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ARTICLE: CAN MOTHER TONGUE EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS BECOME A REALITY?

2019-08-14

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During her recent budget speech, the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, referred to President Ramaphosa’s target in his State of the Nation address that every learner should be able to read with comprehension by the age of ten. She notes that the language issue is a key factor affecting reading ability and literacy, and then refers to the importance of African languages ​​as teaching and reading languages. However, the phrase “mother tongue education” was not mentioned in her speech.

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ARTICLE: THE REPORT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ADVISORY PANEL ON LAND REFORM AND AGRICULTURE

2019-08-05

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The Final Report of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture, which was released to the public on 28 July, is already causing uncertainty and concern over the future of agriculture and property rights in South Africa.  Two of the Panel’s 10 members, Dan Kriek, the President of Agri SA, and Nick Serfontein, a commercial farmer, have issued a minority report rejecting many of the Panel’s main recommendations.

The Panel was appointed by President Ramaphosa in September 2018 to “provide a unified policy perspective on land reform in respect of land restitution, land redistribution and land tenure reform”.   It was also asked to report on the circumstances in which expropriation without compensation (EWC) should be applied and the procedures and institutions that should be involved in its implementation.

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ARTICLE: HOW DOES THE SCORECARD FOR OUR HARD-PRESSED COUNTRY’S TURNAROUND LOOK?

2019-07-23

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It’s already old news that former President Zuma appeared before the Zondo Commission last week. He seemed to be suffering from severe amnesia, or have no opinion about most matters. 

But in addition to this news, there is another question that most right-thinking and concerned South Africans are wrestling with, and which commentators reflect upon daily. Is President Ramaphosa winning the battle to turn the country around? Is he winning his battle to reform the country, and especially the State, to save it from the clutches of the Zuptas, to help the economy recover, and to set the country on a steady course?

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ARTICLE: IS MILITARISING POLICING IN THE WESTERN CAPE THE ANSWER?

2019-07-12

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On 11 July President Cyril Ramaphosa approved the deployment of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) units to help the South African Police Service (SAPS) combat unacceptable levels of violence in the Cape Flats.  The question is whether this action is appropriate and whether it will be effective.

There can be no doubt regarding the seriousness of the situation: 2 302 people were murdered in Cape Town during the first six months of 2019.  This represents a murder rate of more than 100/100 000 – compared with 33/100 000 for South Africa and 6/100 000 for the world.  This gives Cape Town one of the highest murder rates in the world.  

This already deplorable situation was further exacerbated over the weekend of 5 and 6 July 2019, when 13 people were violently killed in the township of Philippi East, located in Cape Town’s notorious gang-ridden Cape Flats. Of those killed, six were women who were gunned down brutally at a residence in the Marcus Garvey area. Another three young people, between the ages of 17 and 25, were shot dead at a friend’s home. Following the spate of deaths, residents from Philippi East, most of them women, marched to the neighbourhood’s police station to demand more effective police action.

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ARTICLE: WELL-FUNCTIONING MUNICIPALITIES – PART OF PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA’S DREAM OR A NEVER-ENDING NIGHTMARE?

2019-07-03

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There were two eye-catching issues in the media this past week.

South Africa’s largest chicken producer, Astral, announced that its chicken plant in Standerton no longer receives sufficient water from the local Lekwa Municipality (Standerton). This plant is the largest on the continent and slaughters two million chickens weekly. In addition, Astral’s feed mill in Standerton is also the largest on the continent – one that was recently built at significant cost, following written assurances by the Municipality that sufficient water and electricity would be available. The reason for the lack of water supply to the largest employer in town? Ongoing poor maintenance of water infrastructure – pumps and pipe ducts – needed to pump water from the Vaal River 8 km away.

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ARTICLE: DOES MR LESUFI DESERVE A PASS?

2019-06-24

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The Gauteng MEC for Education, Andrek Panyaza Lesufi, is an interesting man. A large part of the mainly black population think the world of him. He is a MEC who is “hands-on”, and is seen and heard wherever there is trouble in the Gauteng school system. He is regularly in the media and holds a press conference once a week – usually on a Sunday afternoon at his home. He was even mentioned as a possible successor to the current Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga. Another part of mostly the white (and Afrikaans) population is of the opinion that he is waging war on Afrikaans as a language of instruction in schools – and in addition to that, harbours anti-white sentiments.

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ARTICLE: STUMBLING BLOCKS AND POWER BLOCS CALL FOR COOL HEADS

2019-06-11

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One can almost feel the despair of the South African population. Among the reasons for this are an unprecedented increase in the spate of farm attacks and murders, Ace Magashule and Co. meddling with the Reserve Bank and trouble with infrastructure and dysfunctional municipalities in almost every town. And then having the Proteas messing about at the World Cup is no help either! Many South Africans are asking, “What is Cyril doing about this? He is the President now!”

And that’s partly true – our President is in a better place than a year ago as far as party politics are concerned. He followed up his victory at Nasrec (53%)  with a 57.5% victory at the polls in May. He is no longer an “interim” President, but one that has led his party to a victory (and probably single-handedly rescued them from a defeat). He reduced the Cabinet and got all rid of all the biggest Zupta crooks. He promised (almost like Madiba of old) to be a President for all the people of South Africa and not just for the ANC. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t mean he is untouchable and can do what he wants. There are a few stumbling blocks on his path. And to understand what’s happening now, one needs to know what these stumbling blocks are.

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ARTICLE: THE NEW CABINET: ABLE TO DELIVER OR THE SAME OLD SAME OLD?

2019-06-05

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The excitement and disappointment (in some quarters) regarding the appointment of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet has settled. A number of articles have already been written about the Cabinet and its strong points, weak points, old members, and new recruits.  The question remains: can the new Cabinet deliver on the President’s promises?

It is essential to remember that the most fundamental change to the new Cabinet is the chairman. How President Ramaphosa will lead- and what he prioritises- will distinguish his Cabinet from that of its predecessor. In addition, what is new is the support he will have. It is now generally understood that the choice of Ministers and deputies was a product of intense behind-the-scenes negotiations with various stakeholders. In the end, of the 28 Ministers, only five are known Zuma supporters (including Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who in the recent past has actually become supportive of the Ramaphosa cause). This implies that Ramaphosa has more than 80% of his Cabinet not in opposition to him or his plans. Even though the number of Deputy Ministers was inflated beyond initial plans, it is clear that at most, 12 of the 34 deputies were products of compromise with the Zuptoid faction. This gives Ramaphosa 75% support in the entire group and even more in the actual Cabinet of 28. That is a strong start, especially when one considers the potency of various factions and stakeholders in the ANC alliance.  It is believed that the President (as many before him) will have a smaller, trusted circle, a kitchen Cabinet – and this is where he will start. 

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