Thursday, January 22, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
At a sitting of Parliament's ad hoc committee reviewing the dismissal of National Director of Public Prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli, government strongly denied claims by Pikoli that former President Thabo Mbeki had suspended him in order to prevent the arrest of police commissioner Jackie Selebi.
Director-General in the Presidency, Frank Chikane, told the committee that there was no abuse of power. He explained that Mbeki had merely acted to manage any potential security fallout, when asking Pikoli to wait two weeks before arresting Selebi on fraud and corruption charges. This was done in order to prevent the destabilisation of the country.
Chikane said that Pikoli was ready to "create a major crisis for the country" and was therefore legitimately sacked from his post.
Justice Minister Enver Surty told the committee that like Mbeki, Surty's predecessor Brigitte Mabandla had never sought to undermine the independence of the National Prosecuting Authority. This came after Pikoli had accused Mabandla and Mbeki of meddling in the case.
The African National Congress-dominated ad hoc committee will decide by month's end whether to ask Ministers of Parliament to endorse or overrule President Kgalema Motlanthe's decision to axe Pikoli.

In other news, former first lady of Mozambique and member of the ‘Elders', Graca Machel, stated yesterday that Southern African leaders have the blood of Zimbabweans on their hands for failing to solve the crisis in that country.
Machel was speaking at the launch of the "Save Zimbabwe Now" campaign by church leaders, who will embark on a period of fasting to raise awareness of the crisis in Zimbabwe. She said that the lives of all those Zimbabweans who died from hunger and illness, should be laid in the hands of the Southern African Development Community leaders. These leaders were liable, she explained, because they had taken the responsibility to stop the crisis in that country.
Machel asserted that the Zimbabwean government had lost all legitimacy, as respect and authority lies in how a country's own citizens are treated. She added that this is no longer just a Zimbabwean issue, but the biggest test of SADC's leaders.

In South African news, African National Congress and Parliamentary criteria both show that National Executive Committee member Tony Yengeni cannot serve as a Minister of Parliament owing to his fraud conviction and sentence.
ANC spokesperson Carl Niehaus explained that in terms of legislation, a person sentenced to more than 12 months in prison without the option of a fine, becomes ineligible for a post in Parliament or the provincial legislature.
Yengeni's name has appeared on the Northern Cape and Gauteng provincial lists. At a press briefing yesterday, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe was vague about the former chief whip's eligibility.
The controversial Winnie Madikizela-Mandela also gained a nomination from her home province. Niehaus was uncertain about whether Madikizela-Mandela would be eligible or not, owing to her criminal record.

Also making headlines:
Cosatu's Zwelinzima Vavi declines his ANC Parliamentary nomination.
The Democratic Alliance accuses ANC teachers of politicising schools.
And, South Africa is to host the regional extraordinary summit on Zimbabwe next week.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories, visit polity.org.za.