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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 002163 
 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV ASEC SF POL PAS ECON
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA POLITICAL NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 19-OCTOBER 23 
 
PRETORIA 00002163  001.2 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. 
 
------------- 
Domestic News 
------------- 
 
President Disappointed Democratic Alliance in Power in Western Cape 
 
 
¶2. (U)  President Jacob Zuma told members of the provincial general 
council meeting in Mitchell's Plain Cape Town that he was 
disappointed the Democratic Alliance (DA) is in power in Western 
Cape Province following its victory in the April election.  The 
president was addressing a provincial council meeting in the Western 
Cape on October 18.  He shared with the province what the African 
National Congress (ANC) needs to do to rebuild its structures and 
branches for the 2011 elections.  Zuma's remarks come after months 
of infighting in the Western Cape, which led to ANC National 
Executive committee dismantling the leadership in July. (SABCNEWS, 
October, 18, 2009) 
 
Service Delivery Tops Zuma's Agenda 
 
¶3. (U)  Zuma met with executive mayors and city mangers to discuss 
the state of local governments and service delivery improvement. 
Premiers and municipal managers also attended the meeting, which was 
held in Khayelitsha, Cape Town on October 20.  The meeting follows 
service delivery improvement meetings held by the President in 
August. According to the Presidency's office, Zuma decided to take a 
more direct approach in dealing with local government issues and all 
matters of service delivery.  Zuma was accompanied by Monitoring and 
Evaluation Minister Collins Chabane, National Planning Commission 
Minister Trevor Manuel, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, Human 
Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale and Cooperative Governance and 
Traditional Affairs Minister Sicelo Shiceka.  (BuaNews, October, 20, 
2009) 
 
ANC in Gauteng Province Accuses Communist Party of Inciting Protests 
 
 
¶4. (U)  The ANC in Gauteng has accused South African Communist Party 
(SACP) members of inciting service delivery protests in 
Johannesburg.  Addressing the media in Johannesburg, Gauteng ANC 
Provincial Secretary David Makhura told reporters that the ANC has 
evidence that the protest were organized by the SACP.  He cited 
factionalism in the province as the motive. 
 
 
Congress of South African Trade Unions Want Food Prices Regulated 
 
¶5. (U)  The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has 
called on the government to put measures in place to tackle 
increasing food prices.  COSATU members handed a memorandum to the 
Ministry of Agriculture in Parliament on World Food day in protest 
against high food prices.  COSATU Spokesperson Tony Ehrenreich said 
the union was concerned that prices for basic foods such as bread 
and milk had not gone down despite global trends.  The union said 
World Food Day is as a reminder that the world can produce enough 
food to feed all human beings.  Millions experience regular hunger 
owing to profit driven food production, processing, and procurement 
and distribution distortions. (October, 19, 2009) 
 
Nelspruit changes to Mbombela 
 
¶6. (U)  The name of Mpumalanga Province's capital city has been 
changed from Nelspruit to Mbombela.  The change follows Arts and 
Culture Minister Lulu Xingwana's publication in the government 
QCulture Minister Lulu Xingwana's publication in the government 
gazette of 42 geographical name changes which were approved between 
July and September 2009.  Some of the approved name changes in 
Mpumalanga are Belfast to eMakhazeni, Waterval Boven to Emgwenya, 
Machadodorp to eNtokozweni, and Nelspruit to Mbombela.  The 
department spokesperson Premi Appalraju told reported that in 
Mbombela Municipality 75 percent of people in 36 wards around 
Nelspruit supported the proposed name changes.  Ratau-Dlamini added 
that businesses would not be forced to change their street addresses 
or remove name boards immediately and that street name signs would 
remain for the next three years. (News24.com, October, 19, 2009) 
 
Schabir Shaik Controversy Not Going Away 
 
¶7. (U)  The Presidency confirmed on October 19 that it had received 
an application for pardon from Schabir Shaik on April 24, 2008. 
(Shaik was the former financial advisor to President Zuma who was 
 
PRETORIA 00002163  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence for having a "generally 
corrupt" relationship with the South African President.  End note.) 
The Presidency stated that no decision on the matter had been made 
about whether a pardon would be forthcoming.  Shaik had recently 
been paroled from prison on medical grounds, a highly contested 
decision that drew months of condemnation from opposition parties 
and human rights organizations.  (The Presidency, October 19) 
 
DA Pushes for Review of Corruption Charges Against Zuma 
 
¶8. (U)  The DA on October 21 asked the North Gauteng High Court to 
review the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to 
drop corruption charges against Zuma.  The DA stated that it wished 
to pursue the case in the interest of justice and the decision to do 
so was not politically motivated.  There are about 700 charges of 
corruption and racketeering against Zuma, but the NPA dropped them 
earlier this year after the office released transcripts showing how 
charges against Zuma could have been politically motivated by former 
President Thabo Mbeki.  (EWN, October 21) 
 
Soccer Coach Resigns Ahead of World Cup 
 
¶9. (U)  Joel Santana, coach of the South African National Soccer 
Team (Bafana Bafana), resigned on October 20 as the team has now 
lost seven of the their last eight games.  The South African 
Football Association is expected to announce the new coach of the 
national squad soon.  (News 24, October 20) 
 
RSA Muslims "Outraged" At Reports Claiming Existence of Terror Cells 
in Country 
 
¶10. (U)  eNews reports that South African Muslims are "outraged" 
about claims that terror cells are operating in the country. Muslim 
and Somali leaders distanced their communities from the reports, 
saying they were "irresponsible" and had sparked unnecessary 
paranoia. Local US Government operations shut their doors for two 
days last month after the National intelligence Agency (NIA) 
allegedly intercepted a call made from Cape Town to a Somali group 
believed to have links to al-Qa'ida. It is reported that the call to 
blow up all US-owned buildings here was made from a shack in Cape 
Town's Khayelitsha Township. South Africa's Muslim community has 
slammed the allegations, blaming the media for aggravating the 
situation. [E.tv's 24-hour news television station that is only 
available on subscription] 
 
RSA: Islamic Studies Institute Citess Flaws in Country's Capacity To 
Fight Global Terrorism 
 
¶11. (U)  The International Institute of Islamic Studies (IIIS) 
reports that South Africa's security services are "poorly" prepared 
to deal with global terrorist threats. The report cites a number of 
incidents that demonstrate the "inept" nature of the country's 
security services, including the Planet Hollywood bombings in 1998, 
and the smuggling into South Africa of a Pakistani man wanted by the 
US for his involvement in the bombing of the US Embassy in Dar es 
Salaam. The most recent threat targeting US interests in South 
Africa follows the US killing a senior Al Qaeda operative Saleh Ali 
Saleh in Somalia. The IIIS posits that incompetence coupled with the 
politicization of RSA's intelligence services are some of the 
problems confronting the security cluster The current restructuring 
under way in South Africa's intelligence services, with an infusion 
of new blood, may be the opportune moment to rectify these "flaws". 
The report also proposes that government re-consider the formation 
of a dedicated inter-agency counter-terrorism unit.  [Independent 
Qof a dedicated inter-agency counter-terrorism unit.  [Independent 
think-tank headed by Prof Hussein Solomon] 
 
------------------ 
International News 
------------------ 
 
Motlanthe Visits Sudan 
 
¶12. (U)  Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe is on a working visit to 
Sudan that began on October 21 and ends on October 24.  Motlanthe is 
expected to hold discussions on Sudan's 2010 election, a national 
referendum, governance experiences, and other matters related to the 
implementation of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). 
The visit takes place within the context of the advancement of the 
African agenda and South Africa's commitment to assist the Sudanese 
people in the efforts to restore peace and to contribute to the 
post-conflict reconstruction of the Sudan.  (The Presidency, October 
19) 
 
Arms Committee Says it Will Halt Sales to Zimbabwe 
 
¶13. (U)  Following increasing scrutiny about the South Africa 
Government's arms sales to Zimbabwe, the National Conventional Arms 
Control Committee (NCACC) has decided to halt arms sales to the 
neighboring country, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe and NCACC 
 
PRETORIA 00002163  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
chairperson stated in Parliament.  However, arms sales to Venezuela 
have been approved and the NCACC is considering similar requests 
from Syria.  Radebe said the decision to halt arms sales to Zimbabwe 
had nothing to do with domestic pressure.  (IDASA Briefing, October 
16)