A different view on current affairs & history
I watched it several times and I still cannot believe the speed of the wheelchanges. If you haven’t seen this before, it’s utterly amazing. The preparation time is actually longer. I have watched this 6-7 times to see what the different people are doing. It helps to concentrate on just one of the 18 crew people at a time.
Click here to view clip: Ferrari tyre change
A Personal View – March 2014
I have an intense fascination for the great dictators of the Twentieth Century – Hitler, Stalin & Mao. This preoccupation is an attempt to understand how they managed to obtain power, why nobody attempted to thwart their diabolical plans & what the impact on the ordinary person was.
Of the three, Hitler’s Germany has been comprehensively dissected & analysed from all possible angles whereas those of Stalin & Mao have not been as thoroughly explored. This is probably a result of the lack of information available on those societies.
A Personal View – May 2014
Corruption is a concomitant of power. Once in power one is presented with temptations all the time. The formative experiences of the ANC members were as impoverished cadres doing the bidding of the party without expected recompense.
Once in power and adjudicating contracts often worth billions, the temptations were presented; first as a free trip with the family but rapidly assuming monstrous dimensions. That was to be expected but what was the result: impunity. In spite of far-reaching corruption in municipal finances for instances, not one single person has been prosecuted in terms of the Municipal Finances Act.
NOT ONE!
That is inconceivable. That is indicative of an indifference to the ongoing corruption and perhaps more importantly political interference in the prosecution of these cases.
What has South Africa inherited as a Civil Service, a venal, corrupt and incompetent body serving their own and their ANC’s purposes and not those of the people of South Africa.
The decline of morality in the ANC has been unprecedented: from dogmatic righteousness to self-serving venality. What a decline? One can sight Nkandla as an egregious example but surprising the ANC will be unaffected by its stench. The reason thereof is surprising – it is regarded as a middle class issue. Even Jacob Zuma stated as much in his defence during the election campaign.
The cornerstone of the ANC’s campaign was “We have a good story to tell”. Essentially it harks back to the accession of power by the ANC rather than focusing on the current malaise. Anything was better than Apartheid and hence the comparison is fallacious.
The litmus test of whether corruption is endemic is whether one has become inured to it. An unequivocal yes will ring out for most now skim the headlines dealing with yet another multi-billion Rand corruption case.
As they claim, a fish rots from its head and surely this is true of the ANC. At best, Jacob Zuma has an extremely tenuous grasp of the concept of ethics. This combined with the temptations of power have created a swirling whirlpool into whose vortex even the incorruptible and diligent are losing their inhibitions.
Apart from harking back to a glorious legacy, how else is the ANC addressing this malaise: the race card. A once proud organisation steeped in non-racialism now uses racist cant as an election ploy like its president did at Soccer City yesterday.
Its supports should hang their heads in shame at such shameless populism.
For all of the reasons enumerated above and many more too numerous to recount, the deeply-flawed ANC has to be given a bloody nose in the 2014 National Elections on May 7th but not by voting for an equally venal and corrupt EFF which has learnt the lessons too well from its original tutor, the ANC.
One cannot be indifferent to the results of this election.
The vox populi has to make a ringing endorsement for parties of principle and integrity such the Agang or the Democratic Alliance.
A Personal View – May 2014
Background and rationale of restitution
Land redistribution is clearly an emotive issue. While land dispossession occurred over centuries it was achieved initially by violence in the 19th and prior centuries and by racial discriminatory legislation subsequent to Union and the promulgation of the Land Act in 1910.
With the advent of democratic rule in 1994, the ANC was faced with the unenviable task of dealing with the legacy of centuries of land dispossession. Their preferred method of land reform was the “willing-buyer-willing-seller” policy.
In terms of this policy, the ANC has attempted to strike a balance between nation building and addressing the land issue. This land reform program dealt with the issues of lodging of claims, and its expropriation, redistribution and restitution.
The intention was to redistribute 30% of the land to black people by 2014. This policy has been largely unsuccessful for two cardinal reasons: the inflating of land prices by farmers on land identified for expropriation and the falling into disuse of expropriated land given to black farmers.
The Gordian Knot
One of new approaches proposed by the government is to ditch the “willing-buyer-willing-seller” policy as unworkable. These amendments are embodied in the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill which is awaiting Jacob Zuma’s signature. According to Tara Weinberg, a researcher with the Rural Woman’s Action Research Program for Law and Society at UCT “This bill is dead in the water, signed or not. The government has neither the money nor the human capacity to settle outstanding restitution claims, let alone new ones that the bill will elicit.”
I could not have stated the case so eloquently. Tara Weinberg then goes on the provide figures for the process to be a success. It will cost between R129 and R179 billion over 15 years whereas R22b has been spent since 1994.
This failure to allocate sufficient funds will not only disadvantage the claimants as their rights to recompense will be denied whereas it will also violate the right to security of tenure by leaving claimants unsure of the status of their land.
This uncertainty is already causing financial problems. For instance, the Red Ivory Hiking Trail in the Steelpoort area has been closed due to this uncertainty and no doubt there are many more examples of which I am not aware.
The most blatant impediment to its implementation is the lack of capacity of the new owners. Often illiterate and unschooled in agriculture, finance and the whole panoply of related disciplines such as tractor maintenance, the expropriated properties rapidly fall into disrepair with production ultimately being a fraction of the initial output.
The Unintended Consequence
Zimbabwe is a case in point. From being the breadbasket of Africa, they are now unable to feed their own people with South Africa providing substantial supplies of maize and other products. During April, the Zimbabwe government banned the importation of fresh fruit and vegetables; the rationale – to force Zimbabwe’s farmers to grow it themselves. That probably leaves the population with little choice: no fresh fruit and vegetables.
South Africa has been no more successful in this regard. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most expropriated farms quickly fall into disuse and all the valuables on the property are sold to maintain the claimants until that source of income is consumed.
The picture above illustrates such a scenario. One picture represents the farm prior to expropriation while the other represents the farm some four later. This photograph is of a sugar/citrus/banana farm right next to Ngwenya Lodge in Komatipoort, South Africa.
It was sold to the SA Government in 2007, in terms of their land reform and re-allocation program.
This is what it looked like when the previous owners thought they were going to look at the development of their old homestead and farm. They matched each scene (Aug 2011) with a ‘before’ photo (Jan 2007) and the last photograph was taken from a helicopter where the remains (shell) of the house is visible.
All it took was 4 years.
This is no different in any respects with what happened in Zimbabwe.
A personal example which I would like to share relates to the experiences of the Quo Vadis Hiking Club when about 27 years ago we tried to have lunch in an Italian Restaurant which had been expropriated by the South African government and given to the local Transkeians.
There the restaurant stood in an overgrown garden, the Frutto Del Mare. The place was deserted inside except for the four of us. This suited us in our state of dishevelment, putrefaction & haste to be on the road for the long drive back to the Reef. Our families were probably frantic with worry but without Cellphones communication was extremely difficult.
Being the most knowledgeable on drinks, the waiter was directed to hand Kurt the Wine List. The long list of the finest wines caused much discussion. Should it be a Merlot or a Shiraz? How about a Chardonnay? The experts debated, finally making up their minds. The waiter was presented with the order.
“Sorry, we are out of stock” she apologised.
A mumble of dissention, barely audible, arose
“OK”, Kurt continued, “Then we will have this chardonnay” as he read the name of some exotic wine.
Again the same apology was given.
This time the murmur was audible as Mike asked a question to get to the nub of the problem & to short-circuit this process.
“OK, what wines on the Wine List are still in stock”, short & sweet & to the point.
“None!” came the nonchalant reply.
We were all dumb founded. One could hear a pin drop.
Why had the waitress handed us a Wine List when none were actually available?
We shook our heads in disbelief.
“OK, do you have Amstel?” an exasperated Kurt almost blurted out.
“Sorry, not in stock”
By now, this reply was not a shock.
As if resigned to the ultimate answer, he enquired, “OK, what alcoholic beverages do you have in stock?”
“Only Black Label & Coke!”, again matter-of-factly, not prefaced with an apology or letting us know the stock situation before embarking on this whole charade.
In resignation, four quarts of Black Label were ordered because nothing smaller was in stock.
We glanced at our menus. As far as our stomachs were concerned, the meal in Mthatha was a starter & this now was the main meal. The menu catered for all tastes from Kastler Ribs for those who liked German food, and is my favourite, to Indian curries, steaks & sea food. The whole gamut was catered for.
Instead of engaging in the same game of We-would-like as the antecedent & Sorry-it-is-out-of-stock as the reply, Kurt was blunt this time.
In a tone of exasperation, he asked, “Of all these items on the menus what can you make for us?”
“None,” came the atonal response.
Finally Kurt took the low road, “What can you make? Anything? What do the locals order?”
His sarcastic tone belied his frustration.
“Normally they order pap en wors but as a favour we can make you crayfish which we caught this morning.”
Clearly this was a case of form with no substance to support what they were doing. Clearly the new owners were totally out of their depth with none of the skills necessary to operate a restaurant.
Possible solutions
If the ANC willy-nilly presses ahead with their program the consequences will be the like of which Zimbabwe experienced with the decimation of its agricultural industry.
Hopefully cool heads will prevail when the new Parliament rises. Having made exorbitant promises to the potential millions of claimants, will the ANC be able to prevaricate any longer. Possibly not?
I have some suggestions of what the ANC can do to extricate themselves from this self-inflicted calamity:
I fear that unless some pragmatic solutions are devised, South Africa will be heading down the same slippery slope as Zimbabwe.
This situation cannot be allowed to occur. The wholesale transfer of productive assets to claimants with the lack of skills will surely result in their rapidly becoming unproductive, derelict and ultimately fall into disuse.
South Africa cannot afford such a wholesale destruction of productive assets.
A Personal View – May 2014
April 2014 witnessed the celebration of a number of anniversaries. Of these, the two on the 20th April were from my perspective the most important; one that the world wishes to forget and the other they ought to remember.
The first one is the birth of Hitler 125 years ago on the 20th April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria. Interestingly the fascination amongst Germans themselves about Hitler is at a record high.
According to The Telegraph newspaper dated 3rd May 2014:
Germans are more interested in Adolf Hitler that at any time since the end of the Second World War, a new study has concluded. The German Media Control research group, which monitors broadcasting, found that documentaries about Hitler are aired twice a day on German television channels and that books and films about the Nazi leader are being produced in record numbers.
It established that 242 programmes dealing specifically with Hitler had been shown on television during the first four months of 2013, while 500 other films and documentaries that had dealt with the Nazi era in general had also been aired.
Some 2,000 books on Hitler were published in Germany last year.
Sociologists have attributed the rise of interest in Hitler and the Nazis to the fact that the majority of today’s Germans have had no experience of the Second World War, are less ashamed of the period than previous generations and more eager to learn about it.
They point out that most of today’s Germans had family experience of the war only through parents or grandparents
Unlike Russia where the renewed interest in the Soviet tyrant and dictator has been accompanied by homages being made to Stalin’s memory, in the case of the Germans it appears to relate only to an interest in history and not the nascent resurrection of the Nazi’s abhorrent policies.
In South Africa, the 20th April was important for a different reason. It was the 50th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s so-called Speech from the Dock.
Portion of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela’s statement from the dock at the opening of the Defence’s case in the Rivonia Trial at the Palace of Justice, Pretoria reads as follows:
“During my lifetime, I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and see realised. But, my Lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”
This is only an extract of his four hour speech but contains the famous words at the end which were widely reported.
According to the Star:
It was April 20, 1964 when Braam Fischer surprised the court by announcing that Mandela, the first of 11 accused, would read from the defendant’s dock, rather than take the witness stand and face cross-examination.
In a nearly three hour long testimony, he told of the transition of the ANC from non-violent resistance to acts of sabotage, not to commit murder, but as a means necessary to stop state oppression of the African people.
Speaking from the dock is a tactic that can no longer be used as it was eventually outlawed by the government.
The accused counsel decided that Mandela should speak from the dock so that he could testify uninterrupted and thereby inform the world of the ANC’s legitimate demands for a fair and equal government.
To me, that three to four hour speech was truly momentous. It was an uncompromising but not confrontational speech that clearly set out the ANC’s demands unequivocally that all Blacks in South Africa had to be treated as equals and as his speech states clearly, “if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”
This speech had been vetted by the Collective and they were fully aware that it would buttress the state’s case and possibly result in the death penalty being imposed.
But they were resolute. They never wavered. It was George Bizos, who requested the insertion of the words, “if needs be” in order to moderate its tone.
Quite correctly, Mandela’s approach was that one proclaimed one’s political beliefs and never apologised for them. As such, they were not testifying to save their own lives but rather to state their political beliefs.
As a sign of their firm and unwavering commitment and resolve to their ideal, they collectively agreed not to appeal their sentences even if it was the death penalty.
In spite of the case against Ahmed Kathrada being extremely weak, he was also sentenced to life imprisonment. It was so feeble in fact if it had been taken on appeal, the belief was that he might even be released. The unanimous decision was taken not to appeal the verdict but for two divergent reasons.
Kathrada fully supported the initial approach of solidarity which he now upheld but Ismael Mohammed, later to become Chief Justice, had a different objection to appealing. He felt that as an Indian if he was not sentenced to the same terms of imprisonment as the Black accused, that fact would be used against the ANC.
For this act of solidarity, Kathrada spent 26 years in jail for which he bears no recriminations, self-pity or bitterness.
It was only the fact that the struggle had not been escalated as proposed in the Operation Mayibuye document that the death penalty was not imposed.
From my perspective, this speech was iconic. Firstly it set out unequivocally what the ANC was requesting of the white government not in a threatening way but rather as a preamble to their demands for justice for the black people of South Africa and their desire to be treated as human beings.
Secondly it should serve as a template for other organisations facing governments with similar oppressive policies.
Maybe the whole world was not aware that I was having a mid-life crisis but I certainly did. I was forced to confront the fact whether life was slipping me by when I received an invitation to the 25th Reunion of the 1971 Matrics of the Alexander Road High School in Port Elizabeth.
Up until that point I would have rated my Personal Satisfaction Index as fair to good. I would never have rated it is as excellent because intrinsically I realised that I could have done better. That feeling was certainly more visceral than intellectual. But now I was forced to confront the issue from a practical point of view rather than in some indecisive way.
Summation: Action packed movie with religious and political undertones
Rating: 3 out of 5
Being set in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, one would expect that there would be a clash of cultures as well as religion. Being the heart of Wahhabi territory, one can imagine that religious fanaticism would be a factor and so it proves to be.
A cabal, a terrorist cell, attacks an American compound where foreigners are forced to live in order to avoid contact with Saudis as much as possible. During the middle of a baseball game, they strike, killing 100 American citizens.
The Saudis are intent on identifying the perpetrators for the simple reason that they are fellow Saudis. As the Wahhabi’s despise the West and believe that by even being present on holy Muslim soil, is heresy, they target both the Americans & the Saudis for allowing the American in Saudi Arabia.
A Personal View – May 2014
Some 26 years ago, I consciously and intentionally enacted a firm rule in the Quo Vadis Hiking Club. As I regarded the hike as a holiday, I did not need a person in the Club who was always argumentative, negative or made it unpleasant in some way for the rest of the members. In life, we all have to deal with the nit-pickers, the arguers and the narcissists, but not while I was on vacation.
A Personal View – May 2014
Warren Buffet must handily be the most well respected investor in the world. His astute investments over a lifetime have proved to be unrivalled in comparison with other investors. The homilies that he relates at the Berkshire Hathaway AGMs in Omaha, Nebraska are legendary. Berkshire Hathaway averaged an annual growth in book value of 19.7% to its shareholders for the last 48 years (compared to 9.4% from S&P 500 with dividends included for the same period), while employing large amounts of capital, and minimal debt.
