Population explosion in Beitbridge due to border jumpers

19 January 2007
The border town of Beitbridge faces a massive population explosion as authorities struggle to relocate border jumpers deported from South Africa. The high number of people in the town is also choking and stretching the district council’s service delivery to the limit.

Investigations by Newsreel this week reveal that since the beginning of the year South African immigration officials have been deporting at least ten bus-loads of border jumpers to Zimbabwe each day.

A source at the border town said once immigrants are ‘dumped’ in the country, authorities face a daunting task of providing accomodation, food and transport back to their home areas.

‘In many of the cases the deportees refuse to go back to their hommes in the hope of trying their luck again to cross the crocodile infested Limpopo river. In the end, they end up loitering around the town doing all sorts of things in search of food, money and shelter,’ said our source.

This week alone our source said he has seen a huge influx of deportees from South Africa.

Over a 100 Zimbabweans are illegally crossing into South Africa daily in search of jobs despite intensified police patrols along the Limpopo River and the dangers of drowning, possible arrest and deportation. Recently the Ministers of Labour from Zimbabwe and South Africa, Nicholas Goche and Membathisi Mdladlana met in Beitbridge over the issue.

South Africa is now deporting an average of 500 Zimbabweans every day, with about 1000 being sent home every Thursday when the biggest holding camp Lindela is cleared for new arrivals.

But it is the number of new deportees who hang around the border town that is worrying authorities. In recent press articles police in Beitbridge have accused the deportees of fanning crime in the border town.

‘Cases of robberies, house breaking and violence have risen sharply in the last six months and we suspect the authorities are failing to cope because they are overwhelmed by the sheer number of new arrivals in the town,’ said our source.
Read more

Do you know who I am?

Suitcase and blazer in hand, the man walks up to the airport information desk and, in an authoritative manner, demands to board a flight - for which he is late - to Cape Town. The clerk tries to tell him that the plane has left and that she could arrange a later flight.

But the man wants none of this and says: "This is a business class ticket. Do you know who I am?"

This is the scenario of a popular television advert where the clerk takes mild revenge on the arrogant man and announces over an intercom: "Ladies and gentlemen. May I have your attention, please? There's a gentleman here who doesn't know who he is. If anyone is able to assist him, please report to the information desk urgently."

Clever! But this isn't how things work in reality. Some of our leaders use this tactic when in hot water, and instead of being reprimanded, they are treated with kid gloves. They receive the kind of treatment that ordinary citizens can only dream of after any wrongdoing.

George Orwell, in his book Animal Farm, says: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." And in the case of Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride, former commissioner of correctional services Linda Mti and Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata, it begs the question whether South Africa is being run like Mr Jones's farm.

Mti allegedly used the same words as the advert - "Do you know who I am?" - after he smashed into Abe Mashile in November.

Mashile told the Saturday Star that Mti had been so drunk that he fell to the ground and slept until the police arrived. He was let off on a warning and hasn't appeared in court.

The Mail & Guardian reported how Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Lulama Xingwana "hijacked" a seat on a South African Airways flight in April last year. Xingwana allegedly "muscled an SAA passenger off her business class seat", "stormed" through the boarding gate and "hijacked" seat 1F when she discovered she had been removed from Flight SA570 from Durban to Johannesburg.

Steve Galane, spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, retaliated and said the M&G article had made serious insinuations that bordered on character assassination, disrespect for the truth and blatant defamation.

In 2003 Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang "freaked out and hurled insults" at a fellow passenger when she found out that the man had refused to sit next to her because he accused her of being "responsible for the deaths of thousands of Aids victims".

German businessman Jens von Wichtingen said he was repeatedly yelled at by Tshabalala-Msimang, who eventually followed him to his new seat, continuing the tirade. "I was trembling of fear," he said.

German and South African media widely reported on the minister's "crude and uncontrollable behaviour" and how she allegedly told the German national to "f*** off".

Also in 2003, Susan Shabangu, the Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy Affairs, reportedly lifted her skirt "in frustration" at O R Tambo International Airport after she activated a metal detector and was then told she would be physically searched.

She allegedly shouted at security officer Benny Edwards when he tried to calm her down. Edwards told her that the only people exempt from searches were the president, the first lady and presidential guests. Edwards was later fired by the Airports Company South Africa after being found guilty of bringing the company into disrepute and "causing the minister to lift her dress".

Edwards laid charges of crimen injuria against Shabangu, but the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions refused to prosecute.

An angry Edwards said: "It seems politicians are above the law in South Africa. This decision has politics written all over it and sends a worrying message to the ordinary man."

Late last year, Collen Msibi, the transport department's spokesperson, announced that "senior government leaders are allowed to exceed the country's speed limits". This came after it was reported that his minister, Jeff Radebe, and his motorcade had been seen speeding.

Ironically, Radebe had minutes earlier launched a national road safety project, where he had said 75 percent of road accidents were caused by speeding.

Msibi added that "convoys are allowed to exceed the speed limit if there is a security risk" - although he couldn't say what exactly the security risk was on that particular day.

Last month, McBride crashed his car near Pretoria. Witnesses have claimed that he was intoxicated when the accident happened.

But instead of being arrested, he was whisked away by his Ekurhuleni metro police colleagues - and no tests were done to determine his sobriety. In addition, eyewitnesses claimed they were intimidated by McBride's subordinates.

Police have said they are investigating only charges of reckless and negligent driving. McBride has not appeared in court.

More recently, Judge Motata, who was arrested last Friday on allegations of drunken driving after he crashed his vehicle into a wall of a Johannesburg home, also hasn't appeared in court. Witnesses said he was drunk, abusive and had resisted arrest. Six audio clips and edited transcripts purporting to be exchanges between Judge Motata, the homeowner and metro police appear on the Sunday Times website.

In them, a man identified as the judge says: "I know the law... Ja, you mustn't look at me as a black man... Anybody who insults me, I say f*** you."

The homeowner, who said eight people were present, tells him: "It is my opinion that you are drunk, yes, because you smell of alcohol... "

In a fourth clip, the man said to be Judge Motata comments: "If people take my keys, why should I co-operate with you... I don't have to co-operate. No, no. F*** you."

The judge is expected to appear in court on January 27.

The Saturday Star spoke to two opposition parties and asked them what they thought about the behaviour of their fellow MPs.

The Democratic Alliance's Dianne Kohler-Barnard said: "We are indeed seeing the evolution of a culture of entitlement which ensures that those in positions of power are automatically protected against their own worst efforts, and we have to fight this move with every last breath.

"We cannot sink back into the apartheid-era culture with goons beating up anyone who saw something distasteful... Our democracy is precious, and we cannot allow it to be tarnished in this fashion."

Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille said it was a shame that high-profile people did not get the same treatment from law enforcers when they committed crimes.

"We are all supposed to be equal before the law. If a high-profile person commits a crime, the best thing to do is to bring that person before a court immediately.

"This could act as a deterrent for ordinary citizens. But unfortunately, here it happens the other way around," said De Lille.

Aeyasha Kajee, a board member of Transparency International SA, had a different view on the matter, saying this phenomenon was not restricted to South Africa.

"It used to happen a lot more during the apartheid regime - but nobody knew about it. Thankfully, now we have a free media. The media can inform the public of our leaders' behaviour.

"There is a perception that corruption is on the rise in this country and, given our history, we expect our leaders to be more accountable for their actions," said Kajee.
Read more

Evita to appoint kitchen cabinet

Wed, 17 Jan 2007

Evita Bezuidenhout, the drag figure produced by satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys, says she intends to be a fully independent candidate when she runs for president of South Africa in 2009 — and intends to stay at home and appoint a kitchen cabinet.

She said a key policy initiative under her leadership would be to make learning many languages tax-deductible. People would go to an oral test of their skill.

Entering an "international" press conference at a city hotel — to meet the press ahead of her announcement of "Evita for President" at the Summer festival at Spier at the end of the month — Bezuidenhout, the former ambassador of the imaginery apartheid homeland of Bapetiskosweti, brandished a toy weapon and said he had brought former deputy president Jacob Zuma's — who liked to sing a song about it — machine gun. "Now that he has his machine gun, I hope that he goes away."

"My song is going to be a different song," said Evita, noting that potential leaders in the ruling African National Congress had to deny within 24 hours that they were standing for the nation's highest office, but she said she would make herself available in any event.

Wearing a black frock and gold sequined jacket, Evita declared that her diamond necklace — which she received from former apartheid Plural Affairs Minister Piet Koornhof while she was still ambassador — would be donated to the poor.

While she did not mention in this regard Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo- Ngcuka — who once received a diamond tiara while Minerals and Energy Minister — she was asked whether the 2009 race was likely to be "a two-women race".

Evita replied that Mlambo-Ngcuka would have to "sort out" her voyager miles. "She is a very elegant woman," said Evita.

Asked at the conference what she would do with the "white male problem" — which in the new South Africa had replaced the black spot problem — she said that she had noted the white males who brandished the old apartheid flag at sports matches in London.

Now all the white racists were there and "it couldn't happen to a nicer country", she quipped.

Asked if she would throw lavish parties as the president of the nation, she said: "I think we are all exhausted. We have too many political parties."

Asked who she would appoint as her deputy president, she said she would have a revolving deputy presidency so that they did not get accustomed to "the same first class seat".

She said United States President George W Bush reminded her of former South African dictator PW Botha. "It was PW who said it first: he who is not for us is against us."

Asked who would be in her cabinet, she said she would like to see Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who had been ill of late, remaining horizontal. She would keep Finance Minister Trevor Manuel who was "so clever. He acts like a black and thinks like a white".

She intended to stay at home — close to her three grandchildren, Winnie- Jeanne, Nelson-Ignatius and La Toya-Ossewania — and appoint her cabinet at the kitchen table.
Read more

A Fairy Story

Here's an absolutely imaginary short story for you to read… any similarity to real events is purely coincidental and absolutely unintentional.

Once-upon-a-time in Lalaland there was a judge and a police chief, each separately suspected of driving under the serious influence of alcohol and the latter already guilty of blowing some young people to pieces with a bomb, would you believe?

Each, vision temporarily impaired and co-ordination shot, had crashed his car, fortunately without injury to any third party – one was whisked away by his men after they threatened bystanders with guns and personal violence. Also unbelievable – this is, after all, just a story to frighten children and learner drivers.

The other, after using foul language, having difficulty standing and refusing to submit to police authority, was eventually subdued and taken away in a police vehicle to spend the night in jail. Next morning he was released on R1000 bail and headed back to sit on his Bench, still proclaiming his innocence, sobriety and a liking for drinking tea.

Each had Friends in High Places in Lalaland but nevertheless was duly processed for doing Very Bad Things under the Road Traffic Act and eventually set free with some soothing balm to put on the red mark caused by being slapped on the wrist.

There was, of course, a happy ending. Being honourable men and very aware of how the thinking public now viewed them – that is, with serious distaste and deep mistrust – they resigned from their comfortable positions paid for by the taxes of those same thinking people and sought work helping the victims and families of those at the receiving end of drunk driving and lived happily ever after.

Like I said, this is a fairy story and nothing in it must be believed.
Read more