ELCSA slams Nkandla report

As media has reported already last week, for instance the Mail and Guardian, the Police Minister of South Africa has filed a report on Nkandla, where he concludes that President Zuma does not need to pay back any money. All upgrades were necessary, says Police Minister Nathi Nhleko.

Now our Lutheran Church, ELCSA, has issues a statement. It reads:

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) in her 130th Church Council sitting dated 1st – 3rd June 2015 would like to add its voice in condemnation of the defensive stance as reflected in the Police Minister Nathi Nhleko’s Nkandla Report that absolved President Jacob Zuma from repaying any money for the security upgrade to his home.

We slam Nhleko’s report which contradicts the findings of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela and we want to categorically state that it is shocking and a grave mockery of justice. Failure of the President and the relevant ministers to own up to the unjustifiably high costs of the upgrades damages the moral integrity of the whole governing system.

As states by the SACC we believe that the review of the Public Protector’s report should have been conducted by a competent independent body or arm of government and not by a minister who serves the whim of the Office being investigated.

As a Church we also appeal to all citizens to unite across political, social, economic and religious persuasions to hold all of us who are in positions or influence accountable.

“We will continue to pray for the government to be directed in the ways of justice, honesty, peace and dignity for all”.

We can not sit back and condone that the Visitor’s Centre, the amphitheatre, the cattle kraal and chicken run and the swimming pool are security related. How the Minister has arrived at the conclusion leaves us with more questions than answers. Our view point does not discount the fact that we appreciate the need to protect the President and his family; however the costs incurred to date are exorbitant and have cause public outrage.

We urge the Minister and President Zuma to own up and take the citizens of this Country seriously by owning up and implement the recommendations of the Public Protector.

Bishop M M Ditlhale, Presiding Bishop

It is good. Maybe also brave. I see some signs that churches in South Africa are reclaiming a prophetic role. I welcome that.

Presently I attend a conference at the University of the Western Cape, where the Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba also criticized the government. He said:

The ruling party fears a strong and united church.

He also asked, which I found surprising:

When do we as an ecumenical church withdraw our moral support of a democratically elected government?

Also the South African Council of Churches has spoken out an blasted President Zumas behaviour in parliament:

We are gravely concerned about the failure of the president and the relevant ministers to accept moral and political responsibility in relation to the unjustifiably high costs of the upgrades

SACC's Preseident, Siwa, said in the statement, according to ENCA.

The prophetic voice in South Africa

On my way back to Pietermaritzburg I read the Tuesday 28 October issue of the Star. On page 8 I found a column and on page 9 an article. They were equally interesting. Both contained the views of top, South African church leaders.

The column is written by Pastor Ray McCauley, who is the president of the Rhema family churches. He is furthermore co-chairman of the National Religious Leaders Council. His column is a response to a call from South Africa’s Finance Minister, Nhlanhla Nene, that South Africa must “take the pill now or risk an economic disaster later.”

McCauley is totally in agreement with the Finance Minister and ends his column:

Let us support Nene and take his medicine. It is for our collective good.

First of all it is interesting that this evangelical pastor, leader of a prosperity gospel church, involves himself in the political life of the country. This is however nothing new. It is a well-known fact that McCauley is a supporter of the present government. The column makes this even clearer. He is in fact telling the readers of the Star, that they must be prepared for budget cuts across ministries and departments. He does say that higher income groups must pay more. But not with a single word does he mention corruption.

The article on page 9 is different. It is an excerpt from the Beyers Naudé Memorial lecture delivered by the Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba. In his lecture he speaks out against corruption and he does that quite frankly. He insinuates that President Zuma regards corruption to be a crime only in a Western paradigm. And the archbishop mentions Nkandla in this context.

In fact, Archbishop Makgoba points out corruption as the major threat to democracy. And he makes no secret about the President being one of his main targets.

There are some similarities between the two texts I am referring to in this blog post but the differences are over whelming. Makgoba belongs to a mainline church. McCauley to a fast growing, charismatic church. President Zuma, contrary to his predecessors, clearly has turned to those new, denominations and they welcome this. Hopefully this will path the way to a new need for the South African Council of Churches as a strong prophetic voice in the country. I hope that they will reorganise the council, change the constitution and maybe also the name and arise like a Phoenix from the ashes. I also hope that Thabo Makgoba will be the president of such a resurrected council. And why not having Ray McCauley as one of the deputy presidents? I believe that the future for the ecumenical movement lies in cooperation between all Christians.

Having said this I also need to add, that there should also be women in a top leader position. Right now only men are leading the council.

Fortfarande en ung demokrati

Det är nästan aldrig sövande att titta på en sydafrikansk nyhetssänding. Kvällens SABC3-nyheter var inget undantag. Flera av nyheterna har direkt att göra med mänskliga rättigheter och Sydafrika som en demokratisk stat. Några andra inte.

Huvudnyheten var att oppositionspartierna lämnar den ad hoc kommitté som utreder om president Zuma otillbörligen tjänat pengar på uppgraderingen av säkerheten vid presidentens privata hem, Nkandla. Kommittén fortsätter dock sitt arbete. ANC har ju egen majoritet. Självklart är detta inte bra.

Enligt Mail and Guardian säger oppositionspartierna, som i denna fråga har gått samman, följande:

The opposition will not legitimise this blatant undermining of the Constitution for the protection of one man ...

Mitt tips är att en rad tjänstemän, som varit inblandade i upphandlingen, får gå. Zuma kommer att klara sig även ur denna soppa.

En annan nyhet, som har med Zuma att göra, är att han vid sitt besök hos Putin, gjorde upp om en affär kring kärnkraft. Så klart för att Sydafrikas energiproduktion domineras av kolkraft. Men kärnkraft, är det lösningen. Från Ryssland? Det diskuteras också om avtalet var förankrat ens i ANC. Även denna uppgift från Mail and Guardian.

BDLive berättar, liksom SABC3 att tre anställda inom Sydafrikas försvarsmakt (SANDF) får sina jobb tillbaka. De blev uppsagda p g a sin HIV-status. Självklart helt emot Sydafrikas konstitution. Mycket kan sägas om Sydafrika men rättsväsendet fungerar.

Winnie Madikizela Mandela firar idag sin 78-årsdag, berättade också TV-nyheterna. Så även The NewAge. Hon har en stark ställning i Sydafrika och president Zuma lovprisade henne för hennes insatser. Vilket jag håller med om. Hon var en av dem som fick betala ett oerhört högt pris i kampen. Mot slutet blev hon anklagad och även dömd för inblandning i mordet på en av medlemmarna i den livvakt hon omgav sig med, Mandela United football club. Hans namn var Stompie Moeketsie. Jag minns hur hon trotsade en gråtande Desmond Mpilo Tutu, när hon stod inför Sannings- och försoningskommissionen. Han ville att hon skulle erkänna sin delaktighet men hon vägrade.

För mig är detta ett exempel på att ingen människa är helt igenom ond eller god. Det goda Winnie Madikizela Mandela gjorde, ska dock inte förringas. Och någon form av straff fick hon. Även om jag tror att hon till slut kom lindrigt undan.

Det mest spektakulära inslaget på nyheterna var egentligen bara en kommentar i förbigående. Ett av två nyhetsnakare, skulle lämna över till ekonominytt, och undrade över bensinpriset. I sin kommentar sa han att en viss kyrka säkert skulle lyssna med intresse.

Bakgrunden kan man läsa mer om i IOL News. En pastor i Gauteng har tidigare uppmanat sina församlingsmedlemmar att äta gräs, uppger källan. Nu har han gått vidare till att be dem dricka bensin.

Jag vill helst inte tro att det är sant, men i ett youtubeklipp (länken kommer här) verkar det som att det stämmer. Pastor Lesego Daniel menar att han kan förvandla bensin till juice.

 

Nkandla, again

The South African President, Jacob Zuma, was given two weeks to respond to Parliament, by Public Protector, Thuli Madonsel, when she released her report last month. Today, Wedneday 2 April, was the final day. The response, according to IOL News, was this:

President Jacob Zuma will respond later ….

Apparently he will wait until he receives a report from the Special Investigating Unit. I don’t have any information about how long time that will take. On E-News they said it might take long time.

The General election will take place 7 May.

Today the ANC took the DA to court. Reason being: the DA has sent out thousands of SMS:s in Gauteng. BDLive publishes the wording of the SMS:

The Nkandla report shows how Zuma stole your money to build his R246m home. Vote DA on 7 May to beat corruption. Together for change.

That SMS does not impress me. It gives an impression that the report of the Public Protector is part of the election campaign. I don’t think it is. Or at least should not be.

But at the same time I do believe that the President made the wrong decision not to respond to parliament. After all: the money spent at Nkandla belongs to the people of South Africa.

The Nkandla report

The Nkandla report.

Today the Public Prosecutor, Thuli Madonsela, released her report on Nkandla, the private home of President Jacob Zuma. I have not read the report and only heard a few minutes on radio and only seen the late edition News on E-TV. However, it seems as if it will be a tough time for the president from now until the general election, scheduled to take place 7 May.

A well-known journalist, Max du Preez is said to have commented like this, according to News24:

If anything, the Public Protector was soft on Zuma - he didn't 'willfully' speak the truth either. Line up the scapegoats, comrades!

Madonsela said that she has not found evidence that the President lied. That’s why du Preez states that Zuma didn’t wilfully speak the truth. Du Preez is also probably correct in saying that other persons in the government will have to act as scapegoats.

The report states that the cost of the project is close to ZAR 250 million. And that the President needs to pay back a reasonable portion of this to the state.

The President has to answer in two weeks time. It will be interesting to see what he says.

According to the Citizen, The DA said, after the release, that they will initiate impeachment proceedings against the President.

Idag är det fredag

Själv hade jag glömt bort att det var fredag, när jag gick upp till campus, för att undervisa en klass i praktisk teologi utifrån en text av Mercy Amba Oduyoye:

Women and Ritual in Africa

De flesta böcker på litteraturlistan i den kurs som handlar om homiletik (predikan) och liturgi (gudstjänst) kommer faktiskt från USA, trots att vårt universitet säger sig vara bra på kontextuell teologi. Märkligt, tyckte jag, så jag hittade åtminstone två böcker skrivna i Afrika. Den andra heter:

Celebrating Jesus Christ in Africa. Liturgy & Inculturation

Självklart firas gudstjänst annorlunda, beroende var på jorden vi befinner oss. Så är det även med tiden. Idag, onsdagen den 19 mars, är det fredag här i Pietermaritzburg. Inget konstigt med det. Den enda konstiga var att jag glömt bort det.

Så när jag kom in i sal 217 satt en helt annat klass där.

- Ska ni ha lektion här?

- Ja, har Du glömt bort att det är fredag?

Jo, det hade jag. Vi fick ju ett mejl från universitet för ett tag sedan:

Dear All

Just a reminder of the following compensatory days:
WED 19 MARCH follows FRIDAY TIMETABLE

TUESDAY 29 APRIL follows MONDAY TIMETABLE

Regards

Fredagen den 21 mars är Human Rights Day. Anledningen är att Sydafrika högtidlighåller minnet av massakern i Sharpeville, den 21 mars 1960, då 69 personer sköts av polisen under en fredlig demonstation.

Eftersom de är fler måndagar och fredagar under terminen, som blir allmänna helgdagar, flyttas lektionerna från en måndag (28 april) till en tisdag och från en fredag (21 mars) till en onsdag. Solklart!

Det som inte är helt klurigt är att detta meddelas en bit in i terminen när alla kursplaner är färdiga och utdelade.

Det stora som annars händer denna dag, är att the Public Protector (motsvarande Riksrevisionen), Thuli Madonsela, släpper sin rapport om Jacob Zuma’s privata hem – Nkandla. Det är stort säkerhetspådrag och mycket känslor i luften. Anglikanska kyrkans ärkebiskop, Thabo Makgoba, skriver på sin blogg:

We welcome the Public Protector's reports on corruption and mismanagement. We thank her for making the country accountable and transparent. Her office's work helps to develop our democracy, and I call on civil society to join the churches in defending it against the current assault.

En del kyrkoledare har gått ut offentligt och kritiserat henne. Framför allt är det biskop Pule Makgethi, som säger sig representera s k Africa Initiated Churches (AIC) med upp emot 1 miljon medlemmar. Enligt Citypress ska han ha sagt att hon förgiftar atmosfären i landet med sin kritik av makthavare.

Jag är mer benägen att hålla med den anglikanska ärkebiskopen. Mer transparens behövs. Men det är kanske inte första gången i världshistorien som vi skjuter budbäraren.

Jag återkommer senare idag med mer kring denna mycket spännande rapport. Trots att det är fredag denna onsdag.

Nkandla-gate continues

Thuli Madonsela is Public Protector in South Africa. She has written a report about President Jacob Zumas private home stead: Nkandla. It is alleged that the state has used ZAR 215 000 000 to upgrade the security around Nkandla. Although President Zuma is the first citizen this is a lot of money and it seems as if other upgrades than security have been included. Mail and Guardian mentions

… a swimming pool, visitors' centre, amphitheatre, cattle kraal, marquee area, extensive paving and new houses for relocated relatives …

The Mail and Guardian further reports that

… there are good reasons for fearing that the security ministers who tried to interdict Madonsela earlier this month may be planning further litigation to block its release.

This is happening at the same time as we get reports that the “new kids on the block” – EFF and Agang according to the Mail and Guardian are

… are making serious inroads among the ANC's traditional support base.

Could the ANC maybe learn something from this? I suggest some humility and also more openness. More transparency! And the bottom line: Make the President pay his own swimming pool.