Category Archives: letter

Business Day: Worrying utterances

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http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=8343

Worrying utterances

Crispin Hemson
Published: 2009/10/08 06:25:32 AM
The Kennedy Road issue in Durban has serious implications for the way SA
handles its informal settlements (Kennedy Road truth being hidden,
October 7).

I attended the stakeholders’ meeting called by the provincial
government. The tone of MEC Willies Mchunu’s address was very different
from that of earlier statements, to his credit. However, there were some
disquieting comments from officials and people who claim to be part of
the African National Congress.

The one was a call to ban the imfene dance as it is seen as linked to
witchcraft “in our culture”. The imfene is a Pondo dance that is not at
all problematic in that culture. Search for it on the internet and you
will see a group of dancers performing it in the hall where the same
meeting was held.

The subtext of such comments is that informal settlements in eThekwini
are for Zulus only. The other obvious cause for concern was the frequent
reference to “criminals who oppose development”. The nature of the
criminality was never identified beyond the opposition to the policy to
eradicate informal settlements.

Such language feeds into and justifies violence and ethnic division.
People did not see the significance of xenophobia until it was too late
to stop the violence. We need a full and credible inquiry that
identifies the causes and perpetrators of this violence.

Crispin Hemson

Acting director, International Centre of Nonviolence (ICON) — Durban

Cape Argus: Ruling brings relief to too few shack dwellers

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http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=5037783

Ruling brings relief to too few shack dwellers

June 16, 2009 Edition 1

Your editorial (“A mixed outcome”, June 11) claims the Constitutional Court’s decision on the eviction of the residents of Joe Slovo informal settlement to make way for N2 Gateway homes included the provision that “70 percent of the shack dwellers who were recorded as being resident there in 2000, and qualified for this housing, should be returned to the area once new homes have been built.”

This is incorrect.

The court decided that 70 percent of the N2 Gateway houses built in Joe Slovo should be allocated to the former and present residents, not that 70 percent of the residents should be returned to the area.

The difference is apparent. There are presently 4 386 households there, and possibly another 4 500 who were moved around 2005 to Delft. On your reckoning, 6 220 of these households should be returned to housing in Joe Slovo.

But only 1 500 houses are to be built. Thus, in reality only 1 050 households will return to Joe Slovo – not 70 percent but 12 percent of the present and former residents.

The remainder are to be evicted – apartheid-style – from Langa to the outskirts of the city in Delft.

There, they will be housed in concentration-camp-like temporary accommodation (which the Constitutional Court demands be of “decent quality” – a “decent” concentration camp!) and then, possibly, get N2 Gateway housing in Delft (though the process of allocation of that newly built housing is far from transparent).

N2 Gateway is essentially the national government’s programme. The city and now provincial DA government’s programme is even worse.

There is a backlog of 400 000 houses in the city, increasing by 18 000 a year – yet only 8 000 houses a year are being built.

Meanwhile the DA (despite proclaimed policies of free market entrepeneurism) is determined to prevent any overcrowded backyarders building shacks for themselves on vacant municipal land, as the recent violent and forcible prevention by Metro police of land occupations in Macassar, Mitchells Plain and Kraaifontein demonstrates.

Martin Legassick

Emeritus Professor

University of the Western Cape

Open letter to South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)

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http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/54719

Letters
If you don’t vote, you can complain
Open letter to South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)
Rosa Blaauw and Jared Sacks (2009-03-11)

Re: Misinformation on IEC TV ads for voter registration including the ad ‘if you don’t vote, you can’t complain’

Dear Chairperson Dr Brigalia Bam,

A recent television ad for the campaign for voter registration by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has a line which implies that non-voting South African citizens have no power to bring about change in this country. ‘If you don’t vote, you can’t complain’ shows the short-sightedness and arrogance of the current political system, which attempts to convince South Africans that voting is the most effective and only way to bring about change in this country.

We are not stating that democracy cannot help a country if democracy is defined as the people taking control over the political system. But these ads seek manipulate people. They offend our rights as citizens and undermine the constitution which enshrines our right to choose our political convictions as well as our right to protest. If the most effective way to measure democracy in a country is the way those in power treat dissent, then South Africa continues to fail as it uses both violent and manipulative means to keep people quiet.

What that one liner implies is that we, as law-abiding, tax-paying, contributing and knowledgeable citizens, cannot criticise the current political system because we boycott the vote.

It advocates that we must vote in order to make our voices heard, even if we think there are no political parties that represent our beliefs and can carry them out in an honest and incorruptible manner.

It says that the strides made by anti-voting social movements (which brought about democracy as we know it today in our country) and some politically-conscious groups (who advocate understanding of our political past; the local, global and hidden agendas behind them) were for nothing. We are condemning freedom of choice, thought and expression if a non-partisan body openly judges our right to choose whether to vote or not.

But South Africa’s new social movements, taking their cue from what we have learned during the anti-apartheid past, do show us alternatives. The Anti-Eviction Campaign has stopped over 90 per cent of the evictions in their communities. Abahlali baseMjondolo has given a voice to thousands of shackdwellers fighting for their settlement to be upgraded rather than eliminated. By voting with their feet, these poor people’s movements force our government officials to think about the poor and oppressed everyday rather than once every five years.

Some would argue that if you’re not for something, then you’re against it. Against what, exactly? Corruption at the highest levels that threatens the honourable legacy of resistance and sacrifice to rid us from oppression? Oppression still exists, in the form of economic segregation and pro-capitalist development. Whether it is the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Congress of the People (COPE), the African National Congress (ANC) or the Independent Democrats (ID), they will all continue to corrupt our voice when they vote in parliament to oppress us.

False promises are being made to millions of people who still have very little choice but to see their one vote as hope for a better future for themselves and their children. Are campaign promises and baby-kissing the only act of influence that we react to?

The irony is that power tends to corrupt, and it is no more true than in this beautiful country. Whoever is voted in as the next ruling party will succumb to the same.

The smokescreen of the voting process should not be used as a salve for all the injustices of the past and present governing systems. We believe in the right to choose and in the right to unbiased and open information that is available to the public. Voting can make a difference but only if our political and economic system is restructured first. It is unfair to accuse the non-voting public of apathy, indifference or ignorance to the state of their nation because they are unhappy with the electoral process.

Voting never overthrew apartheid or Jim Crow in the United States. It never ended colonialism or imperialism. Neither can it end the oppression of liberal democracy.

Regardless of whether one chooses to vote or not, the reality is that change has been brought about by far more than just voting.

COHRE Letter to S’bu Ndebele on eMacambini

16 January 2009

Mr Sibusiso Ndebele
KwaZulu-Natal Premier
Premier’s Office
Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal
PO Box 412
Pietermaritzburg 3200

Re: Forced eviction of 10 000 families from eMacambini for AmaZulu World

Dear Premier Ndebele,

The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) is an international human rights non-governmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with offices throughout the world. COHRE has consultative status with the United Nations and Observer Status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. COHRE works to promote and protect the right to adequate housing for everyone, everywhere, including preventing or remedying forced evictions.

COHRE is deeply concerned about the threatened forced eviction of up to 10 000 families of the Macambini community from their communal land in rural KwaZulu-Natal, to make way for AmaZulu World, a multi-billion Rand project proposed by Dubai-based property development group Ruwaad Holdings. The Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal and King Goodwill Zwelithini (trustee of the Ingonyama Trust Board that administers the Macambini communal land) have endorsed this project. In May 2008, the KwaZulu-Natal Premier signed a memorandum of understanding with Ruwaad Holdings, and in October 2008, attended the Dubai Cityscape 2008 real estate exhibition together with King Goodwill Zwelithini for the official unveiling of the project.

COHRE has learned that the proposed AmaZulu World entertainment and mixed-use development will include an internationally branded theme park, hotels, shopping malls, residential complexes, golf courses and a giant statue of King Shaka, and is boasted as being the largest construction project ever to be undertaken in Africa. While plans to expropriate 16 500 hectares of land from the Macambini community appear to be underway, the Province has taken insufficient steps to engage in meaningful consultation with the affected community and obtain their written consent as required by law.

On 26 November 2008, over 5 000 members of the community marched in protest against the project, requesting in their memorandum that the Premier immediately withdraw from the project and respond to their grievances by 3 December. When the Premier failed to respond and acknowledge their grievances, members of the community set up road blockades along the N2 freeway on 4 December, in an attempt to draw attention to their imminent eviction. COHRE is deeply disturbed to hear that members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) responded with systemic violence against what was meant to be peaceful and nonviolent action, designed only to draw attention to the community’s plight. Approximately 30 people, mostly women, were shot with rubber bullets during and after the blockade. One woman remains in critical condition in hospital after being shot in the face at close range by an SAPS officer. Furthermore police officers reportedly went on a rampage attacking even those who were not involved in the road blockade and were in fact inside their homes along the N2 freeway. COHRE is also aware that ten people, including two school-age children, were arrested for ‘public violence’ and allegedly beaten systematically by police while being transported to holding cells. The violent repression by SAPS officers of legitimate protest and the violent attack on community members not involved in the protest are unjustifiable.

According to the eMacambini Anti-Removal Committee, formed in response to the threatened removal, the massive AmaZulu World project will entail the forced relocation of approximately 50 000 people from over 16 500 hectares of their communal land, with those who qualify for housing subsidies receiving government houses in a 500 hectare township near Mandeni. Those who do not qualify will presumably be rendered homeless. More than 300 churches as well as 29 schools and three clinics will also be demolished to make way for the theme park and other ‘attractions’. A large percentage of the Macambini community earn their living from the land or the ocean – growing sugar cane, vegetables and fruit; raising livestock; and fishing. Those residents who work at schools, clinics and at various other community facilities will also lose their jobs and their livelihoods. Reportedly, no plans have been made to economically rehabilitate those affected by the loss of their sources of livelihood. Many within the community have ancestors buried on the land. Demolishing and relocating an entire established community, as planned, would be economically, socially and culturally disastrous for its residents.

The eMacambini communal land is held in trust by the Ingonyama Trust Board, which is a land rights board as outlined in the Communal Land Rights Act No. 11 of 2004 and the KwaZulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust Act No. 3 of 1994. Section 2(b)(2) of the latter amended Act states that “the Trust shall, in a manner not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, be administered for the benefit, material welfare and social well-being of the members of the tribes and communities…” Furthermore, section 2(e)(5) states that “the Ingonyama shall, as trustee, not encumber, pledge, lease, alienate or otherwise dispose of any of the said land or any interest or real right in the land, unless he has obtained the prior written consent of the traditional authority of the tribe or community authority concerned…” Thus, the communal land on which the Macambini community live and work, held in trust by the Ingonyama Trust Board (with King Goodwill Zwelithini as ‘Ingonyama’ or sole trustee), should be administered for the benefit, material welfare and social well-being of the community, and any decision to dispose of the land requires the written consent of the community authority concerned. These legislative imperatives have not been complied with in regard to the official endorsement of the AmaZulu World project by King Goodwill Zwelithini – an endorsement that has been given without the consent of the community living on the land who now face an uncertain and precarious future if the project goes ahead.

Section 28(1) of the Communal Land Rights Act states that a land rights board “must, in the prescribed manner and in respect of any matter contemplated by or incidental to this Act – (a) advise the Minister and advise and assist a community generally and in particular with regard to matters concerning sustainable land ownership and use, the development of land and the provision of access to land on an equitable basis; (b) liaise with all spheres of government, civil institutions and other institutions; and (c) monitor compliance with the Constitution and this Act” [emphasis added]. Section 25(5) of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of South Africa requires that “The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis.” Furthermore, section 26 of the Bill of Rights states that “(1) everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing; (2) the state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right; and (3) no one may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances. No legislation may permit arbitrary evictions.”

COHRE is deeply concerned that if the AmaZulu World project were to proceed, and 10 000 families forcibly removed from their land, the above constitutional imperatives would be violated.

COHRE would like to point out that the eMacambini Anti-Removal Committee has repeatedly asserted that it is not anti-development, but is opposed to projects that will lead to a violation of their basic human rights. In fact, the Macambini community, through their traditional leader Inkosi Khayelihle Mathaba, had advocated for an alternative development project, which envisages a ‘sports city’ being developed on 500 hectares of the communal land, and would not result in any eviction or relocation. COHRE is disturbed to hear that the KwaZulu-Natal Premier is currently suing Mathaba for defamation over statements he allegedly made during a meeting where the project was discussed. Based on reports by members of the Macambini community, COHRE understands that the action against Mathaba is another attempt by the state to silence dissent.

COHRE respectfully reminds the Government of South Africa that according to Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), as it is interpreted in General Comment No 7 of 1997, for forced evictions or relocations to be considered as lawful, they may only occur in very exceptional circumstances and all feasible alternatives must be explored. If and only if such exceptional circumstances exist and there are no feasible alternatives, can evictions be deemed justified. Regardless of whether the evictions are justified, affected persons must have access to appropriate procedural protection and due process must follow. Although the Government of South Africa is not a party to the ICESCR, they have signed the Covenant and are bound in terms of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties not to act contrary to its object and purpose.

Further, the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions and Displacement, which address human rights implications of development-linked evictions and related displacement in urban and rural areas, require that States must ensure that evictions only occur in exceptional circumstances, and must give priority to exploring strategies that minimise displacement. Section 32 states that “comprehensive and holistic impact assessments should be carried out prior to the initiation of any project that could result in development-based eviction and displacement, with a view to securing fully the human rights of all potentially affected persons, groups and communities, including their protection against forced evictions. ‘Eviction-impact’ assessment should also include exploration of alternatives and strategies for minimizing harm.” Moreover, section 37 states that urban or rural planning and development processes should involve all those likely to be affected, with section 38 requiring that “all potentially affected groups and persons, including women, indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities, as well as others working on behalf of the affected, have the right to relevant information, full consultation and participation throughout the entire process, and to propose alternatives that authorities should duly consider.”

It is clear that many of the above provisions have not been met, and the fact that the KwaZulu-Natal Premier and Director-General, as well as King Goodwill Zwelithini, have openly endorsed the AmaZulu World project without the community’s support and participation is deeply disturbing. Thus, COHRE urges the Premier to immediately:

* issue a statement announcing the withdrawal of his endorsement of Ruwaad Holdings’ AmaZulu World project and halt all plans to expropriate land held by the Macambini community;
* begin a new process of engagement and meaningful consultation with the Macambini community and all relevant stakeholders around a mutually beneficial development project for the eMacambini area that is compliant with domestic and international human rights law;
* initiate an inquiry into the violence unleashed by members of the SAPS against peaceful protestors on 4 December 2008;
* provide immediate medical relief and compensation for injuries and damage to property caused by members of the SAPS;
* withdraw the defamation lawsuit against Inkosi Khayelihle Mathaba.

We look forward to your response and to an ongoing dialogue with the KwaZulu-Natal Province on the rights of its people to be consulted on issues around the development of their land, and on the myriad problems associated with mass forced relocations. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Salih Booker
Executive Director

cc.

Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Director-General

His Majesty Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekizulu

The Honourable Lindiwe Sisulu
Minster of Housing

The Honourable Lulama Xingwana
Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs

Raquel Rolnik
UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing

Open letter to the President of South Africa from John Minto

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Open letter to the President of South Africa

Tena koe Thabo Mbeki,

I understand a nomination has been put forward for me to receive a South African honour later this year, the Companions of O R Tambo Award, on behalf of HART and the anti-apartheid movement of New Zealand for our work campaigning to end apartheid in South Africa.

I note the particular honour is conferred by the President of South Africa and awarded to “foreign citizens who have promoted South African interests and aspirations through co-operation, solidarity and support”.

We are proud of the role played by the movement here to assist the struggle against apartheid and I appreciate the sentiment behind the nomination. However after the most careful consideration I respectfully request the nomination proceed no further. Were an award to be made I would decline to accept it either personally or on behalf of the movement.

New Zealanders who campaigned against apartheid did so to bring real and meaningful change in the lives of South Africa’s impoverished and disenfranchised black communities. We were appalled and angered at the callous brutality of a system based on racism and exploitation of black South Africans for the benefit of South African corporations.

However while political rights have been won and celebrated, social and economic rights have been sidelined. It is now 14 years since the first African National Congress government was elected to power but for most the situation is no better, and frequently worse, than it was under white minority rule.

The number of South Africans living on less than $1 a day more than doubled to 2.4 million in the first 10 years of ANC government. Despite strong economic growth overall poverty levels have not improved and the gap between rich and poor has increased with many black families being driven more deeply into poverty. Unemployment remains high at around 26%.

It seems the entire economic structure which underpinned apartheid is essentially unchanged. Oppression based on race has morphed seamlessly into oppression based on economic circumstance. The faces at the top have changed from white to black but the substance of change is an illusion.

None of us expected things to change overnight but we did expect the hope for change to always burn brightly as people looked ahead for their children and grandchildren. This is now a pale gleam, dimmed by the destructive power of free-market economics.

My own country New Zealand preceded the ANC in adopting free-market economic reforms. Since 1984 we have experienced a particularly virulent dose of these vicious policies which have brought wealth to the few at the expense of the many.

Hundreds of thousands of New Zealand families have been driven out of decent employment into poverty where they struggle to raise families on part-time, poorly paid work. They are worse off now than they were 20 years ago. The same policies have brought the same outcomes to South Africa. For the majority life is tougher now than at any time since the ANC came to power.

The promises made by those who drove through the reforms in New Zealand were a lie just as they are in South Africa. Wherever these policies have been put in place anywhere in the world they have resulted in a reverse Robin Hood – a transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich.

When we protested and marched into police batons and barbed wire here in the struggle against apartheid we were not fighting for a small black elite to become millionaires. We were fighting for a better South Africa for all its citizens.

I take heart from the many community groups in South Africa fighting against privatisation of community assets; supporting settlements against forced removals; opposing police harassment and brutality; struggling for decent healthcare, water supplies and education; campaigning for decent pay, reasonable working conditions and affordable houses. These people, such as the Durban Shackdwellers, are looking for respect and dignity as human beings. Many carry the ideals of the Freedom Charter, once the bedrock document for ANC policy, close to their hearts.

Apartheid was accurately described as a “crime against humanity” by the United Nations and the ANC. I could not in all conscience attend a ceremony to receive an award conferred by your office while a similar crime is in progress.

Receiving an award would inevitably associate myself and the movement here with ANC government policies. At one time this may have been a source of pride but it would now be a source of personal embarrassment which I am not prepared to endure.

Yours sincerely,

John Minto

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=6&art_id=nw20080128025340628C282364

NZ campaigner says no to SA award

January 28 2008 at 03:06AM

Wellington – A veteran New Zealand anti-apartheid campaigner has rejected a nomination for a prestigious South African award for foreigners, saying he is dismayed over conditions in the country, local media reported on Monday.

John Minto, nominated for a Companion Of OR Tambo Award by a South African government official, asked for the nomination to be withdrawn, the Christchurch Press newspaper said.

“South Africa was the democratic country with so much hope and I think for so many people it’s been the deepest of disappointments, and certainly it has been for me,” Minto said.

“I’m just deeply dismayed at what’s happened,” he told the newspaper.

The Tambo award is the highest honour granted to non-South Africans in recognition of friendship, co-operation and support.

Previous recipients include Mahatma Gandhi, Kofi Annan, Salvador Allende and Martin Luther King Junior.

A union organiser, Minto was national co-ordinator of the Halt All Racist Tours movement during the controversial 1981 Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand – when an all-white rugby team representing South Africa was strongly opposed by many New Zealanders.

In an open letter to South African President Thabo Mbeki, Minto blasted the African National Congress government which, he said, had left black South Africans “worse off than they were under (white) minority rule”.

“When we protested and marched into police batons and barbed wire here in the struggle against apartheid, we were not fighting for a small black elite to become millionaires,” Minto wrote.

“We were fighting for a better South Africa for all its citizens. The faces at the top have changed from white to black, but the substance of change is an illusion,” he noted. – Sapa-AP