At the time, as this article suggests, South African President Jacob Zuma said that nationalization is not ANC policy, and that the ANC has not shifted its policy on nationalization.

Yet, a mere 4 months later, Jacob Zuma launched a state mining company!

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that exactly what Malema was talking about, and that Zuma said was not ANC policy?

Zuma says that this is all about building a strong, mixed economy and that local communities will benefit from the mining operations in their area. I sure hope this is true because the recent service protests seem to suggest that there may be some doubt over how much the local communities have really benefited from ANC rule.

People like Julius Malema, who have extravagant lifestyles, and there are others (Jacob Zuma’s son being an example), have ensured that they make a lot of money off state operations by having state contracts awarded to companies that they have a big financial stake in… Jacob Zuma’s son already has interests in a South African mining company. No doubt, a lot of money will be made off contracts awarded to them by the state mining company.

With all this being said, the question is…

Vote in the poll and leave your comments below…

I was ready to take on the day and have a good one… until I saw this news report on Fin24.com…

If you want to read the report, here it is: http://bit.ly/bzHAEr

It is a report on the appointment of a new CEO by SAA (South African Airways).  The report talks about how the former CEO, Khaya Ngqula, was fired by the SAA Board after allegations of corruption emerged. Chris Smyth was then appointed acting-CEO until a suitable replacement could be found. Now came the announcement that Siza Mzimela has been appointed as SAA’s new CEO.

Now one could quite legitimately ask, what’s the big deal? One person got fired. Another person was appointed as a temporary replacement, and then a third person was appointed person as a permanent replacement.

The thing that struck me though was that the person who was fired was a black person, the temporary replacement was a white person, and the permanent replacement was a black person. I was wondering why the white person wasn’t good enough to be permanently appointed. Afterall, he was good enough to be temporarily appointed.

Then I remembered… this is BEE (black economic empowerment) South Africa we’re talking about. Black people are supposed to get the top jobs. That’s what black economic empowerment is all about.

Yes, apartheid and its racist policies are long gone. It has been replaced by a new set of racially-based policies. These new policies are of course not racist in nature. No, they are merely supposed to “address the injustices of the past”. This is apparently not reverse-racism at all.

(If you think I am kidding about people being excluded from certain positions only because of their race, a friend of mine recently told me about how he can’t get fulltime employment at a big TV company in South Africa because they have a specific policy that prohibits hiring white males! That’s a double-whammy… racism and sexism!)

Now I’m wondering: When will the day come where all South Africans, regardless of race or sex, will have an equal shot at jobs and other opportunities? There were the apartheid-years where white people were favored. Now South Africa is in its 16th year where black people are favored. Will there ever be a time where race is not a primary issue?

Maybe I shouldn’t worry about this. At least I live in the US and my kids won’t be subjected to this stuff!

Zuma is a polygamist. In January 2010 he married his 5th wife, and no, the first four wives are not deceased (except for wife #1), and neither is he divorced from them. He is apparently also already engaged to what will be wife #6.

Zuma has fathered 20 children so far, if news reports can be believed. Some of them have been with his wives, but certainly not all of them. For example, the latest one, #20, was born to the unmarried daughter of a friend of Zuma’s in October 2009.

His sexual exploits have landed him in hot water on at least one occasion. A few years ago he was charged with rape after non-consensual sex with a HIV-positive woman. In this incident he famously claimed that the shower he took after the deed safe-guarded him against contracting the virus! He was eventually acquitted, but the sex still took place.

Now the question is…

Vote in the poll and leave your comments below…

So let me tell you…

He’s the fellow on the right. He is also the controversial leader of the ANC Youth League, with a love for radical statements and threatening anyone he does not agree with.

“Who cares?”, you might be thinking. Well, perhaps more people should be worrying about this guy!

As ANCYL leader, and with the ANC being the party that will be governing South Africa for the foreseeable future, it is not unreasonable to see Comrade Julius as representing the next generation of leaders being groomed by the ANC in the wings of South African politics.

As such, it is entirely possible that Julius Malema could be president of South Africa down the road!

Why Is That Bad?

To get a sense of why it might be bad if Julius Malema becomes South Africa’s president, you have to look at some of the things he has been saying and doing…

Malema Quotes

“I have defeated you and your apartheid regime and I’m going to defeat you again, once and for all!”

“I have defeated colonisers. I am going to defeat the children of colonisers.“

Clearly Malema was referring to whites in this case. With a phrase like “I am going to…” he clearly believes that he has unfinished business with whites in South Africa.

When the current SA president, Jacob Zuma, was on trial for fraud and corruption charges a few months before his election as president, Malema said…

“Let us make it clear now: we are prepared to die for Zuma. Not only that, we are prepared to take up arms and kill for Zuma.”

“Why do you want to subject him to the hands of the few, the judiciary, the judges and the media?“

This doesn’t sound like the words of a man who respects the law and believes everyone is equal before the law.

Malema & South African Businesses

A few months ago, Nando’s, a chicken fast-food chain in South Africa that is known for producing funny ads, ran an ad on South African TV featuring a Malema-puppet. This prompted Malema to threaten Nando’s with a mass-action campaign.

A few months later, Nedbank, a sponsor of Athletics South Africa, decided to withdraw further sponsorship of ASA because their sponsorship requirements weren’t being met. This prompted Malema to threaten Nedbank that he would “mobilise society” against Nedbank and he spoke  “of people who are refusing to accept the transformation, of African leadership“, thereby turning the issue into racial one.

Malema & Racism

Speaking of racism, Malema likes to make racially-charged statements. A while ago he called Helen Zille, the (white) Democratic Alliance leader, a “racist, colonialist and imperialist” and a “little racist girl“. This, despite Helen Zille being part of the anti-apartheid movement.

This guy has made many other wild, controversial statements. Do a Google search for “Julius Malema” and you will see them. There seems to be an endless supply of his craziness.

Much of what Malema has to say sounds so much like the kind of stuff uttered by Robert Mugabe, who took 30 years to run Zimbabwe into the ground.

If Malema was just some lunatic on the fringe of politics, there would not be any real need to pay attention to his antics, but he is not on the fringe. Even if he is only in the ANC Youth League, he is a member of South Africa’s governing party, a party that rarely attempts to rein him in.

God help South Africa if Julius Malema ever becomes president!

The flag above, the old South African flag, has been the subject of a lot of controversy since it was replaced in 1994.

The controversy usually seems to be stirred up at rugby matches where one or two spectators wave the old flag among a sea of people waving the new flag. If the old flag is displayed at a prominent rugby match where it can also be seen on TV (like the recent Super 14 Final), the controversy is even bigger and politicians love to jump on the condemnation-wagon.

Until now, display of the flag was merely condemned, but after the recent incident at the Super 14 Final, there have been calls (by politicians) for the flag to be banned.

While banning the flag might not imply that it would be illegal to own the old flag, it would imply that it would be illegal to publicly display the old flag in South Africa.

Generally, those who support banning the flag say it is a symbol of oppression to them, and those who are against banning the flag say it was simply the flag that they grew up with.

The question now is:

Other than voting yes or no, also tell us what you think about this. (Keep in mind that this is a sensitive subject to many, so let’s keep it civil.)