0 in a friendly international at a freezing FNB Stadium on Wednesday night.  It was Mosimane’s first match in charge after replacing Brazilian Carlos Alberto Pareira and he could not have asked more of his players. Bafana fought for every ball and at times ran the Black Stars ragged. It may have been only a friendly and Ghana did not look up for the challenge but a win over the side ranked 23rd in the world will have done wonders for Mosimane and the players’ morale ahead of next month’s 2012 African Nations Cup qualifier at home to Nigeria. The hosts seized the initiative from the kick-off and had the Black Stars under pressure for the entire first half. So dominant were South Africa that Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune did not have one shot to deal with in the opening 45 minutes. His opposite number Richard Kingson by contrast was the busiest Ghana player during a fast-paced opening half which was marred by too many stoppages for injuries. Bafana more than deserved their 1-0 lead at the break courtsey of a well taken strike from Katlego Mphela in the 42nd minute. Mphela was deservedly named Man-of-the-Match but Mosimane will be pleased with the form of central defender Morgan Gould who missed the World Cup through injury and played a storming match after a three-month layoff.

Soccer City will stay FNB Stadium (www.busrep.co.za, 20100812) -

Stadium Management South Africa (SMSA), the managers of Soccer City Stadium, on Wednessday said losing the naming rights for the facility could scupper its efforts to generate revenues for the venue. This follows the South Gauteng High Court yesterday ruling that the stadium be referred to as First National Bank (FNB) Stadium, saying FirstRand as First National Bank’s parent company had the sole right to name the stadium until July 2014 or July 2016. “Some companies would object to being associated with events held in the stadium |because the stadium is named after a certain brand which they may be competing with,” said SMSA executive chairman Jacques Grobbelaar. He said SMSA, which had lined up 29 events for the next 10 months and five international music concerts, would find it tougher to enter into |advertising agreements with other clients through the FNB Stadium name. FNB had taken SMSA to court to prevent it from changing the name of the stadium to National Stadium. The ruling brings closure on a dispute which threatened to lay bare South Africa’s contract laws.  FNB won the full naming rights for 10 years from July 2004 to 2014. However, this contract was nearly dishonoured when SMSA said it would |rename the stadium National Stadium despite this contract. This was after SMSA won the bid to become the official management company following a process conducted by the City of Joburg. The High Court ruling means that FNB’s naming and advertising rights with regard to Soccer City have been upheld and would continue. FNB 2010 marketing head, Vicki Trehaeven, said the company had a long track record with soccer in South Africa.

FEATURES; OPINIONS; ANALYSIS

Threat to press freedom is already here by Raymond Louw (Editor and publisher of Southern Africa Report and deputy chairman of the SA National Editors’ Forum Media Freedom Committee, Business Day online, 20100812) – In recent weeks, commentators in the media and commerce and industry have warned of the negative reputation the government will earn by clamping down on people’s access to information and freedom to publish. They warned that foreign investors will be scared off. The debate has focused on the draft Protection of Information Bill and the African National Congress (ANC) mooting the establishment of a punitive statutory media appeals tribunal, both of which will restrict the media’s ability to access information.

The threat is perceived to be on the horizon – but it is already here and has been for months. On 29 April, New York-based Freedom House, the respected monitor of the freedoms of countries and media, downgraded SA to “partly free” – a category harking back to apartheid. With that change in status, Freedom House pronounced harsh censure on SA for its inroads on media freedoms. Downgraded with SA were Botswana and Namibia.  SA’s high point in its free status was reached in 2001 but, since then, its assessments by Freedom House have slipped, until its rating rose above 30 – the dividing line between free and partly free – to 32 this year. Top scorers in the international ratings this year were the Scandinavian countries and Iceland. Other ratings are: the US ( 18), the UK (19), and Australia (22). Sub-Saharan African countries ahead of SA are Mali (25), Ghana (26) and Mauritius (27), among the only five in Africa rated free.  Freedom House explains why it changed SA’s status to partly free: “It reflects the threat posed by media- hostile rhetoric on the part of top government officials, as well as official encroachments on the editorial independence of the South African Broadcasting Corporation …”.  It goes on: “An additional worrying factor in 2009 was the passage of the Film and Publications Act, which legitimises forms of prepublication censorship and creates a legal dichotomy between government-recognised publications and others.” Introduced to protect against child pornography and hate speech, the act was criticised by press-freedom advocates as opening the door to prepublication censorship by a government- appointed board not recognised by the Press Ombudsman. Protection of freedom of expression and of the press in the constitution is generally respected, Freedom House states, noting that there are vibrant press-freedom advocacy and journalists organisations. “Nevertheless, several apartheid-era laws that remain in effect – as well as a 2004 law on antiterrorism – permit authorities to restrict the publication of information about the police, defence forces, prisons and mental institutions and to compel journalists to reveal sources.” It cites government sensitivity to media criticism last year, and the increase in gag orders on media by the government and nonstate actors. It also cites President Jacob Zuma’s USD700 000 defamation claims against cartoonist Zapiro and the Sunday Times. It also notes that journalists are occasionally harassed and assaulted; the pro-ANC bias of the SABC and SABC internal auditors searching the offices of an SABC investigative reporting unit, Special Assignment, and subjecting staff to lie-detector tests.  Freedom House quotes the governance watchdog, Global Integrity, as saying the government threatened to withdraw advertising from newspapers that report on corruption and other scandals. While Freedom House’s references are comprehensive, it omits a string of pending restrictive legislation, court decisions that increased restrictions on reporting, the arrest of journalists on crime scenes, plus the eviction of journalists from court cases without proper cause, a ban on prosecutors giving information to journalists and a new practice by parliamentary committees of holding secret hearings. The result of all this is that the shining light of freedom has been dimmed in SA. In the view of the world, SA is no longer free but partly free, and perhaps headed for the “not free” status that envelopes most of Africa.

ANC should debate issues rather than muzzle critics by Ido Lekota (Sowetan online, 20100812) – Over the past long weekend I had the opportunity of interacting with groups of people who spent most of their lives working towards the development and deepening of democracy in our beloved country. The first group I met included senior Cosatu members. We ended up talking about the relationship between the media and the ANC. Being members of the ANC, some of them expressed the feeling that the media in this country was generally anti the ruling party. All of them, however, agreed that the media tribunal route was not the way to go. One of them was even bold enough to say that calling for a media tribunal was “symptomatic of a country on the slippery slope to becoming a banana republic”. “The first sign of becoming a banana republic is the gagging of the media,” he said. In response I argued that the ANC’s attitude towards the media should be a matter of concern to the public in general. This because the media’s role is to inform the public so that it can also hold those in power accountable. An ill-informed public is anathema to democracy, I argued. The problem is the ANC’s tendency to conflate its interests as a ruling party with the public interest. Hence the suggestion that the media should account to Parliament – where the ruling party has a majority. If that is the case, who then holds Parliament accountable, I asked. Indeed, it is the public that must hold the ANC accountable. But to effectively do that the public needs to be well-informed. This is where the media come in. I went further to argue that the ANC leadership was well aware that no serious newspaper in this country would deny the party the right to a reply – instances where it felt it was misrepresented. In fact, by doing so the ANC would be enhancing the much-needed debate in this country. I then asked why the ANC was instead choosing a Draconian way of dealing with the media rather than that of engagement. “Maybe it is because it is not in its interest to engage at that level,” interjected one of the unionists. Having said all that about the ANC, I also conceded that there were instances of shoddy journalism. I went on to say that such instances must be dealt with accordingly. I also argued that the ANC wants to do it the wrong way. It wants to use its majority to undermine one of the basic tenets of democracy: an informed public. Following my conversation with the unionists on Saturday, on Monday (Women’s Day) I attended the last day of the Joburg Book Fair at Museum Afrika in Newtown. This is where I attended a workshop conducted by Ebukhosini Solutions – an organisation dealing with cultural education and empowerment from an African perspective – on African manhood. Attended mainly by young men and women, the workshop focused on how to be a good African son, lover, father or husband.

Facilitating the workshop, Brother Buntu of Ebukhosini said it was important that the event was taking place on Women’s Day, because African males had a role in ensuring that women enjoyed their emancipation. It was a role they had to play in the context of a Westernised and patriarchal society that in most cases sought to undermine the role African culture played and could still play in the quest for a non-sexist, non-racist and egalitarian society. The workshop also touched on the role the media played in perpetuating, for example, negative stereotypes about African men as absentee fathers, women bashers and playboys. “The point is, there are good African males out there who are good fathers, lovers, leaders, heroes and providers, and these are the ones we should be modelling ourselves on,” Buntu said. The thrust of the workshop was that unless African males became real men who were confident about their manhood and the role they should play in society, the emancipation of women would remain a dream. One way of dealing with these challenges was to form or join men’s organisations with programmes in which the focus was on male empowerment.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: 2010/ 08 / 12

Editorial comments are selected in terms of relevance to current affairs, contrasting viewpoints and information value. Some items may be edited for length.

Editorial comments from the following papers have been considered today: BUSINESS DAY, THE STAR, PRETORIA NEWS, THE TIMES, BEELD, SOWETAN, THE CITIZEN.

Public Service Strike: Productivity is the main thing (Business Day online, 20100812) – One aspect of the suspended strike by public servants that should be getting much more attention is the fraught issue of productivity. Public servants are once again demanding an above- inflation increase. This would not be a problem if productivity were increasing. But the hard fact is that Reserve Bank figures show that productivity is at its worst level in 20 years. That is just shocking. Of course, public servants are not the only ones to blame here. The productivity rates tracked by the Reserve Bank are not confined to public servants. Yet the number of state employees constitutes perhaps a third of the total workforce in the formal sector, so the public service is important to the overall quality of work. One of the worrying things about productivity levels is that they seem to have flipped around in recent times. Labour productivity was on a healthy trend for a long time, right through the 1990s and into the early 2000s. From 1990 to 2001, not a year went by without an increase. In 2002, the picture changed dramatically, and not a year has passed since, barring one, without labour productivity declining. Inflation-adjusted remuneration per worker increased during the 1990-2001 period, but really, it didn’t matter because productivity was increasing along roughly the same lines. But from 2002, the trend of inflation-adjusted remuneration per worker continued its upward path, worsening the differential. The result is a yawning gap between labour productivity and inflation-adjusted remuneration. Remuneration per worker in 2009-10 grew 8% over the previous year, while productivity declined 6%. Neither leg of this difference has been as high in a single year for 20 years. The above-inflation increase in public servants’ salaries has much to do with this. Average inflation over the past seven years has been about 5%. The increase in the total wage bill of the government has been on average 11% a year over the same period. At national level, the government spent R140bn on salaries in 2002-03. In 2009-10, this had increased to R322bn. This is not quite the same as the annual increases won by public servants since it includes an increase in the total number of public servants. But it provides an accurate gauge of what the government is actually paying out. Economist Paul Krugman has said: “Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost everything. A country’s ability to improve its standard of living over time depends almost entirely on its ability to raise its output per worker.” The example he provided came from US history. Veterans of the Second World War came home to an economy that doubled its productivity over the next 25 years, while living standards improved. But veterans of the Vietnam War came home to an economy that raised its productivity less than 10% in 15 years, but did nothing for improving lives. In an era when government finances all around the world are under pressure, South Africans need to focus more on achieving productivity gains – and if these are not achieved, then real wages cannot continue to rise at the same rate.

Mining Rights: Never too late to do it right (Business Day online, 20100812) – Good sense has prevailed and Lonmin has been told by the Department of Mineral Resources that it may resume selling the base metals it mines as byproducts of its core platinum mining operations in SA. Last week it was ordered to stop as the department had awarded prospecting rights over these minerals to Keysha, a little- known company owned by the family of Sivi Gounden, a former top public servant. The order triggered a run on Lonmin shares and caused alarm in the international mining finance community. You do not have to be a geologist to work out that the two sets of rights are indivisible: the associated minerals are not something you prospect for, they are simply a byproduct of mining for platinum. Until the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002 came into effect, it was taken as read that associated minerals belonged to whoever extracted them in the process of finding the more lucrative platinum group metals. No longer, it seems, though this is not spelt out very clearly in the law. That would seem pointless to a rational reader. Emerging so soon after the Sishen affair – where the department awarded a prospecting right to cronies of President Jacob Zuma after Kumba , which already mines iron ore there, had itself applied – the Lonmin saga begs for someone to take charge at the department. SA’s reputation as a reliable place to invest large amounts of money has been badly shaken by these two decisions. You just cannot go sanctioning rights over mines where companies have already made large investments and poured many millions into our economy. That is not to say that solid, entrepreneurial families like the Goundens should not be encouraged to seek a place for themselves in our mining industry. Enlightened established mining companies (if that is not an oxymoron) should do everything they can to encourage them. But the department needs to make absolutely sure (and all the time) that SA’s reputation as a transparent and reliable investment destination is fiercely protected. Nothing matters more.

Truth would not be heard (Sowetan online, 20100812) – It is clear why the government wants to restrict and proscribe media freedom, judging from Zwelinzima Vavi’s speech. Vavi told protesting public servants on Tuesday about the shocking senior politicians’ salaries. The government has questioned the high salaries of tycoons in the private sector, which are stratospheric. But no one has queried why politicians allot themselves such staggering wages for attending a talk shop at which most sleep through the dull speeches. In comparison, nurses’ wages are derisory for a long, hard day’s labour. Public servants, who are chiefly in essential services like nurses, police and prison warders, earn the proverbial peanuts. It is a bit of a jolt to realise that their employer and exploiter is the state. If the Media tribunal that the government is ham-handedly pushing through Parliament and up the Media’s nose was in place, the censors would have killed the story about low salaries. During Nelson Mandela’s reign, an excuse for these high salaries was that they would curb theft, fraud and other types of malfeasance. The joke is the strategy has not worked and corruption is now embedded in government from top to bottom. Salaries and perks for the ruling classes rise disproportionately every year while the ordinary workers are forced to earn little to curb inflation. Vavi is right. The workers are wise to make their point now as they may not be able to do so in future.

This time police to co-operate with corruption probe (www.timeslive.co.za, 2010812) – A specialist investigative unit is to investigate allegations of fraud or corruption in the police. The last time this happened, the unit involved, the Directorate of Special Operations (the Scorpions) attracted so much political heat that the acting head of the National Prosecuting Authority, Vusi Pikoli, lost his job. The investigation, which culminated in the recent successful prosecution for corruption of former police chief Jackie Selebi, probably played a role in the government’s decision to disband the Scorpions, despite its impressive record in fighting organised crime. For this reason, it is to be hoped that President Jacob Zuma’s instruction to corruption-buster Willie Hofmeyr to investigate fraud or corruption going back five years at national and provincial levels in the police, does not damage the Special Investigating Unit that Hofmeyr heads. There are encouraging signs that, unlike in the Selebi investigation, the police top brass will co-operate with Hofmeyr’s investigators. As we report elsewhere today, an official close to the process said discussions have already taken place with senior police officers, and there have been promises of co-operation at the highest levels of the police. The wide-ranging investigation by the SIU will cover the procurement of equipment and services “including leased accommodation”,as well as procurements on behalf of the police by the Department of Public Works and the State Information Technology Agency. The investigation follows revelations by the Sunday Times that police commissioner General Bheki Cele facilitated taking a R500- million lease for a new police headquarters in Pretoria from an associate of the president’s. The unit’s investigation will, we hope, shed more light on this arrangement.