Latest news with #SandileMdadane
IOL News
10-08-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
TRC crimes: a betrayal of justice
Sandile Mdadane is the Editor of the Sunday Tribune THE funeral of the anti-apartheid activists Mathew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkhonto and Sicelo Mhlauli, collectively known as the Cradock Four in 1985. The four were abducted from a roadblock, assaulted and their bodies set alight. More than 16,000 people in 160 buses, and thousands more in private cars and bakkies, descended on Cradock (now Nxuba) in the Eastern Cape for the funeral of the community leaders on July 20, 1985. Their story is one of many of apartheid-era's unsolved crimes. Sandile Mdadane is the Editor of the Sunday Tribune Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) referred over 300 apartheid-era crimes for further investigation and prosecution to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in its final report, where amnesty was denied against the perpetrators. There are allegations of political interference by ministers and senior officials under former president Thabo Mbeki's administration in stymying efforts by the NPA to act. Twenty-five families of the victims of apartheid-era crimes are seeking R167 million in constitutional damages against the government. Mbeki and former Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla approached the court to intervene, a move that was rejected by the court. President Cyril Ramaphosa wants to delay the matter so that the government can reinstate its opposition in the case. The court has reserved its judgment. Both Mbeki and Mabandla approached the court because they believed their intervention was necessary to protect their reputations. The families and the Foundation of Human Rights argued their suit was against state functionaries and not individuals. There are many ways to read this situation. It may speak to the unresolved tensions within the ANC and the state's accountability post-1994. President Ramaphosa's reluctance highlights the political risk of exposing inconvenient truths that might not only stain the apartheid regime but also reveal post-apartheid complicity in denying justice to victims. Many apartheid-era crimes involved collusion between political operatives, the police and the military. The reluctance to prosecute could be to protect operatives who played both sides during the Struggle, who might still be active in the political arena. Victims of these crimes continue to feel the betrayal as justice remains elusive. The government's inaction undermines the TRC, placing South Africa's human rights commitment in doubt. The case has the potential to also be a huge embarrassment on the world stage for a country that approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the war in Gaza but failed to act on human rights abuse cases at home.
IOL News
29-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
The State's commitment to BEE is in doubt
Sandile Mdadane is the Editor of the Sunday Tribune Image: File The proposed policy direction by the Minister of Communications and Digital Technology to relax the broad-based black economic empowerment (BBEE) terms to enable billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink to enter the South African market without fully complying with the law is not only a travesty of justice but also sets a bad precedent. The move undermines the transformation agenda of BBBEE, which aims to address the historical inequities. The government gazette proposal follows hot on the heels of an Oval Office meeting between US President Donald Trump and President Cyril Ramaphosa, where the latter continued to push his baseless white genocide claim. Musk, who was born in South Africa, has repeated the false claim that his Starlink has been blocked from operating locally because he is white, omitting the fact that it has to be BEE compliant. It is particularly sad that on Africa Day, celebrated on May 25, the South African government's commitment to redress policies is in doubt as it bends over backwards to feed the impulses of the richest man in the world. A businessman who's made it his mission to spread lies about a country of his birth. Despite all the evidence that has been presented, Musk has continued with the lie that white South Africans are being targeted for mass murder and their land and property are being taken away from them. Yet the South African government has chosen to bend the rules for Starlink. In the Oval Office meeting, the richest man in South Africa, Johann Rupert, who was part of Ramaphosa's delegation, openly bid for Starlink. 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 ✕ Recently, Musk's chatbot Grok malfunctioned and exposed how it's being manipulated to spread false narratives. This shows how dangerous Musk is to South Africa's national security and social cohesion if his Starlink is allowed to operate locally without any scrutiny and full compliance. The speed with which the government showed in wanting to relax the rules for Starlink is at sharp odds with how it treats many small black businesses, some who've gone belly up because their invoices remain unpaid. Sandile Mdadane is the Editor of the Sunday Tribune. The views expressed are his own. SUNDAY TRIBUNE
IOL News
10-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Redress policies aren't reverse discrimination
Sandile Mdadane is the Editor of the Sunday Tribune Image: File THE Democratic Alliance opposing the Employment Equity Act to a point of wanting it scrapped by the courts is a clear sign of who it truly represents despite identifying itself as a non-racial party. This is part of the necessary legislation that is aimed at addressing the historical and systemic inequalities faced by certain groups in the workplace. Without employment equity, fair representation on of under-represented groups such as black people, women, and people living with disabilities wouldn't be guaranteed. Looking at the racial makeup of people in management in most companies and businesses in the private sector, you would swear that white males are the majority in this country. Employment Equity isn't discrimination against a specific race, but given South Africa's history, it's meant to promote diversity and to break down barriers and eliminate obstacles that hinder certain groups from succeeding. It's quite strange that anyone can oppose diversity because in the workplace it offers different perspectives, ideas and experiences. While the issue of opposing incompetence is valid, not all employment equity beneficiaries are the same. We can't view redress policies as reverse discrimination, but quota targeting carries the risk of hiring less qualified individuals and promoting people who don't have enough leadership or management skills. The DA and all those who support its court application need to ask themselves why they are against transformation policies. It is disappointing and a regression to see the DA so emboldened in its fight against race-based policies. The population breakdown is 80% black, 9% coloured, 8% white and 2.5% Indian. Per Employment Equity Report 2023/24 the top management breakdown is: 68% white, 16% black, 10% coloured and 4% Indian. Senior management positions: white (55%), black (23%), coloured (13%) and Indian (7%).
