OUR NEW PRESIDENT
Election to the highest office in the land brought with it great and
profound responsibility, said Democratic Alliance chairman Joe
Seremane to the newly elected president, Kgalema Motlanthe.
THE REALIGNMENT OF POLITICS HAS BEGUN
Many of the ministers resigning, including Trevor Manuel, Mosiuoa
Lekota and Ronnie Kasrils, had served their office with distinction.
MLAMBO-NGCUKA WAS A LEADER ON HIV/AIDS
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka who resigned last Monday was a
great leader when it came to dealing with HIV/Aids
DA CHALLENGES NEW SAFETY AND SECURITY MINISTER TO DELIVER
An effective plan to tackle crime must be one of the new government's top.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
The decay of our state institutions, caused by infighting in the ANC
and the use of these institutions to wage political battles, partly
has its origins in conflicts triggered by the arms deal. President
Motlanthe can help to arrest that decay, and prove his commitment to
fighting corruption, by appointing a commission without delay.
DA Leader Helen Zille, writing in SA Today, calls for the new
President to appoint a commission of inquiry into the arms deal as
part of his programme of action.
OUR NEW PRESIDENT
Election to the highest office in the land brought with it great and
profound responsibility, said Democratic Alliance chairman Joe
Seremane to the newly elected president, Kgalema Motlanthe.
Kgalema Motlanthe was duly elected in the National Assembly last
Thursday as South Africa's next President to replace President Thabo
Mbeki.
Seremane said Motlanthe's most important responsibility should be to
rise above party-political interests and put the needs and aspirations
of the people of South Africa first.
"The country is crying out for resolute and strong leadership to
reduce the level of anxiety currently felt by a great many of our
people who have been deeply unsettled by the governing party's
internal power struggles, now playing themselves out on a national and
international stage," he said.
There were urgent challenges facing South Africa which had to be dealt with.
The new administration should therefore do away with a focus on
internal power struggles and rather turn its attention to issues that
mattered most to ordinary South Africans.
These included rampant crime and lawlessness, widespread and
devastating poverty, chronic levels of unemployment, the continuing
negative effects of HIV/Aids, the gradual erosion of general
infrastructure, and poor or non-existent service delivery.
"Dealing with these problems needs to become the nation's number one
priority, not the politics of revenge and hatred which we have
witnessed from within the ANC's ranks over the past week," Seremane
said.
Responding last Monday to the suggestion that Motlanthe was likely to
be the ANC's nominee, DA leader Helen Zille said this was the best
case scenario under the circumstances.
"Minister Motlanthe is perhaps the most level-headed and reasonable of
all the politicians in the Zuma camp. Unlike Zuma, he dared to stick
his head above the parapet and rebuke the ANC Youth League for its
menacing statements that it would 'shoot to kill' for the ANC
president," Zille said.
She added that the DA would hold him to statements committing himself
to the independence of the judiciary should he be elected president.
THE REALIGNMENT OF POLITICS HAS BEGUN
The resignation of fourteen Cabinet ministers loyal to President
Mbeki shows deep dissatisfaction with the ANC's decision to recall
President Thabo Mbeki, the leader of the Democratic Alliance, Helen
Zille, said last Tuesday.
"It is clear that behind the display of unity, there is deep
dissatisfaction with the ANC NEC's decision to recall the president,"
she said.
Many of the ministers resigning, including Trevor Manuel, Mosiuoa
Lekota and Ronnie Kasrils, had served their office with distinction.
"That the ANC is willing to sacrifice them and risk our country's
stability in order to wreak revenge on the President, speaks volumes
about its lack of commitment to stable government."
She said it was now time to radically realign the political landscape.
"We must bring together all of those in the opposition and in the
ruling party who believe in the supremacy of the Constitution and
build an alternative to Jacob Zuma's ANC."
"The Democratic Alliance (DA) will take this process forward with
those who share our vision for a non-racial, democratic and prosperous
South Africa in which all are equal before the law."
MLAMBO-NGCUKA WAS A LEADER ON HIV/AIDS
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka who resigned last Monday was a
great leader when it came to dealing with HIV/Aids, said the
Democratic Alliance.
"Unlike other members of the Cabinet, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka gave
vital leadership in the fight against HIV/Aids," said DA leader Helen
Zille.
"Under her stewardship, the SA National Aids Council was revived; and
it has made meaningful input into a plan to halve the rate of HIV
infections by 2011."
Zille said that, although it had seemed the Deputy President could
rise above faction struggles in the African National Congress, in the
end she seemed to have fallen victim to them.
"This is regrettable, as she would have been a steady hand on the
tiller during this time of political uncertainty."
Zille said Mlambo-Ngcuka had shown good economic judgement and
commendable political will in trying to halve unemployment and poverty
by 2014 and tackling skill, shortages.
"She successfully helped to launch, guide, and promote, at home and
abroad, the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA)
and the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
(Asgisa)."
Zille said some clouds would hang over Mlambo-Ngcuka's head regarding
her involvement in the "oilgate scandal" and her United Arab Emirates
trip at taxpayer's expense.
"In the main, however, she combined competence with common sense, and
her contribution to government will be missed," she said.
DA CHALLENGES NEW SAFETY AND SECURITY MINISTER TO DELIVER
The Democratic Alliance had identified ten key priorities for the new
Minister of Safety and Security, Nathi Mthethwa, party safety and
security spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard on Sunday.
"An effective plan to tackle crime must be one of the new government's
top concerns and the DA will be watching the new Minister's attention
to these priorities closely," she said.
"All South Africans have been affected by crime and all of us want to
see South Africa become a safer country, but with the SAPS conviction
rate for contact crimes at a lowly 19%, the Minister clearly has his
work cut out for him."
She challenged the new Minister on the top ten crime-related issues in
the country, including replacing National Police Commissioner Jackie
Selebi ; reinstating the specialised units such as the Narcotics
Bureau and the Family Violence, Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Units
and agreeing to retain the Scorpions.
"He must also commit himself to revamping the detective service with
high calibre officers and ensure that they have all the necessary
vehicles, equipment and resources as well as addressing border control
problems with a plan to seal our borders and enhance rural safety by
allocating sufficient personnel, suitable vehicles, radios and other
relevant equipment to border and rural areas," she said.
Other issues which needed addressing were backlogs at Forensic Science
Laboratories, violence in schools and improving the public's access to
crime statistics and the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) by
allocating it more funds and personnel.
"We call upon the new Minister to avoid taking cover behind a veil of
secrecy whenever tough questions are directed at him – he needs to
deliver on his responsibilities and simply accept that crime is one of
the most pressing issues for all South Africans," she said.
DID YOU KNOW
It was revealed in reply to a DA parliamentary question that South
African households owe local and district municipalities more than
R10-billion for services.
• At the end of June all 283 local and district municipalities across
the country were owed more than R18,4-billion by households,
businesses and various national government departments.
• Households were the major defaulters as they owed 60 percent
(R10,8-billion) of the total, followed by government departments at 20
percent (R3,6-billion) and businesses at 20 percent (R3,6-billion).
• "Of the total debt (of R18,4-billion), R15-billion had been
outstanding for over 90 days.
• Metros faced a similar problem - they were owed a combined fee of
more than R26,6-billion by private businesses, households and
government departments.
• Gauteng topped the list of provinces with outstanding debt - it was
owed R21,7-billion, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with R5,6-billion, the
Western Cape with R4,7-billion and the Free Sate with R3,8-billion.
• In the Eastern Cape, a total of R3,1-billion still needed to be
collected. In North West, R2,3-billion was outstanding, in Mpumalanga
R1,9-billion, in Limpopo R805 000, while Northern Cape municipalities
were owed R775 000.
MC BRIDE FIRED!
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/442
HOW EFFECTIVE IS YOUR ARMED RESPONSE COMPANY?
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/441\
TIME FOR FRESH THINKING?
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/440\
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