SlideShare a Scribd company logo
1 of 6
Download to read offline
COMPROMISED DEMOCRACY
Lesley Boitumelo Chiloane
Copyright © 2010 by Lesley Chiloane - ISBN: Softcover 978-1-4535-3991-0
Book Summary: www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk/CompromisedDemocracy
Lesley Boitumelo Chiloane’s “Compromised Democracy: The Not So
Successful Side of Our Freedom” is an essay on the effects of the Democratic
Government in South Africa. The author explains, “While I have no doubt in
my mind that our democracy has surely been compromised, I however, have a
question that continues to haunt me, which is whether is it the ordinary
people’s version and definition of democracy and their expectations thereof that
has been compromised or is it that our more than ten years experience of
democracy has produced exactly what democracy by its basic form and
definition should?”
The piece discusses the election in 1994, which was a monumental event. “In
1994, most of us, especially black South Africans, if not all, voted for the
African National Congress for many reasons. We wanted to ensure the
transition of power from the white minority to black majority.” Notably, in the
next election in 1999, “most people were complaining about how the ANC had
failed to deliver on its promises.” Indications of the democracy benefiting the
minority versus the majority were evident, according to the piece. Analysts
explained that the ANC needed more time to make the changes, as stated in the
essay.
The author concludes, “Yes, indeed the last fourteen years have been filled with
drama, tears, joy and excitement, and we owe it to ourselves as South Africans
to celebrate that. Sustained economic growth, a strengthening currency, and
social welfare for more people are just some of the positive developments we
have to celebrate. However, I believe that we have the capacity, potential and
ability to do more and we are not.” He also poetically finishes the book by say: “However negative it may seem to many of you out
there, I find comfort in the last two paragraphs of Ehrmann’s Desiderata:
“…You are the child of the universe, no less than the trees and stars, you have the right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,
the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and
inspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful
world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy”.
Don’t you feel good after reading this book? You must, this book had to be written, either by me or somebody else”
This manuscript is designed to be a political discussion. It will appeal to readers who appreciate political pieces. You will also
appreciate his conversational style of writing. He is talking to the reader, not writing a book for the reader to read.
Authors Biography: www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk/LesleyChiloane
The Author of, ‘Compromised Democracy: The Not So Successful Side Of Our Freedom’, was born Lesley Boitumelo Chiloane on
Monday morning, the 13
th
November 1972, at the Lady Selborne Hospital near Pretoria, South Africa. He was born the last child in a
family of five children, four brothers and a sister. He had a fairly normal childhood, going to school just like any other child his age.
However, he remembers when he was living with his grandmother in a village called Majaneng in Hammanskraal, having to stay out of
school for two years during his early primary schooling when his village was going through a transition when the Bophuthatswana
government was implementing Setswana as medium of instruction in schools replacing Northern Sotho (Sepedi). As a result, he
relocating to Mabopane to live with his mother, where he also continued with his schooling.
Lesley completed his matric in 1991 at Lethabong Secondary School in Soshanguve, a township north of Tshwane, previously known
as Pretoria in South Africa. Like many other young people during his time, he battled to secure formal employment for over 8 years after
passing his matric. However, during his schooling days he was involved in student’s politics, something that influenced his moving
from schooling in Atlegang Middle School in Mabopane, a township in the former Bophuthatswana homeland to Lethabong Secondary
School in Soshanguve, which was then part of the Central South African Government. His political interests and activities had become a
worrying factor for his mother and the family feared for his safety and he was moved to Soshanguve. The family later moved to
Soshanguve as well. But during his matric examinations in 1991, due to his political activities and fleeing from the police, Lesley had
to temporary relocated back to his grandmother’s home in Hammanskraal, a village south of Pretoria where he had grew up and went to
primary school. After completing his matric exams, he permanently moved to Meadowlands in Soweto.
He later during his youth years got involved with various youth organizations and projects as a volunteer. Some of these were the
Meadowlands Youth Empowerment Forum, which he was a co-founder and the Southern African Association of Youth Clubs
(SAAYC). It is during this time that he developed a love for youth and community work. He became actively involved in community
and youth development programmes for most part of his youth years. Lesley also started coordinating local youth projects in Soweto,
ran youth trainings and facilitated a variety of workshops and mobilized young people in the community to act as volunteers for projects.
This would help them develop skills, he always maintained. As a result of his active involvement in the community and youth work,
he was invited occasionally to share his experiences with youth outside Gauteng and Internationally.
As a college student where he studied Civil Engineering, Lesley became the Chairperson of the Student Representative Council in
1996. During this period, he also played a significant role in the youth consultative process towards the establishment of the National
Youth Commission in South Africa. Later within the student politics space, he became the Constitutional Chairperson for the
Technical College Student Association (TECSA) in Gauteng. He also served at SAAYC as a Chairperson of the Soweto Regional
Committee in 2000 while he later served on the Governing Board of the organization for five years. One of his highlights was
participating in the President’s Awards Youth Programme and achieving Bronze and Silver Awards in 1997.
Having gained much experience and recognition in the youth sector, Lesley felt that the time had come for him to consolidate his
experience as a youth worker and find more comprehensive ways to serve the sector. He went on to start writing a self-titled youth
newspaper column ‘Let’s Talk to Les’ which was published in a local community newspaper called ‘Expressions’ in 2000 and later in
‘Kitso’ another youth publication distributed throughout Gauteng until 2003. In 2006, Lesley published his own newspaper titled and
named after his daughter ‘Naledi News’ for six months. Through Visual Memories, a video production company he co-owned, in 2006
he played a significant role during the first Soweto-TV broadcast, as a commercials scriptwriter, video director and producer etc.
Occasionally as an Architect, he designed homes for people, a career he plans to continue when he retires later in life.
Back in 2001, Lesley had started his own Youth Consulting Business ‘LL Youth Consultancy cc’ and it had become his primary
focus. The company was providing services like Youth Research, Training, Business Planning, Proposal Writing, Project Designing &
Management. It is through his work as a Youth Consultant at the time that let to him being invited to serve as a Selection Panelist on
the Nation’s Trust Youth Enterprise Finance Programme between 2003 and 2006, which he left by choice when the Umsobomvu
Youth Fund took over the project. He had been instrumental in the designing and implementation of the Soweto Urban Regeneration
Youth Programme and as a youth consultant, for years, he facilitated international youth exchange programmes by hosting numerous
youth groups from outside South Africa.
Lesley had chosen to serve the youth sector as a consultant and a youth entrepreneur in an attempt to add value to the sector and to the
lives of the youth of South Africa. Through his commitment, active involvement and sacrifices, Lesley has been instrumental in the field
of youth development. It is for this that he was together with six others were recognized, honored and awarded by the Youth
Development Network for their ‘Exceptional Leadership Qualities’ in their careers. A book was published in their honor. In 2004,
he was also invited to serve as a member of the FFF (Fast Forwarding to the Future), a African continental youth leadership initiative
made up about 35 Youth Leaders from across Africa who designed, initiated and continue to facilitate ‘Vision 2050 for Africa’. The
vision was launched in 2004 in Maputo, Mozambique.
Asked: What makes what you do different from others, he once answered, “I am not clear about how what I am doing differs from
what other young people are doing, but one thing that sets me apart is that I am a product of the township and therefore see it as my
responsibility to develop my immediate space and give back to the people in whatever way I can. Over and above that, I would like to
create an environment in the townships where young people can express themselves on issues affecting their lives” His advice to other
young people has always been that: “Young people are the country’s future and workforce and they need to start seeing themselves in
that light” Something that he today feels the South African Democratic Government has betrayed it the youth and has deserted them.
This regrettable view is what inspired the wring of this book, Compromised Democracy: The Not So Successful Side Of Our Freedom.
In 2010, as this book finally got published, more than three years after its completion, Lesley was 38 years old, a father to a nine year
old daughter and a business man. He dedicates this book to the memory of his Youth Work fellow worker, friend and colleague who
passed on a few years ago, Mr. Norman Mahlomola Ross, whom he worked with at SAAYC.
About the book:
A decade and five more years after South Africa has achieved a relatively peaceful transformation to
Democracy, more and more of its people still live in poverty stricken conditions while a small section
continues to celebrate material benefits and fruits of Democracy.
How do you, Fifteen years down the line, celebrate Freedom, Human-Rights, Right to Vote etc while you
are dying of hunger, disease and crime! Are those not the very Human-Rights you need to be celebrating
and living?
Extracts from the book:
The following a randomly selected extracts from the in no particular. The Author encourages people to read the book in full before
passing judgment or criticizing…
“…During my student days in the eighties when I was still politically active and a ‘comrade’, I remember vividly that I actually
never asked for democracy. I didn’t know what it was, neither did I know what it meant. I wanted freedom from apartheid! I
wanted freedom and I was given democracy. Hardly fifteen years later, I am realizing that I am still searching for that freedom.
This book is my personal quest for my freedom. Somebody please take back this Democracy and give me back my Freedom! The
Freedom that was so quickly and selfishly taken away from me in 1994 when I was just getting used to it! I now know that
Freedom and Democracy can never be the same. People living in a democracy are not free and free people do not embrace
democracy! Of all the systems of government available out there, who choose Democracy for us?...”
“…The country witnessed Thabo Mbeki visit people in their homes during the election campaign and build-up in search of votes
pretending in my opinion to listen to their concerns without calling them names and shooting down their opinions. The man
becomes a completely different person after elections, calling everybody who cares to utter a word in opposite opinion or
criticize his administration by names ranging from liars, ultra leftists, neo-liberates, racists etc. When politicians want votes
from you, you can say as much as you want, criticize them, make suggestions, disagree with them and even make some
objections, they will agree with you, smile with you, hold your hand and walk with you the streets and call you a true South
African who has every right to participate. They will do anything under the sun to get your vote! For your vote they pretend to
believe that you must be personally consulted and be spoken to until you cast that vote, then they go back to talking to
consultants and amongst themselves forgetting that you ever existed at least until the next election. COSATU, SANCO and
SACP all have a painful experience of this kind of treatment from their alliance partners, the ANC…”
“… Mbeki must really be uncomfortable with communicating in simple English terms including other South African languages.
I don’t see anything wrong if he would one day stand up an address the Nation in isiXhosa or isiZulu. Let the Europeans and
Americans for the first time receive a translated version of what President Mbeki has to say. This will also go a long way in
creating international awareness around our own indigenous languages and cultures instead of that of the slave master, English.
Even Jacob Zuma chose to address the court and testify in isiZulu during his rape trail, which was a moral victory to Zulu as a
language and a culture. However, I remain suspicious of his real motives. Was it to confuse the courts and distort the facts of the
case given that some content will be lost during translation or was it a plain exercise of his democratic constitutional right?...”
“… Why would you continue to vote for a government that build single-roomed houses of poor quality with no sanitation,
electricity for its people while preaching restoration of human dignity amongst others! It is in these houses that some of the most
hyenas crimes against humanity in a form of children and women abuse, rape sexual harassment are taking place due to
inhuman living conditions. Families living in houses without privacy! Children potentially exposed to parents having sex and
other adult activities that children should not witness. And then we are shocked by the overwhelming rate that our children are
sexually active. Our government built houses that created environments that morally killing our kids…”
“… Equality is a dream, a perfect dream! But is it a reality? Is it a possible reality? No, I don’t think it is! You and I will always
be treated based on our personal, physical, financial, social and professional status, not on the basis of being fellow human
beings. For Heaven’s sake I am not even equal to my friends, members of my family, colleagues, my neighbors or even my
brothers. People are not born equal, they never will be! Some people are born weak in some areas and strong in others. Some
people will remain vulnerable in one area while they grow to triumph in another… We have made a terrible mistake, maybe a
human error of allowing our desires and aspirations of wanting to have people of different sexual orientations, a diverse of
social, physical and personal characteristics, abilities and qualities to treat each other with mutual respect, in a civil manner and
in all fairness, of wanting to provide everyone with equal opportunities to translate into everyone being equal. Aiming to provide
different people with equal opportunities and equal protection or benefits of the law should not necessary mean that those people
are equal or must be equal! The fact that each and every one of us is born unique is enough to make us unequal in anyway
whatsoever…”
“… Thanks to the arrogance of our political leaders and policy makers of our county for ensuring that being a real man today
means having to take the emotional, psychological, economical and verbal abuses that women today continue to unleash!
Regrettably the only prove for most of these abuses from women is when men breaks down and by then it’s too late for anyone
to do something about it because there would be a mass funeral, news headline and bloody scenes. Being a true man today means
being manipulated, pushed to the limit, and be beaten down without retaliating. Unfortunately and regrettably, being a real man
according to our politicians, means taking all forms of abuse and injustice from our women until you can’t take anymore but
resort to taking a gun, shoot the kids, shoot the woman and then finish the job by turning the gun to yourself. That’s being a real
man in South Africa today…”
“… As a result, the youth have lost interest in politics. The National Youth Commission’s former director for Policy and
Programmes, Makhosazana Sibeko, wrote in the edition of the National Youth Journal titled, National Youth Service and I quote
verbatim, “A National Youth Commission (NYC) action survey conducted in two local government settings found that young
people had limited knowledge of local democracy as well as governance arrangements generally. This has implications for their
participation at this level as well as for the quality and future of our democratic practice.” Surely this observation cannot be
limited to local government, to some extend it paints a national picture that translates to a general negative attitude that young
people have towards government. The integration of political education into mainstream youth developmental capacity building
programmes will go a long way in redressing the situation and encouraging the spirit of civic activism within our youth...”
“… Thanks to them, youth development has taken a form of conference after conference, declaration after declaration, youth
consultative summit after another, which are not making any impact on either the youth public or government policies. Every
time a government department seeks to produce or develop an impressive report on youth development, such a department will
invite young people to a youth consultative summit, conference or workshop to brainstorm on what the youth would like to see
happening in their favour. This would be the last the youth hear of that department at least not until another report is needed
after some time…”
“… Thanks to this marriage between COSATU and ANC/Government, policies like GEAR were implemented regardless of
whether it represents the genuine interests of the workers or not. COSATU will always sacrifice if not compromise the rights of
the workers for that special relationship with the ruling party, its Tripartite Alliance partner, the marriage that has long passed
its divorce date in my opinion…”
“… Dr. Pahad, who was later to resign in solidarity to Thabo Mbeki, had continued to say that South Africa has shown that it
appreciates the above statement by establishing effective structures that ensure that young people fully participate in national
and community life, referring to the National Youth Commission (NYC) amongst others. Many of the politicians and a few of
their few friends ignorantly and carelessly continue to make reference to the establishment of both the NYC and Umsobomvu
Youth Fund (UYF) as victory for the youth of this country without evaluating the impact these institutions may or may not have
on the youth. Putting these structures in place, is just but one very small and costly initiative to a bigger challenge if they do not
achieve what the youth majority of this country desire, not a few connected bunch. However, the same minister was to set up a
task team later in 2008 to investigate the possibility of establishing a more effective youth state agency to replace both
Umsobomvu Youth Fund and The National Youth Commission, finally resigning to the fact and realization that these entities
have failed dismally! How sad that it had to take almost a decade and a few million lost opportunities and thousand young lives
before the harsh reality was to sink in. We wait to see what the new National Youth Development Agency will deliver. I already
have my doubts. This is just another new gravy train for new few beneficiaries that will be scrapped after another decade or so
when it fails again…”
“… It has become almost impossible to earn an honest living in South Africa today, if the way most of our political leaders are
behaving is a reflection of our society in general. Corruption has become the order of the day. You either join the ranks or die of
poverty, so it seems! Considering that even the highest office in the country acknowledges and understands the existence of
corruption in our society. Good or bad, it’s a move that can easily but rightfully and understandably be mistaken for condoning
if not endorsing corruption in governance… Our government has yet to demonstrate any willingness, commitment or even an
acknowledgement to recognize that most of its employees and leaders are corrupt and there is no determination of any sort to
ruthlessly crush corruption. You get a disturbing impression that people are going out of their way to protect fellow comrades,
which further implicates everyone. In an effort to protect their preferred leader or maybe even themselves, the same members of
the new National Executive Committee of the ANC after the 2007 National Conference, were quick to allegedly lobby Thabo
Mbeki to issue a blanket pardon on all wrongdoing relating to the controversial arms deal in return of him not being called up to
testify in the Zuma corruption trail. If you protect a criminal, you become a criminal yourself. Institutions like the National
Prosecuting Authority (Scorpions) have been established to investigate and prosecute national crimes of an organized nature,
amongst others corruption cases. This elite police squad has enjoyed a high-profiled success and a 93% conviction rate (2004)
and the politicians were happy about that until of course in my opinion when the scorpions started investigating ‘the wrong
people’, themselves. It was nice when the scorpions were investigating, arresting and prosecuting top business men and women,
and other people dimmed to have broken the law, but it became a sour pill to swallow for the politicians when Bulelani Ngcuka
(former head of the NPA) and his scorpions turned their attention to the politicians…”
“… An impression is created, in fact it has since become more than an impression but a fact that the law only applies to you and
me, the ordinary poor people, not to all South Africans. When you do wrong you are investigated, arrested, charged and tried
regardless of how much evidence the state has against you, but in the case of Jacob Zuma, our former Deputy President, it took
the state considerable time and outside pressure to finally charge him on corruption sighting lack of enough evidence, not that
the there was no evidence at all, there was, but not enough to charge him. It means, in my own limited legal interpretation that
Jacob Zuma broke the law, but he did not break it hard enough to be brought to book. However, it was to take another new
scorpions boss to finally have the guts to charge Zuma. While serious regrettable attempts were made by his supporters to have
these charges dropped, attempts that may have succeeded by the time you read this book, it remains to be seen what will
transpire should Zuma gets his day in court…”
President Mbeki in my opinion did the right thing by provoking and kick starting a debate in a manner that he did. Considering
that the administration before him totally avoided the topic. Mandela should have kick-started the national debate on HIV/AIDS
to lay a foundation for continuity. Mbeki would not have had a choice but to continue on what would have been a government
programme when he came into power. Why are we sparing Mandela any criticism in this regard and many more in our
democracy?...”
…Thenjiwe Mtintso, assistant secretary general of the ANC at time (2000); pointed
out: ‘Making anti-retroviral drugs available is only one side of the story; the state will
have to take responsibility for all the costs of AIDS-infected individuals. The state
doesn’t have that kind of capacity’. Manuel (Trevor Manuael – Minister of Finance)
was more blunt: ‘The rhetoric about the effectiveness of ARVs is a lot of voodoo
and buying them would be a waste of limited resources’
- Taken from: Thabo Mbeki and The battle for the Soul of the ANC, by Mervin Gumede.
“… However, I strongly believe that there may be many of us out there that deserve AIDS! If today you are still recklessly
sleeping around with many different partners without using condoms, then you are asking for it. If you are experiment with
drugs and used needles, getting so drunk every weekend and have very little recollection or none at all of who you wake with the
next morning, then you are asking for AIDS, period! I personally know of people who arrogantly and carelessly thought that
they were God’s greatest gifts so every man or woman they come across, gallivanting sexually with no care or reason. And when
today when they die of AIDS or any HIV related illness I must sympathies, why? When I made the decision to change my ways
when I started knowing of HIV and AIDS why didn’t they? The information was everywhere for all of us to see and hear. There
were workshops everywhere! But when you still continue to have unprotected sex with everyone you come across with why
should I care when you get it, I surely will not cry for you. I definitely will cry for my tax money being used to care for you
because it’s the same money that was used to try and educate you ten years ago and you irresponsibly and arrogantly refused!
The regrettable fact out there is that there will always be true victims under certain circumstances and we will support and
sympathies with and includes and not limited to innocent children who get it from child-to-mother transfusion, accidents and
blood transfer victims, faithful partners who get it from cheating ones and cases where the condom breaks. Shamefully there will
be those arrogant and irresponsible bustards I have spoken about. Those that have lived by the gun and correctly died or will die
by the gun, as they say and I will not share a tear for those…”
“… There is a tendency from us to apply some kind of blanket sympathy to all AIDS sufferers including those that are even
guilty of deliberately contracting and spreading it whether purposely, by ignorance, neglect or a combination. I am so scared of
HIV & AIDS to the point that I can’t even get an erection when the thought crosses my mind. HIV & Aids is a killer disease! We
are not going to win the battle against it if we are going to continue speaking nice about it. People must be scared of it. Its scary,
its inhuman, its cruel and takes no prisoners. Please show me any HIV and AIDS survivor. By survivor, I mean somebody who
was cured. If you can’t find one, then what’s nice about it and why do we want to say it is not a killer and a death-sentence?...”
“… And finally, what does our dear president, Jacob Zuma in this regard? After deliberately sleeping with an HIV positive
woman without a condom, confusing us all about the shower-effect, having a child with a daughter of a friend, again without a
condom and inpregnating her, he takes an HIV test and announce he is negative. Now, we are going to have poor ignorant and
naïve young people desputing its existence and randomly sleeping around following in the footsteps of their president. If he, the
president, can sleep with infected women, sleep with his many wives, sleep with and inprenated other women in the process, have
the many kids he has with his wives and ex-wives and still come out negative, then, there is no such thing as HIV, they will
regrettably say…”
“… Despite having had fought for our freedom and democracy, we have not inherited the freedom, but we have borrowed it
from our children. It’s theirs and the generations after theirs rightful heritage we must uphold and protect to pass on to the next
generations in tact…”
“… The unfazed, unemotional and ever focused Thabo Mbeki addressed the nation on the 21st
September 2008, officially
resigning as President of SA after being recalled by the ANC before his official term of office was completed. As I sat at home on
that Sunday evening watching him on television, posed as ever, the intellectual, abstract as usual, committed and professional
and as the world had known him, convincing in his words and mesmerizing in his language and context, Mbeki said his farewell
to the nation, his comrades, colleagues, cabinet and subjects, in a true Thabo Mbeki style, they only way he knows how. I could
not help it but wonder if this was the same man accused of all alleged crimes and taken all the insults over the years and months
leading to his fallout with his beloved ANC, his only home. His words spoke of his continued commitment to nation building,
democratic governance, building the ANC and African Renaissance. I could not help it, but adore him for a while…”
“… However, I soon came to a rude realization that this man Thabo Mbeki, was the same man that told the nation at some stage
that he personally does not know anybody that has died of AIDS, while his people were dying of it. I realized that this man,
belonged to a section of humanity and a people we call politicians, and these people don’t have to mean what they say. I realized
that he was not any different from those against him, not by a long shot. I realized that just like him, his enemies would move
any mountain to gain power and eventually be corrupted by the same power in the not so distant future after him if they have
not already. I came to the sad realization that this was just another sad round in this vicious circle of power struggle, politics and
leadership. Another chapter and harsh reality of how compromised our democracy has been, or is it? Some say these are the
signs of our democracy growing and getting stronger…”
“… Polokwane came and went, Floor-crossing has come and gone, Mbeki has come and gone, the scorpions have come and they
too looks to be gone, or at-least have the sting cut off, Bheki Jacobs, the arms-deal corruption whistle blower dies of renal cell
cancer, Archbishop Desmond Tutu possibly not voting in the next, 2009 National Elections, and the ANC splitting! And above
all, a black US President! Wow. Is this “The Second Coming” that Mbeki spoke about? Surely turning and turning in the
widening gyre and the falcon can definitely not hear the falconer while things fall apart and the centre dismally failing to hold.
Mere anarchy as Mbeki said, has been loosed upon our land. May the Lord have mercy on us as “The blood-dimmed tide is
loosed, and everywhere, the ceremony of innocence is drowned…”
“… The victors, the ANC, the other ANC, blamed everything on Mbeki. The policies, government policies, ANC’s policies,
legislation, government legislation, ANC driven legislation. Collective responsibility and accountability ceased to exist as a
principle. I find intellectually insulting that the ANC all of sudden wanted us to believe that Thabo Mbeki, alone, in his personal
capacity as president is and was responsible for all governments failures, all ANC failures! If this is fact, then the ANC must also
credit Thabo Mbeki for the successes and triumphs that the party and government have achieved. He cannot be responsible,
visible and villain in failure while he is ignored, unknown and forgotten in victory. The fact remains that a heritage and history
has been created and earned, is it ANC heritage or a Thabo Mbeki heritage? In it entirety, with its failures and successes, who’s
record is it? Was Mbeki not the trusted messenger of the ANC? Did Mbeki, alone, draft, debate, vote and approve all
government policies, legislation and programmes? Mbeki didn’t single handedly craft and mould our so-called ‘most liberal’,
‘best constitution’ in the world that ensures that criminals enjoy more protection of the law and human rights than innocent
people…”
“… After over 52 years of serving in the ANC, the movement must have know the kind of a leader Thabo Mbeki is. The ANC
must have approved of his leadership style and that conclusion I have reached based on only one factor, the ANC nominated and
elected Thabo Mbeki for its highest office and highest office in the land for two terms respectively! The ANC surely benefited
and won many battles thanks to Thabo Mbeki’s skills, leadership style and character and have celebrated while it lasted. And
now that the ANC has suffered or is facing challenges that may be allegedly as a result, directly or otherwise, of Thabo Mbeki’s
leadership style, the ANC wants to reject and abandon him. Especially given that they had the powers as demonstrated during
this time and because it selfishly benefited its own narrow-minded and shallow interests, the ANC could and should have
stopped him early on, and they did not…”
“… Poverty alleviation is a dream. What it means is that if achieved, it will do away with rich people. Now do you think that rich
people want to loose their status of being rich? Of course not. Rich people need the poor for them to exist or else who will they be
compared to for them to be called rich? The poor people of-course! In the absence of the poor, how will the capitalists prosper,
who will they take advantage of?...”
“… South Africa can do better for its people. We have all the resources we need to end our problems and prosper as a nation.
The only obstacle is the greedy, corrupt, incompetent, arrogant, lazy leaders and officials who make decisions motivated by their
own selfish needs, neglect and ignorance. Our leaders have yet to learn that they should seek to enjoy and celebrate the trust of
leadership that the people bestow unto them as a benefit, not the amount of money they can make in the process...”
“… The opinions and observations that I have shared in this book may and will be carelessly mistaken for a direct attack on the
ANC by its leaders and its blind faith followers and members. According to them, if you differ, challenge or even criticize the
ANC on an issue, they will not hesitate to name you as the enemy of the organization. I have never seen a people who lacked
tolerance for debate like those within the African National Congress, unless of course if they approve or are the ones initiating
the debate. For reasons known to them, and only to them and a few of their friends, they are so naïve to expect all of us, 45
million of us, to agree with everything they say, think or do. How possible it that? Pathetic!...”
“… They can’t make right decisions for themselves, yet we continue to trust them with the responsibility of making decisions not
only for us currently but for our future as well. And they are criminals as well, how can you trust a criminal to lead you to a
better life or future? People who, either by default or deliberately, cannot separate what’s wrong from right. Our failure as a
nation to produce capable leaders further suggests and strengthens the notion that leaders are born rather than made. Where
the hell are we going as a nation? I am afraid, I am very afraid, and you should be…”
One last thing that people need to be educated on and informed of is the knowledge that all government employees, from the
President himself to your ward councilor are public servants which makes them your employees. What that means is that they
work for you, the public, and are accountable to you. You are not at their mercy, as they would rather have you believe, instead
the converse is true, which is that they are at your mercy. That is only if you are smart and bold enough to use the weapon at
your disposal, elections, against them and stop handing them the gun to continue shooting you down… So if you have people
working for you and fail you, on the other hand you continue to trust them with the same task, then you must stop pointing
fingers and take the responsibility of having failed yourself.
“… Let’s hope that one day, men and women of honor will stand up and be counted to deliver a real better life for all. Let’s hope
that the new ANC leadership that emerged from the Limpopo Conference is not just making rhetoric speeches and promises just
because they want to get rid of Mbeki and his crew but actually care about the better life promise made to the people. Let’s hope
and pray that Jacob Zuma is not as corrupt as he is made to be and he is actually a victim as he and his supporters are claiming.
Let’s just hope. Let’s hope that in due course, the truth will come out, sanity will prevail, democracy will really be for the people
and by the people, lets hope the poor and hungry will vote not on their poor and hungry stomach but on their hungry brains and
dreams. Let’s just hope that the ANC both as a party and in government reclaims its soul, the soul of its fore-fathers. Until then
it’s going to be a long bumpy road …”
Contents
the memory of Norman Ross
acknowledgements
introduction
why I put pen to paper…
Chapter one
democracy, fraud disguised as genuine freedom…
Chapter two
the people shall not govern...
Chapter three
crime is a human-rights violation…
Chapter four
youth under-development, a bitter heritage…
Chapter five
developing an economy for a few...
Chapter six
corruption & crime, a way of life…
Chapter seven
racism & HIV / AIDS are here to stay…
… maybe even beyond us!
Chapter eight
poverty alleviation, what a dream...
Chapter nine
our democracy heritage…
Chapter ten
so, where to? a question we all need to ask ourselves!
… a simple book tackling serious issues in a simple manner.
The book was published by Xlibris Corporation & printed in the United States of America.
To order contact:
Xlibris Corporation
0-800-644-6988
www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk
orders@xlibrispublishing.co.uk
Its also available on:
www.amazon.com
www.barnesandnoble.com
www.kalahari.net
www.politicos.co.uk/books/
The Author, Lesley Chiloane can be reached on:
lesleyc@webmail.co.za
Cell: +27 82 697 8166

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Educación a Distancia, Educación a distancia en México.
Educación a Distancia, Educación a distancia en México. Educación a Distancia, Educación a distancia en México.
Educación a Distancia, Educación a distancia en México. EdIribe
 
Redes sociales - Michelle Pullupaxi
Redes sociales - Michelle Pullupaxi Redes sociales - Michelle Pullupaxi
Redes sociales - Michelle Pullupaxi Mishu Pullupaxi
 
Video conferencias
Video conferenciasVideo conferencias
Video conferenciasEva Rubi
 
PPT E-learning, blog dan virtual Lab
PPT E-learning, blog dan virtual LabPPT E-learning, blog dan virtual Lab
PPT E-learning, blog dan virtual Labzaida.masruroh
 
Moodle MOOC 9: Setting up a Gradebook for Assignments
Moodle MOOC 9: Setting up a Gradebook for AssignmentsMoodle MOOC 9: Setting up a Gradebook for Assignments
Moodle MOOC 9: Setting up a Gradebook for AssignmentsRamesh C. Sharma
 
Demonstração de como usar o Windows Azure Drive
Demonstração de como usar o Windows Azure DriveDemonstração de como usar o Windows Azure Drive
Demonstração de como usar o Windows Azure DriveLuciano Condé
 
Cloud Day III - Programas para parceiros com Windows Azure
Cloud Day III - Programas para parceiros com Windows AzureCloud Day III - Programas para parceiros com Windows Azure
Cloud Day III - Programas para parceiros com Windows AzureLuciano Condé
 
Linea de tiempo historia de la facultad de estidios a distancia
Linea de tiempo historia de la facultad de estidios a distanciaLinea de tiempo historia de la facultad de estidios a distancia
Linea de tiempo historia de la facultad de estidios a distanciaNatalia Ortiz
 
A project report on training and development in reliance money
A project report on training and development in reliance moneyA project report on training and development in reliance money
A project report on training and development in reliance moneyProjects Kart
 
Mick Walker ft. Tim Oates on assessment | Frog 16 London
Mick Walker ft. Tim Oates on assessment | Frog 16 London Mick Walker ft. Tim Oates on assessment | Frog 16 London
Mick Walker ft. Tim Oates on assessment | Frog 16 London Simeon Yianni
 

Viewers also liked (13)

Educación a Distancia, Educación a distancia en México.
Educación a Distancia, Educación a distancia en México. Educación a Distancia, Educación a distancia en México.
Educación a Distancia, Educación a distancia en México.
 
Redes sociales - Michelle Pullupaxi
Redes sociales - Michelle Pullupaxi Redes sociales - Michelle Pullupaxi
Redes sociales - Michelle Pullupaxi
 
Video conferencias
Video conferenciasVideo conferencias
Video conferencias
 
PPT E-learning, blog dan virtual Lab
PPT E-learning, blog dan virtual LabPPT E-learning, blog dan virtual Lab
PPT E-learning, blog dan virtual Lab
 
Moodle MOOC 9: Setting up a Gradebook for Assignments
Moodle MOOC 9: Setting up a Gradebook for AssignmentsMoodle MOOC 9: Setting up a Gradebook for Assignments
Moodle MOOC 9: Setting up a Gradebook for Assignments
 
Demonstração de como usar o Windows Azure Drive
Demonstração de como usar o Windows Azure DriveDemonstração de como usar o Windows Azure Drive
Demonstração de como usar o Windows Azure Drive
 
Cloud Day III - Programas para parceiros com Windows Azure
Cloud Day III - Programas para parceiros com Windows AzureCloud Day III - Programas para parceiros com Windows Azure
Cloud Day III - Programas para parceiros com Windows Azure
 
Linea de tiempo historia de la facultad de estidios a distancia
Linea de tiempo historia de la facultad de estidios a distanciaLinea de tiempo historia de la facultad de estidios a distancia
Linea de tiempo historia de la facultad de estidios a distancia
 
Natural resources
Natural resourcesNatural resources
Natural resources
 
Industry definition
Industry definitionIndustry definition
Industry definition
 
Landscapes agrarios
Landscapes agrariosLandscapes agrarios
Landscapes agrarios
 
A project report on training and development in reliance money
A project report on training and development in reliance moneyA project report on training and development in reliance money
A project report on training and development in reliance money
 
Mick Walker ft. Tim Oates on assessment | Frog 16 London
Mick Walker ft. Tim Oates on assessment | Frog 16 London Mick Walker ft. Tim Oates on assessment | Frog 16 London
Mick Walker ft. Tim Oates on assessment | Frog 16 London
 

Similar to Book Profile

UNV Feild Unit (Liberia) Newsletter- One Vision Jan 1st 2012
UNV Feild Unit (Liberia) Newsletter- One Vision Jan 1st 2012UNV Feild Unit (Liberia) Newsletter- One Vision Jan 1st 2012
UNV Feild Unit (Liberia) Newsletter- One Vision Jan 1st 2012Sarah-Jane Hilary Mungo
 
2012 Global Institute Launch Book
2012 Global Institute Launch Book2012 Global Institute Launch Book
2012 Global Institute Launch BookPresenTense Group
 
Leading to Inspire - Profile Iman Usman
Leading to Inspire - Profile Iman UsmanLeading to Inspire - Profile Iman Usman
Leading to Inspire - Profile Iman UsmanMuhamad Iman Usman
 
December 2016 Toastmasters International
December 2016 Toastmasters InternationalDecember 2016 Toastmasters International
December 2016 Toastmasters Internationalbobbyvuppula
 
SPEAKING OUT - KASHMIRE'S STORY!
SPEAKING OUT - KASHMIRE'S STORY!SPEAKING OUT - KASHMIRE'S STORY!
SPEAKING OUT - KASHMIRE'S STORY!Kashmire Hawker
 
Designed by Star Hero Media: InBrief Newsletter August 2015
Designed by Star Hero Media: InBrief Newsletter August 2015Designed by Star Hero Media: InBrief Newsletter August 2015
Designed by Star Hero Media: InBrief Newsletter August 2015Nonhlanhla Nxumalo
 
Stories of transformation from Ekangala
Stories of transformation from EkangalaStories of transformation from Ekangala
Stories of transformation from EkangalaSikhathele Nkala
 
Weekly newsletter April week 1
Weekly newsletter April week 1 Weekly newsletter April week 1
Weekly newsletter April week 1 nyapru
 
Dimokratia Journal - The PSSA Journal of Political Science, Midlands State Un...
Dimokratia Journal - The PSSA Journal of Political Science, Midlands State Un...Dimokratia Journal - The PSSA Journal of Political Science, Midlands State Un...
Dimokratia Journal - The PSSA Journal of Political Science, Midlands State Un...Lisbon Tawanda Chigwenjere
 
Speech by Iman Usman at the Closing of 9th UN Youth Assembly in New York
Speech by Iman Usman at the Closing of 9th UN Youth Assembly in New YorkSpeech by Iman Usman at the Closing of 9th UN Youth Assembly in New York
Speech by Iman Usman at the Closing of 9th UN Youth Assembly in New YorkMuhamad Iman Usman
 
Writing Essay Exams. Online assignment writing service.
Writing Essay Exams. Online assignment writing service.Writing Essay Exams. Online assignment writing service.
Writing Essay Exams. Online assignment writing service.Jennifer Wood
 
Boletin Abril 2006
Boletin Abril 2006Boletin Abril 2006
Boletin Abril 2006INAH
 
Molaya kgosi HerStory
Molaya kgosi HerStoryMolaya kgosi HerStory
Molaya kgosi HerStoryBogolo Ken
 
The Presidency - National Orders Booklet 2006
The Presidency - National Orders Booklet 2006The Presidency - National Orders Booklet 2006
The Presidency - National Orders Booklet 2006Dr Lendy Spires
 
Conference report -train the trainers maria wörth may 2010
Conference report -train the trainers maria wörth may 2010Conference report -train the trainers maria wörth may 2010
Conference report -train the trainers maria wörth may 2010Kate Wiseman
 
Essays On Social Class.pdfEssays On Social Class. Analysis of Social Class Es...
Essays On Social Class.pdfEssays On Social Class. Analysis of Social Class Es...Essays On Social Class.pdfEssays On Social Class. Analysis of Social Class Es...
Essays On Social Class.pdfEssays On Social Class. Analysis of Social Class Es...Kimberly Balentine
 

Similar to Book Profile (20)

Sbu Profile
Sbu ProfileSbu Profile
Sbu Profile
 
UNV Feild Unit (Liberia) Newsletter- One Vision Jan 1st 2012
UNV Feild Unit (Liberia) Newsletter- One Vision Jan 1st 2012UNV Feild Unit (Liberia) Newsletter- One Vision Jan 1st 2012
UNV Feild Unit (Liberia) Newsletter- One Vision Jan 1st 2012
 
What Democracy Feels Like
What Democracy Feels LikeWhat Democracy Feels Like
What Democracy Feels Like
 
2012 Global Institute Launch Book
2012 Global Institute Launch Book2012 Global Institute Launch Book
2012 Global Institute Launch Book
 
Leading to Inspire - Profile Iman Usman
Leading to Inspire - Profile Iman UsmanLeading to Inspire - Profile Iman Usman
Leading to Inspire - Profile Iman Usman
 
December 2016 Toastmasters International
December 2016 Toastmasters InternationalDecember 2016 Toastmasters International
December 2016 Toastmasters International
 
SPEAKING OUT - KASHMIRE'S STORY!
SPEAKING OUT - KASHMIRE'S STORY!SPEAKING OUT - KASHMIRE'S STORY!
SPEAKING OUT - KASHMIRE'S STORY!
 
Designed by Star Hero Media: InBrief Newsletter August 2015
Designed by Star Hero Media: InBrief Newsletter August 2015Designed by Star Hero Media: InBrief Newsletter August 2015
Designed by Star Hero Media: InBrief Newsletter August 2015
 
Stories of transformation from Ekangala
Stories of transformation from EkangalaStories of transformation from Ekangala
Stories of transformation from Ekangala
 
Weekly newsletter April week 1
Weekly newsletter April week 1 Weekly newsletter April week 1
Weekly newsletter April week 1
 
Africamp Participants Bios
Africamp Participants BiosAfricamp Participants Bios
Africamp Participants Bios
 
Dimokratia Journal - The PSSA Journal of Political Science, Midlands State Un...
Dimokratia Journal - The PSSA Journal of Political Science, Midlands State Un...Dimokratia Journal - The PSSA Journal of Political Science, Midlands State Un...
Dimokratia Journal - The PSSA Journal of Political Science, Midlands State Un...
 
Speech by Iman Usman at the Closing of 9th UN Youth Assembly in New York
Speech by Iman Usman at the Closing of 9th UN Youth Assembly in New YorkSpeech by Iman Usman at the Closing of 9th UN Youth Assembly in New York
Speech by Iman Usman at the Closing of 9th UN Youth Assembly in New York
 
Writing Essay Exams. Online assignment writing service.
Writing Essay Exams. Online assignment writing service.Writing Essay Exams. Online assignment writing service.
Writing Essay Exams. Online assignment writing service.
 
Boletin Abril 2006
Boletin Abril 2006Boletin Abril 2006
Boletin Abril 2006
 
Molaya kgosi HerStory
Molaya kgosi HerStoryMolaya kgosi HerStory
Molaya kgosi HerStory
 
The Presidency - National Orders Booklet 2006
The Presidency - National Orders Booklet 2006The Presidency - National Orders Booklet 2006
The Presidency - National Orders Booklet 2006
 
We Have Choices
We Have ChoicesWe Have Choices
We Have Choices
 
Conference report -train the trainers maria wörth may 2010
Conference report -train the trainers maria wörth may 2010Conference report -train the trainers maria wörth may 2010
Conference report -train the trainers maria wörth may 2010
 
Essays On Social Class.pdfEssays On Social Class. Analysis of Social Class Es...
Essays On Social Class.pdfEssays On Social Class. Analysis of Social Class Es...Essays On Social Class.pdfEssays On Social Class. Analysis of Social Class Es...
Essays On Social Class.pdfEssays On Social Class. Analysis of Social Class Es...
 

Book Profile

  • 1. COMPROMISED DEMOCRACY Lesley Boitumelo Chiloane Copyright © 2010 by Lesley Chiloane - ISBN: Softcover 978-1-4535-3991-0 Book Summary: www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk/CompromisedDemocracy Lesley Boitumelo Chiloane’s “Compromised Democracy: The Not So Successful Side of Our Freedom” is an essay on the effects of the Democratic Government in South Africa. The author explains, “While I have no doubt in my mind that our democracy has surely been compromised, I however, have a question that continues to haunt me, which is whether is it the ordinary people’s version and definition of democracy and their expectations thereof that has been compromised or is it that our more than ten years experience of democracy has produced exactly what democracy by its basic form and definition should?” The piece discusses the election in 1994, which was a monumental event. “In 1994, most of us, especially black South Africans, if not all, voted for the African National Congress for many reasons. We wanted to ensure the transition of power from the white minority to black majority.” Notably, in the next election in 1999, “most people were complaining about how the ANC had failed to deliver on its promises.” Indications of the democracy benefiting the minority versus the majority were evident, according to the piece. Analysts explained that the ANC needed more time to make the changes, as stated in the essay. The author concludes, “Yes, indeed the last fourteen years have been filled with drama, tears, joy and excitement, and we owe it to ourselves as South Africans to celebrate that. Sustained economic growth, a strengthening currency, and social welfare for more people are just some of the positive developments we have to celebrate. However, I believe that we have the capacity, potential and ability to do more and we are not.” He also poetically finishes the book by say: “However negative it may seem to many of you out there, I find comfort in the last two paragraphs of Ehrmann’s Desiderata: “…You are the child of the universe, no less than the trees and stars, you have the right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and inspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy”. Don’t you feel good after reading this book? You must, this book had to be written, either by me or somebody else” This manuscript is designed to be a political discussion. It will appeal to readers who appreciate political pieces. You will also appreciate his conversational style of writing. He is talking to the reader, not writing a book for the reader to read. Authors Biography: www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk/LesleyChiloane The Author of, ‘Compromised Democracy: The Not So Successful Side Of Our Freedom’, was born Lesley Boitumelo Chiloane on Monday morning, the 13 th November 1972, at the Lady Selborne Hospital near Pretoria, South Africa. He was born the last child in a family of five children, four brothers and a sister. He had a fairly normal childhood, going to school just like any other child his age. However, he remembers when he was living with his grandmother in a village called Majaneng in Hammanskraal, having to stay out of school for two years during his early primary schooling when his village was going through a transition when the Bophuthatswana government was implementing Setswana as medium of instruction in schools replacing Northern Sotho (Sepedi). As a result, he relocating to Mabopane to live with his mother, where he also continued with his schooling. Lesley completed his matric in 1991 at Lethabong Secondary School in Soshanguve, a township north of Tshwane, previously known as Pretoria in South Africa. Like many other young people during his time, he battled to secure formal employment for over 8 years after passing his matric. However, during his schooling days he was involved in student’s politics, something that influenced his moving from schooling in Atlegang Middle School in Mabopane, a township in the former Bophuthatswana homeland to Lethabong Secondary School in Soshanguve, which was then part of the Central South African Government. His political interests and activities had become a worrying factor for his mother and the family feared for his safety and he was moved to Soshanguve. The family later moved to Soshanguve as well. But during his matric examinations in 1991, due to his political activities and fleeing from the police, Lesley had to temporary relocated back to his grandmother’s home in Hammanskraal, a village south of Pretoria where he had grew up and went to primary school. After completing his matric exams, he permanently moved to Meadowlands in Soweto. He later during his youth years got involved with various youth organizations and projects as a volunteer. Some of these were the Meadowlands Youth Empowerment Forum, which he was a co-founder and the Southern African Association of Youth Clubs (SAAYC). It is during this time that he developed a love for youth and community work. He became actively involved in community and youth development programmes for most part of his youth years. Lesley also started coordinating local youth projects in Soweto, ran youth trainings and facilitated a variety of workshops and mobilized young people in the community to act as volunteers for projects. This would help them develop skills, he always maintained. As a result of his active involvement in the community and youth work, he was invited occasionally to share his experiences with youth outside Gauteng and Internationally.
  • 2. As a college student where he studied Civil Engineering, Lesley became the Chairperson of the Student Representative Council in 1996. During this period, he also played a significant role in the youth consultative process towards the establishment of the National Youth Commission in South Africa. Later within the student politics space, he became the Constitutional Chairperson for the Technical College Student Association (TECSA) in Gauteng. He also served at SAAYC as a Chairperson of the Soweto Regional Committee in 2000 while he later served on the Governing Board of the organization for five years. One of his highlights was participating in the President’s Awards Youth Programme and achieving Bronze and Silver Awards in 1997. Having gained much experience and recognition in the youth sector, Lesley felt that the time had come for him to consolidate his experience as a youth worker and find more comprehensive ways to serve the sector. He went on to start writing a self-titled youth newspaper column ‘Let’s Talk to Les’ which was published in a local community newspaper called ‘Expressions’ in 2000 and later in ‘Kitso’ another youth publication distributed throughout Gauteng until 2003. In 2006, Lesley published his own newspaper titled and named after his daughter ‘Naledi News’ for six months. Through Visual Memories, a video production company he co-owned, in 2006 he played a significant role during the first Soweto-TV broadcast, as a commercials scriptwriter, video director and producer etc. Occasionally as an Architect, he designed homes for people, a career he plans to continue when he retires later in life. Back in 2001, Lesley had started his own Youth Consulting Business ‘LL Youth Consultancy cc’ and it had become his primary focus. The company was providing services like Youth Research, Training, Business Planning, Proposal Writing, Project Designing & Management. It is through his work as a Youth Consultant at the time that let to him being invited to serve as a Selection Panelist on the Nation’s Trust Youth Enterprise Finance Programme between 2003 and 2006, which he left by choice when the Umsobomvu Youth Fund took over the project. He had been instrumental in the designing and implementation of the Soweto Urban Regeneration Youth Programme and as a youth consultant, for years, he facilitated international youth exchange programmes by hosting numerous youth groups from outside South Africa. Lesley had chosen to serve the youth sector as a consultant and a youth entrepreneur in an attempt to add value to the sector and to the lives of the youth of South Africa. Through his commitment, active involvement and sacrifices, Lesley has been instrumental in the field of youth development. It is for this that he was together with six others were recognized, honored and awarded by the Youth Development Network for their ‘Exceptional Leadership Qualities’ in their careers. A book was published in their honor. In 2004, he was also invited to serve as a member of the FFF (Fast Forwarding to the Future), a African continental youth leadership initiative made up about 35 Youth Leaders from across Africa who designed, initiated and continue to facilitate ‘Vision 2050 for Africa’. The vision was launched in 2004 in Maputo, Mozambique. Asked: What makes what you do different from others, he once answered, “I am not clear about how what I am doing differs from what other young people are doing, but one thing that sets me apart is that I am a product of the township and therefore see it as my responsibility to develop my immediate space and give back to the people in whatever way I can. Over and above that, I would like to create an environment in the townships where young people can express themselves on issues affecting their lives” His advice to other young people has always been that: “Young people are the country’s future and workforce and they need to start seeing themselves in that light” Something that he today feels the South African Democratic Government has betrayed it the youth and has deserted them. This regrettable view is what inspired the wring of this book, Compromised Democracy: The Not So Successful Side Of Our Freedom. In 2010, as this book finally got published, more than three years after its completion, Lesley was 38 years old, a father to a nine year old daughter and a business man. He dedicates this book to the memory of his Youth Work fellow worker, friend and colleague who passed on a few years ago, Mr. Norman Mahlomola Ross, whom he worked with at SAAYC. About the book: A decade and five more years after South Africa has achieved a relatively peaceful transformation to Democracy, more and more of its people still live in poverty stricken conditions while a small section continues to celebrate material benefits and fruits of Democracy. How do you, Fifteen years down the line, celebrate Freedom, Human-Rights, Right to Vote etc while you are dying of hunger, disease and crime! Are those not the very Human-Rights you need to be celebrating and living? Extracts from the book: The following a randomly selected extracts from the in no particular. The Author encourages people to read the book in full before passing judgment or criticizing… “…During my student days in the eighties when I was still politically active and a ‘comrade’, I remember vividly that I actually never asked for democracy. I didn’t know what it was, neither did I know what it meant. I wanted freedom from apartheid! I wanted freedom and I was given democracy. Hardly fifteen years later, I am realizing that I am still searching for that freedom. This book is my personal quest for my freedom. Somebody please take back this Democracy and give me back my Freedom! The Freedom that was so quickly and selfishly taken away from me in 1994 when I was just getting used to it! I now know that Freedom and Democracy can never be the same. People living in a democracy are not free and free people do not embrace democracy! Of all the systems of government available out there, who choose Democracy for us?...” “…The country witnessed Thabo Mbeki visit people in their homes during the election campaign and build-up in search of votes pretending in my opinion to listen to their concerns without calling them names and shooting down their opinions. The man becomes a completely different person after elections, calling everybody who cares to utter a word in opposite opinion or criticize his administration by names ranging from liars, ultra leftists, neo-liberates, racists etc. When politicians want votes from you, you can say as much as you want, criticize them, make suggestions, disagree with them and even make some objections, they will agree with you, smile with you, hold your hand and walk with you the streets and call you a true South African who has every right to participate. They will do anything under the sun to get your vote! For your vote they pretend to believe that you must be personally consulted and be spoken to until you cast that vote, then they go back to talking to consultants and amongst themselves forgetting that you ever existed at least until the next election. COSATU, SANCO and SACP all have a painful experience of this kind of treatment from their alliance partners, the ANC…”
  • 3. “… Mbeki must really be uncomfortable with communicating in simple English terms including other South African languages. I don’t see anything wrong if he would one day stand up an address the Nation in isiXhosa or isiZulu. Let the Europeans and Americans for the first time receive a translated version of what President Mbeki has to say. This will also go a long way in creating international awareness around our own indigenous languages and cultures instead of that of the slave master, English. Even Jacob Zuma chose to address the court and testify in isiZulu during his rape trail, which was a moral victory to Zulu as a language and a culture. However, I remain suspicious of his real motives. Was it to confuse the courts and distort the facts of the case given that some content will be lost during translation or was it a plain exercise of his democratic constitutional right?...” “… Why would you continue to vote for a government that build single-roomed houses of poor quality with no sanitation, electricity for its people while preaching restoration of human dignity amongst others! It is in these houses that some of the most hyenas crimes against humanity in a form of children and women abuse, rape sexual harassment are taking place due to inhuman living conditions. Families living in houses without privacy! Children potentially exposed to parents having sex and other adult activities that children should not witness. And then we are shocked by the overwhelming rate that our children are sexually active. Our government built houses that created environments that morally killing our kids…” “… Equality is a dream, a perfect dream! But is it a reality? Is it a possible reality? No, I don’t think it is! You and I will always be treated based on our personal, physical, financial, social and professional status, not on the basis of being fellow human beings. For Heaven’s sake I am not even equal to my friends, members of my family, colleagues, my neighbors or even my brothers. People are not born equal, they never will be! Some people are born weak in some areas and strong in others. Some people will remain vulnerable in one area while they grow to triumph in another… We have made a terrible mistake, maybe a human error of allowing our desires and aspirations of wanting to have people of different sexual orientations, a diverse of social, physical and personal characteristics, abilities and qualities to treat each other with mutual respect, in a civil manner and in all fairness, of wanting to provide everyone with equal opportunities to translate into everyone being equal. Aiming to provide different people with equal opportunities and equal protection or benefits of the law should not necessary mean that those people are equal or must be equal! The fact that each and every one of us is born unique is enough to make us unequal in anyway whatsoever…” “… Thanks to the arrogance of our political leaders and policy makers of our county for ensuring that being a real man today means having to take the emotional, psychological, economical and verbal abuses that women today continue to unleash! Regrettably the only prove for most of these abuses from women is when men breaks down and by then it’s too late for anyone to do something about it because there would be a mass funeral, news headline and bloody scenes. Being a true man today means being manipulated, pushed to the limit, and be beaten down without retaliating. Unfortunately and regrettably, being a real man according to our politicians, means taking all forms of abuse and injustice from our women until you can’t take anymore but resort to taking a gun, shoot the kids, shoot the woman and then finish the job by turning the gun to yourself. That’s being a real man in South Africa today…” “… As a result, the youth have lost interest in politics. The National Youth Commission’s former director for Policy and Programmes, Makhosazana Sibeko, wrote in the edition of the National Youth Journal titled, National Youth Service and I quote verbatim, “A National Youth Commission (NYC) action survey conducted in two local government settings found that young people had limited knowledge of local democracy as well as governance arrangements generally. This has implications for their participation at this level as well as for the quality and future of our democratic practice.” Surely this observation cannot be limited to local government, to some extend it paints a national picture that translates to a general negative attitude that young people have towards government. The integration of political education into mainstream youth developmental capacity building programmes will go a long way in redressing the situation and encouraging the spirit of civic activism within our youth...” “… Thanks to them, youth development has taken a form of conference after conference, declaration after declaration, youth consultative summit after another, which are not making any impact on either the youth public or government policies. Every time a government department seeks to produce or develop an impressive report on youth development, such a department will invite young people to a youth consultative summit, conference or workshop to brainstorm on what the youth would like to see happening in their favour. This would be the last the youth hear of that department at least not until another report is needed after some time…” “… Thanks to this marriage between COSATU and ANC/Government, policies like GEAR were implemented regardless of whether it represents the genuine interests of the workers or not. COSATU will always sacrifice if not compromise the rights of the workers for that special relationship with the ruling party, its Tripartite Alliance partner, the marriage that has long passed its divorce date in my opinion…” “… Dr. Pahad, who was later to resign in solidarity to Thabo Mbeki, had continued to say that South Africa has shown that it appreciates the above statement by establishing effective structures that ensure that young people fully participate in national and community life, referring to the National Youth Commission (NYC) amongst others. Many of the politicians and a few of their few friends ignorantly and carelessly continue to make reference to the establishment of both the NYC and Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF) as victory for the youth of this country without evaluating the impact these institutions may or may not have on the youth. Putting these structures in place, is just but one very small and costly initiative to a bigger challenge if they do not achieve what the youth majority of this country desire, not a few connected bunch. However, the same minister was to set up a task team later in 2008 to investigate the possibility of establishing a more effective youth state agency to replace both Umsobomvu Youth Fund and The National Youth Commission, finally resigning to the fact and realization that these entities have failed dismally! How sad that it had to take almost a decade and a few million lost opportunities and thousand young lives before the harsh reality was to sink in. We wait to see what the new National Youth Development Agency will deliver. I already have my doubts. This is just another new gravy train for new few beneficiaries that will be scrapped after another decade or so when it fails again…” “… It has become almost impossible to earn an honest living in South Africa today, if the way most of our political leaders are behaving is a reflection of our society in general. Corruption has become the order of the day. You either join the ranks or die of poverty, so it seems! Considering that even the highest office in the country acknowledges and understands the existence of corruption in our society. Good or bad, it’s a move that can easily but rightfully and understandably be mistaken for condoning if not endorsing corruption in governance… Our government has yet to demonstrate any willingness, commitment or even an
  • 4. acknowledgement to recognize that most of its employees and leaders are corrupt and there is no determination of any sort to ruthlessly crush corruption. You get a disturbing impression that people are going out of their way to protect fellow comrades, which further implicates everyone. In an effort to protect their preferred leader or maybe even themselves, the same members of the new National Executive Committee of the ANC after the 2007 National Conference, were quick to allegedly lobby Thabo Mbeki to issue a blanket pardon on all wrongdoing relating to the controversial arms deal in return of him not being called up to testify in the Zuma corruption trail. If you protect a criminal, you become a criminal yourself. Institutions like the National Prosecuting Authority (Scorpions) have been established to investigate and prosecute national crimes of an organized nature, amongst others corruption cases. This elite police squad has enjoyed a high-profiled success and a 93% conviction rate (2004) and the politicians were happy about that until of course in my opinion when the scorpions started investigating ‘the wrong people’, themselves. It was nice when the scorpions were investigating, arresting and prosecuting top business men and women, and other people dimmed to have broken the law, but it became a sour pill to swallow for the politicians when Bulelani Ngcuka (former head of the NPA) and his scorpions turned their attention to the politicians…” “… An impression is created, in fact it has since become more than an impression but a fact that the law only applies to you and me, the ordinary poor people, not to all South Africans. When you do wrong you are investigated, arrested, charged and tried regardless of how much evidence the state has against you, but in the case of Jacob Zuma, our former Deputy President, it took the state considerable time and outside pressure to finally charge him on corruption sighting lack of enough evidence, not that the there was no evidence at all, there was, but not enough to charge him. It means, in my own limited legal interpretation that Jacob Zuma broke the law, but he did not break it hard enough to be brought to book. However, it was to take another new scorpions boss to finally have the guts to charge Zuma. While serious regrettable attempts were made by his supporters to have these charges dropped, attempts that may have succeeded by the time you read this book, it remains to be seen what will transpire should Zuma gets his day in court…” President Mbeki in my opinion did the right thing by provoking and kick starting a debate in a manner that he did. Considering that the administration before him totally avoided the topic. Mandela should have kick-started the national debate on HIV/AIDS to lay a foundation for continuity. Mbeki would not have had a choice but to continue on what would have been a government programme when he came into power. Why are we sparing Mandela any criticism in this regard and many more in our democracy?...” …Thenjiwe Mtintso, assistant secretary general of the ANC at time (2000); pointed out: ‘Making anti-retroviral drugs available is only one side of the story; the state will have to take responsibility for all the costs of AIDS-infected individuals. The state doesn’t have that kind of capacity’. Manuel (Trevor Manuael – Minister of Finance) was more blunt: ‘The rhetoric about the effectiveness of ARVs is a lot of voodoo and buying them would be a waste of limited resources’ - Taken from: Thabo Mbeki and The battle for the Soul of the ANC, by Mervin Gumede. “… However, I strongly believe that there may be many of us out there that deserve AIDS! If today you are still recklessly sleeping around with many different partners without using condoms, then you are asking for it. If you are experiment with drugs and used needles, getting so drunk every weekend and have very little recollection or none at all of who you wake with the next morning, then you are asking for AIDS, period! I personally know of people who arrogantly and carelessly thought that they were God’s greatest gifts so every man or woman they come across, gallivanting sexually with no care or reason. And when today when they die of AIDS or any HIV related illness I must sympathies, why? When I made the decision to change my ways when I started knowing of HIV and AIDS why didn’t they? The information was everywhere for all of us to see and hear. There were workshops everywhere! But when you still continue to have unprotected sex with everyone you come across with why should I care when you get it, I surely will not cry for you. I definitely will cry for my tax money being used to care for you because it’s the same money that was used to try and educate you ten years ago and you irresponsibly and arrogantly refused! The regrettable fact out there is that there will always be true victims under certain circumstances and we will support and sympathies with and includes and not limited to innocent children who get it from child-to-mother transfusion, accidents and blood transfer victims, faithful partners who get it from cheating ones and cases where the condom breaks. Shamefully there will be those arrogant and irresponsible bustards I have spoken about. Those that have lived by the gun and correctly died or will die by the gun, as they say and I will not share a tear for those…” “… There is a tendency from us to apply some kind of blanket sympathy to all AIDS sufferers including those that are even guilty of deliberately contracting and spreading it whether purposely, by ignorance, neglect or a combination. I am so scared of HIV & AIDS to the point that I can’t even get an erection when the thought crosses my mind. HIV & Aids is a killer disease! We are not going to win the battle against it if we are going to continue speaking nice about it. People must be scared of it. Its scary, its inhuman, its cruel and takes no prisoners. Please show me any HIV and AIDS survivor. By survivor, I mean somebody who was cured. If you can’t find one, then what’s nice about it and why do we want to say it is not a killer and a death-sentence?...” “… And finally, what does our dear president, Jacob Zuma in this regard? After deliberately sleeping with an HIV positive woman without a condom, confusing us all about the shower-effect, having a child with a daughter of a friend, again without a condom and inpregnating her, he takes an HIV test and announce he is negative. Now, we are going to have poor ignorant and naïve young people desputing its existence and randomly sleeping around following in the footsteps of their president. If he, the president, can sleep with infected women, sleep with his many wives, sleep with and inprenated other women in the process, have the many kids he has with his wives and ex-wives and still come out negative, then, there is no such thing as HIV, they will regrettably say…” “… Despite having had fought for our freedom and democracy, we have not inherited the freedom, but we have borrowed it from our children. It’s theirs and the generations after theirs rightful heritage we must uphold and protect to pass on to the next generations in tact…”
  • 5. “… The unfazed, unemotional and ever focused Thabo Mbeki addressed the nation on the 21st September 2008, officially resigning as President of SA after being recalled by the ANC before his official term of office was completed. As I sat at home on that Sunday evening watching him on television, posed as ever, the intellectual, abstract as usual, committed and professional and as the world had known him, convincing in his words and mesmerizing in his language and context, Mbeki said his farewell to the nation, his comrades, colleagues, cabinet and subjects, in a true Thabo Mbeki style, they only way he knows how. I could not help it but wonder if this was the same man accused of all alleged crimes and taken all the insults over the years and months leading to his fallout with his beloved ANC, his only home. His words spoke of his continued commitment to nation building, democratic governance, building the ANC and African Renaissance. I could not help it, but adore him for a while…” “… However, I soon came to a rude realization that this man Thabo Mbeki, was the same man that told the nation at some stage that he personally does not know anybody that has died of AIDS, while his people were dying of it. I realized that this man, belonged to a section of humanity and a people we call politicians, and these people don’t have to mean what they say. I realized that he was not any different from those against him, not by a long shot. I realized that just like him, his enemies would move any mountain to gain power and eventually be corrupted by the same power in the not so distant future after him if they have not already. I came to the sad realization that this was just another sad round in this vicious circle of power struggle, politics and leadership. Another chapter and harsh reality of how compromised our democracy has been, or is it? Some say these are the signs of our democracy growing and getting stronger…” “… Polokwane came and went, Floor-crossing has come and gone, Mbeki has come and gone, the scorpions have come and they too looks to be gone, or at-least have the sting cut off, Bheki Jacobs, the arms-deal corruption whistle blower dies of renal cell cancer, Archbishop Desmond Tutu possibly not voting in the next, 2009 National Elections, and the ANC splitting! And above all, a black US President! Wow. Is this “The Second Coming” that Mbeki spoke about? Surely turning and turning in the widening gyre and the falcon can definitely not hear the falconer while things fall apart and the centre dismally failing to hold. Mere anarchy as Mbeki said, has been loosed upon our land. May the Lord have mercy on us as “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere, the ceremony of innocence is drowned…” “… The victors, the ANC, the other ANC, blamed everything on Mbeki. The policies, government policies, ANC’s policies, legislation, government legislation, ANC driven legislation. Collective responsibility and accountability ceased to exist as a principle. I find intellectually insulting that the ANC all of sudden wanted us to believe that Thabo Mbeki, alone, in his personal capacity as president is and was responsible for all governments failures, all ANC failures! If this is fact, then the ANC must also credit Thabo Mbeki for the successes and triumphs that the party and government have achieved. He cannot be responsible, visible and villain in failure while he is ignored, unknown and forgotten in victory. The fact remains that a heritage and history has been created and earned, is it ANC heritage or a Thabo Mbeki heritage? In it entirety, with its failures and successes, who’s record is it? Was Mbeki not the trusted messenger of the ANC? Did Mbeki, alone, draft, debate, vote and approve all government policies, legislation and programmes? Mbeki didn’t single handedly craft and mould our so-called ‘most liberal’, ‘best constitution’ in the world that ensures that criminals enjoy more protection of the law and human rights than innocent people…” “… After over 52 years of serving in the ANC, the movement must have know the kind of a leader Thabo Mbeki is. The ANC must have approved of his leadership style and that conclusion I have reached based on only one factor, the ANC nominated and elected Thabo Mbeki for its highest office and highest office in the land for two terms respectively! The ANC surely benefited and won many battles thanks to Thabo Mbeki’s skills, leadership style and character and have celebrated while it lasted. And now that the ANC has suffered or is facing challenges that may be allegedly as a result, directly or otherwise, of Thabo Mbeki’s leadership style, the ANC wants to reject and abandon him. Especially given that they had the powers as demonstrated during this time and because it selfishly benefited its own narrow-minded and shallow interests, the ANC could and should have stopped him early on, and they did not…” “… Poverty alleviation is a dream. What it means is that if achieved, it will do away with rich people. Now do you think that rich people want to loose their status of being rich? Of course not. Rich people need the poor for them to exist or else who will they be compared to for them to be called rich? The poor people of-course! In the absence of the poor, how will the capitalists prosper, who will they take advantage of?...” “… South Africa can do better for its people. We have all the resources we need to end our problems and prosper as a nation. The only obstacle is the greedy, corrupt, incompetent, arrogant, lazy leaders and officials who make decisions motivated by their own selfish needs, neglect and ignorance. Our leaders have yet to learn that they should seek to enjoy and celebrate the trust of leadership that the people bestow unto them as a benefit, not the amount of money they can make in the process...” “… The opinions and observations that I have shared in this book may and will be carelessly mistaken for a direct attack on the ANC by its leaders and its blind faith followers and members. According to them, if you differ, challenge or even criticize the ANC on an issue, they will not hesitate to name you as the enemy of the organization. I have never seen a people who lacked tolerance for debate like those within the African National Congress, unless of course if they approve or are the ones initiating the debate. For reasons known to them, and only to them and a few of their friends, they are so naïve to expect all of us, 45 million of us, to agree with everything they say, think or do. How possible it that? Pathetic!...” “… They can’t make right decisions for themselves, yet we continue to trust them with the responsibility of making decisions not only for us currently but for our future as well. And they are criminals as well, how can you trust a criminal to lead you to a better life or future? People who, either by default or deliberately, cannot separate what’s wrong from right. Our failure as a nation to produce capable leaders further suggests and strengthens the notion that leaders are born rather than made. Where the hell are we going as a nation? I am afraid, I am very afraid, and you should be…” One last thing that people need to be educated on and informed of is the knowledge that all government employees, from the President himself to your ward councilor are public servants which makes them your employees. What that means is that they work for you, the public, and are accountable to you. You are not at their mercy, as they would rather have you believe, instead the converse is true, which is that they are at your mercy. That is only if you are smart and bold enough to use the weapon at your disposal, elections, against them and stop handing them the gun to continue shooting you down… So if you have people working for you and fail you, on the other hand you continue to trust them with the same task, then you must stop pointing fingers and take the responsibility of having failed yourself.
  • 6. “… Let’s hope that one day, men and women of honor will stand up and be counted to deliver a real better life for all. Let’s hope that the new ANC leadership that emerged from the Limpopo Conference is not just making rhetoric speeches and promises just because they want to get rid of Mbeki and his crew but actually care about the better life promise made to the people. Let’s hope and pray that Jacob Zuma is not as corrupt as he is made to be and he is actually a victim as he and his supporters are claiming. Let’s just hope. Let’s hope that in due course, the truth will come out, sanity will prevail, democracy will really be for the people and by the people, lets hope the poor and hungry will vote not on their poor and hungry stomach but on their hungry brains and dreams. Let’s just hope that the ANC both as a party and in government reclaims its soul, the soul of its fore-fathers. Until then it’s going to be a long bumpy road …” Contents the memory of Norman Ross acknowledgements introduction why I put pen to paper… Chapter one democracy, fraud disguised as genuine freedom… Chapter two the people shall not govern... Chapter three crime is a human-rights violation… Chapter four youth under-development, a bitter heritage… Chapter five developing an economy for a few... Chapter six corruption & crime, a way of life… Chapter seven racism & HIV / AIDS are here to stay… … maybe even beyond us! Chapter eight poverty alleviation, what a dream... Chapter nine our democracy heritage… Chapter ten so, where to? a question we all need to ask ourselves! … a simple book tackling serious issues in a simple manner. The book was published by Xlibris Corporation & printed in the United States of America. To order contact: Xlibris Corporation 0-800-644-6988 www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk orders@xlibrispublishing.co.uk Its also available on: www.amazon.com www.barnesandnoble.com www.kalahari.net www.politicos.co.uk/books/ The Author, Lesley Chiloane can be reached on: lesleyc@webmail.co.za Cell: +27 82 697 8166