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TAGS: KDEM PGOV ASEC SF POL PAS ECON
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA POLITICAL NEWSLETTER AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 5 
 
PRETORIA 00001810  001.4 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) This was written in partnership with the Open Source 
Center's Pretoria Bureau.  The newsletter is open to contributions 
from officers in the Embassy or in the Consulates who wish to 
highlight political trends.  Contact Madeline Seidenstricker or 
Jonathan Smallridge for more information, or to make contributions. 
The newsletter also is available on the Political Section's blog, "A 
View from South Africa," found on intelink.gov. 
 
------------------ 
International News 
------------------ 
 
Zuma Urges Support for Obama's Efforts in Middle East 
 
¶2. (U) Addressing the South African Jewish Board of Deputies on 
August 29, President Zuma said that the only viable solution for the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict was one that fulfils the aspirations of 
both parties for independent homelands through two states for the 
two peoples, adding that President Obama's efforts in pursuit of a 
two-state solution "should be supported".  Zuma said Pretoria 
supports the United Nations position on the issue and condemns "all 
forms of violence from whatever quarter, particularly where 
civilians are targeted".  Zuma also told the audience that although 
South Africa was made up of diverse communities, individual 
identities must not be above our national identity.  (The 
Presidency, September 4) 
 
 
 
DICO on IBSA Ministerial 
 
¶3.  The Department of International Relations and Cooperation 
recapped the visit of DICO Minister Nkoana-Mashabane to Brazil for a 
trilateral ministerial meeting hosted by her counterpart Celso 
Amorim and attended by India's External Relations minister S. M. 
Krishna.  The three ministers reportedly reaffirmed their countries' 
commitment to further strengthening the role of IBSA and dealing 
with United Nations Reform, the international financial and economic 
crisis, the increase of international trade, and condemning 
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.  The next IBSA summit 
is scheduled for October 8 in Brazil. 
 
Zuma's Trip to Zimbabwe 
 
¶4. (U) President Zuma ended his two-day working visit to Zimbabwe 
after opening the 99th Harare Agricultural Show.  Zuma visited 
Zimbabwe in the capacity as South African President and SADC 
Chairperson and was hosted by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe at 
a State banquet.  Zuma reiterated that there are clear signs that 
Zimbabwe is on the road to recovery and urged that the Global 
Political Agreement be fully implemented without delay.  Zuma met 
with all the signatories to the agreement, and stated that effective 
recovery is also dependent on the removal of sanctions and other 
measures to hold back economic development.  (The Presidency, August 
28) 
 
11-Nation Military Exercise Under Way in Northern Cape 
 
¶5. (U) The Citizen reports that the single largest multinational 
peace-enforcement exercise to be staged in South Africa since the 
advent of democracy is currently under way at the SA Army Combat 
Training Centre in Northern Cape.  More than 8,000 soldiers from 11 
SADC countries, most of them from the SANDF, are taking part in 
Exercise Golfinho. Participating countries include Angola, Botswana, 
Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, 
Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Military observers locally, including 
a number at diplomatic level, view the exercise as a litmus test for 
the SANDF in its efforts to improve regional co-operation in 
peacekeeping and peace support.  (Privately-owned weekday 
newspaper) 
 
SA Government Will Not Oppose Lawsuits Against US Companies 
QSA Government Will Not Oppose Lawsuits Against US Companies 
 
¶6. (U) Justice Minister Jeff Radebe has written to the presiding 
judge of the US District Court of the southern district of New York 
reversing the government decision under former president Thabo Mbeki 
not to support lawsuits that were launched in New York by the 
victims of apartheid and their organization, Khulumani Support 
Group.  Eight international companies face litigation following a 
South African government decision not to continue opposing the 
lawsuits against them. The conglomerates being sued in the class 
action are Barclays, Daimler, Ford, Fujitsu, General Motors, IBM, 
Rheinmetall and UBS.  The claim is based on the United States' Alien 
Tort Statute, which allows people anywhere in the world to make 
claims against US-based corporations that have caused damage to 
them.  The lawsuits relate to aiding and abetting serious crimes 
such as torture and extrajudicial killings by the apartheid regime 
in violation of international law.  The government welcomed this 
development, Radebe stated, and would be willing to offer its 
 
PRETORIA 00001810  002.4 OF 003 
 
 
counsel to the parties in pursuit of a settlement if requested to do 
so.  The April judgment substantially narrowed the claims, 
previously against 23 corporations.  As a class action, it provides 
for the inclusion of all affected individuals.  (Johannesburg 
Business Report Online, September 3, 2009) 
 
------------- 
Domestic News 
------------- 
 
Human Settlement Minister to Improve Housing 
 
¶7. (U) Human Settlement Minister Tokyo Sexwale spent a night in the 
Diepsloot informal settlement north of Johannesburg last month.  He 
then visited the N2 Gateway housing project in Cape Town, which is 
currently facing massive housing backlogs.  The visits are part of a 
fact-finding mission to understanding the living conditions in 
informal settlements.  Late last week, Sexwale met with banks and 
businesses, urging them to lend a hand in solving the country's 
housing problem.  Sexwale said his immediate mission was to find 
building contractors and companies to build new government houses. 
The Human Settlement Department has set the target of building 
226,000 houses a year as more than 635 million people still need 
houses.  In June, Sexwale told Parliament that expenditure on 
housing service delivery had increased to roughly $1 billion USD. 
Sexwale since coming to office this year has approved over 570 
housing projects and received billions in housing grants from the 
private sector.  (Sowetan, August 31, 2009) 
 
African National Congress Gains Edge in By-Elections 
¶8. (U)  Municipalities in Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape 
held by-elections this week.  In Limpopo, the African National 
Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) retained their wards 
in two municipalities as both parties won with overwhelming 
majorities.   The ANC gained two wards in Thulamela municipality. 
The DA won most of the wards in Tzaneen followed by the ANC.  The 
Limpopo Electoral Officer, Nkaro Mateta, told the SABC the 
by-elections went smoothly.  In the Eastern Cape, the ANC won all 
their wards except one as the DA retained its ward in the Nelson 
Mandela Bay Metro by 65 percent.  In the Northern Cape, the DA 
retained Ward One with a majority of 57 percent of the votes.  The 
Independent Democrats (ID) came in second with 19 percent, followed 
by the ANC with 15 percent, the Freedom Front Plus with 6 percent 
and the Congress of the People (COPE) with 4 percent.  Other parties 
that contested the election were COPE, African Christian Democratic 
Party, Pan-African Congress, and the ID.  COPE made a key gain in 
Gauteng, winning a ward in the Ekhuruleni region.  (SABCNEWS, 
September 2, 2009) 
Judicial Service Commission decided not to investigate Judge Hlophe 
¶9. (U) The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has decided not to 
continue investigating allegations that Judge John Hlophe 
inappropriately tried to influence judges of the Constitutional 
Court. The decision was announced last week, two weeks after the 
decision was made behind closed doors.  In July, Zuma increased 
members of the JSC by adding two Members of Parliament from the 
ruling party.  There is some speculation the presidential 
appointments to the commission may have influenced the debate in 
favor of a decision not to continue with investigations. 
(NEWS24.COM, August 31, 2009) 
Presidential Hotline to be ready in September 
¶10. (U) The Presidency will launch the President's service delivery 
hotline at the end of September 2009.  Presidency official Vusi Mona 
Qhotline at the end of September 2009.  Presidency official Vusi Mona 
told government employees on Monday in Centurion that the 
infrastructure was in place, cables were still being laid and 
furniture brought in.  Moni reported that more than 70 officials are 
being trained as call center operators, and specialized units are 
being created in various government departments to help them with 
problems raised by callers.  The presidential hotline will cost 
roughly $800,000 USD to set up and roughly $700,000 USD for staff 
salaries a year.  Zuma promised the hotline in his State of the 
Nation address.  According to the Presidency, when Zuma moved into 
his office he received over 500 calls, e-mails, letters and visits 
from the public each week on service delivery, but the number has 
increased to 1,300 a week.  (The Star, September 1, 2009) 
Bus Rapid Transit Attacked 
¶11. (U) Two people this week were injured when a minibus taxi opened 
fire on a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bus in Soweto.  The BRT is a 
government initiative to improve public transport in country. 
However, taxi operators are opposing the project in fear that it 
would destroy their livelihoods.  Last week, the South African 
National Taxi Council applied for an urgent interdict in the North 
Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to stop government from implementing 
the bus system.  The interdict was rejected and the BRT was launched 
on August 30.  Many political analysts say the attack this week is 
similar to the turf wars fought in the 1980s between taxi 
associations and individual minibus taxi drivers.  The city of 
Johannesburg has condemned the violent incident and has called on 
all law enforcement to step up measures of protecting passengers, 
BRT staff and property. (News24.com, September, 02, 2009) 
 
PRETORIA 00001810  003.4 OF 003 
 
 
RSA: Soldiers Threaten 'More Mass Action' if Concerns Are Not 
Addressed 
¶12. (U) Pretoria News reports that members of the South African 
National Defense Force (SANDF) members are threatening more mass 
action throughout the country, which may result in violence, if 
Defense Minister Lindiwe Sisulu does not address their grievances 
soon. In a two-day meeting at which the union discussed the clash 
between police and soldiers at the Union Buildings last Wednesday, 
South African Security Forces Union (SASFU) president Bhekinkosi 
Mvovo made it clear that union members did not wish to resort to 
violence and wanted to resolve their problems within the confines of 
the law. However, he warned that if issues like racism and 
transformation in the SANDF were not resolved soon there could be 
dire consequences. SASFU indicated that they are going to fight and 
defend their members, "no matter at what cost". Meanwhile, Mvovo 
rejected statements made by the acting chief of the SANDF, 
Lieutenant-General Themba Matanzima, speaking of a plot by 
disgruntled soldiers to abduct top military officials, including the 
minister. (Local daily, privately owned by Independent Newspaper 
Company) 
 
Intelligence Agency Refuses Comment on Rumors of Zuma Ally 
Appointment 
 
¶13. (U) News24 reports that the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) 
refused to reveal on Sunday whether Durban businessman and "Key Zuma 
Ally" Mo Shaik would be appointed as the agency's new director 
general. Although Mo Shaik denied the allegation, NIA spokesperson 
Lorna Daniels said the announcement would be made by the presidency 
once all the necessary procedures had been followed.  DA's 
spokesperson for state security Theo Coetzee said the party would 
oppose this nomination. (Privately-owned 24-hour Internet news 
service with emphasis on news from South Africa and Africa; URL: 
http://www.news24.co.za) 
 
New Top Cop Discusses Observations Following Tour of Police 
Stations 
 
¶14. (U) SAFM "After 8 Debate" program: Announcer Tim Modise 
interviewed National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele on his 
observations following his tour of police stations throughout the 
nine provinces. Cele said that he met with the provincial management 
and the station commissioners of all 1,116 stations in South Africa, 
and remarked that there are "pockets of excellence" in policing in 
the country as well as "areas that need to be fixed".   According to 
Cele, policing resources need to be proportionally distributed and 
concentrated in areas that require more attention.  Discussing 
future strategies for reducing crime, Cele said that the police's 
top management and provincial leadership will be going to a retreat 
to map out the new strategic direction of the force. One of the key 
areas that will be focused on is "priority crimes", which includes 
car hijackings, murders, rape and abuse, among others. (National 
SABC radio service, nominally independent but partially funded by 
government) 
 
Gips