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South Africa is a better place today that it was yesterday because the ANC’s disciplinary committee eventually had the courage to act against Julius Malema and to remove him from the political arena.

Malema and Shivambu have without a doubt caused a lot of damage to South Africa internationally as well as nationally. With his comments about nationalisation he frightened international investors away while his racial views further marred relations in South Africa.

With its action, the committee placed Malema in the political fridge for five years. In practice it means that after this period has lapsed he will be too old to play any further role in ANC youth politics and he will have to make his mark in the larger political dam.

What is totally unacceptable of the ANC’s disciplinary committee’s findings is that Malema was found guilty of the comments he made about Botswana but was found not guilty of his racial comments he made against white people. With this the committee missed the opportunity to send a strong message as to how good relations in South Africa should be attained.

Today’s decision will have a direct influence on ANC politics in the run up to the ANC conference in December 2012. The question is to what extent the ANC leadership will unite around the disciplinary committee’s decision and whether the decision will in fact contribute to more division within the ANC as the different factions choose sides for or against Malema.