The government says it wants to redistribute nearly one third of white-owned farmland by 2014. At the end of apartheid in 1994, nearly 90% of land was owned by whites, who made up under 10% of the population.

But so far just 4% has been transferred to blacks. Critics say the legislation would be unconstitutional as it would stop people going to court if their property was taken.

The expropriation bill, which aims to give the government greater powers to transfer land and property from existing owners, was introduced by the ruling ANC in April. A committee statement said: "The decision [to shelve the bill] was reached after consultation with various stakeholders both within and outside parliament and in the interest of broader consultation and effective public participation."

The recent death of Zambia’s President Levy Mwanawasa is a tragedy for not only Zambia but also for the entire African continent.

My understanding is that Zambia has prematurely lost a leader of exceptional calibre who was striving to make a genuine difference to the lives of Zambians, particularly in his determined fight against corruption.

Almost uniquely amongst world leaders, Mwanawasa publicly confronted and then prosecuted his predecessor Frederick Chiluba for corruption and fraud. Mwanawasa’s decision to do so cannot have been easy. Chiluba had, after all, been the one to groom and present Mwanawasa as his successor and there must have been some considerable pressure from within the ruling party not to rock the boat (thereby spilling the cash) and to spare Chiluba public humiliation – to say nothing of Chiluba’s underlings, hangers-on, presumed beneficiaries and possible co-conspirators.

Instead, Levy Mwanawasa chose to be a statesman, deciding – as far as possible in a political environment – to honour his promises to the electorate by adhering to the principles (oft-repeated but rarely practiced by the power hungry) of his country’s Constitution. In so doing he appears to have honoured himself and his country, as well as having set a worthy example to his constituency.

Although Spearpoint never had the opportunity to meet and know Levy Mwanawasa personally, the hope is that Zambia will allow Spearpoint to join (albeit remotely) in their mourning as a fellow African.

For the demise of Zambia’s Mwanawasa is a loss not only for Zambia but is also a loss for the whole of Africa – especially southern Africa.

As at home, Mwanawasa displayed the courage to stand up and be counted in the face of the prevailing antipathy in the southern African region towards corruption, fraud and dictatorship in the form of Robert Mugabe’s tyrannical and outright criminal regime in Zimbabwe.

With the tacit support of Ian Khama, the President of Botswana, Mwanawasa alone named and shamed Mugabe for what he is, what he represents and what he perpetrates against his own country and people.

In so doing Mwanawasa also implicitly named and shamed all those other African leaders who, despite mounting and convincing evidence, have given Mugabe political support and sustenance either directly and openly or through their failure to criticise and isolate Zimbabwe for its current policies and situation.

Principal amongst these has been South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki and his ANC government.

Appointed by SADC to mediate in the Zimbabwe crisis, Mbeki has epitomized the approach of many other African leaders: don’t rock the boat; don’t embarrass Mugabe; don’t expose Mugabe; don’t fracture the façade of imagined African so-called solidarity; don’t further reinforce the global perception of Africa’s inability to identify, address and remedy its own problems, including those of poverty, corruption, crime, ignorance and indolence.

Notwithstanding recent critical comments from Jacob Zuma (as President of the ANC) regarding Zimbabwe, the fact remains that South Africa continues to pussyfoot around the person of Mugabe and the crisis in Zimbabwe and refuses – publicly, at least - to acknowledge that a problem exists. In Mbeki’s own words on the subject, “There is no crisis”. Sentiments echoed by the Minister and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The ANC must be living in gaga land.

It’s obviously not a crisis when a neighbour of South Africa destroys its economy (inflation admitted by the Zimbabwean government just this month to be running at not less than eleven million percent – that’s eleven followed by six zeroes, folks), and driving no less than four million of its own citizens into South Africa – mostly illegally - to escape starvation and political persecution (and who knows how many into other neighbouring countries).

And how can it be a crisis when even the great ANC, champion of the art of rule by smoke and mirrors, has been appointed (in the person of Thabo Mbeki) by SADC to mediate between Mugabe and the Zimbabwean Opposition.

Yet the appointment of a mediator implies conflict, dispute and actual or potential crisis. That much SADC has got right; where it went wrong was appointing Mbeki and his team as mediators. Not only do the mediators deny the existence of a situation which they have consciously agreed to fix, but they are unsuited and unqualified to carry out such a role since they have consistently and laughably maintained for many years now that within their own borders there are no crises in law enforcement, the judicial system, education, HIV, AIDS, TB and other health matters, housing, and so on.

SADC erred in appointing the ANC and Mbeki. It is patently clear that these guys couldn’t organise an orgy in a brothel, given their record of domestic service delivery and good governance.

The mediation between the parties in Zimbabwe has stalled. Naught has been achieved. Mugabe continues to do as he pleases – even to the extent of re-convening Zimbabwe’s parliament (which, according to Zimbabwe’s Constitution, should have occurred months ago) before there is any clarity and agreement on how power division and sharing will prevail in the new government.

Now, doesn’t that just speak volumes on the dedication and abilities of the so-called mediators?

Excepting Zambia and Botswana, no-one in SADC has had the courage to slap Mugabe silly and to tell him to stop behaving like a spoiled brat and to stop embarrassing all of Africa with his puerile behaviour. Mugabe’s arrogance and assumed impunity – watch his disjointed marionette-like swagger in public – has never been challenged by South Africa and its continental cronies.

Indeed, South Africa has shown great concern over Mugabe’s dignity and has been keen to protect that dubious quality. But at what price? Where is the dignity of those Zimbabweans, forever on the cusp of eviction, arrest and starvation, free-falling into the black hole of faster-than-light inflation who have had to separate from their families and homes in order to cross the borders of neighbours looking for some means of sustenance and to live in the additional and constant fear of deportation as illegal immigrants? Where, in South Africa, is the dignity for those South Africans already suffering under the laissez-faire incompetencies of the ANC dictatorship who now have to make room in already overcrowded cities, townships and squatter camps for swarms of desperate immigrants who also want a share of what is clearly an inadequate, mismanaged and ill-divided political and economic cake?

Does the ANC have no shame? Is it not ashamed that it continues its rhetoric and spin doctoring even though it clearly cannot do its job – either at home or around the table in Harare? Just what are the criteria against which it measures itself and which, obviously, allow it in its collective politburo mind to continue its rule?

Of course, shame and admission of error are not matters for easy admission by any politician even in the normal course of events, much less at any other time. Such is the nature of the beast. (Also, incidentally, such is the nature of those that look for and permit the politicians to rule; populations and electorates tend to be lazy in thinking for themselves and constantly seek the comfort of having someone else do their thinking for them. A contradiction of the human condition is that, of all the creatures on the planet, humans have the greatest ability to deal with change, challenge and chance yet are the most persistent in their – often unconscious and unspoken – drive for certainty and comfort.)

Admission of error in Africa is very difficult. Culturally the strong man must be seen to be strong, even if – especially if – wrong. The advent of colonial rule, with all the embarrassments that that brought, together with the displays of power and material goods by the colonial powers, then provided the need to display to the world that Africa and Africans could achieve the same themselves without outside intervention.

The loss of face when African nations screw things up is immense – far more so than the purported Oriental perceptions of face. This is why, for example, racism and colonialism are frequently used as catchphrases to divert attention away from the true reasons for African failure.

Mugabe blames the racism and imperialism of Britain and America for his devastation of the Zimbabwean economy and social structure. Mbeki and many of his colleagues blame racism in South Africa for the failure of many of the ANC’s policies and programmes. It is far less embarrassing and far easier to fix the blame rather than the problem – particularly where personal political careers and ambitions might be at stake. It’s an African pastime; it didn’t rain enough; it rained too much; we don’t have enough money; foreigners are taking our women and jobs; the Whites don’t share; the British conspire against our sovereignty; the Chinese steal our resources; the Indians are lazy and greedy; the Zulus cannot be trusted and steal everything not nailed down; the World Food Programme gave our starving people the wrong food; it goes on and on.

Spearpoint is not suggesting that there are not grains of truth and reality in some or all of the above excuses. But that is what they are – excuses. Fourteen years after shouldering aside the burdens of apartheid the ANC and its stalwarts still glibly trot out racism, colonialism and imperialism as reasons behind its failures in almost every arena of life in South Africa. They fail to see that history is history; it is past and passé. History is a guide for and to the future, not a Balkan-type motivation for perpetuating old horrors as justification for interminable inefficiencies and inadequacies.

Unfortunately, it is in the past that the ANC finds itself mired. Starting its existence as a protest and liberation movement the ANC has been unable to shrug off that mindset. Fourteen years into government the ANC is trapped in a time-warp, still slavishly employing the same slogans, gestures and thought patterns of its Communist Party origins and history dating back to the October Revolution and the Long March when those who were not for the movement were targetted as enemies and to be treated accordingly. Defunct ideology and the mindless mouthing of Cold War rhetoric serve little useful purpose when the living are here and now in a world that has moved on from what may or may not have happened centuries ago.

The ANC has failed to heed its own ideological teachings and raison d’etre which were to grow, improve and develop. The ANC has fallen at the first hurdle of metamorphosing from a liberation movement into a credible political party and sustainable government. The eyes and thoughts of the ANC remain firmly fixed on the perceived glories of its past where, by virtue of the then prevailing circumstances, it was easy to exhibit and enjoy disciplined solidarity since the goals of the organisation were simple to define and explain and the enemy was easily identified. Now in government the aims and objectives are far fuzzier in the face of the need to be a responsible and credible representative of an entire and diverse population; the temptation for which the ANC has fallen has been that of remaining a lobby group for a narrow and specific segment of the populace. The ANC continues to view everything non-ANC as being ‘the enemy’ and has behaved and responded accordingly.

Thus, for example, ANC officials will blame ‘white mentality’ and resistant racism for poor results on the rugby pitch or athletics field where points are not awarded for ideological or racial purity but for excellence in performance. Excellence cannot be legislated or enforced. It must be scouted, nurtured and developed organically. A fat runner cannot be expected to be able to produce satisfactory results in the marathon, regardless of any racial or socio-economic origins from which the individual may have come; the athlete must be made fit and then trained in his discipline before adequate results can be reasonably expected. Likewise, a school leaver, unable to add, subtract and so on cannot become a computer technician or electrician until he has had the time and resources granted him to master sufficient of the basics to enable him to then progress on to more specialised (and better paid) areas of competence.

Similarly with the Zimbabwe situation. The ANC remains locked in its perennial ‘circle-the-wagons’ mentality of giving greater weight to old loyalties than to recognition of getting the job done and removing those who fail to produce results. The support given the ANC by Mugabe and Zimbabwe during the ANC’s years of opposition to the then South African regime are viewed by the ANC to be perpetual bonds of debt that far outweigh any consideration of the abilities and rationale of the creditor in that relationship. That Mugabe is an egomaniacal despot who has so alienated the people of both his own country and others around the world that the economic and political fabric of Zimbabwe now lies tattered and fallen appears to matter less to the ANC than the perceived debt owed to Mugabe by the ANC. Worse still, the negative impact upon South Africa and other SADC countries stemming from Mugabe’s depredations is clearly considered by the ANC to be of little import; it could be argued that what happens in Zimbabwe is their own affair and they should be allowed to get on with it, but the argument fails if the actions of Zimbabwe directly impact on South Africa. Would the ANC retain its present stance if the Zimbabwean army were to invade South Africa in order to seize assets no longer available in Zimbabwe? Or would the ANC turn a blind eye, again, and insist that no crisis existed?

As the governing party of South Africa the ANC’s prime responsibility is to the country and all the people of South Africa. The ANC’s responsibility to Zimbabwe (or any other country, for that matter) is secondary, at best. Get your own house in order. Only then - not before - and if there is something to spare, can you turn your charitable efforts elsewhere.

Hubris can be a terrible thing. It blinds one to failings and shortcomings which, if pride be briefly set aside, could be corrected with a minimum of fuss and damage. There is no shame or loss of self-esteem in saying “I don’t know” or “I don’t have the skills right now to correct this situation” and then turning to others who possess the requisite knowledge. Knowledge and skills know no skin colours – but where they are claimed when, in fact, they are absent then there is a real and severe humiliation when the deficit is finally revealed.

Levy Mwanawasa’s legacy – in part, at least – will be of declaring to the world that just because fellow black Africans now largely control their own destinies it is still not right or acceptable when laws and principles are broken and cast aside – just as it is unacceptable when ordinary people suffer because their leaders are too proud or ideologically blinkered to acknowledge that they are relatively new to the business of running their own affairs and to bring in the required expertise.

Spearpoint.

26^th August 2008

In other economic news, the Los Angeles Times covers the negotiation process between foreign cement companies operating in Venezuela and the government, as a two month long negotiation period draws to a close. Although, French and Swiss companies have agreed to new terms and will sell a majority stake of their companies to the Venezuelan government, Cemex, a Mexican owned operation, failed to come to an agreement with Venezuela. Cemex asked for roughly $1.3 billion in compensation, which Venezuela deemed excessive. Despite this, Venezuela took control of the operation yesterday and will pay "fair value for the firm" according to Venezuela's energy minister, Rafael Ramirez. The government plans to utilize the cement companies in a national project to build homes for the poor.

Finally, the South African press reports that President Chavez will visit South Africa in early September on the invitation of President Thabo Mbeki. According to the Venezuelan embassy there, the visit is scheduled to take place between September 2-3 and aims to bring closer cooperation between the two nations and the creation of a bi-national commission.

There has been some considerable advocacy recently towards granting amnesty towards those individuals and organisations suspected of having derived huge underhand and illegal benefits from the now notorious multi-billion Rand arms deal with which South Africa involved itself a few years ago – and which continues to haunt both South Africa and Europe.

Principal amongst the organisations said to have benefited have been the ANC of South Africa and a number of the defence contractors in Europe which supplied the South African government with items ranging from aircraft to frigates, submarines and much in between.

Individuals said to have derived illicit benefits from the deal are, famously, Jacob Zuma (President-in-waiting of South Africa), his former financial advisor and, much more recently, Thabo Mbeki himself. Such allegations have yet to be proven in a court of law – although, judging by the (so far legitimate) delaying actions of certain of the parties named by the National Prosecuting Authority, the presentation and answering of charges before a court is looking increasingly doubtful.

Spearpoint is, frankly, astonished that the names of more individuals have not – yet – been proposed for investigation and prosecution. Mutual back-scratching is far too endemic in Africa to permit a mere handful of individuals to escape the clutches and ‘protection’ of equally greedy and unscrupulous people eager to climb on the gravy train of government contract graft.

The calls for amnesty come from a couple of different sources.

Firstly, there is the ANC and its unelected (and thus unaccountable) allies, the Confederation of South African Trades Union (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP). This is, perhaps, understandable since there must be considerable trepidation being experienced within this tri-partite alliance that its propaganda of the last couple of decades is about to be revealed for the sham that it always has been and that the three organisations and many of its officials and hangers-on will be shown to be just as base and venal as those they strove to replace on the South African political scene.

Secondly, calls for amnesty have come from parts of the South African media on the basis of preventing the fragmentation and disruption of South African society resulting from the ANC and its allies trampling the entire country underfoot as they seek to dislodge from their backs the tick birds trying to remove the sources of sickness and debilitation from the body national.

Spearpoint can ignore the ANC’s desire for amnesty or (better still, from their perspective) dismissal of all charges as being the unforgivable but natural reaction of embarrassed people caught in a series of compromising situations despite their protestations of innocence and purity. Given the current stranglehold that the ANC and its officers have on this country, Spearpoint gloomily concludes that the ANC will prevail anyway and will find means (legitimate or otherwise) to escape the worst – or all – of the fallout from the arms deal and the alleged misconduct of its partners and/or officials.

Spearpoint cannot, however, ignore the non-ANC inspired calls for amnesty.

How short are the memories of those making this call. How misolfactionate are they that believe that sweeping the malodorous products of a government’s bad habits under the rug will result in the creation and maintenance of a hygienic and healthy national household.

In political management - as in household management – infestations and disease must be eradicated entirely and without delay, else the infection returns to cause ill-health, disruption and danger to life and limb. Very often such a return is then much harder to combat since, in the process of harbouring the germs of corruption, resistance to the more usual, tried and true, methods of prevention and control builds to the point of immunity and contempt. Fighting disease is never easy, comfortable or without risk. Likewise with fighting corruption and crime.

There are few parents who will refuse medical treatment for their loved ones (excepting for availability and cost) on the basis that the treatment will create too great a risk of the patient being uncomfortable or, even, losing their life. Few people fail to see the merit in visiting the dentist when experiencing toothache, even though the experience in the dentist’s chair can be unpleasant in the extreme.

Why, then, do otherwise rational people who love their country and its social structure actively promote a course of action that can only strengthen those who would break our laws and Constitution? These are the people who would prefer to avoid the short-term yet therapeutic pain of the dental drill over the longer-term costs of political caries and oral decay. The consequences of poor dental hygiene are similar to the consequences of poor national moral and ethical hygiene – the ability to masticate and ingest the food required by the whole body is reduced until, eventually, the body goes into decline and could, conceivably, die through lack of sustenance as well as through the onslaught of opportunistic infections and ailments.

Witness Uganda in the 1970’s. Witness Zimbabwe since 1999. Witness the attempts at appeasement with Germany in the 1930’s. There are lessons aplenty to be had – what makes anyone believe that South African politicians and politically well-placed criminals are any different from those of the rest of the world at different times throughout history?

Even the President of Pakistan today had the sense – and decency? – to step down in the face of mounting demands for greater probity within Pakistani society. And this was a man who had grabbed power through a coup and had ruled as a virtual dictator for nine years. This came about because his detractors were prepared to live with the possible discomfort of experiencing the unscheduled removal of a powerful, influential and wealthy leader who had been found wanting. Perhaps Pakistan will now go through a period of greater turmoil than it has been enduring of late – but Pakistanis have decided that even in that event the price will be better than continuing the personal regime of a man they have held to be unacceptable for Pakistani society.

Why, therefore, is South African society so open to the comforts of a quiet life at any cost? Are we so blasé as to accept any injustice and crime against ourselves just so that we can stay ensconced within our little zones of comfort? Are we so pragmatic as to accept any violation of our persons and dignity that we will suffer any debasement of our expressed ideals of social and political aspiration and ambition?

Clearly, this is a watershed in our young history. Failure now will result – in fairly rapid order - in a new Zimbabwe south of the Limpopo River – the consequences of which are obvious to almost everyone except Mugabe, Mbeki and their opportunistic cronies.

Spearpoint.

18^th August 2008

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Mediated by the South African president, Thabo Mbeki, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Zimbabwe's ruling party came together in a signing ceremony held to initiate formal talks in an effort to solve the country's political crisis.
The MDC congratulated the opposition party and Zanu-PF ruling party  for taking this “important step” in the right direction.
"It is a very historic occasion ... and I want to thank president [Mbeki] for the facilitation of this process, Morgan Tsangirai, the MDC leader, said.
"As we sign the memorandum of understanding, we all commit ourselves for a solution and I want to thank everyone who has made a contribution to ensure the process of negotiations becomes successful," he added.
In his speech, Tsangirai reminded the attendees that while the signing is a great start, .”..as we move towards these negotiations, I hope that all of us must bear in mind the mother and the child who go to sleep without food, the people who have been brutalized, the divisions and bitter exchanges and I sincerely acknowledge that if we put our heads together, we can find a solution."
In the aftermath of what the world's politicians deem a stolen election, President Robert Mugabe could not afford to disregard the request of his opposition. He hoped to reassure MDC and the world concerning this part of his original plan once elected. "This is out of a decision that we made sometime ago: that we assist each other to overcome the political and economic situation which requires support," he said.
Mbeki has been accused of “quiet diplomacy” where Mugabe was concerned. Attending the signing in Harare could be presumed as his way of countering such claims.
South African's foreign ministry said the deal “represents a positive step forward.” This comes after a series of meetings Mbeki held with MDC, Zanu-PF and UN and African Union officials.
However, Mugabe's critics remained disheartened and unconvinced that any changes would be made for a better Zimbabwe. The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions against Mugabe and his supporters. In hopes of admonishing Mugabe for what is being called a stolen election, President Bush said in a statement accompanied by an executive order detailing the American sanctions, "No regime should ignore the will of its own people and calls from the international community without consequences." (See “Will of the People,” page A7.)
The United States has already imposed sanctions against Mugabe, 129 other people, and 35 businesses. For a country as small and poor as Zimbabwe, this can be damaging not only to Mugabe’s administration, but it could hurt the people over whom he presides. The Treasury Department recently added 17 more businesses which Mugabe and his “regime cronies” use to "illegally siphon revenue and foreign exchange from the Zimbabwean people."
At press time, the talks were completed; but no deals had been made. The Star, a South African newspaper, however, reported that a draft agreement was circulating and in this agreement, Mr. Tsangirai would serve as prime minister and Mr. Mugabe as ceremonial president. Meanwhile, analysts are more concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis.

On Wednesday, talks on Zimbabwe's political crisis broke up, in order to allow "time to consider" the situation to Morgan Tsvangirai, the main opposition leader, sources said.

During this time, South African president headed to Angola, where he met president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, head of the political department of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). He is worried about the impact of a possible political "meltdown" in Zimbabwe.

During Mr Mbeki’s absence, a Ruling Zanu PF party official claimed that a deal had been reached between Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president, and a smaller opposition faction, excluding Morgan Tsvangirai.

But Thabo Mbeki, after mediating three days of talks between the rivals in Harare, the Zimbabwean capital, said he knew of no deal being signed, before adding that he remained confident all three sides could find an agreement.

‘Acting together’

"We have dealt with all the elements on which president Mugabe and Mutambara agree, but there is disagreement on one element over which Morgan Tsvangirai had asked for time to reflect", Mr Mbeki said.

"We have adjourned to give Morgan Tsvangirai more time to consider these matters.”

"I'm quite confident they will resolve all their outstanding matters which would result in this inclusive government and, in the second instance, then acting together", Mr Mbeki told reporters.

"No deal has been signed by anyone. Dialogue is still continuing", emphasised Welshman Ncube, secretary general for Mr Mutambara's faction.

On Wednesday, South African president met his Angolan counterpart in Luanda, reported Angolan state radio. He was expected to return to South Africa afterwards, ahead of a summit of regional leaders this weekend.

Facilitating discussions

Adding "after that we are going back home", Mukoni Ratshitanga, a spokesman for Thabo Mbeki, said that he was to give a report to the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The SADC, a 14-nation regional bloc, has appointed Mr Mbeki mediator for the Zimbabwe crisis. Over the weekend, he had arrived in Harare for negotiations between Mr Mugabe, Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mutambara.

"The talks are adjourned, not ended, but I wouldn't say until when. Tsvangirai needs more time to consult", Thabo Mbeki's spokesman told the AFP news agency.

"I wouldn't know about it. We are facilitating discussions among three parties", answered Mr Mbeki earlier, when he was asked whether signatures had been put to a deal.

Negotiations included proposals for Robert Mugabe to take on a more ceremonial role, in exchange for amnesty from prosecution, while Morgan Tsvangirai would be made executive prime minister.

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Power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe can still succeed soon despite disagreements over leadership, South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Wednesday after failing to secure a deal at marathon talks.

President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai met in Harare for three days without reaching agreement, dimming hopes of an end to a post election crisis that has worsened Zimbabwe's economic decline.

"We are indeed convinced that it is possible to conclude these negotiations quite quickly," Mbeki, the chief mediator in the negotiations, told reporters in the Angolan capital Luanda.

Mbeki appealed for patience, saying the crucial issue of leadership positions was still under discussion.

"They are working on a truly inclusive government," he said.

Negotiations followed Mugabe's unopposed re-election in June in a poll from which Tsvangirai withdrew because of attacks on his supporters. The ballot was condemned around the world.

Mbeki said earlier in Harare that Mugabe had agreed on sharing power with a breakaway faction of the Movement for Democratic Change opposition, but the group's leader Arthur Mutambara said on Wednesday that no agreement had been signed...

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I am loving the Olympic Games...albeit that I only get to see the action 12 hours after it has happened because of the time difference. I am not sporty person myself...can not run to save my life. But I love watching some of disciplines during the games. The athletes are amazing.

For sixteen days we watch in awe. My daughter asked me, if I could choose to be able to do any sport in the Olympics, what would I choose...oohh, that is difficult but I think swimming. And while pondering that question, I was wondering what sport I would line up for the politicians of today. These are my suggestions:

Vladimir Putin: Rowing - but not as you know it. The other pronounciation - as in argument. He seems to kick off his participation the day of the opening ceremony, not wanting to waste any valuable time getting his medal.

George Bush: Boxing. Not happy with diplomacy, he goes in with a quick left and a right hook and voila, mission accomplished!

Robert Mugabe: Weightlifting. Bob was a little disappointed when arriving at the arena to find out that category was indeed weightLIFTING and not Throwing Your Weight Around which he is so damn good at.

Tony Blair: Football. Provided that he can get Cherie's foot out of his mouth.

Gordon Brown: Handball. He screws up in football all the time, confusing it with netball and this was his best compromise - just did not know what the job would entail before committing to it.

Jacob Zuma: Wrestling. Heaven only knows when you wrestle the law and even if you are wrong you win, you are in the team!

Thabo Mbeki: Volleyball. Why? Maybe because it rhymes with WALLY.

Barack Obama: Sailing. Despite everything they are throwing at him, he looks as though it is smooth sailing for him.

John Edwards: Archery. Seems the man has been shooting more arrows than previously admitted.

John McCain: Shooting. As a true republican he got his lessons from Dick Cheney. Please don't shout duck!

Good luck to all the participants above...and Heaven help us all!

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A power-sharing deal may be close, suggest reports, despite a news blackout imposed on the discussions.

Although he did not elaborate, George Charamba, Zimbabwean government spokesman, said a "milestone" had been reached.

He told state media that Mr Mbeki was "going to meet the principals, basically to update them on the progress so far and to consult on how to take the dialogue forward”.

"This is an important milestone that has been registered in the interparty dialogue", he added.

In June, Mr Tsvangirai pulled out of the presidential race alleging violence against his backers, and then Mr Mugabe won a run-off.

The aim of the talks is to create some form of coalition, said South African mediators, even though there is disagreement over who would lead a unity government and concerning Mr Mugabe's exact role.

Unqualified legitimacy

Mr Mbeki is expected to return to South Africa on Sunday afternoon.

The power-sharing deal would let Mr Mugabe retain the presidency, while Mr Tsvangirai would become prime minister with exective powers, report South Africa’s media.

Yet, apart from statements from all sides saying that the talks have been progressing well, there has been no official comment on these reports.

Ahead of a mid-August summit of the Southern African Development Community, or Sadc, Mr Mbeki is under pressure to produce a solid outcome.

Fleeing Zimbabwe’s worsening political and economic situation, hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have left their country, many crossing over the borders into neighbouring states of South Africa, Zambia and Botswana.

Robert Mugabe should be barred from the Sadc summit, suggested on Friday Phandu Skelemani, Botswana's foreign minister.

"The legal process of producing a government in Zimbabwe has failed [...] those who claim to represent a government in Zimbabwe [...] should be excluded from attending Sadc and African Union meetings as their participation in these meetings would be equal to giving them unqualified legitimacy", Mr Skelemani said.

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Corruption-busting ex-spy Mhleli "Paul" Madaka was the source of the sensational claim that President Thabo Mbeki accepted R30-million from a German arms bidder, the Mail & Guardian can reveal.

I have to admit that with this information, the balance of probabilities now swings to Mbeki being involved in corruption.

However, they will just remain allegations until proven in court to be facts.

Bottomline: Innocent until proven guilty

Technorati Tags: Thabo Mbeki, Arms Deal, MAN Ferrostaal,

Uma greve geral realizada esta quarta-feira, em protesto contra o aumento dos preços dos combustíveis, da electricidade e dos alimentos, paralisou vários sectores da África do Sul, principalmente a indústria mineira e os transportes. O rastilho para o protesto foi o recente anúncio da empresa estatal de electricidade de que vai aumentar as tarifas em 27,5 %, enquanto continua a distribuir chorudos bónus aos seus administradores.

A central sindical sul-africana COSATU (que reúne 21 sindicatos), que convocou a paralisação, garantiu que não havia transportes públicos a funcionar no país, que as minas estavam encerradas e que na indústria a greve foi quase total. A greve geral foi convocada com o objectivo de pressionar o governo sul-africano a agir contra os constantes aumentos dos preços. Os protestos nas ruas sucederam-se nas cidades de Pretória, Cidade do Cabo, Joanesburgo, Durban, Polokwane e Port-Elisabeth, entre outras.

No último ano o preço dos alimentos subiu cerca de 17% e os combustíveis 35%. A gota de água para a convocação da greve foi o anúncio de que as tarifas da elctricidade vão aumentar 27.5%.

Os sindicatos responsabilizam também o governo pela perda de milhares de postos de trabalho desde que, no ano passado, a empresa estatal de eletricidade (Eskom) se viu subitamente envolta num déficite energético e começou a cortar o abastecimento de eletricidade às cidades e aos grandes consumidores, como a indústria mineira, que posteriormente recorreu aos despedimentos para fazer face aos prejuízos.

Além disso, a Eskom, que continua a pagar generosos bónus de produtividade aos seus administradores, pediu autorização ao governo para aumentar as tarifas de eletricidade em 51% para pagar novos investimentos na área da geração de energia. O governo autorizou mas com aumentos menores e mais progressivos, mas que mesmo assim afectam siginificativamente a economia e os trabalhadores, motivando mais protestos.

A Cosatu contesta o liberalismo económico de Thabo Mbeki e reivindica subsídios para os bens de primeira necessidade e aumentos salariais.

President Thabo Mbeki is consulting his lawyers on whether to take action against the Sunday Times for its "so-called" report of his corrupt involvement in the arms deal, the Presidency said on Wednesday.

There is news and then there is gossip. The Crimes seem to be experts at bringing us gossip disguised as news... or maybe the only requirement for their reporters is the ability to type.

What makes me happy is that Mbeki is consulting lawyers rather than sending in the police to shut them down..... that in itself speaks volumes.

Even a politician (I cannot believe I am saying this) deserves to have the truth told about them.... even if they do not like doing it themselves.

Bottomline: You cannot make claims or allegations without proper proof.

Technorati Tags: Sunday Times, Thabo Mbeki, Arms Deal

I use the word 'again' because this guy is starting to make a real habit of turning up at the local court house with several thousand followers and getting off scott free.

But the thing is, he is supported. To the hilt. The ANC, that farcical political party that is in power because of Mandela and has since been riven by i fighting, back stabbing, bungs, bribes, back handers and all round general uselessness.

This is Africa in the 21st century.

It is a subject that the West stays away from in any negative light. The EU etc make some noises, but we are all so scared of colonialism and accusations of the white man interfering in black issues. We don't do shying away on Boatang and Demetriou, so let's do this thing.

Tribalism. This word obviously has connotations when used in context of this continent, but I don't mean in the sense of actual hereditary tribes. I mean it in a political sense.

Zimbabwe is the most recent example of this. The MDC and Zanu-PF. Why do people support these parties, in particular Zanu? Power. They are prepared to beat and steal, rape and torture, just to win, to defeat the other lot. The fact this results in total chaos and the destruction of the democratic process is neither here nor there.

In a way it is similar to the 'revolutions', particularly in Europe, in the first half of the last century. The Nazi's gained support, in the main, from failures in normal life who wanted power, they wanted glory. The people at the bottom in Russia fell for the argument they would gain once the Czar was knocked off, but the people with the guns who ran around th streets did it for power.

Human beings will do many things for a sense of authority. Look at the petty bureaucrats in local government who are beyond anal.

Africa has this issue by the ton. South Africa, the model African state who was to lead the way, is now well and truly heading the same way.

South Africa has sffered from the non-leadership of Thabo Mbeki. He has been a holder of ofice, a bastion of nothing. He is president simply to fill in after Mandela and to try and keep the peace.

The problem is that this policy has led to vast corruption and the slide towards how the rest of Africa is run: tribal loyalty to a party or a personality.

This has now reached pathetic proportions. People in Africa have got to grow up and start holding their leaders to account. It isn't football team that you support through thick and thin, it is a person with total power who is screwing your continent, not just your country, into the ground.

But they won't. Education is non-existent and hard evangelical Christianity and fundamental Islam have filled the void. The recent Anglican crises has nothing to do with homosexuality and everything to do with power for the Bishops. And their flock simply do as they are told.

This is what annoys me most about Africa.

The excuse has always been that the democracies are young, lessons need to be learnt, mistakes will happen. The left blame he free market reforms, the right blame the lack of them.

Enough is enough. How many corrupt presidents does any country need before the people rise up, seize power and run things properly?

Many of the African states were set up by revolutionary leaders who refused to let go. The model of other new states (America, France, Britain etc) hasn't been followed. No Bill of Rights, no Constitution, no electable house of any meaning.

It is fast becoming a bed that Africa as a whole is going to have to lay in. I get the feeling that the West is getting sick and tired of the corruption, the debt, the starvation (Geldof really should look into the real reasons for these) the famine, he rebels and genocides and coups and juntas, the life presidents, the easily curable disease, the AIDS, the complete lack of education, the poverty, the inflation. Enough is enough.

Zuma will become president, his followers will march and sing and wave their crappy homemade banners proclaiming how great this dodgy HIV/AIDS denier is. He will fail and South Africa will drift the same way as all the other countries in Africa have. Corruption will reign, disease and crime will prosper ever more and he will reign for 20 years.

Th people of Africa need to start looking at themselves, stop blaming the West, the colonial powers. They are actually very wealthy and have more than enough to be the same as countries like Brazil, who threw off the yoke of oppression and is now prospering.

But they won't. They like power too much rather than freedom.

The cockroaches scatter like mad whenever the spotlight is cast on the arms industry.... bullshit in oversupply and truth nowhere to be found.

However the latest "revelation" by the Sunday Times Crimes about the South African arms deal must be the sloppiest piece of rehashed crap to see the light of day. Everyone is bleating about press freedom, but there are certain responsibilities attached to this freedom, fairness, truth, factual etc...If they keep avoiding their responsibilities then I see no reason why they will not be muzzled, and then we all suffer.

The Sunday Times is probably the most guilty of sensationalist bullshit, with their latest instalment on the arms deal being a good example:

A German shipbuilding giant paid President Thabo Mbeki R30m to guarantee it won the submarine contract in South Africa’s multibillion-rand arms deal. Mbeki gave R2m of this to Jacob Zuma and the rest to the ANC.

Fair enough, so now we want to read about the proof....

And this is the best they can come up with:

This staggering new allegation has surfaced for the first time in a secret report compiled in 2007 by a UK specialist risk consultancy.

Wooooo a secret report! And who is this UK specialist risk consultancy? Oldest trick in the book when you have no case... and trying to give credence to a shitty case.... Avoid naming actual people... Just use words like "Secret", "Senior (unnamed) official", "Highly placed sources" etc etc...

The consultancy was commissioned by a leading Central European manufacturer to investigate the worldwide activities and “questionable business practices” of the shipbuilder, MAN Ferrostaal, which had launched a hostile takeover bid against it.

So who is this Central Europena Manufacturer??? And here is the clincher.... they are subject to a hostile takeover, so of course the report is NOT going to paint MAN Ferrostaal in a positive picture... This alone should make a person sit up and be extremely cynical about this report! In fact you can stop reading this article and use it to line a hamster cage, for them to shit on.

Thank goodness for newspapers like the Mail & Gaurdian..... the rebuttal from the presidency is actually very constrained and completely spot on.

"By the way, the mystique attached to this information starts to ring hollow given that information about these competitors is easily available on the internet.

Bottomline: Unless allegations contain proper facts and details, they are best ignored. Rumour spreading is for morons.

Technorati Tags: Thabo Mbeki, Zuma, Arms Deal, MAN Ferostaal

It will be interesting to see how the following weeks unfold.

Click here to read the story.

Negotiations have been held at a secret location in South Africa, between government and opposition officials. The aim of the talks, expected to resume on Sunday, is to resolve Zimbabwe’s post-election crisis.

Mr Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party are accused by Mr Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of stealing the country’s presidential election.

Started a week ago, after Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai met for the first time in a decade, talks were halted earlier this week.

The parties are determined to find a solution within a two-week timeframe, said Thabo Mbeki, South African president who has led negotiations.

Although Mr Tsvangirai said he was not in a position to define what his role or Mr Mugabe’s would be after the end of the talks, he added : "What I would hope is that it will allow [Mr Mugabe] a process of an honourable exit."

"There have been sticking points" he added.

‘Common understanding’

"Some issues have been ironed out, some issues are still outstanding. We hope that as the negotiations proceed they will find a common compromise."

Then Mr Tsvangirai spoke about his rare meeting with Mr Mugabe, saying "I am sure that there was a common understanding that there is a need to soft land the crisis through a transitional process".

"He is just as human as every one of us, that he has similar concerns, although, of course, I think he is ignorant, and/or chooses to be in a denial stage as far as violence is concerned."

On Wednesday, the MDC said that Zanu-PF supporters killed two of its supporters last week, though an agreement to start talks had been signed.

On 29 March, Mr Tsvangirai won the first round of presidential elections, but did not secure enough votes to avoid the run-off, from which he pulled out, after a wave of deadly attacks against his supporters.

Previously, the MDC said that more than 120 of MDC supporters have been killed, some 5 000 abducted and 200 000 forced to flee their homes, after being attacked by Zanu-PF militias and security agents, but the Zanu-PF denies the accusations.