GPSA Weekly Views

Still on the strike side - the mineworkers whom went on strike last Sunday are back at work. Not after costing the mines some R700-million The initial offer of 4,5% was improved to between 6% and 7%. And the municipal strikers have shown as being the most drastic and violent strikers of them all. Their excuse? "Workers are angry" says one Andrè Adams (regional manager for SAMWU) and urged strikers to condemn police presence.

Simple, they turn to violence because the cops are watching them. Makes sense - only in South Africa (sigh).

The Star newspaper (Thursday 11 Aug 2005) reported on crime statistics. Interesting reading except for the fact that most of "us" (the victims in crime) can't be bothered to report petty crimes. As civil servants most officers at police stations tend to ignore white faces (same with certain chain store staff - Checkers at the Atos Centre, Krugersdorp). Same with rapes where the victim (black especially) fear more victimization not onl;y from the perpetrator but also the community.

The following is based on "reported" cases only -

2003/04 : 20 000 murders, 53 000 rapes, 107 000 aggravated robberies, 266 000 serious assaults. Violent crimes increased by 2% to 33%. The Western Cape is tops with 17 more murders than the national figure of 43 per 100 000 people. The Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal sit together at 53, the Northern Cape at 50 and Gauteng at 45.

Isn't it enlightening to note that the murder rate in Gauteng dropped by 16% with the Western Cape by 25%. And to make things even worse, correctional services admitted to releasing the wrong prisoners! Stats here are frightening with 669 children being raped by men who had rape convictions between 2002 and March last year.

The Daily News reported that 41% of rape victims are under the age of 18. In 2002 some 44% of children shot dead in Durban mortuaries were under the age of 14. 10% of sex workers are under the age of 18. And at least 37 out of 500 school children admitted to killing somebody. Scary!

Our new Deputy President (Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka) got a bit of a surprise on Womans Day this past Tuesday when trying to address a gathering in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The crowd jeered her and showed their disapprovel of her appointment by shouting "Zuma, Zuma".

Of course she had to try and make good on this by commenting that South Africa had a lot to learn from Zimbabwe as far as land reform goes. It's simple Phumzile, just give the landless carte blanche and back them up by not saying a thing. With more and more farmers being killed weekly and the dis-interest from the police and government, we can all see that we're moving in that direction anyway. Stuff land reform getting a "kick start" with lessons from Zimbabwe, it's happening all over already. "One farmer, one bullet" - isn't that what the communist party shouted at all their rallies not so long ago?

What gets me down is the fact that there are so many good people who would go out of their way to help and assist pro-actively in rebuilding this country, only to (eventually) get a kick in the teeth. And the color does not matter. Then there are those out to make a killing (financially) with the bulk of the nation still suffering.

As I said before, in fifty years' time they'll refer to this as the 70 year war.

Weekly View
	12 August 2005
Still on the strike side - the mineworkers whom went on strike last Sunday are back at work. Not after costing the mines some R700-million The initial offer of 4,5% was improved to between 6% and 7%. And the municipal strikers have shown as being the most drastic and violent strikers of them all. Their excuse? "Workers are angry" says one Andrè Adams (regional manager for SAMWU) and urged strikers to condemn police presence. Simple, they turn to violence because the cops are watching them. Makes sense - only in South Africa (sigh). The Star newspaper (Thursday 11 Aug 2005) reported on crime statistics. Interesting reading except for the fact that most of "us" (the victims in crime) can't be bothered to report petty crimes. As civil servants most officers at police stations tend to ignore white faces (same with certain chain store staff - Checkers at the Atos Centre, Krugersdorp). Same with rapes where the victim (black especially) fear more victimization not onl;y from the perpetrator but also the community. The following is based on "reported" cases only - 2003/04 : 20 000 murders, 53 000 rapes, 107 000 aggravated robberies, 266 000 serious assaults. Violent crimes increased by 2% to 33%. The Western Cape is tops with 17 more murders than the national figure of 43 per 100 000 people. The Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal sit together at 53, the Northern Cape at 50 and Gauteng at 45. Isn't it enlightening to note that the murder rate in Gauteng dropped by 16% with the Western Cape by 25%. And to make things even worse, correctional services admitted to releasing the wrong prisoners! Stats here are frightening with 669 children being raped by men who had rape convictions between 2002 and March last year. The Daily News reported that 41% of rape victims are under the age of 18. In 2002 some 44% of children shot dead in Durban mortuaries were under the age of 14. 10% of sex workers are under the age of 18. And at least 37 out of 500 school children admitted to killing somebody. Scary! Our new Deputy President (Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka) got a bit of a surprise on Womans Day this past Tuesday when trying to address a gathering in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The crowd jeered her and showed their disapprovel of her appointment by shouting "Zuma, Zuma". Of course she had to try and make good on this by commenting that South Africa had a lot to learn from Zimbabwe as far as land reform goes. It's simple Phumzile, just give the landless carte blanche and back them up by not saying a thing. With more and more farmers being killed weekly and the dis-interest from the police and government, we can all see that we're moving in that direction anyway. Stuff land reform getting a "kick start" with lessons from Zimbabwe, it's happening all over already. "One farmer, one bullet" - isn't that what the communist party shouted at all their rallies not so long ago? What gets me down is the fact that there are so many good people who would go out of their way to help and assist pro-actively in rebuilding this country, only to (eventually) get a kick in the teeth. And the color does not matter. Then there are those out to make a killing (financially) with the bulk of the nation still suffering. As I said before, in fifty years' time they'll refer to this as the 70 year war.	Past Views Current Joke Past jokes Gallery Links Current Exchange Rate Daily News Headlines Articles
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