Zuma attempts to mislead the nation in the SONA

As Zuma and his government cannot solve the challenges facing our country, he has resorted to misleading the public with his “facts” and “figures”. Let’s look at a few examples; Zuma said that it is now looking positive on the jobs front. He stated that based on Stats SA employment figures for the last quarter of 2014 indicate that there are now 15.3-million people who are employed in South Africa and that jobs grew by 203,000. The latest employment data from Stats SA shows that from October to December 2014 an additional 203,000 people were employed compared to July to September last year. This thus brought the number of those employed to 15.32-million, the number of unemployed people decreased by 242,000. Although Zuma quoted correct figures, they were quoted out of context. Zuma compared the third and fourth quarters of 2014. Africa Check interviewed the acting executive manager of labour statistics at Stats SA, Desiree Manamela who stressed the importance of focusing on year-on-year trends and not quarterly comparisons. She said that the trend in labour market data shows that seasonal factors result in an increase in employment during the 4th quarter [October to December] of every year. This is ahead of the planting season for many crops and also the festive period during which retailers hire additional staff. Thus many of the jobs created in this quarter would have been temporary in nature. A year-on-year comparison of the fourth quarters of 2013 and 2014 show that employment still increased but only by 143,000 and the number of unemployed people actually increased by 79,000. Africa Check also interviewed Dr Nicolas Pons-Vignon, a senior researcher at Wits University’s School of Economic and Business Sciences. He said that was important to look at other long-term trends, such as the unemployment rate, which Zuma didn’t mention. Stats SA data shows that the narrow unemployment rate increased by 0.2% to 24.3% between the fourth quarters of 2013 and 2014. Pons-Vignon confirmed that South Africa has an incredibly high unemployment rate; one of the highest in the world and that this trend hasn’t changed. For me the biggest faux pax was when it came to the biggest crises South Africa is currently confronting: the Electricity crisis. In his speech, Zuma said: “The construction of the three new power stations Kusile, Medupi and Ingula, will add 10,000 MW of capacity to the national grid.” This is simply wrong! The country is currently building two power stations, not three as stated in his address. Africa Check’s research confirms that the truth is that Ingula, between KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, is a pump storage scheme, not a power station. It can assist with load peaks but the power supplied to the grid has to be pumped back into the scheme. This means that Ingula’s four 333 MW generators (1332 MW) will not contribute to South Africa’s base-load capacity, as it is not able to produce energy at a constant, or near constant, rate. Kusile (six 800MW units) and Medupi (six 794MW units) will however add 9,564 MW to the base-load capacity, according to Eskom figures. As it is not delivering, Zuma and his government are simply twisting facts to created new “facts” that make his government look good. South Africa will not be misled.

Zuma’s SONA response: filled with contradictions

The response by President Zuma to the State of the Nation Address (SONA debate has been lauded by some in the media as statesman-like. He pulled out the “charm-offensive” and used the old trick of “charm to disarm”. It is clear, he is running out of options. In trying to use this tactic he is hoping to “soften” the opposition on issues such as Nkandla and the corruption hanging over his head. At the same time he tried to negate the shocking intimidation and violence that everyone witnessed in Parliament. We are not that forgetful! As DA Parliamentary Leader said; we will never forgive Zuma for this travesty in Parliament. We will also not forget the jamming of cell phone signals. This is unconstitutional. It goes against the free flow of information. Ministers are now telling us that it was a junior official that is responsible and due to “human error”. What rubbish! Again, we see individuals in the ANC not taking responsibility for their actions. No one has explained why jamming devices were in Parliament in the first place. Those that believe that the President delivered a good response to the SONA debate ignore the fact that it was riddled with contradictions. The President contradicted himself when he agreed with South Africans that the electricity crises is indeed serious and that it is a drag on the economy. However, at the SONA the previous week, he described loadshedding as a mere “inconvenience”. Zuma used his response to dictate to Members of Parliament on how to behave in debates. He wants placid debates were everyone is “respectful”. Amazingly, the Constitution describes clear separation of powers yet his thug police force behaved badly violating the Constitution and thus the sanctity of Parliament – where’s the “respect” there, Mr President? His impromptu history lesson looked at the past whilst providing no vision for the future which is what South Africa needs. It is very sad to see how clearly he can articulate the past but not the future. Twenty years of ANC government and we continue to grapple with the same issues as the Zuma administration is able to effectively solve them.

Yesterday: The day that our Beloved Country cried, again

Last night I experienced an emotion that I hadn’t since the early 1990s. It was fear. A very specific fear. In 1991 I was working through the Church with youth in townships. On a particular Saturday, whilst working in war-torn Everton, we got wind that the security police was looking for us. We hid in a house as the security officials literally stood only a few feet away from where we were hiding. Although we did not get caught, the fear I experienced is difficult to describe as it’s not a fear for oneself but a fear that our people and their freedom and freedoms were being trampled on. Unless one has experienced such an intense emotion I doubt whether one would understand it. That same emotion of “special” fear came flooding back into my veins as police fully armed brushed against me on their way to EFF members to forcibly remove them from the National Assembly chamber. Right before my eyes I saw our beloved country return to South Africa under the height of the State of Emergency of old. Last night marked a turning point in our democracy. It pointed to how our Constitution was set aside and a dictatorial government ruled via the police. We have come full circle. Yesterday started off with the CBD of Cape Town being subjugated by heavy military and police vehicles and personnel present at every corner. Not because they were protecting citizens but because the government wanted the people to be quiet and compliant. Only the “authorised” (easily identified with ANC T-shirts) were allowed to speak and stand on the streets. Although barricades were set up for the public to observe proceedings from behind them, they were to do this quietly without expressing opposing opinions to that of the government’s. And so people like DA national spokesman, Marius Redelinghuys, DA Cape Metro Chairman, Shaun August and other DA members were sprayed by a water cannon, manhandled and arrested because they dared to peacefully protest against the energy crises. The police state is back in South Africa. This is not all. The dark old days of censorship and information control are back. Big brother government will decide what you can see, hear and say. When we walked into the chamber our cell phone signal was blocked. The DA, EFF and even the media present demanded to #BringBackOurSignal. Have the ANC learnt nothing from our history? You cannot block information! An attempt at gagging the media and the Opposition at its worst! The censorship didn’t stop there! The SABC cut off the audio of the television feed and when EFF members were being physically assaulted, the camera remained static on the Speaker and her NCOP counterpart. Unlike the dark days of apartheid, this time round technology allows one other means of getting this information out. Members filmed the defilement of the sanctity of Parliament. Within minutes this information was out in social media for the shocked world to see. We walked out as the presiding officers refused to admit that it was armed police officers that had invaded the sacred institution of Parliament. Not even in the height of apartheid did we ever see scenes such as these in our chamber. The ANC got what it wanted; a Parliament filled only with the ANC and other compliant opposition parties. Amazingly, the President didn’t apologise to the nation and ambassadors present for this behaviour but joined some of his lackey Ministers by chuckling at this high drama. Again, not even in the height of apartheid did one see National Party Prime Ministers or his cabinet publically laughing at the mayhem that they had caused. The ANC have no solutions to the problems of South Africa, except for a purely physical security response. This, and the actions of last night will chip away at the Party’s disintegrating hegemony as the people hang their heads in shame and simply stop voting for Zuma’s ANC which is no longer Mandela’s ANC. There is no turning back. It is clear. The ANC will stop at nothing to do what it has to do to retain power. If it means going back to the bad old days, then so be it! It started yesterday. Yesterday: 12 February 2015: Twenty Five years and one day after the release of Madiba with a vision that is the polar opposite to what the ANC has shown us yesterday. Yesterday was the day when once again South Africa, our beloved country, cried.

The Makhura Panel: National Minister must come clean on it

Gauteng Premier David Makhura tried desperately to create a perception of a final solution for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) e-Tolls problem when he was forced to make public the findings made by the panel he had set up on this issue. Despite his apparent attempts at keeping the findings secret until this month (I can’t think of a logical reason why) information was leaking like a sieve. He had no choice but to make the report public before there was nothing left to tell Gautengers! This was supposedly the ANC’s solution in bringing back the many Provincial votes that they had lost in the 2014 Elections. Cynically, the very fact that Premier Makhura felt e-tolls must be reviewed vindicates and confirms what the DA and the majority of the public have been saying from the beginning. The ballots at the voting stations had indeed spoken! Elements of what the panel highlighted were included in the DA submission. The Official Opposition was also heard! By far the funding model for e-tolls is of greatest concern and alternatives need to be considered. The panel confirmed what the DA had been saying; that indeed it is the poor that suffer the most financially with e-tolls whilst the wealthy can afford to circumvent the e-tolls system. However, no satisfactory solution was proposed in this regard! I was surprised at the announcement by the Premier that he is already working with the three metros, (Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni) in Gauteng as he has reached a “dead end” on this matter as any application of recommendations can only be implemented nationally under the political leadership of Minister Dipuo Peters. According to the recommendations, instead of being relieved of the financial burden of e-tolls, motorists will still be forced to pay for the GFIP through other means, such as exorbitant increases on motor vehicle licence fees and other “stealth taxes”. In the final analysis the conclusion is simple, Makhura and his administration and the structures of the ANC in Gauteng have created this panel and all the hype that went round it as an antidote to the votes they lost in the National Elections. They hoped that this would create a perception that the ANC and the Provincial government is on the voter’s side and that an alternative is sought. Nothing could be further from the truth. All this is simply a smokescreen to try to keep the public at bay. How wrong the Premier was! The Premier has no influence in making any changes on this matter as this is a national competence that only the National Minister of Transport can decide on. There have been “double-speak” from all sides, both provincial and national ANC politicians) as contradictory messages continue. We need clarity on this matter as the Premier has reached the end of the road on this matter. I will, at the next opportunity be asking in Parliament for the Minister to take South Africa into her confidence and tell us if she will be considering this report or any aspect thereof. The public cannot be left “hanging” on this matter.

Inaccurate road statistics prevents reducing road carnage

The year started off with the usual statement by the Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters claiming that there was a decrease in fatal crashes and fatalities on our roads during the 2014 festive season. Peters claimed that there was a decrease of 50 fatal crashes and 24 fatalities in the period of 1 December 2014 to 30 December 2014. The Transport Department recorded over the same period in 2013, 974 fatal crashes and 1168 fatalities. For 2014 over the same period, 924 fatal crashes and 1143 fatalities, were claimed by the Minister. The Minister and her department are exposing themselves with these stats. These stats are being manipulated to make the Transport Department look good! The 2013 festive season measuring period was 1 December 2013 to 7 January 2014. In 2012, the measurement period was 1 December 2012 to 10 January 2013. The measuring period for 2014 was from 1 December 2014 to 5 January 2015. The Minister and her department are consistent with being inconsistent. As a result, the department gets it reliably wrong year after year as unequal measuring periods are used. But this is not the only inaccuracy with road crash statistics. It cannot be that so early on in the year that the Minister could already present to the South African public road death figures for the 2014 festive season when morgues across the country are yet to finalise their reports on corpse numbers. These stats takes 30 days to consolidate. The Minister’s report ought to have followed the final reports from the morgues, rather than relying only on incident reports from the South African Police Services officers attending cases on the roads. Statistics announced by the Minister are not comparing “apples with apples”. Measuring periods are unequal and therefore this manipulation has the effect of skewing the statistics. Skewed stats are counter-productive. The carnage on our roads cannot be properly tackled unless we have accurate and complete statistics. Certainly there are other problems, the MRC (Medical Research Council) does not produce regular reports on the status of road deaths in the country. Their last report was produced in October 2012, and according to that report, 17 076 South Africans were killed in road traffic crashes in 2009. However the official report from the RTMC at the time had road deaths at 10 857. This is just one example of the extent of the under- or over- reporting problem. Even more alarming is the view taken by many in the transport fraternity and other road safety experts and monitoring groups (like the MRC) that these numbers, produced by the National Department of Transport, do not represent the true story of the horror on our roads. We have long cautioned against the National Department of Transport’s reliance on SAPS reports as an indicator of road deaths; it is an intrinsically flawed measure as it susceptible to error and will often only represent the deaths recorded at a particular crash site that SAPS responded to, and not subsequent deaths arising from injuries sustained during a crash. There are more accurate ways of producing these statistics. In the Western Cape, fatality statistics are provided by the Western Cape Department of Health’s Forensic Pathology Services, sourced from mortuaries across the province. These statistics are collated from the victims cause of death, and are differentiated between the classes of fatalities; driver, passenger, pedestrian, cyclist and motor cyclist. This is a deadly accurate measure of road deaths that is crucial for the planning and implementing of focussed and successful interventions; interventions that can tackle the carnage on our roads head-on. The road death statistics over the festive season reported by Minister Peters were therefore misleading South Africans on an issue of great sensitivity to the public. Road deaths are an avoidable tragedy that the Department of Transport must work to prevent, rather than sweep under the carpet with incomplete and even fake statistics. Minister Peters had, in the past, committed her department to employing measures to more accurately collate road death statistics. When will she be making this happen? I will be challenging her about this issue in Parliament.