Staggering Out Over The Abyss

[A Lutra Continua]

Nothing but tumbleweeds and crickets from the liberal west who helped put this thing in power.

Just 28 minutes
Cathy Buckle |

09 December 2016

Cathy Buckle says listening to Mugabe's speech she couldn’t help but wonder if they live in the same country, apparently everything is fine

Just 28 minutes

Dear Family and Friends,

On the same day that many thousands of people sat, stood and crowded the pavements outside the banks waiting to try and withdraw a few dollars of their own money, President Mugabe gave his annual State of the Nation Address.

It was a hot afternoon in Parliament where MP’s were squashed in like dried kapenta fish in a tight plastic bag. There was a titter of laughter when President Mugabe invited everyone to sit down and a scramble for positions ensued because there aren’t enough seats to accommodate members of Zimbabwe’s bloated parliament. Shoulders touching, bottoms squashed, many MP’s had to sit forward on the benches, perch on the edge or sit sideways. They waited in anticipation, but of what?

Perhaps Mr Mugabe was going to talk about the collapsed economy, the chronic shortage of US dollars in the country and the recent introduction of Bond notes, a surrogate currency forced upon us by Presidential decree. Perhaps he would say something about a year filled with demonstrations and protests which were squashed by horrific police beatings, the images captured on mobile phones for the world to see.
Perhaps he’d say something about 90% unemployment or continued company closures, about 80 % of our food still being imported 16 years after farm takeovers, or about our crippled health
care system or rampant corruption in government departments. So much to talk about; this was surely going to be a very long speech.

While we waited to hear just exactly what Mr Mugabe was going to say about the state of Zimbabwe in 2016 it was also a hot afternoon out there on the pavements where people had been queuing outside banks since 2 or 3 am in the morning. The vendors, Zimbabwe’s saviours, were there too, cruising the queues: selling air time, bananas, cold drinks, apples, boiled eggs and more. No one was holding out any hope of salvation or reprieve from the State of the Nation address but acknowledgement and a clear path ahead would be a good start.

As President Mugabe made his way slowly through his speech you couldn’t help but wonder if we live in the same country. Apparently everything’s fine in Zimbabwe at the end of 2016. The economy is on the road to recovery; tourism is on the increase; hotel occupancy has increased from 41 to 42 percent; milk production is meeting one third of local demand; gold production is up , electricity generation is on the increase and government is working on zero tolerance to corruption.

Oh really!

Nothing, not one word, was said about Bond Notes which the Reserve Bank is congratulating Zimbabweans on embracing, ignoring the fact that there’s nothing else to embrace because all the US dollars have disappeared into the vast hole behind government doors. No acknowledgment was made of thousands standing in bank queues everyday; of people not being able to withdraw enough of their own money to pay their bills, buy their food or medicines or even get on a bus. Not one word was said about unemployment or company closures or about human rights violations and police brutality.

At the end of just a 28 minute speech describing his version of the State of Zimbabwe in 2016, 92 year old President Mugabe said: “I commend our forces for the peaceful environment we have here…. I conclude by paying tribute to our peace loving people who have endured all manner of hardships since we embarked on our land reform programme.”

With hardly a sound Zimbabweans turned back into place in the bank queues. Tragically we expected nothing better, we demanded nothing better and we got nothing better.

Until next time, thanks for reading, love cathy.

9th December 2016

Copyright © Cathy Buckle. www.cathybuckle.com

For information on my new book, “RUNDI,” about hand rearing baby elephants in the mid 1980’s , or my other books about life in Zimbabwe: “SLEEPING LIKE A HARE,” “MILLIONS, BILLIONS, TRILLIONS,” “CAN YOU HEAR THE DRUMS,” “INNOCENT VICTIMS” “AFRICAN TEARS”, “BEYOND TEARS” and “IMIRE,” or to
subscribe/unsubscribe to this letter, please visit my website or contact cbuckle@zol.co.zw. (To see pictures of images described in this and other letters go to: http://www.facebook.com/cathybuckleafricantears

[A Lutra Continua]

No surprises then. The shafting continues and those getting shafted the worst still vote for more.

https://www.enca.com/south-africa/econo ... l-comments

Economists slam ANCYL president's controversial comments

South Africa
Friday 23 December 2016 - 6:28am


DURBAN - ANC Youth League president Collen Maine is in trouble, over controversial comments on the Rand.

Maine told league supporters in Durban that if the local currency had to fall so that the ANC could be in control of the economy, so be it.

He addressed the crowd in the presence of President Jacob Zuma.

Economists warned politicians to think twice before making reckless remarks about the economy.

Economists say if the rand falls any further some consequences include price increases for paraffin, petrol, milk and maize.

Mike Schussler, an economist, said, "All prices will go up paraffin, petrol, milk, maize and we are looking at everybody in South Africa paying more if the Rand falls.”

But Maine says the local currency is the problem, commenting, 'this Rand comrade is very problematic, during the local government elections when they said the ANC is not doing well in the metros, the Rand gained strength but when the ANC is winning somewhere else the Rand is depreciating, what is the problem."

South Africa's economy grew by 0.2 percent in the 3rd quarter of this year.

Schussler explained, "If the currency falls we get poor in relative terms to other countries as well and we fall off the investment radar and it becomes more difficult to create jobs."

eNCA

[A Lutra Continua]

These are the genius SA cops who go out of their way to fuck over the law abiding firearm owner.

Words fail me...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=34e_1484544118

[A Lutra Continua]

The wages of sin...

[bbvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0o_vyr4b08[/bbvideo]

[Stoneboat]

Any chance the dogs were rabid?

[Capetonian]

Possibly, because my understanding of bull terriers is that they will allow an intruder to enter but they won't let him leave. I've seen this in practice but it may be that in that case the dogs had been specifically trained that way.
The house-owners came back to find the house stinking of fear and *****, and two non-reflectives crouching in terror on top of the fridge!

[Cacophonix]

I suspect that there is only one poster here who really understands this song (in einige manier)!

[bbvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyMamkhqTqQ[/bbvideo]

Caco

[A Lutra Continua]

Always amuses me how the left can hold two opposing thoughts in their heads at the same time, both equally valid in their view.

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/11/sn ... actly-won/


Using the logic of the sophisticates, SA should have continued under a system that denied the vote to tribally hierarchical people unfamiliar with democracy.

[A Lutra Continua]

The shit stays the same, only the flies have changed...

The Free Market Foundation (FMF) and other analysts have warned that petty insults could be turned into crimes punishable by jail time under government’s proposed Hate Speech Bill.

This condemnation as well as other comments on the bill comes by way of a formal submission by the FMF, highlighting issues with the proposed Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill.

The FMF seems particularly concerned about how comments will be interpreted and whether the proposed punishment equates to a restriction on freedom of speech. Under the the bill, the proposed crime of hate speech carries a sentence of up to three years in prison for a first offence, and up to ten years for a subsequent offence.

“The Constitution allows for the protection of only four specified characteristics – race, ethnicity, religion, gender – but the bill protects seventeen characteristics, including ‘culture’, ‘belief’, ‘occupation’, and ‘gender identity’. Protecting characteristics such as ‘belief’ and ‘occupation’ from ‘insults’ will have perverted effects, whereby South Africans will be jailed for having opinions which are allowable in every other democratic society in the world.”

“Something as harmless as saying ‘All politicians are thieving liars‘ or ‘All lawyers are blood-sucking parasites‘ is hate speech in terms of this bill.”

“The Hate Speech Bill, if passed unamended (especially without the inclusion of generous defences), will have a profound effect on our constitutional democracy. South Africa will become one of the few countries in the world where freedom of expression is regulated to this draconian extent.”

Other analysts have echoed the same concerns made by the FMF with Afriforum, Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA), PEN SA, the Hate Crimes Working Group (HCWG), the DA and numerous online petitons having surfaced since bill was first proposed.

[Capetonian]

I doubt if any of us could insult Zuma to a greater degree than Mother Nature, in her infinite wisdom, has done.

[A Lutra Continua]

You've got to wonder what was the point of all the hair pulling in the name of 'liberation' if things are just going back to the same old crap squared.

[A Lutra Continua]

Another ethical cANCer success story.

Minister helped friends take over R97m farm



Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti introduced a Luthuli House comrade "shopping" for a thriving Limpopo farm to one of his top officials at a land summit.



Just eight months after the meeting, Bekendvlei Farm was bought for R97-million and handed over to Errol Velile Present, who had been working at Luthuli House for more than 10 years, and his partner, businessman Moses Boshomane, to manage.

The senior department official had prioritised the deal by bypassing required procedures.

A day after the deal went through, Nkwinti was the speaker at Present's lavish wedding.

Neither Present nor Boshomane had an ancestral claim to the farm. They also had no experience in agriculture.

The minister has admitted to having been accused of taking R2-million to "facilitate" the deal.

Soon after the men took over, there was no money to pay 31 workers on the farm. No wages were paid for five months and the farm became run-down.



Despite the department also bankrolling an additional R30-million for machinery, salaries and construction, the once-thriving farm quickly fell into disrepair. About 3,000 cattle, worth almost R18-million, were sold off, machinery disappeared and crops died.

The minister's involvement in the deal was exposed in a forensic investigation by auditors Deloitte.

This has emerged as the ANC ups the ante on land redistribution.

Present and Boshomane were given a lucrative lease to Bekendvlei Farm despite having no business plan.

The deal bypassed normal channels, which require land applications to go through the provincial department.

There was also no claim on the thriving 7,000ha Limpopo farm land at the time it was bought by the department.

The two men were not listed on the department's database of possible beneficiaries and had no ties to the land.

Present is from the Eastern Cape and Boshomane was born in Johannesburg, although his parents come from Limpopo.

After four years of lavish spending and regularly failing to pay farmworkers or make lease-agreement payments, Nkwinti was forced to take legal action to evict the men in March last year.

The report said the two hired a farm truck driver, Doctor Bavu, as a mentor, despite the man's "lack of understanding and experience" in farming. This was despite an agreement that they would use the farm's former owner.

Bavu was made a co-signatory for the department's recapitalisation funding bank account even though he didn't know what his responsibilities were and had no "insight into the spending of the recapitalisation funds".

The report said a local farm-equipment retailer confirmed that several tractors had been sold back to him soon after purchase. It also said "excessive and unnecessary" construction had been undertaken using recapitalisation funds.

Present confirmed this week that he approached Nkwinti at a land summit on March 9 2011.

He told Nkwinti that he and Boshomane had identified Bekendvlei, outside Modimolle in Limpopo, and that the owners were willing to sell. He said he needed Nkwinti's assistance.

"The minister introduced me to his deputy director-general, Vusi Mahlangu, and asked him to work on my project," Present said.

Within hours, Mahlangu had sent an e-mail to two officials in the department instructing them to "prioritise the matter", according to the report.

Deloitte was hired to investigate the circumstances in which the farm was acquired. Its draft report, dated May last year, found that "Nkwinti should be charged with possible corruption".

It said: "Nkwinti is guilty of abusing his position as minister to influence the acquisition of Bekendvlei for the purpose of allocating it to Boshomane and Present, which resulted in irregular expenditure amounting to R97,600,000."

However, the final report, released in November and seen by the Sunday Times, makes no mention of Nkwinti's culpability and does not recommend any action against him.

Mahlangu has been fired for his role in the deal and the director-general, Mdu Shabane, was suspended in December.

Nkwinti yesterday admitted that he introduced Present to Mahlangu but said this was not exceptional.

"I do that all the time. I refer people to relevant officials in my department, but I never said 'Give this person a farm' or put them under pressure to fast track the deal," Nkwinti said.

The minister also admitted knowing Present from Luthuli House.

"I know Present, but there is no relationship between us," he said. He admitted attending Present's wedding on October 8 2011.

"I was one of the guest speakers," he said, but denied that he was conflicted. "I don't work according to relationships and friendships."

Nkwinti admitted that the Deloitte draft report had recommended that he be criminally charged.

He confirmed that an allegation that he had demanded a R2-million bribe as a "facilitation fee" for the deal was being investigated internally.

"I am waiting for the outcome of the investigation, as I never asked a bribe from anybody."

Boshomane told the Sunday Times this week that Nkwinti had told him at their meeting that "we must not worry, the farm was ours".

He said he had "tried my best" but his lack of experience in farming had failed him.

"It was the first time I got into farming and I tried my best but my best wasn't good enough," said Boshomane.

But he denied being corrupt or stealing money.

Boshomane admitted that his daughter, Pearl, who is a Times Media employee, was one of the beneficiaries of the farm deal.

Pearl told Sunday Times that she had not benefited financially from the deal.

Present told Sunday Times he did not see anything wrong with his involvement in the deal.

"I work for the ANC, not for government, and I'm entitled to benefit like any other citizen of this country," said Present.

The business partnership between Present and Boshomane quickly fell apart after they took over the farm, with the men both laying several criminal complaints against each other.

Present claims Boshomane hired people to kill him. He said he was shot in the hand by unknown gunmen.

Boshomane said he was forced to hire bodyguards .

The department put the farm under new management in 2014 and it has now been returned to its former glory.

When the Sunday Times visited Bekendvlei this week, workers told of their misery under Present and Boshomane.

Jonas Sebelebele, who started working on the farm in 1996, said the place had quickly fallen into despair.

"He [Boshomane] was never interested in making things work here. We were not paid a cent for five months. We were suffering because some of us are breadwinners in our families," he said.

He said they were not sure where Boshomane was now, but were happy he was no longer managing the farm.

Another worker, Green Mpofu, who has been working at the farm since 2000, said that since Boshomane left, the farm had taken a turn for the better.

"I was born on this farm, my parents also worked here. He [Boshomane] ran the farm down, then he left without paying us. He did not invest in the farm in terms of machinery, crops and other essential, but at least we are happy now," he said.

The farm now breeds livestock that include cattle, goats and sheep and grows various vegetables. It also has a game farm that runs impala, kudu and other game. It won an award for best supplier to a fruit and vegetable producer in December.

[Pinky the pilot]

Just saw a reference on TOP to a report of a speech Zuma made recently, where he calls for the confiscation without compensation of White owned Land!

Has he been taking lessons from Mugabe?

ALC and Capetonian; Do you think he's actually try to carry out such a threat and/or is he attempting to divert Public attention from his 'other activities' ie looting the Treasury!

[A Lutra Continua]

Both. Score points with the section of the population (ie, most of them) who don't understand how economies and investment work while putting up a smokescreen for his looting of the treasury. The constitution is meant to guarantee the right to property but like Mugabe, it doesn't mean much to this clown either.

It also doesn't help that in a tribal context, it's OK and even expected of those in power to enrich themselves through their positions of authority. The obvious link to corruption of this behaviour might be apparent to those who vote for it, but they condone it. Echoes of Zim and we all know how that turned out.

The only surprise is the surprise shown by the liberal west when their little kumbaya pipe dream goes to crap in these situations. The examples are there for them to learn from all over Africa but some folks are impervious to either logic or reality.

[Capetonian]

Until recently, we all thought that ZA would not go the way of Rhodesia, too many whites, too many vested interests, too many checks and balances, etc etc.
It now seems it is slowly, very slowly, moving in the same direction, and those who said it wouldn't happen, and I include myself, may be proved sadly wrong.
But the libtards of the west, the handwringers, the Kumbaya singers, the yurt dwellers, the sandal wearers, still praise the heroes who liberated the oppressed masses of blacks from the evil racist colonialists.

[Pinky the pilot]

But the libtards of the west, the handwringers, the Kumbaya singers, the yurt dwellers, the sandal wearers, still praise the heroes who liberated the oppressed masses of blacks from the evil racist colonialists.

Doesn't half seem that way, does it? I really at times wonder just what goes through the minds of some of the white western apologists for the current regime in ZA and Rhodesia. (I will never refer to a place called Zimbabwe )

A fellow member of a Historical and Antique Arms Association of which I am a long time member spent over 20 years as a serving member of a Police Force in that area and despairs at what he sees and hears of a place that he grew to love!

I know what should go through the minds of such apologists but I cannot mention such things here!

[A Lutra Continua]

Seriously, what did the lefty clowns who supported this lot think would happen?

Panicking Zuma has thrown caution to the wind
2017-03-07 07:39

Max du Preez

A full-blown bust-up in the ANC cannot be far away. There will be blood on the walls for sure.

President Jacob Zuma has thrown all caution to the wind and isn’t even hiding his contempt for the Constitution any longer.

He and his faction of the ANC and their partners in crime with the big bucks are panicking that their hold on power is slipping and they’re going for broke.

Last Friday Zuma not only blatantly contradicted his own party’s clear policies, he did something that no ANC leadership figure has done since 1994: in effect demand that one of the Constitution’s most critical pillars of stability, the right to own property, be scrapped.

It is called the Robert Mugabe option.

Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF lost a referendum in February 2000 when voters rejected proposals to entrench his powers and the confiscation of white-owned land.

Mugabe’s reaction was to allow and encourage the violent occupation of this land and to kneecap the judiciary, steps that pushed Zimbabwe over the failed state cliff.

Members of Zuma’s Cabinet and parliamentary caucus openly criticised the way he repudiated established policy positions and everything said by ANC speakers during the land debate just a few days before his utterances.

All the signs are there that Zuma has actually decided to push hard to stay on as president of the country after he was replaced as ANC leader in December.

He is facing a criminal trial and if that does take pace, certain jail time. He is also slowly losing his battle for the heart of the ANC, at least outside the traditional rural areas. Time for reckless populism and annihilating enemies.

If Zuma is allowed to stay on as president after the December elective conference, we’ll probably be stuck with him until the election of mid-2019.

God help us.

The Mugabe comparison could possibly be taken even further. A few days ago Zuma announced that he was relieving three stalwart advocated, Dumisa Ntsebeza, Ismael Semenya and Andiswa Ndoni, from their duties at the Judicial Services Commission that vets aspirant judges.

One of the replacements he has in mind is apparently Gcina Malindi, the advocate who had represented him in the controversial Zuma Spear case where he burst into tears in court.

Could it be that the Zuma faction of the ANC is trying to load the judiciary with more executive-friendly judges?

If this is the case, it is a long term strategy that could only make sense from Zuma’s point of view if he remains president for a few more years.

The bizarre and outrageous behaviour of social development minister and Zuma insider Bathabile Dlamini during the ongoing Sassa saga is an example of how the Zuma faction has stopped caring about good governance and the rule of law.

Dlamini has shown a fat middle finger to the Constitutional Court, Parliament and the public, and yet her fellow Gupta insider, Des van Rooyen, praised her as an outstanding minister. Zuma said he has faith in her.

Is there anyone in South Africa who doesn’t believe that Dlamini had manufactured the grant payout crisis over a period of two years to make sure that Cash Paymaster Services retain its lucrative contract? Who benefits?

(Another question: when is #Whitemonopolycapital not #Whitemonopolycapaital? When they’re called Cash Paymaster Services and grease the right palms.)

(Oh, and another: isn’t it astonishing that the ANC is so absolutely determined that South Africa needs a state airline, even one that costs us billions, but that grant payments to vulnerable citizens should be privatised?)

In the meantime, the SA Revenue Service is fast on its way to implode while Zuma’s lackey in charge, Tom Moyane, still plays silly power games with his political principal, the minister of finance; and Zuma’s main attack dog, Minister of State Security David Mahlobo, again warns that sinister foreign powers are planning a regime change and he therefore has to regulate the internet and social media.

If we consider how reckless Zuma is beginning to behave, we can conclude that he probably will soon fire Pravin Gordhan, Mcebisi Jonas and other Cabinet ministers not in his favour, regardless of the damage to the economy.

Zuma’s statement on confiscating white-owned land was a shocker, but we shouldn’t fear that it would soon lead to the end of property rights.

This is a hugely complex issue with massive implications for the banking sector, investments, food security and stability, and the Constitution probably won’t be amended during his tenure.

For now, we should see this as more of a populist trick to solidify rural support and a tactic to steer the attention away from his other problems.

Back to my prediction of a proper, open confrontation between the two main factions in the ANC. It could be ugly and affect us all, but perhaps we should consider that the sooner that happens, the sooner we could start a post-Zuma rebuilding of our society.

A last thought. What will Julius Malema do now that his main target agrees with him on land expropriation? Was this a double bluff?

http://www.news24.com/Columnists/MaxduP ... d-20170307


One of the most vocal cANCer arse lickers in his day. The creature has seen the light, but too little and too late to undo the damage he caused.

[Bob]

I really at times wonder just what goes through the minds of some of the white western apologists for the current regime in ZA and Rhodesia. (I will never refer to a place called Zimbabwe )

Pinky, I don't reckon the west actually thinks too much of anything about Zimbabwe and Rhodesia, should it?

[A Lutra Continua]

Seemed quite important back in the day, judging by the stridency of those who thought putting Mad Bob in charge was a good idea.

[Bob]

Lutra, It seems to make little difference what colour the leader of any African country is, it all goes to *****.
I suppose the only difference I can see is the white blokes seem to protect their own a little more at the expense of the blacks, whereas the black blokes only protect themselves and Rob everyone else whatever colour they are, perhaps because their inbuilt self preservation reflex has not been tempered by
Modern western sensitivities yet

Us whiteys back in the UK have a hand in it of course through the likes of BAe