‘Spare top white men their stress’ Acting intelligence chief is named
Economy: radical change afoot
WHITE men should be spared the “stress of always being on top”, ANC deputy secretary-general Thandi Modise said yesterday as the ruling party began discussions on proposals for future policy, among them the “second transition” document calling for economic transformation to go up a gear.
The dominant role of white males in the economy emerged first in President Jacob Zuma’s opening address to the ANC policy conference in Midrand.
He said delegates should ask themselves whether the economy “should remain in the hands of white males, as it has always been”, after outlining how there had been little fundamental change in the economy since apartheid.
At a subsequent media briefing, Modise weighed in: “We want to spare the white male the stress of always being on top.”
She said it was time for women of all races to assert themselves.
“As women in the country, we must begin to agitate to have more women interested in the running of the economy. We must make sure we are not screaming from outside.”
Zuma added that while the dominance of white males was not the only factor, it was significant as, 18 years into democracy, the economy was still racially skewed.
There was no way he could sleep at night when the squalor of the majority continued, and one could not say “wait for another day” in the face of protests. People were rightfully angry and asked what freedom had done for them.
The challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality were visible no matter how democratic SA was, Zuma said.
“You may not feel it in Houghton, but somebody who lives in Diepsloot (a Midrand township) feels it every day.”
His opening message to the more than 3 500 delegates on the first day of the fourth ANC policy conference? A “radical” change, a “giant leap”, was required to address poverty, unemployment and inequality.
Revolution
“Any revolution in two decades comes to a point where it must either go straight or take a turn,” he said.
“We therefore are calling for a dramatic shift, or giant leap, to socio-economic transformation so we can deal with the triple challenges – unemployment, poverty and inequality.”
Setting the tone for the policy indaba, he said the negotiated transition to democracy had meant several compromises “in the national interest”, and those had been absolutely necessary.
However, the “compromise” on economic restructuring made to instil confidence also meant “the economic power relations of the apartheid era have remained intact”.
It was time to go back to basics and to take “the different decisions we could not take in 1994”.
And, while highlighting the growth of a black middle class and emphasising that the government’s black empowerment policies had been “successful”, Zuma also acknowledged they had not had the anticipated impact.
Much in yesterday’s public addresses referred to the ANC’s second transition document, the blueprint for socioeconomic transformation.
Behind closed doors, delegates spent the afternoon discussing this document, as well as the proposals on organisational renewal.
Zuma emphasised there had been many successes, including the delivery of millions of houses, the introduction of social security grants as the front line of poverty alleviation, and millions more households now being connected to clean water and electricity.
At the subsequent media briefing, he distanced himself from the notion that the second transition document had become his platform for a second term before the Mangaung national elective conference in December.
“As president of the ANC I have sharpened the debate. Absolutely correct. We can’t sit in the same place or we face the anger of the people,” Zuma said, adding that if the conference did not come to a conclusion on the second transition, it would have failed the ANC, not an individual. MAJOR-GENERAL Chris Ngcobo has been appointed acting intelligence head until matters about LieutenantGeneral Richard Mdluli are resolved.
“This acting appointment is aimed at bringing stability in the police intelligence environment,” newly appointed national police commissioner, Riah Phiyega, said yesterday.
Ngcobo’s full title would be acting divisional commissioner for crime intelligence and protection and security services. He stands in for Mdluli, who has been suspended.
Mdluli may not do police work under an interim order by the Pretoria High Court, which allows for a review of why charges of murder and fraud he had faced were withdrawn.
The police say they served him with a notice of intention to suspend, but he has disputed this in the Labour Court, which stayed judgment on Monday pending resolution of the Pretoria order.
Phiyega said: “Major-General Ngcobo brings to the acting role good experience in the service, having served for 17 years in the protection services and intelligence areas.”
He had received numerous medals for excellent service. With his “grasp of management values and undercover experience”, Ngcobo would seek to restore the reputation of crime intelligence activities.
The police’s crime intelligence division is responsible for managing information gathering, centralised and integrated intelligence management, co-ordination and analysis.
The DA said it would ask Ngcobo to brief the police portfolio committee in a month’s time on his strategy for rooting out “the rot”, and tackling the internal chaos in his division and the SAPS.
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union said it hoped Ngcobo would be able to stabilise the unit. – Sapa