Who is in charge?

[Dave A]

It's little snippets like this that make me wonder if we have the right people in charge.

A former senior executive of the National Union of Metal Workers South Africa, Godongwana now heads the ANCs economic transformation commission, which is tasked with reviving the fortunes of factory workers
from M&G story here

Unfortunately being a former NUMSA executive isn't his only claim to fame as the story reveals.

It does make you wonder what his plan for the fortunes of factory workers might be

[Chrisjan B]

Malema seems to think he is in charge....

[murdock]

i sometimes wonder if it is even black (anc) people...because things are going to tooo smoothly...the manner in which malema is acting would be the type of actions i would expect...taking into consideration how the rest of africa has turned out...zimbabawe is a typical example.

i sometimes wonder if the people who are "pushing the buttons" making things happen...are sitting in the backround controlling the finances...and whos does what and when...all the speaches are writting and read out...so who knows...do you know for sure?

[Dave A]

The article's lead-in is this:

Deputy Minister of Economic Development Enoch Godongwana has deepened the controversy about his role in the disappearance of millions of rands of workers' retirement money this week, insisting he did not know that the company he co-owns borrowed R93-million from clothing factory workers' provident funds.

This is despite the fact that Godongwana's family has a 50% stake in the company, Canyon Springs Investments 12, and that he was its chair at the time of some of the loans.

In addition, papers submitted in court this week show that his name appeared on stationery as the company's chair between August 2008 and March 2009, when the company received *R19.8-million that ultimately came from workers' provident funds.

This week the floundering Canyon Springs was placed under provisional liquidation by Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe in the Cape High Court, escalating *concerns about how much of the pension money sunk into the company would be recovered.

Should he be a major voice in our economic direction?
How the heck are these folk picked for these positions?

[Chrisjan B]

Definitely not...
Nobody knows - maybe Malema chooses to give his name to Zuma on condition that they share in the spoils...
These folk seems to fall out of thin air, nobody knows about them in their previous incarceration..

[AndyD]

How the heck are these folk picked for these positions?

I'm guessing that's a rhetorical question Dave

[Dave A]

Not really intended to be rhetorical, but thinking about it some answers suggest themself.

At the moment I'm torn between friends in high places and having a good song and dance routine as the most important requirement.

Maybe we need a poll

[wynn]

As I have said before.

The real leadership of the ANC is the NEC, this is the engine where all ideas come from and even JZ has to toe the line.

There are some really good and genuine members in the NEC but they are accompanied by some real 'Mamparras' who got there on a populist vote and are really only interested in prolonging their own and their friends positions of influence for personal gain.

That is where the fight for the soul of the ANC is.

[ChrisNG53]

Julius Malema may not be in charge yet but we definitively have a classic case of the tail now wagging the dog ... a fairly toothless dog. He is quite right to postulate the ANC leadership as being poor and divorced from the aspirations of the poor in particular.

Remember that at the "shoot the Boer" hearings a very rotund Gwende Mantashe quite arrogantly lambasted the media for "MalemaPhobia", implying that the media irresponsibly hyped up the mouthings of someone inconsequential. It was, once again, an instance of how quickly power induces leaders to become divorced from reality. It is clear that Malema is on a mission to secure power .. all of it.

The vehicle for delivery is "populist, emotive" issues regardless of what damage is done in the process. It is the classic strategy of those who want "to use the masses" in order to secure power. So he will drag South Africa down the road of emotive irrationalism. Since most of the populace are disadvantaged and poor, with the ANC elite obscenely in bed with big business, Malema is onto a winner in the struggle for "hearts and minds". It is all too easy to see Malema as being irresponsible and greedy (for power). It is better to see him as the inevitable product of 17 years of neglectful, irresponsible, greedy rule by the ANC elite, who have not baulked at "spitting in the faces of the poor" as Zwelinzima Vavi has so eloquently put it.

The land issue is a legitimate issue. It has been neglected. The mineral wealth of this country is also a legitimate issue. It too has been neglected. In fact there has been no real commitment to achieve social justice and today SA is widely regarded as being the most unequal society in the world.

In such a situation Malema has grabbed the vacancy of "Champion of the People". Good voices of people like Xolelo Mangcu, Moeletsi Mbeki and "Walk Together" Dr Ramphele have been disdainfully ignored. Now South Africa realizes that indeed it is "near the brink".

[tec0]

I find that powerful people across the world owns nearly all the resources thus all the wealth. One may question the selected individuals but that is of little value as the system that selected them in the first place basically never changed in the last 100 years or so.

Yes in South Africa we see new puppets but the puppeteers “large global corporations” are still functioning as always. So if they need mistakes to be made, they “large global corporations” will put emplace people that will "dysfunction" and make the mistakes as required.

So once you identify the reason you can understand the actions that were taken. This includes but is not limited to employing misfits, and other corrupted individuals. "The name of the game is devaluation."

The real questions are:

why these individuals are where they are?
why is devaluation needed?

[Dave A]

The land issue is a legitimate issue. It has been neglected. The mineral wealth of this country is also a legitimate issue. It too has been neglected.

Corruption is a legitimate issue. It has been neglected too.

In fact there has been no real commitment to achieve social justice and today SA is widely regarded as being the most unequal society in the world.

And Julius is going to change that?

I can see it now -
"If we nationalise the mineral wealth of this country, we can all have Breitling watches and houses in Sandton"

[tec0]

Nothing that was done is ever done to help economic stability and or the redistribution of equality. Everything government ever did they only did for themselves. This is evident in their lifestyles, company structures and government contracting all over South Africa.

If you look at our new power-stations also known as Eskom’s “Stonehenge” one realise that those structures where erected to please the loaners but not much progress to report. Partly because there is no money and partly because there is no functional management structure.

The South Africa that is being promoted by the youth-leader is one of total control over ALL funds, now along with the media blackout and new laws that will prohibit government employees to question decisions that are made by the higher management systems shows exactly the truth of this scenario. If this law goes trough then no-one can question government ever again. If someone questions the government and or give information to the public this new law will have them locked up for treason.

So all we can do is ask why?

[wynn]

Without capital to make the wheels go round,
a mine is just a hole in the ground.

[Justloadit]

They seem to have this notion that once it is nationalized, all will run smoothly, and the mine will rake in the profits, as it currently does in private hands. So who is going to man the respective responsible positions? Oh OK the same people who manned Aurora mine, how could I ask such a question.

[tec0]

Right now I will agree with the youth-leader, South Africa’s recourses are being squandered on our behalf by Global Industrial Corporations. This is fact that we as South Africans do not benefit financially. We cannot deny this, because IF those companies spend more money in training, development and perhaps waste control!!! AKA POISON IN OUR DRINKING WATER!!! Then we would be more willing to let them continue to do what they do...

Sadly they couldn’t give damn so YES sad but true Nationalisation WILL BE A GOOD THING!!! That said the problem is not NATIONALISATION rather the individuals that will inevitably control it… ???