Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

COURT: 1 National Director Public Prosecutions v FH Geyser & another. (Howie P, Scott JA, Streicher JA, Van Heerden JA, Mhlantla AJA). Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998, s 50. Interpretation of section 50 in regard to an appeal and cross-appeal in relation to grant of forfeiture order. Application for forfeiture of house used as brothel and the requirements for grant of forfeiture order in terms of section 50.

COURT 2: IG van Bosch v MA Charles (Mpati DP,Maya JA, Combrinck JA). Contract. The purchase and sale of immovable property. Whether appellant's plea disclosed a defence. Whether respondent's refusal to comply with ancillery obligations constituted repudiation of the main agreement.

IUSTITIA: 1. MM Mlimo v The State / 2. Jaco G Swanepoel v The State. (Farlam JA, Mthiyane JA, Kgomo AJA). 1. Criminal law. Conviction and sentence for murder and attempted murder during an attempted hijacking. Sentence of life plus 12 years imprisonment. At issue is whether evidence of state witnesses should be accepted and whether accused received fair trial. 2. Criminal law. Conviction, an appeal against conviction on counts of assault, crimen injuria and failure to attend court. Appeal against the judgment delivered in the Pretoria High Court on August 14, 2006. Whether state proved beyond reasonable doubt that accused intended to assault and impair dignity of complainant.

Monday, 18 February 2008

COURT 1: GF Murray v The Minister of Defence. ( Mpati DP, Cameron JA, Mlambo

JA, Combrinck JA, Cachalia JA). Labour law. Glenville Frederick Murray appeals against the whole of the judgment on March 20, 2006 in the Cape High

Court. Constructive dismissal, SANDF. Former employee of the Minister of Defence, SA Navy. Resigned on June 11, 1997 from the SA Navy. Alleged that his resignation was due to constructive dismissal and instituted a claim for damages of R2.9 million. Question under appeal is whether events leading to appellant's resignation constitute constructive dismissal. Labour Relations

Act 66 of 1995 not applicable but whether appellant can rely directly on Constitution and right to fair labour practises.

COURT 2: DW Zietsman v Electronic Media Network Limited & others. (Streicher JA, Nugent JA, Heher JA, Hurt AJA, Snyders AJA). Procedure. Security for costs and whether appellant liable to furnish security for costs.

IUSTITIA: 1. J Griebenow v The State / 2. A Carolus v The State. (Navsa JA, Van Heerden JA, Mhlantla AJA). 1. Criminal law. Trial magistrate's finding of appellant's testimony claiming necessity reasonably possibly true.

Whether appellant should have been acquitted and whether finding by magistrate should have been taken into account at sentencing. 2. Criminal law. Conviction and sentence for indecent assault and eight years imprisonment. At issue is whether prosecution succeeded in proving identity of man who indecently assaulted eight year old male complainant.

Tuesday, 19 February 2008

COURT 1: Guardrisk Insurance Company Ltd v Registrar of Medical Schemes & another. (Howie P, Heher JA, Ponnan JA, Snyders AJA, Kgomo AJA). Short term

Insurance Act, No 53 of 1998. Definition of "accident and health policy" and in the Medical Schemes Act, No 131 of 1998 the definition of "business of a medical scheme" in the Act. Interpretation of these two definitions.

COURT 2: Gendor Holdings v City Fishing Holdings (Pty) Limited and another. (Scott JA, Farlam JA, Cloete JA, Combrinck JA, Hurt AJA). Shipping. Whether liquidation application stayed in terms of Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act 105 of 1983, s 10A. Whether application for winding up should be granted.

IUSTITIA: 1. Wandisile Ntaka v The State / 2. Bongani Mthembu v The State. (Cameron JA, Maya JA, Cachalia JA). 1. Criminal law. Sentence of 10 years imprisonment with 4 years imprisonment suspended on charge of rape. At issue whether magistrate erred in not considering corrections supervision as sentencing option and whether magistrate erred in accepting probation officer's reports that appellant unsuited for corrections supervision. 2. Criminal law. Theft and robbery. The appeal against convictions and whether appellant's guilt was proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Manufacturers of the anti-aircraft gun that apparently malfunctioned at Lohatla have declined to comment on allegations that they withheld knowledge about an alleged defective part.

Nine soldiers were killed during a training exercise with the gun.

On Friday Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota claimed a mechanical failure on the Swiss/German Oerlikon 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft twin-barrelled gun was kept secret from the government. The gun is manufactured by Oerlikon Contraves AG.

Lekota said the manufacturers knew of a similar incident but failed to notify the SANDF or to communicate preventative or corrective maintenance tasks.

The mandate of around 1000 South African soldiers deployed in Burundi under an African Union mandate is to be extended as efforts to get the last remaining rebel group to re-join the peace process gain momentum, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said on Tuesday.

He said South African Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula who is the facilitator of the Burundi peace process was to meet regional leaders on the fringes of the AU Summit taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to discuss his progress.

"The discussion will focus on the renewal of the South African mandate as the facilitating country as well as a renewal of the mandate of Minister Nqakula as facilitator," Pahad said.

He said the mandate of the AU Special Task Force, manned solely by South Africa, would also be on the agenda of the regional leaders.

"We are concerned that it has taken so long but hope these discussions will move the process forward," Pahad said.

The Palipehutu-FNL is the last remaining rebel group in the central African country.

It signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in September 2006 but its implementation was halted when the FNL pulled out of talks in July last year.

They had rejected Nqakula as facilitator in Burundi's peace process and accused him of bias in favour of the government of Burundi.

The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) first deployed troops to Burundi in November 2001 to provide a small VIP close protection force for parliamentarians, while the rest of the battalion served as support in case of renewed hostilities.

SA was the first country to commit troops to an African Union peacekeeping force trying to quell the civil war, which started in 1993 and saw ethnic killings of Hutus and Tutsis.

In June 2004 the AU troops, to which South Africa was the largest contributor, donned blue helmets when the UN took over peacekeeping duties.

In December 2006, following a successful election the year before, the UN ceased its operations, but the South Africans stayed on.

An apparently undetected mechanical failure, which the manufacturers of an anti- aircraft gun allegedly kept secret, led to the death of nine South African soldiers.

This cover-up was alleged by Defence Minister Mosioua Lekota during a press conference in Pretoria yesterday.

In October the soldiers, who were stationed with 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Kimberley, were killed while taking part in Exercise Seboka at the SANDF’s combat training centre in Lohatla, Northern Cape.

Fifteen other soldiers were injured in one SA’s worst military training catastrophes.

The troops were manning and firing a Swiss/German Oerlikon 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft twin-barrelled gun when it went awry.

It is the second such incident to occur with the same type of gun, Lekota said, although he would not name the country where the other mishap had taken place.

The SANDF has 48 such guns, which are manufactured by Oerlikon Contraves AG (OCAG) in Switzerland.

According to the Department of Defence (DoD) board of inquiry the gun malfunctioned because a spring pin, which is the size of a matchstick, sheared and caused the interface between the hand/motor actuator selector lever and the traverse gearbox to break during engagement.

This rendered the gun uncontrollable during firing.

The board also revealed that the spring pins in 10 of the SANDF’s 48 MK5 guns were also sheared.

Lekota’s startling revelation included saying that the manufacturers had failed to notify the SA government that a pin failure had occurred on an MK5 anti-aircraft gun in another country, did not communicate any preventative or corrective maintenance tasks to prevent the pin failure from occurring or to correct the failure once it had occurred and did not inform the government about any hardware changes to safety or user drills.

Lekota said since that discovery the guns had been decommissioned and were undergoing inspections to confirm the full scope of the defects.

“Once finalised the fleet may be released for prescribed maintenance and only thereafter be used for the purpose of training without live ammunition.”

He said the board’s recommendations were for the redesign of the weapon system to ensure greater robustness and safer handling, an operational test and evaluation to re-qualify the guns for acceptance by the SA Army and that an updated product management intervention be conducted.

He said the DoD was in discussions with its legal advisers on what action to take against the manufacturers.

Asked whether the relationship between OCAG and the SANDF would be terminated given the “failure in communication” Lekota said if there was a “reasonable explanation and we are satisfied by the manner of the resolution of the matter then we will continue to do business, especially if the equipment is the best on the market”.

Asked about regular maintenance programmes, Lekota said the SANDF regularly serviced and maintained its equipment.

Helmod-Romer Heitman, Jane’s Defence Weekly analyst, questioned Lekota’s announcement, saying: “It would be very unusual for such a reputable defence company not to send out warnings. It is more than possible that warnings were sent, but were lost in an administrative shuffle.

“This would not be the first time that this has happened in the defence force,” he said, citing examples of technical updates being filed but not being implemented.

He said while the report may answer the questions of what went wrong, the summary did not and had left more questions than answers.

“I am bothered by the fact that it did not say why the gun traversed so far, killing so many people. For training purposes large steel pins called dead stops prevent the guns from traversing beyond a certain arc.

“The question that now arises is whether the dead stops were in place and if not, why not, and if they were why did they not stop the gun from traversing so far.”

Retired Brigadier-General John Delmonte, a former SANDF air defence specialist, also queried why the manufacturer would fail to communicate defects.

“It is very unusual and alarming if it is the case and even more so if the warnings were filed because of an administrative glitch,” he said.

An undetected mechanical failure – which the manufactures of an anti-aircraft gun allegedly kept secret – led to the deaths of nine South African soldiers, according to Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota.

The nine soldiers, who were stationed with 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Kimberly, were killed in October while taking part in Exercise Seboka at the SANDF’s combat training centre in Lohatla in the Northern Cape. Fifteen other soldiers were injured.

The troops were manning and firing a Swiss/German Oerlikon 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft twin-barrelled gun when it went awry.

Speaking at a press briefing in Pretoria yesterday, Lekota said it was the second such incident to occur with the same type of gun.

He would not say where the other accident had happened.

The SANDF has 48 such guns, manufactured by Oerlikon Contraves AG (OCAG) in Switzerland.

According to the Department of Defence’s board of inquiry, the gun malfunctioned because a spring pin, which is the size of a matchstick, sheared.

This caused the interface between the hand/motor actuator selector lever and the traverse gearbox to break during engagement.

This led to the disengagement of the control mechanism, rendering the gun uncontrollable during firing.

The spring pin is a connector pin in a selection mechanism that switches between manual and electronic control.

The board also revealed that the spring pins in 10 of the SANDF’s 48 MK5 guns were also sheared.

Lekota said the manufacturers, which he declined to identify at the press conference, failed to notify the South African government that a pin failure had occurred on a MK5 anti-aircraft gun in another country.

They did not communicate maintenance tasks to prevent the pin failure from occurring or to correct the failure once it had occurred, and did not inform the government about any hardware changes to safety or user drills in South Africa, he said.

Lekota said the guns had been decommissioned now and were undergoing technical inspections to confirm the full scope of the defects.

He said the board recommended that the weapon system be redesigned to ensure safer handling and be subjected to an operational test. It also recommended that an updated product management intervention be conducted.

He said the Department of Defence was talking with its legal advisers on what action could be taken against the manufacturers.

Asked whether the relationship between OCAG and the SANDF would be terminated given the “failure in communication”, Lekota said if there was a “reasonable explanation and we are satisfied by the manner of the resolution of the matter, then we will continue to do business, especially if the equipment is the best on the market”.

Lekota said the SANDF serviced and maintained its equipment regularly.

Helmod-Romer Heitman, Jane’s Defence Weekly analyst, questioned Lekota’s announcement, saying: “It would be unusual for such a reputable defence company not to send out warnings.

“It is more than possible that warnings were sent, but were ‘lost’ in an administrative shuffle.

“This would not be the first time that this has happened in the defence force,” he said, citing examples of technical updates being filed, but not implemented.

He said while the report may answer the questions of what went wrong, the summary did not and left more questions than answers.

“I am bothered by the fact that it didn’t say why the gun traversed so far, killing so many people. In training purposes, large steel pins called dead stops prevent the guns from traversing beyond a certain arc.

“The question that now arises is whether the dead stops were in place. And if not, why not? And if they were, why didn’t they stop the gun from traversing so far?

“This report’s summary gives a reason for the failure, but it doesn’t say why it led to the disaster,” he said.

Retired Brigadier-General John Delmonte, a former SANDF air defence specialist, also wondered why the manufacturer would fail to communicate any defects.

“It is unusual and alarming if it is the case and even more so if the warnings were filed because of an administrative glitch,” he said.

“There may be other issues of safety that need to be questioned”.

OCAG spokesperson Irene Stockli said the company would comment on the allegations on Monday.

The soldiers were killed in an accident involving a 35mm MK5 (124) Anti Aircraft Gun incident during a military training exercise at the centre in the Northern Cape on 12 October 2007.

At least 15 soldiers sustained injuries during the incident.

"The board found that the cause of the fatal incident was as a result of mechanical failure on gun 124 [MK5] when the interface between the hand/motor actuator selector lever and the transverse gearbox broke during engagement.

"This was caused by a pin that sheared and disengaged the control mechanism rendering the gun uncontrollable when it was fired," Defence Minister Mosioua Lekota said Friday.

The board also found that out of the 48 guns in the South African Army fleet, ten had sheared pins.

The minister also said the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was evaluating options to be taken against the company, Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM), who did not communicate this failure to the South Afr5ica prior the accident.

"We will consult with Cabinet with regard to the steps to be taken," he said.

According to the technical committee findings, a pin failure occurred on a MK 5 gun in another country and that the OEM did not communicate this failure to the South African National Defence at the time of purchasing the equipment.

The committee also found that the OEM has not communicated any preventative or corrective maintenance tasks to prevent the pin failure from occurring or to correct the failure once it occurred.

It also established that OEM has also not communicated hardware changes to safety drill or user drills to the South Africa.

The board recommended the redesign of the weapon system to ensure greater robustness and safer handling based on engineering change proposals from thorough technical assessment.

The board also recommended that an operational test and evaluation to re-qualify the guns for acceptance by the South African Army.

It also recommended an updated product management intervention thorough a thorough maintenance programme to be conducted.

Commenting on the nature of work the soldiers engaged in, Minister Lekota said: "We do however accept that soldiering is a dangerous vocation.

"It is amongst others within this context the country regard members of the SANDF as special citizens of our country."

A tense stand-off between police and an army private erupted when the soldier barricaded himself inside his Pretoria flat with four hostages.

The private (31), who was armed with a pistol, took four Military Police (MPs) personnel hostage when they came to arrest him yesterday.

The MPs tried to arrest the soldier, who is facing a charge of pointing a firearm, after he allegedly took his weapon home without permission. More charges might be added following further investigations.

The soldier’s wife, who cannot be named as it will identify her husband, ran to his offices at the SANDF War College in Proes Street where she reported him to the MPs after he allegedly threatened her.

The MPs tried to persuade the soldier to surrender his weapon, but were taken hostage when he refused to give them his gun.

Realising what was happening, his wife alerted police pleading for help. In the meantime the private had locked the soldiers inside a room and threatened to kill them if police tried to enter it.

SAPS Special Task Force members armed with shields and machine-guns took up strategic positions around and inside the block of flats as hostage negotiators tried to talk the man into surrendering.

A police sniper took up position at a neighbouring building.

Police spokesperson Captain Thomas Mufumadi confirmed the stand-off saying that the hostage negotiators persuaded the man to surrender his gun.

The man handed his gun to police through a bathroom window.

“The negotiators then persuaded the man to open the door and as he did so the task force stormed the flat arresting him. Police released the four MPs,” said Mufumadi.

He said the man, who was being held in custody, would be appearing in court soon.

Mufumadi said at this stage it was not known what kinds of threats were made by the soldier against his wife. SANDF spokesperson Colonel Petrus Motlabane said they were investigating the matter.

Claims of a cover-up have followed the release of the police report into the Lohatla tragedy, in which nine anti-aircraft regiment soldiers were killed during an SANDF training exercise.

Police confirmed yesterday that their investigation found that the tragedy was due to a mechanical error, not human negligence.

A similar finding is expected from the parallel investigation by the SANDF.

Neither report has been made public.

However, the contractor who exposed the extent to which the initial 2001 arms deal report was sanitised, says information in his possession indicates that there “had to be negligence” at Lohatla.

The SA National Defence Union (Sandu) believes the SANDF investigation will also be a cover-up.

Sandu spokesperson Charlton Boer said the union “has not seen anything of the report”, despite reports that the SANDF’s findings had been discussed with the families of the dead and injured soldiers almost two weeks ago.

“They promised the report as soon as they finalised it,” Boer said.

The police findings are with the provincial police commissioner, from where the docket will be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The SANDF report is with Minister of Defence Mosiuoa Lekota. His spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said the minister would address the media “in due course”.

Days after the October 12 incident, Lekota said the accident had happened “immediately after technicians had finished repairing the weapon”.

After firing resumed, the gun had swung “completely” to the left and a burst of explosive shells killed nine and injured 15 soldiers.

Allegations of a cover-up have already begun prior to the re-lease of the report into the Lo-hatla tragedy, in which nine soldiers of an anti-aircraft reg- iment were killed during an SANDF training exericse.

Police confirmed yesterday that their investigation had found that the accident during Operation Seboka was “due to a mechanical error”– and “not human negligence”.

Although a similar finding is expected from the parallel investigation by the SANDF, both reports have yet to be made public.

Richard Young, the arms contractor who exposed the extent to which the initial 2001 arms deal report had been sanitised, says his information indicates that there “had to be negligence” at Lohatla.

The SA National Defence Union (Sandu) said it believed the investigation by the De- fence Force into Lohatla was an attempt to cover up for the Department of Defence.

Sandu spokesman Charlton Boer said Sandu “has not seen anything of the report”, de-spite reports that the SANDF’s findings had been discussed with the families of the dead and injured soldiers almost two weeks ago.

“They promised the report as soon as they finalised it,” Boer said. The union was going on a “fact-finding mission” to Kimberley today.

The police findings are with the provincial police commissioner, from where the docket will be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Police spokeswoman Cher-elle Ehlers said the police were hoping the DPP would launch a formal public inquest.

The SANDF report is with the Minister of Defence, Mos-iuoa Lekota, whose spokes-man, Sam Mkhwanazi, said the minister would address the media “in due course”.

He would give no further comment.

Days after the October 12 incident, Lekota said in the National Assembly that the accident had happened “immediately after technicians had finished repairing the weapon” – a twin-barrel 35mm anti-aircraft gun. After firing resumed, the gun had swung “completely” to the left and in an eighth of a second, a burst of explosive shells killed nine and injured 15 soldiers manning guns positioned on the left.

It was the first time that the soldiers involved had used live ammunition in a training exercise.

Young said there were three main questions that begged scrutiny:

l Why did a mechanical failure due to a “known possible failure mode” lead to a catastrophic failure and what happened to safety mechanisms such as end-stops?

l Were the troops operating these guns trained to a level where they could operate them during a live-fire exercise invol-ving thousands of troops and hundreds of observers?

l Why had neither of the two investigation reports been made public, well over a month after their completion?

Young said he did not be-lieve the end-stops, which would prevent the gun from slewing around, were in place.

Not only would these end-stops have prevented the gun from swinging uncontrollably, but once the end-stops were hit, engineering and hydraulic drives would disengage and the gun would stop working.

Putting end-stops on either side of the gun was “standard” safety procedure and a soldier who neglected to do so could be court-martialed, Young said.

It bordered on “criminal negligence” to have the guns operating “without properly trained people” – a view shared by Sandu.

Boer said the troops, some of whom had only been in the SANDF for a year, were not sufficiently trained and the union wanted “a full, independent criminal inquiry”.

“If those soldiers were fully trained and the weapons fully checked, that would not have taken place.

“Now we want to make sure it never again takes place.”

The South African Air Force (SAAF) has grounded its fleet of Pilatus Astra PC-7 MkII aircraft following the death of a pilot in a plane crash on Tuesday.

The fleet would remain grounded until further notice, South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Headquarters said on Wednesday.

The SANDF has named the pilot killed in the crash as Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Meiring, 58.

He was piloting a Pilatus Astra PC-7 MkII en route to Air Force Base Langebaanweg for routine maintenance.

The aircraft went down outside Bredasdorp, in the Western Cape, shortly after take-off from the South African Air Force's Test Flight and Development Centre at noon on Tuesday.

Meiring was survived by his wife Anna and two daughters, Tanya and Melissa, said SANDF spokesman Colonel Danie van der Westhuizen.

Funeral details had not yet been finalised.

He said the decision to ground the entire fleet was made following the convening of a board of inquiry into the crash.

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, Chief of the SANDF General Godfrey Ngwenya, and Chief of the SAAF Lieutenant-General Carlo Gagiano have extended their sympathies and condolences to Meiring's family.

A South African Air Force pilot died in a plane crash outside Bredasdorp in the Western Cape on Tuesday afternoon, said South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Headquarters.

The accident occurred just after take-off from the South African Air Force's Test Flight and Development Centre at noon, SANDF spokesman Colonel Danie van der Westhuizen said in a statement.

"The aircraft, a Pilatus Astra PC-7 MkII, was en route to Air Force Base Langebaanweg for routine maintenance," he said.

Van der Westhuizen said a board of inquiry into the accident had been convened by the Chief of the SAAF, Lieutenant-General Carlo Gagiano.

He said Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, the Chief of the SANDF, general Godfrey Ngwenya, and Gagiano had extended their sincerest sympathies and condolences to the pilot's family.

Captain Phuti Phineas Hlahla, 33, was the officer shot and killed at the Karee Army Support Base, the Department of Defence said on Friday.

Department spokesman colonel Petrus Motlhabane said Hlahla was killed on Wednesday while on a routine patrol in an effort to curb incidents of cable theft.

Hlahla was survived by his wife, three children and his mother.

Funeral arrangements would be announced once the family had finalised them.

The South African Police Services were investigating the murder and an internal Department of Defence Board of Inquiry was being conducted, said Motlhabane.

The minister of defence, Mosiuoa Lekota, SANDF chief, general Godfrey Ngwenya, and South African Army chief Solly Shoke extended their condolences to captain Hlahla's family and friends.

An attendance register of the ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting shows the conspicuous absence of the party’s embittered former president.

The former president was humiliated by his own organisation’s NEC, precipitated by a painful rift with his successor. This former ANC president is Nelson Mandela.

So, it was déjà vu when President Thabo Mbeki stayed away this week from a hostile NEC meeting presided over by his successor Jacob Zuma.

The election of Zuma’s allies to the influential national working committee (NWC) will also widen the rift between the two men.

Mbeki now commands a centre of power through the state and the Cabinet, while Zuma fortified his authority in the ANC and NWC.

The acerbic tone of the new ANC leadership this week signals an explosive rupture between the two centres of power.

“There is no government and ANC; the ANC is the party that leads government,” said ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, when asked about the forthcoming NEC lekgotla which will set policy directives for government.

Tomorrow, the new ANC leadership will display its firepower by indirectly telling Mbeki how to run the government when the party releases its annual policy statement to mark its 96th birthday.

ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe once complained that Mbeki’s Cabinet ignored ANC decisions. He said the ANC was not “a subcommittee of Cabinet”, and launched a separate party investigation into the hoax e-mails.

This week, the new treasurer-general, Mathews Phosa, announced a special committee to investigate the arms deal which could compel Mbeki to testify. “We are not government; we are a party,” he said.

Phosa, Motlanthe, Mantashe and Zuma are part of a powerful NWC that will certainly tilt the ANC (read government) to the left of centre in what will be 18 months of ferocious animosity between the party and the state. This could speed up or cripple government’s service delivery machinery.

Most of the 20 members of the NWC are either leftists, centrists who clashed with Mbeki, or ardent Zuma supporters with a controversial political track record. They include:

l Collins Chabane, a highly respected veteran Limpopo politician whose ambition to become premier was thwarted by Mbeki and, ironically, Ngoako Ramatlhodi, before the latter turned against the president.

l Bathabile Dlamini, the ANC Women’s League secretary-general who was instrumental in steering the league towards a Zuma vote;

l Pallo Jordan, the Arts and Culture Minister, Mbeki’s intellectual peer, whose personality clash with the president led to his demotion to the backbenches for years;

l Fikile Mbalula, the outgoing ANC Youth League president. He is responsible for catapulting Mbeki to power and for deposing him. He remained an Mbeki loyalist, clashing with Cosatu, until the succession battle nudged him towards Zuma;

l Angie Motshekga, the Gauteng Education MEC who contested the ANC provincial chairpersonship last year on a Zuma ticket, but lost;

l Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Limpopo MEC who is tipped to take over as premier from Sello Moloto (who supports Mbeki) next year;

l Siphiwe Nyanda, former SANDF general who took early retirement after a cold relationship with Mbeki. His appointment to the ANC’s special committee on the arms deal is likely to reveal untold stories of the biggest arms purchase since 1994;

l Blade Nzimande, the SA Communist Party general secretary. He is credited with orchestrating Mbeki’s downfall, after indirectly prodding Cosatu and the SACP towards Zuma. His socialist ideology and Hugo Chavez-inspired policy outlook, including nationalisation, could influence the Zuma presidency;

l Jeff Radebe, the Transport Minister, who felt marginalised by Mbeki after his demotion. He has tried, but failed, to revive his political profile in the SACP central committee, only to resurface in the ANC’s senior structures;

l Lindiwe Sisulu, the Housing Minister. When she was Intelligence Minister, she is said to have advised Mbeki against accusing Phosa, Cyril Ramaphosa and Tokyo Sexwale were of involvement in a coup plot;

l Max Sisulu, the ANC’s economic transformation department head. He apparently blames Mbeki after he was passed over as CEO of Denel. He had clashed with Mbeki in exile;

l Makhenkesi Stofile, the Sports Minister. He was the Zuma camp’s initial candidate for the party chairpersonship. They wanted him to neutralise the Eastern Cape, which was then swaying towards Mbeki;

l Tony Yengeni, the former ANC chief whip, who was convicted for an arms deal-related car discount. His bitterness will certainly see him urge the disbandment of the Scorpions that stung him.

Other NWC members include controversial foreign affairs official Jessie Duarte, former Northern Cape MEC Tina Joemat-Pettersson, MPs Ncumisa Kondlo and Nathi Mthethwa, controversial former mayor of Cape Town Nomaindia Mfeketo, Mpumalanga politician Dina Pule and Deputy Safety Minister Susan Shabangu.

Mantashe defended this committee as non-factional. However, the schism between the two centres of power, and this committee’s ability or inability to continue to watch government after the 2009 elections will prove him wrong, or vindicate him.

The all-race general election in 1994 represented not only a transformation of domestic politics but also a shift in South Africa's position internationally. At the regional level, co-operation is driven by Mr Mbeki's vision of an "African Renaissance". South Africa engages with its neighbours at the political and the commercial level, both bilaterally and as a member of regional bodies such as the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). However, it has to tread a fine line. There are mixed feelings among businesspeople and politicians in Southern Africa about the country's dominant role. These range from hopes that the neighbourhood giant will spark off a regionwide recovery to fears that South Africa will steal a competitive march on the nascent industries of other countries.

At the political level South Africa has had to play a non-intrusive yet firm role to encourage the peaceful resolution of conflicts in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Rwanda and Burundi, and, most recently, Zimbabwe. With the exception of Zimbabwe, solid progress towards lasting political settlements in these countries shows that African-led negotiations can help to solve African problems—a point that the president will continue to make a central principle of foreign policy. South Africa's "quiet diplomacy" approach to brokering an end to the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe has proved a failure, with nothing likely to change as long as its 83-year-old president, Robert Mugabe, hangs on to the reins of power. Increasing frustration internationally and within South Africa has led to calls for Mr Mbeki to take a bolder approach. However, there is also a strong reluctance to interfere in the political affairs of neighbouring countries within the SADC, which continues to back Mr Mbeki's mediation attempts. As a result, Mr Mbeki is unlikely to adopt a hardline policy towards Mr Mugabe.

The New Partnership for Africa's Development

The government won the approval of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) conference in Lusaka to present Mr Mbeki's Millennium Africa Plan (MAP) to the summit of the leaders of the world's eight leading industrialised nations (G8) in Genoa, Italy, in July 2001. Although driven forward by Mr Mbeki, the MAP was strongly supported by the presidents of Algeria and Nigeria. The MAP was then merged with the Omega Plan—which was put forward by the Senegalese president, Abdoulaye Wade—and presented in Genoa. It was agreed there that a high-level liaison officer would be appointed to work with African leaders to develop an action plan to be presented to the G8 summit in Canada in 2002. The plan was renamed the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad). It received overwhelming support at the 2002 G8 summit, at which the group detailed an Africa Plan of Action that commits G8 countries to assisting the promotion of Nepad.

Nepad argues that Africa needs to involve itself much more closely in the global economy. To do this it needs to implement a series of reforms, which will be supported by the G8 through a combination of external debt relief and improved trade access to the developed world. Increased financial aid is mentioned but deliberately downplayed to emphasise that the thinking behind the plan is that responsibility for the success of the plan lies with African leaders. The key reforms proposed by Nepad include:

the establishment of civil order and more democratic government;

the prevention and reduction of conflict throughout Sub-Saharan Africa;

greater respect for human rights;

increased investment in human resources through health and education;

policies aimed at diversifying African economies and boosting trade with the rest of the world;

measures to enable Africa to adopt new technologies; and

the combating of the range of diseases that afflict the continent, from AIDS to malaria.

Mr Mbeki has stressed, that although his goals may be ambitious, there is a strong moral obligation to push such ideas forward and strive to promote African development. Although many African governments may be recalcitrant, if some countries do adopt Nepad's prescriptions and start to grow rapidly, they will serve as trailblazers for others to follow. African countries could then act in mutual support, promoting African issues on the global agenda and engaging with other African leaders from a much stronger political and economic base. An encouraging development is that a number of countries have agreed to submit to Nepad's peer review process, which envisages the assessment of each government by a council of Africa's "wise men", including Chris Stals, a former governor of the South African Reserve Bank (the central bank). However, the peer review of South Africa (conducted in late 2006) proved particularly critical, and the report's publication was delayed by six months as the government put forward its objections; this gave rise to a perception that South Africa had rejected the peer review. The government strongly denied that it had rejected or delayed the report, but at the very least its grudging acceptance of the report has the potential to damage the credibility of the peer review process.

South African National Defence Force

Since the end of apartheid, South Africa's armed forces, known as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), consists of the forces of the old South African Defence Force (SADF), and the former members of the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). The integration process began slowly and has led to some resentment among MK cadres. An estimated 35,000 members of MK and other South African resistance movements—as well as 11,500 members from former homeland forces—have been absorbed into the SANDF, of whom only about one-half remain. The SANDF has nevertheless undergone a substantial transformation since 1994, and 70% of its soldiers are now black (African, coloured and Indian). However, more than 60% of senior officers are white, and the apparent disorganisation of SANDF troops when they entered Lesotho in September 1998 was attributed to a lack of cohesion in the army. Although the services have received a controversial R30bn (US$3.6bn) new weapons package, they have warned that budget cuts may force the closure of three air force bases and that most of their units are at less than 50% readiness. The issue of HIV/AIDS in the army is also an increasing source of concern. Moreover, the overstretched SANDF forces are under pressure to support, with personnel on the ground, Mr Mbeki's desire to rely increasingly on African forces for peacekeeping on the continent.

Comparative military forces, 2006
                          South Africa Zimbabwe Nigeria Algeria(a)
Army                      41,350       25,000   67,000  120,000
Air force                 9,180        4,000    10,000  10,000
Navy                      5,801        0        8,000   7,500
Total                     62,331(a)    29,000   85,000  137,500
Paramilitary forces       n/a          21,800   82,000  187,200
Defence spending (US$ bn) 3.3          0.1      0.8     3.0
(a) Includes 6,000 serving in military health service.
Source: International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2007.
   

Thirteen members of the SA National Defence Force based at Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, were injured in a road accident, the SANDF said on Thursday.

"I can confirm that the incident occurred on Tuesday. Nine members are currently at the Medi-Clinic in Pietermaritzburg while four sustained minor injuries," said spokesman Nico Allie.

It was not clear as to how the accident occurred.

Meanwhile the SA National Defence Union (Sandu) expressed its concern for the safety of soldiers following the incident.

An SA National Defence Force (SANDF) captain was shot and killed at the Karee base in Polokwane, the Department of Defence said on Thursday.

Spokesman Colonel Petrus Motlhabane said the army captain -- who cannot be named as the next of kin have not yet been informed-- was killed on Wednesday night.

"The member was part of a group patrolling the area around the base in an effort to curb incidents of cable theft. Investigations are continuing," said Motlhabane.

Police spokeswoman Ronel Otto said the incident happened around 9pm.

"The incident happened at around 9pm. A murder docket has been opened and that is all I can tell you at the moment," she said.

“R Kelly” made his debut in the SA Air Force yesterday, much to the amusement of the officers drilling the 251 new recruits.

The nameless youngster, dressed in a white suit, white shirt and tie and sporting white snakeskin boots, became the focus of attention at the SAAF gymnasium yesterday.

“Everybody, please welcome R Kelly,” shouted one officer as he entered the hangar. “I believe I can fly,” sang another.

This month 2 954 new recruits will join the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) to be inducted into the Military Skills Development System (MSDS).

“Come R Kelly: up, down, up, down,” yelled an officer.

Samuel Nonyana said he joined the SAAF to further his studies. “I am enjoying it so far,” he said, despite being out of breath. “I want to be an engineer.”

Maria Manngo said although she wanted to be an administration clerk, she wanted to “fight for and protect the people of South Africa”.

Khalofelo Mohale wanted to join the Military Police. “I understand the needs of South Africans.”

After their basic military training, MSDS recruits will be allowed to choose training in specific careers – pilots, navigators, engineers, doctors, dentists and naval combat officers, to name a few.

A full United Nations batallion of South African troops was redeployed on Sunday in Darfur, Sudan, amid serious doubts about the chances of success of the new “hybrid” |UN-African Union mission.

Officially titled the UN African Union Mission in Darfur (Unamid), it will take over the under-equipped and under-strength African Union Mission in Sudan (Amis).

Current Amis soldiers whose terms have been renewed – including the about 650 SANDF members – were “rehatted” in a ceremony on Monday exchanging their green helmets for the blue ones of UN peacekeepers.

But grave concern has been expressed by the UN’s top official and humanitarian organisations in Darfur over the world community’s commitment to the peace process in Darfur.

UN secretary-general Ban ki Moon has been going hat in hand to world leaders asking for 24 helicopters for |Unamid.

In addition, a new round of stalling tactics by the Sudanese government has slowed down deployment of the new force, as well as a bridging “heavy package” for Amis which had been scheduled for November last year.

In a letter early in December to the UN Security Council, itself accused of averting attention from the crisis in which at least 200 000 civilians have died since 2003, Ban said: “The situation has become acute.

“While helicopters alone cannot ensure the success of the mission, their absence may well doom it to failure.”

A UN background document says Khartoum is refusing to let American-allied pilots fly the helicopters, and is denying all but two Unamid aircraft permission to fly at night.

It also insists on communications blackouts during its own military operations.

Sudan has been accused by a wide range of organisations, including many governments, of aiding militias it had trained in attacks on forces deemed to be fighting against Khartoum in the four-year civil war. Several accounts exist of |Sudanese air force bombings |of villages prior to militia attacks.

Sam Mkhwanazi, spokes-man of Defence Minister Mosiua Lekota, said there were no plans to provide SA helicopters to Unamid. He also did not foresee additions to the current SA troop contingent.

He reiterated Lekota’s statement earlier last year that should this be requested, SA would provide extra command personnel to help out in Darfur, “resources allowing”.

SA is already over-committed in other conflict zones, such as the Congo and Burundi.

The government has been criticised for supporting Sudan’s president Oma al Bashir in his insistence on Unamid having an African character. Top Amis commanders have admitted in public that Bashir wanted Africans because he could manipulate them.

Troops from Egypt and China have also been rejected by a key rebel group, the SLM/A, since the former has a military pact with Khartoum and the latter has been supplying weapons to the Sudanese army.

General Martin Agwai, Unamid commander, has said the force would need about 15 000 troops and police to become operational, but by Monday only about 9 000 Amis rehatted soldiers and police, and elements of the “heavy package” appeared to be “on the ground”, according to Unamid.

According to the UN Security Council resolution launching the force in July, it would eventually consist of 25 000 unformed personnel, and an additional 6 000 civilians, making it the world’s largest peacekeeping mission.

Critics have scoffed at the “rehatting”, saying Amis in a new guise will fail to the same extent it has failed before.

A probe into a rebel attack on an Amis camp at Haskinata camp in October last year, which led to the deaths of 10 soldiers and the dispersion hundreds in the desert, was aimed mainly at looting logistical equipment.

In 2005, a South African contingent was also robbed of about four dozen rifles and other equipment during a hold-up by another rebel group.

A full United Nations battalion of South African troops was among African Union troops handed over to a new joint AU-United Nations force in Darfur, Sudan, yesterday. But critics fear the new force faces the same prospect of failure as the old one.