Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe

Deputy President takes a swipe at black culture

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe inadvertently took a swipe at black violence on Saturday when he called on men not to hide behind culture to perpetuate gender-based violence.

He did not venture into racial differences however, but it is a well-established fact that gender-based violence is rife in black communities.

Despite concerted media efforts – with much-publicised high profile cases – to portray white men as equally violent, rape figures have increased dramatically since 1994, most involving black perpetrators.

Motlanthe was addressing a poorly attended National Men’s Rally at the Johannesburg Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The event was aimed at addressing issues of violence and abuse against women and children.

Under the theme of “Not in My Name”, Motlanthe addressed a stadium with many open seats.

He said that gender inequality was a huge stumbling block in fighting abuse.

He added that only if men helped defeat stereotypes and the classification of women could the scourge truly be stopped.

“If we take refugee behind culture, we will then perpetuate gender-based violence,” said Motlanthe.

After his address, Motlanthe was joined by Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities Lulu Xingwana and Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau in signing a pledge promising no form of violence against women and children would be enacted in their name.

The government is trying to fight worsening perceptions about the level of violence in South Africa, with little enthusiasm from most inhabitants, however.

SA’s nuclear war heats up

Government denied on Friday that a nuclear committee was restructured to remove Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.

“Government has noted misleading allegations by the Mail & Guardian on the restructuring of the National Nuclear Energy Executive Co-ordinating Committee (NNEECC), and dismisses the statements as devoid of truth,” acting government spokesperson Phumla Williams said.

According to a report in the publication President Jacob Zuma “quietly” replaced Motlanthe and took over as the body’s chair.

This was “further downgrading” Motlanthe after he lost his bid for the ANC presidency last year.

The article reads: “Zuma is now firmly directing what is expected to be the largest, most complex tender process in South African history. At stake is the development of new nuclear power plants, potentially worth up to a trillion rand.”

Zuma was “courting” the Russians with meetings where nuclear co-operation was high on the agenda, it said.

Williams said the NNEECC was set up in 2008 to lead, monitor, and ensure oversight of implementation of the country’s nuclear energy policy.

It had been restructured to improve effectiveness. In April Cabinet approved further restructuring, with the support of the Nuclear Energy Technical Committee.

The revised committee was chaired by Zuma and comprised the ministries of energy, public enterprises, finance, state security, defence, and international relations. The committee was reduced to strengthen its efficiency in decision-making.

“Government dismisses suggestions that the restructuring was an attempt to remove the deputy president from the structure,” she said.

It was mischievous to suggest that diplomatic relations between South Africa and Russia were linked to the country’s energy plans.

“Such an allegation is baseless, as South Africa is a member of the [Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa] bloc and is bound to have meetings with its counterparts as and when it is required,” Williams said.

The review of Cabinet committees was an ongoing process and attempts to read anything into them was “pure mischief”. – Sapa