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Moneyweb 05/23/2007 MBEKI AND SEXWALE: HAVE THEY REALLY SETTLED THEIR DIFFERENCES? Tokyo Sexwale has been presented as a ‘compromise candidate' for the presidency of the African |
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02/10/2007 MBEKI FAILS TO IMPRESS WITH ANTI-CRIME SPEECH President Thabo Mbeki’s eagerly awaited State of Nation speech in South Africa’s National Assemb |
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OMEGA: www.omegainvest.co.za 02/10/2007 A CLASH OF CULTURES The recent hullabaloo caused by the slaughter of a bull on the occasion of Tony Yengeni's release from prison is in itself, a trivial issue; but it points to a bigger issue of mutual cultural incomprehension. (There was an earlier hulllabaloo when Yengeni, former Chief Whip of the African National Congress in the National Assembly, served a minimal sentence for corruption and was escorted in and out of prison by ANC dignitaries). The author of this article is Professor David Welsh. The ritual slaughter of animals is a well known rite among Africans, occurring at significant events or rites of passage. There have been outcries in the past: two years ago there were objections to animals being slaughtered in the backyards of (predominant- ly white) Johannesburg suburbs, and in December last year there was a national outcry against an annual Zulu ritual in which Zulu 'warriors' kill a black bull with their bare hands, supposedly to prove their courage and/or manhood. Let me declare my own views upfront, and not seek refuge in some kind of 'cultural relativism': I find the practice utterly abhorrent: Slaughtering a beast for ritual purposes certainly is traditional. In her classic anthropological study of the Mpondo people of the Transkei, published in 1936, Monica Hunter described in graphic detail the process of slaughter: "When speaking to the ancestors was finished Sipopone[one of the Hunter's informants] took the sacrificial spear of the umzi [homestead], passed it between the forelegs of the animal, and between it's back legs, which was tied, then stabbed it in the stomach over the aorta muscle. The beast bellowed horribly, and lay in agony for about five minutes before it died." The bellowing is part of the ritual, representing communication with the ancestors. In Mr Yengeni's case, he is said to have prodded the bull with a spear to make it burp or make some sort of sound, signifying that the ancestors accepted the ritual. Question of cruelty I have no way of ascertaining how much cruelty was involved - and neither was the SPCA able to: a spokeswoman was reported as saying that they had no evidence, no witnesses and repeated calls to Yengeni were not returned. The SPCA, apparently, had no luck either in the Zulu case, where unspeakeable cruelty was said to have been involved. The letters columns have been filled with outraged letters: mostly (if not only) whites deploring these practices; and blacks (mostly Africans) expressing equal outrage at the 'racism' of those who complained. 'Custom', the African writers insist, is protected by the Constitution. The extent of this protection - which does indeed exist - is moot: whether it extends to palpable cruelty has yet to be authoritatively pronounced upon by the courts. The magistrates in KwaZulu-Natal are reported as "not being prepared to take on the Zulu monarchy" (Sunday Times, 10 December 2006). Virginity testing Yet another potential clash between custom and the constitution is the Nguni practice of virginity testing, the subject of an informative article by Advocate Natasha Smith (Without Prejudice, February 2007). The practice was revived by KingGoodwill Zwelithini some 22 years ago in response to the spread of HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancies, rape and abuse. I will spare readers the anatomical details. Suffice to say, that it is a highly intrusive process conducted by supposedly 'designated virginity testers'. The objections are that it is discriminatory against women, that it encourages young girls who fear they will fail the test, to run away from home; and that it makes those who pass the test targets for men who believe that widespread myth that having sex with virgins will cure HIV/AIDS. Is it constitutional? Ms Smit concludes that it is not because it violates and limits the women's rights to dignity and gender equality. The wider question raised by the cases so far cited is: what cultural institutions, practices or procedures should be permitted by law, or, put in another way, does 'culture' trump the law? Human rights are protected by the Constitution's Bill of Rights; but animal rights (the subject of an interesting branch of philosophy - see the book by Peter Singer) are regulated by statutes prohibiting cruelty to animals. That custom should not trump the law can be argued from looking at various practices around the world: the Hindu custom of the suttee, whereby bereaved widows are required to submit to being burned alive. Surely the British raj was right to try to outlaw this custom? Or consider female circumcisions, practiced by tribes in Kenya and elsewhere in Muslim-dominated parts of Africa: It is, frankly, a barbaric practice, commonly with grave implications for a woman's reproductive health. Surely it ought not to be tolerated? (It is not practiced by any African ethnic group in southern Africa, by the way). Male circumcision Male circumcision is widely practiced among Africans in South Africa - and is said to have provided a significant protection against being infected with HIV/AIDS. Carried out by competent doctors in hygienic clinical conditions, it is generally thought to be a sensible procedure. But how often does one not read of botched circumcision, carried out by a traditional 'surgeon' (an incibi in Xhosa), resulting in serious infection and, in some cases even death? The practice of the initiation school, where circumcision is carried out, is well-entrenched in traditional culture, and no attempt to ban it would succeed: but as a matter of self-interest is there not a case for initiates themselves to demand a closer and tighter regulation? Culture 'wars' will continue, probably for ever; but let the issues be debated openly and frankly. Professor David Welsh, Emeritus Professor of the University of Cape Town |
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02/09/2007 CRIME - AND THE PAC In an item below, Themba Godi, chairper |
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02/06/2007 WEAK ON CRIME, TOUGH ON THE BANKS Violent crime has reached such proportions in South Africa that pressure on the government to make a national anti-crime campaign its top priority is now almost a daily demand. The latest trigger was the murder on January 26 of David Rattray, 48 - internationally known for his lectures on the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879 (the battle of Isandlwana in what is now the province of KwaZulu-Natal). Rattray was a close friend of Prince Charles’s. A gang of six Africans surrounded his famous lodge overlooking the historic battlefield. One went inside, demanded money, and then shot Rattray three times. Last Friday, when Paul Harris, CEO of the First National Bank, was about to launch the bank’s own anti-crime initiative, other business leaders and the government intervened and blocked it. The R10 million programme (funded by the bank itself), which would have involved distributing 1.5m posters to the public urging them to lobby the president to make anti-crime his priority, was halted. The posters were ready for distribution. Betrayal from within Two problems arose. Heavyweights of the business world turned against the FNB, and informed the government of the bank’s planned campaign. In the words of Peter Bruce, editor of Business Day (virtually the house newspaper of the country’s business community), the government was ‘tipped off’ about FNB’s planned campaign by the 'top business lobby in the country,’ Business Leadership (BLSA). This is where most of South Africa’s financial heavyweights are members. According to Bruce, the CEO of BL, Michael Spicer (former political strategist for Anglo American), and its chairman, Derek Cooper (chairman of the Standard Bank), had made ‘strenuous efforts to distance themselves from the FNB plan, warning that it threatened to destroy the trust so painstakingly built up with government.’ Bruce didn't mince his words: ‘They shafted FNB,’ he says. The action of BL betrayed the ‘forelock tugging those giants feel compelled to do when dealing with the government.’ Bruce predicted ‘long term damage’ to business in South Africa and to BL. The other problem is that the FNB holds the accounts of the National Treasury, the South African Revenue Service, various other government departments and three provincial governments. It is vulnerable. The government could cut these accounts at huge loss to the bank. A government spokesman spelt it out: the bank was guilty of ‘incitement’. Its proposed campaign ‘cannot be condoned…Positioning themselves as an opposition party cannot be tolerated.’ The government was able to take up this intimidatory stance because the business world was divided. If business leaders had stood together, shown solidarity, even Mbeki might not have been able to face them down. On these grounds alone, Friday was a shameful day for the financial heavyweights. Harris: I make my bed, and lie in it… Asked about his reaction to the government’s clampdown and the possible consequences for himself personally, CEO Harris responded toughly: ‘If you’re head of a bank and you have had ... how many bloody bank robberies ... It’s terrible. There are trauma counselling units and all types of things. Our staff is being traumatised every day. They are in the front line.’ Asked if his head would roll, he replied that he had made his bed and he would lie in it, implying that if his head were to roll, so be it |
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02/05/2007 BBC BUYS BOOK OF S.A. CRIMINAL's LIFE Real life reformed South African criminal Gayton McKenzie has been offered R2.5 million (US$ 348 |
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02/05/2007 DILOMATIC PASSPORTS FOR ALL AFRICAN TOP RANKERS IN MAY, Africa will launch a continental diplomatic passport to be issued to heads of state a |
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The Sunday Argus 02/04/2007 LIGHTS OUT FOR S.A.'s NEIGHBOURS? South Africa’s neighbours may soon have their lights cut because Eskom's energy resources are |
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02/04/2007 CRIME: BANK BACKS DOWN UNDER MBEKI PRESSURE Crime has reached such proportions in South Africa that the First National Bank, at a cost of |
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www.omegainvest.co.za 02/04/2007 MORE STORMS AT THE CAPE Helen Zille's leadership of a fragile coalition that gov- erned Cape Town had a very cl |
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