With the current political situation in South Africa, there is a fear that we could be headed into a phase of political violence in the build up to an election as we saw in Zimbabwe. Now many would think that this is not possible in South Africa but believe me, anything can happen and the writing is already on the wall.
The newly formed Congress of the People (COPE) has already had some problems from ANC supporters who have tried to stop their meetings from taking place or just purely pitched up at the COPE meetings and started to make noise and chant ANC slogans. It is clear that there is a section of ANC supporters out there who do not like COPE and would want COPE to fail and one way of achieving that could be through violence.
He had been out of the news for a while but now he is back and maybe even louder than ever. ANC Youth League President, Julius Malema is making the headlines again. In the beginning it was all about “Kill for Zuma”, then after that there was the whole saga about his matric results and now he has come out and started ‘taking shots’ at a lot of people. Malema has recently had a dig at Congress of the People (COPE) co-leader and former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa by referring to him as a security guard and claimed he was delinquent over child-support payments. Are these the kind of things one has to say especially in the build up to a major election next year? Is Malema going to cost ANC votes?
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The Congress of the People (COPE) unveiled its logo this weekend. The party’s deputy chairman Mbhazima Shilowa said the logo — a circle with a green cross through and comprising of the other colours of the national flag — was a collective work deriving from a number of suggestions submitted to the party. The logo also represents a fusion of the symbols of liberation and the flag of the nation as a symbol of unity and multiplicity. COPE expects there to be objects with regards to the logo and the party’s name from the ANC. It will be interesting to see what will happen if the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) rejects COPE’s name and logo as I am sure COPE has already invested millions in branding for the new party.
The Democratic Alliance unveiled a new DA logo saying the party is launching a new vision for South Africa to make the country’s dream a living reality. The logo was unveiled at Constitution Hill hall in Braamfontein, Johannesburg at a gathering which was attended by about 1000 party followers. DA leader, Helen Zille spoke at the relaunch and said “From today, we offer the people of South Africa the choice of government that really can deliver a better future.”
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Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan has come out and said that the formation of the Congress of the People (COPE) party was due to the “lack of assertiveness and visionary leadership within the ANC over a period of time”, this in reference to the leadership during the Thabo Mbeki era. So this means that, if Mbeki were a ’stronger’ leader then the divisions in the ANC would not have taken place and thus there would be no need for the formation of the breakaway party?
Jordan went on to say that the lack of leadership “weakened the ruling party’s moral authority and undermined its integrity”. What are your thoughts about these claims?
The exodus of members from the ANC to the COPE (Congress of People) continued today with a big name move. Struggle stalwart Lulama “Smuts” Ngonyama has left the ANC today after 30 years of service to the party and has joined the newly formed COPE headed by Terror Lekota. Smuts was the former spokesperson of the ANC. He said he could no longer recognise the liberation movement to which he belonged. “This is not the ANC I knew,” he said.
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The new political party in South Africa which wants to be called the Congress of the People is under pressure as the ruling ANC party are planning to block the new party from adopting this name. The ANC is taking legal advice on the use of the name Congress of the People because it says that the name, the Congress of the People, is an event in the calendar of the ANC. It’s the function, where in 1955, the Freedom Charter was adopted.
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Many have been wondering why Julius Malema has been quiet over the last couple of weeks. We had all gotten to hear Malema saying one thing or another, from saying he will “kill for Zuma” and criticism of the judicial process in connection with the now withdrawn corruption charges against Zuma. So why the change in Malema’s stance? Has the ANC Youth League President looked himself in the mirror and seen that he was being ‘offside’ in the past? Or has he had someone give him a quiet word in the ear and told him to ’shhhh’?
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The Legendary singer many of us got to know as Mama Africa, Miriam Makeba has passed away overnight in Rome, Italy. She passed away after taking part in a concert for Roberto Saviano. It is reported that Miriam Makeba passed away from a heart attack after having sung for 30 minutes at the concert. She was taken ill to a local hospital where she passed away.
Mama Africa was born in Johannesburg on March 4, 1932 thus making her 76 years old at the time of her death.
The InTheNews.co.za would like to pass on their condolences to Miriam Makeba’s family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Rest In Peace Mama Africa.
The new breakaway ANC party finally has a name. Former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa, said yesterday (Thursday) that the new party would be called the Congress of the People. The name will be registered on Monday with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). It is said that the name came about by several people sending SMSs with their opinions. It is a name that does not stand out to me the first time I heard it. What do you think of this name?
