Toe the line or face the music, declares Zuma

KHAYELITSHA (South Africa), Tuesday

South Africa will not tolerate the violence and destruction of property that have accompanied nationwide protests against a lack of basic services in townships, President Jacob Zuma said today.

Protests over poor infrastructure in townships have increased pressure on President Zuma following his election in April to meet campaign promises to improve the lives of millions of black South Africans still living in poverty 15 years after the end of apartheid.
“There is no cause in a democratic and free society, however legitimate, that justifies the wanton destruction of property and violence that we have witnessed,” President Zuma told a special meeting attended by mayors of the country’s 283 municipalities.

“This government will not tolerate the destruction of property, the violence and the intimidation that often accompanies protests,” President Zuma said.

Police last week fired teargas and rubber bullets to break up protests in several townships.

Blockaded roads

Protesters blockaded roads with burning barricades and have also burned down libraries and the homes of local government officials.

President Zuma said South African towns and cities were at the forefront of providing basic services such as sanitation, electricity and water, but were weakened by poor financial management, corruption and political battles for control of resources.
Since the end of apartheid in 1994, progress has been made in providing these services to millions of South Africans, Zuma said.
“But it is also true that significant backlogs remain. It is clear that we need to do more, and that we need to do things differently”.
He said fundamental changes were needed to reform governance in municipalities, including separating the executive functions from administrative ones.
“We should emerge here with a common understanding and commitment to do everything we can to effect a turnaround in local government,” President Zuma said.

But he said the global economic crisis and South Africa’s first recession since 1992, were hurting the government’s attempts at improving the lives of the poor.

“Many municipalities are bankrupt, many people are unemployed and cannot pay for services which means revenue collection is stagnant and the tax base has shrunk,” President Zuma said.

In another development, South Africa has signed a farmland deal with the Republic of Congo that will give South African farmers access to up to 10 million hectares of land, the country’s biggest farmers union said today.

The deal, potentially one of the largest land agreements on the continent and part of Congo’s plan to improve food security, will allow South African farmers to lease land to grow maize, soya beans as well as for poultry and dairy among other produce.

“It’s 10 million hectares of under-utlised land that have been made avaliable to us,” Theo de Jager, deputy president of union Agri SA, told Reuters.

“We have signed the agreement and it’s initially for a 30-year renewable lease.”

South Africa has one of the most developed agriculture sectors on the continent and its farmers are looking to expand into other countries.

They are joined in the scramble for land abroad by countries including China, South Korea and European and Middle East nations after steep food price inflation last year highlighted the need to achieve greater food security.

Mr De Jager said the South African deal included tax exemptions on importing agricultural inputs and equipment and full expatriation of profits.

Huge interest

Some 200,000 hectares of state farms would be immediately available for South African farmers, Mr De Jager said, but added: “It’s not limited to those farms...There’s no limit on the land you can get (up to 10 million ha)...it’s whatever you need in terms of your business plan.”

Mr De Jager said about 1,700 South African farmers had enquired about farming in the Congo.

“I don’t think all of them will eventually go out there, but there has been huge interest in this,” he said.

Renewing the 30-year lease would be decided by a committee, and conditions would include farmers actively using the land, he said.
“If you’re not producing then this evaluation committee can decide to terminate the lease agreement,” he said.

The land deal was announced in April, but was delayed by General Election in the Congo in July, and then by revisions to the lease period to 30 years from 99 years.

Analysts point to potentially huge rewards in investing in farmland as the world population grows, while many see climate change and biofuels choking off the supply of arable land.

Since the end of apartheid, the South African foreign policy has focused on its African partners particularly in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union.

South Africa has played a key role as a mediator in African conflicts over the last decade, such as in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Comoros, and Zimbabwe.

Founding member

After apartheid ended, South Africa was readmitted to the Commonwealth of Nations.

As the Union of South Africa, South Africa was a founding member of the United Nations and the then Prime Minister Jan Smuts wrote the preamble to its constitution.

South Africa was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council between 2007 and 2008, and has attracted controversy by voting against a resolution criticising the Burmese government in 2006 and against the implementation of sanctions against Zimbabwe in 2008. (Agencies)