Latest news with #AfricanNationalCongress
Eyewitness News
28 minutes ago
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
ANC's Mbalula hits back at Ramaphosa detractors following Trump visit
JOHANNESBURG – African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has hit back at President Cyril Ramaphosa's detractors following the highly publicised visit to Washington, DC, almost two weeks ago. Ramaphosa met with his United States (US) counterpart, President Donald Trump, at the White House in May in a bid to reset bilateral ties between Pretoria and Washington. ALSO READ: - Zuma: 'We refuse to have our problems fixed by Americans we don't even know' - Cabinet satisfied with Ramaphosa's working visit to US - Ntshavheni The visit came after a small group of Afrikaners relocated to the US, claiming to be persecuted in their home country. The false claims of genocide in South Africa sent Ramaphosa and his delegation of ministers, business leaders, golfers and labour leaders into a charm offensive. Speaking at the funeral service of Andile Zita in the Eastern Cape on Sunday, Mbalula told mourners that the South African delegation did well under the circumstances. "The president went abroad to that mental case in America, with many saying: 'No, don't beg him, don't beg him'. How can he not 'beg' him? Because if that person does something else like this, lots of work done will collapse. The mental case carried on displaying befitting behaviour and the president composed himself."
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: Timothy McVeigh convicted
Today is Monday, June 2, the 153rd day of 2025. There are 212 days left in the year. Today in history: On June 2, 1997, Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder by a federal jury in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people. (McVeigh would be sentenced to death and was executed in 2001.) Also on this date: In 1886, 49-year-old President Grover Cleveland became the first president to get married in the White House, wedding 21-year-old Frances Folsom. In 1924, Congress passed, and President Calvin Coolidge signed, the Indian Citizenship Act, a measure guaranteeing full American citizenship for all Native Americans born within U.S. territorial limits. In 1941, baseball's 'Iron Horse,' Lou Gehrig, died in New York of the degenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease; he was 37. In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at age 27 at a ceremony in London's Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George VI. In 1966, U.S. space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed photographs of the lunar surface. In 1999, South Africans went to the polls in their second post-apartheid election, giving the African National Congress a decisive victory; retiring President Nelson Mandela was succeeded by Thabo Mbeki. In 2012, ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison after a court convicted him on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that forced him from power (Mubarak was later acquitted and freed in March 2017; he died in February 2020). In 2016, autopsy results revealed that musician Prince died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a powerful opioid painkiller. Today's Birthdays: Actor Stacy Keach is 84. Filmmaker Lasse Hallström is 79. Actor Jerry Mathers is 77. Actor Joanna Gleason is 75. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is 73. Actor Dennis Haysbert is 71. Comedian Dana Carvey is 70. TV personality-producer Andy Cohen is 57. Actor-comedian Wayne Brady is 53. Actor Wentworth Miller is 53. Actor Zachary Quinto is 48. Actor Justin Long is 47. Actor Morena Baccarin is 46. Olympic soccer gold medalist Abby Wambach is 45. Actor-rapper Awkwafina is 37.
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Today in History: June 2, Queen Elizabeth II crowned
In 1886, 49-year-old President Grover Cleveland became the first president to get married in the White House, wedding 21-year-old Frances Folsom. Advertisement In 1924, Congress passed, and President Calvin Coolidge signed, the Indian Citizenship Act, a measure guaranteeing full American citizenship for all Native Americans born within US territorial limits. In 1941, baseball's 'Iron Horse,' Lou Gehrig, died in New York of the degenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease; he was 37. Advertisement In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at age 27 at a ceremony in London's Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George VI. In 1966, US space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed photographs of the lunar surface. In 1997, Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder by a federal jury in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people. (McVeigh would be sentenced to death and was executed in 2001.) In 1999, South Africans went to the polls in their second post-apartheid election, giving the African National Congress a decisive victory; retiring President Nelson Mandela was succeeded by Thabo Mbeki. In 2012, ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison after a court convicted him on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that forced him from power. (Mubarak was later acquitted and freed in March 2017; he died in February 2020). In 2016, autopsy results revealed that musician Prince died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a powerful opioid painkiller.
IOL News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Cosatu: assessing the SANDF's capacity to fulfil its constitutional mandate
In a few weeks, Cosatu along with many other South Africans celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter drafted at the historic Congress of the People in Kliptown by the African National Congress led Alliance. This visionary document, that declared boldly, that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, provided the foundation for our internationally respected Constitution and much of what government seeks to achieve. A discussion needs to be held on whether the South African National Defence Force is able to fulfill its constitutionally mandated role today of defending the Constitution? The worrying answer that has been appearing over many years is that it may struggle. All nations require the capacity to defend themselves not only from other nations' governments' adventurism but increasingly from non-state threats. These may come in the form of foreign terrorists using South Africa as a training base as was seen with some Libyans in Mpumalanga or Isis or Al-Shabab elements utilising South Africa for money laundering, to foreign vessels looting fishing stock from South African waters. It takes years to build a coherent defence capacity. Having an internationally respected defence capability is equally key to deterring such threats to our sovereignty. South Africa has a long history of being one of the most formidable military powers in the continent, including playing its role in defeating Nazi Germany in North Africa and Italy in World War Two to since the democratic breakthrough playing a leading role in peace keeping missions in Africa. It was natural for government since 1994 to drastically reduce funding spent on defence. Military conscription ended for white men and there was a new democratic state committed to peace with the region and the brutal apartheid regime was over. Equally there were pressing socioeconomic challenges inherited from three and a half centuries of systemic neglect of 90% of the population that needed to be prioritised. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Mistakes were made when the arms deal package were the focus was on arming the SANDF for conventional war and less for peacekeeping missions. As is well ventilated, corruption seeped in. Today the price of those mistakes has become painfully clear, and they pose a real threat to workers, not only those employed in the SANDF but across the economy. The conditions of the SANDF's bases, both at home and abroad, leave much to be desired with buildings falling apart, soldiers living in over cramped and unhygienic conditions, security lax at best and enabling criminals to enter secure premises. Training is often inadequate and more critically, too little is provided. Machinery and vehicles are deteriorating with no funds to maintain or repair them. Air Force pilots are not being provided with the number of flying hours required to remain top of their game, and even placing their flying certification at risk. The air fleet, in particular the Gripens, suited for conventional warfare is barely functioning. the SANDF lacks the airlift capacity to deploy and collect peacekeeping forces in remote locations. Army personnel in these remote areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and elsewhere are unprotected with little if any, helicopter assault or deployment capacity. A similar depressing picture exists with the SA Navy where mistakes were made to purchase a fleet better suited for conventional warfare but with little capacity to protect our waters from the mass pilfering of fishing stock by foreign trawlers, and also by local criminal syndicates for endangered species. The spread of Somali pirates to the Mozambique Channel in the past decade, highlighted the need for a navy with rapid deployment capacity. The tragic loss of three sailors in a training exercise off Simonstown in 2024, was a painful reminder of the real cost in life to SANDF personnel and their families for the neglect of the SANDF. A discussion needs to be held about the age profile of the SANDF. SANDF personnel need to be young and fit to state the obvious. It is not an institution where one goes to retire. Yet over the years, its age profile has risen well past 35 years and has become increasingly top heavy. During the Mandela Administration dedicated programmes were put in place to equip SANDF personnel with the training and skills they would need to find decent jobs in the economy upon exiting, e.g. as mechanics, finance managers, law enforcement etc. The SANDF has begun to revive this programme and also announced its intention to help train unemployed youth as part of its contribution to the economy. The situation is salvageable. The members of the SANDF are patriots and committed to serving the nation. But we need to give them the tools needed to fulfill their mandate. Equally we need to agree on what is that mandate. The SANDF has several fundamental tasks. The first is ensure the security of the state against foreign and domestic enemies. Then we need to give it the funds necessary to train our pilots, to have working planes, radars etc. Second is to support the police as needed. This requires fit and well trained army personnel with working and secure transport. They need to be trained specifically in law enforcement as maintaining peace during riots at home is different from dealing with enemy combatants overseas. This support includes its role in assisting in domestic disaster management, e.g. floods, fires. Third is to secure our borders in collaboration with the Border Management Authority and the SAPS. We have over 4400 kilometres of land borders and even larger territorial waters. They need working vehicles, drones and field bases as well as a coast guard fleet and radar capacity. Fourth is to support peacekeeping across the continent. This requires extensive training, fit personnel, airlift and defence capabilities, armoured and mobile land transport amongst others. The SANDF has a critical role to play. Its personnel represent the best of us. It is time that we give them our support and the resources they need to fulfill their constitutional mandates. Solly Phetoe is the general secretary of Cosatu. Solly Phetoe is the general secretary of Cosatu. Image: File BUSINESS REPORT Visit:
IOL News
a day ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Liberation History: AfriForum's Desperate Bid to Distort Struggle Heritage
Then Deputy President Thabo Mbeki (R) hands over the African National Congress (ANC) submission to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), in Cape Town May on 12, 1997. Anyone who claims that singing "Kill the boer, Kill the farmer' is tantamount to declaring war against the Boers is irrational, unreasonable, and disingenuous, says the writer. Image: AFP Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu THE recent trip by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation to America produced different results for different people. The official position from the government is that the trip was meant to restart trade relations between South Africa and America. As such, proponents of this view argue that the trip was a huge success. However, a counterview is that the trip caused more harm than good to South Africa's global image. According to this view, some of the utterances made at the Oval Office were unwarranted, factually flawed, and devoid of context. Apart from the questionable pictures of the graves which allegedly carried the bodies of Afrikaners killed in South Africa (who were not from South Africa), there were other developments which happened in that meeting. One of them was when Agriculture Minister John Steenhuizen told President Trump that the reason for the DA to join the coalition government led by Ramaphosa was solely to keep the EFF and MKP away from the Union Buildings. This raised questions about the honesty in the formation of the coalition government. The climax of the Oval Office meeting was when Trump played a video of Julius Malema singing his famous song 'Kill the Boer, the Farmer' and the other song which was sung by former President Jacob Zuma, which says 'Sizobadubula ngo mbayimbayi' [We are going to shoot them with artillery]. I will focus on Julius Malema's song because it is the one that has caused controversy. Even people who are supposed to know better fell into the trap of Trump's propaganda. The question becomes: does this song represent symbolic relevance or is it a violation of human rights and an instigator of racial violence? To answer this question, political expediency and political parochialism will not offer any assistance. Only objectivity, rationality, and context will assist in arriving at a credible conclusion. Firstly, this is a struggle song which was not composed by Malema. The late Peter Mokaba used to sing this song and dance but he never killed any Boer or Afrikaner. In fact, as he sang this song, no one went on a rampage killing Afrikaners following the song's lyrics. So, anyone who claims that singing this song is tantamount to declaring war against the Boers is irrational, unreasonable, and disingenuous. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Secondly, there have already been rulings on the singing of this song. Between 2016 and 2019, Malema sang this song six times on different occasions. In 2020, Afriforum approached the Gauteng Equality Court asking it to declare the song hate speech. The court dismissed this claim. Exercising its right, AfriForum proceeded to the Supreme Court of Appeal to try its luck. To this organisation's surprise, on 24 May 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed AfriForum's appeal. In its judgement, the Court stated that 'Mr Malema was doing no more than exercising his right to freedom of expression.' It went further to implore AfriForum to see the song in its correct context. In a nutshell, the Court implicitly concluded that AfriForum was driven by political expediency when it laid charges against Malema, not to unite the nation. There was no intention to get justice. Instead, the motivating factor was for AfriForum to be seen as being politically relevant. Not even the Constitutional Court could agree with the argument advanced by Afriforum. It dismissed Afriforum's application for leave to appeal, arguing that the application 'bears no reasonable prospects of success.' Out of desperation, AfriForum approached President Ramaphosa asking him to condemn the singing of the song. The organisation was once again disappointed when Ramaphosa referred it to the courts which had already ruled on the matter. Given this history, a few questions arise. Why did Trump play Malema's video singing this song? Was his intention to prove that Afrikaners are being killed in South Africa or was he simply playing a mind's game to test Ramaphosa's delegation? To what extent did Ramaphosa and his team rise above such petty politics? Was the President correct in telling Trump that 'this is not the view of government' and that Malema's EFF was not part of the coalition government? Was this necessary? A nation which abandons its history is as good as dead. It is for this reason that some universities in America insist that regardless of the qualifications students are pursuing, they are forced to take some history modules. This is done to ensure that they do not operate in a vacuum but understand the historical context. Struggle songs are part of the South African heritage. They remind all of us about the history of this country. South Africa became a democracy in 1994. However, to this day, the song 'Mhla libuyayo kuyobe kunzima' [when our land comes back, it will be tough] is still being sung for different reasons. It continues to say 'kuyokhala uBotha, kuqhume umbayimbayi' [there will be a cry from Botha, and there will be an explosion of artillery].
