Zapiro's Blog, page 29

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Electoral Pledge Towards Fair and Honest Conduct

In South Africa, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) is tasked with administering free and fair elections. Adv. Pansy Tlakula is the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa. Over the years Tlakula has built up a fine reputation as fair-minded, principled and committed to openness, not least in her role as African Union Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. In 2013, the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found that Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Pansy Tlakula, had presided over an 'unmanaged conflict of interest' when the IEC entered into a R320 million lease agreement for office space. The allegation was that Tlakula - who was then the CEO - had at the very least a business relationship with African National Congress (ANC) member of parliament Thaba Mufamadi, Chairperson of Parliament's finance committee, and that Mufamadi had benefitted from the deal. Tlakula pronounced that she had recused herself from the decision-making meeting and that she did not personally benefit from the lease deal. If the IEC is to be a neutral body should Patsy Tlakula be doing business with a senior member of the ANC -  or indeed any political party that is contesting the election.

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Electoral Pledge Towards Fair and Honest Conduct

In South Africa, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) is tasked with administering free and fair elections. Adv. Pansy Tlakula is the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa. Over the years Tlakula has built up a fine reputation as fair-minded, principled and committed to openness, not least in her role as African Union Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. In 2013, the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found that Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Pansy Tlakula, had presided over an 'unmanaged conflict of interest' when the IEC entered into a R320 million lease agreement for office space. The allegation was that Tlakula - who was then the CEO - had at the very least a business relationship with African National Congress (ANC) member of parliament Thaba Mufamadi, Chairperson of Parliament's finance committee, and that Mufamadi had benefitted from the deal. Tlakula pronounced that she had recused herself from the decision-making meeting and that she did not personally benefit from the lease deal. If the IEC is to be a neutral body should Patsy Tlakula be doing business with a senior member of the ANC -  or indeed any political party that is contesting the election.

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Cellphone Messages come back to Haunt Oscar Pistorius

South African police have been struggling to gain access to the phone for months, one of several handsets found in the double-amputee athlete's Pretoria villa on the night he shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius clamed that he could not remember the passcode. Detectives then flew to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California to get help in unlocking the iPhone's passcode, as prosecutors wanted to access its SMS and WhatsApp messages as evidence for the trial. Evidence given at the trial showed tha Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp sent him a text message saying: "I'm scared of you sometimes,". The message was sent after the couple had a row when he accused her of flirting with another man - weeks before he shot her dead. A police captain testified about the couple's mobile phones. Oscar Pistorius’s correspondence with Reeva Steenkamp in the months prior to her death has been read out in court, and it clearly reflected his bouts of jealousy and anger.

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“All public office bearers, officials and private-sector companies involved in any maladministration must be brought to book, and all funds that were acquired inappropriately must be recovered". “When we say all, we mean all,” ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe told a news conference.

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Thuli: "I Rest My Case"

The Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela said that the probe into upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla home had no political motives. “There is nothing political about the investigation. All I have done as an ombudsman is to discharge my responsibility... It is about public accountability. Government created that need for public accountability. I have done nothing more than discharging my responsibility.” The  report found that President Zuma has violated the Executive Members Ethics Code through his failure to act in protection of state resources and has therefore unduly benefited from the enormous capital investment. The report confirmed  that corruption had occurred, in an apparent attempt to minimise the fallout from a saga that has been in the public eye since shortly after Mr Zuma’s administration started its term in 2009. Ms Madonsela’s report, titled Secure in Comfort, found the president was "tacitly accepting" of measures that did not form part of a security upgrade. Ms Madonsela found that he had flouted the executive code of ethics for his failure to safeguard the public purse. His family had unduly benefited from the upgrades, she found, but his comments to the contrary made to Parliament were described as a "bona fide mistake".

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Public protector - Witch Burning

The report relating to upgrades at President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead has been released by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela. Many ANC politicians and government-supporting church leaders  have been attacking  the office of the public protector. Some Christian religious leaders have criticised Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, accusing her of “poisoning the atmosphere” in the country.

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Can the Public Protector's Nkandla Report Cut into the Lies

The long-awaited report by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela on R206m worth of security upgrades to President Jacob Zuma’s private Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal will be released on March 19.

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Police Bungling or Interference - Oscar Pistorius trial and Marikana inquiry

While most eyes were glued on the Oscar Pistorius trial, the Marikana commissions, which began 19 months ago continue their work. As the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius enters week three (day 11), bungled police evidence has left State prosecutor Gerrie Nel with a problem. The police investigation sounded in court like a catalog of bumbling, bad judgment, poor memory and petty theft. Former police Col. G.S. van Rensburg described how he found a police ballistics expert handling Pistorius' gun without wearing gloves and reprimanded the officer, who apologized and put a pair on. And he said he was "furious" when at least one of the Olympic athlete's valuable wristwatches disappeared from his bedroom as police investigated the crime scene. Concerning the Marikana commission of inquiry, the police may wilfully have tampered with the scene, the bodies and the evidence after the 16 August massacre in Marikana. This revelation emerged while crime scene investigator Captain Apollo Mohlaki was being questioned by evidence leader Mbuyisela Madlanga. His photos were taken after dark, and compared to those taken by other investigators during the day. The night photos show three bodies surrounded by weapons, yet those taken during the day (soon after the massacre) show that the men were not carrying weapons at the time of their deaths. Although Steenkamp's death is tragic and Pistorius's fall from grace shattering, it is the killing of 44 people at Marikana in 2012 that I so desperately want to understand. 19 months later, the answers are yet to come.

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The Stench Coming from the 2014 List of ANC Candidates

Dina Pule is at number 70 – a person who had to apologise to Parliament; who was found by the Public Protector to have behaved improperly, lied, and misused government funds, before being removed as Communications Minister. John Block, the leader of the Northern Cape ANC. Block faces serious criminal charges relating to alleged corruption involving government tenders. In lated 2013, the Public Protector  found Joemat-Pettersson guilty of maladministration and improper and unethical conduct in the awarding of a tender  for the crewing and maintenance of the DAFF’s fleet of fisheries patrol vessels to the Sekunjalo group. Humphrey Mmemezi is one of the few Gauteng MECs ever to be sacked, after buying a painting at a McDonald’s on government money. He also appeared partial to the liberal use of a government credit card while abroad. Pule Mabe was arrested with two others, allegedly in connection with illegally soliciting funds from SA's social grants agency andhas been charged from theft to fraud and money laundering. Bheki Cele, the former national police commissioner, has returned from the political wilderness and emerged as a key player. Cele  was fired by President Jacob Zuma after being censured by a commission of inquiry into the police’s Pretoria lease fiasco.  The wife of former Limpopo premier Cassel Mathale, Mokgadi Kgohloane, has appeared in the Maake Magistrate's Court for alleged fraud and illegal mining.

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