This or that Justice?

There is a Bill before parliament which if passed into law will empower the traditional leaders (kings, chiefs, headmen) to hear legal disputes and to pass judgement. The traditional leaders will apparently hear both criminal and civil cases acting as magistrates.

Traditional leaders have for a long time served as arbiters of disputes between members of their tribes or clans. Traditional leaders continue to play this role today. This system of justice, as far as I can tell is largely voluntary - to a point. For those South Africans who live in the rural areas of our country and on so-called tribal land, the system is compulsory. As members of the community concerned, this is at times the only form of justice they know.

Should we not be moving in the direction that will see us include all South Africans under one systems of justice that takes into account all factors of South African life? Arguments are made to the effect that the bill seeks to roll out justice to the South African citizens who do not have ready access to justice. Do these arguments hold? I say bollocks.

The work done by traditional leaders and other community leaders in resolving disputes is an important one; it is one that should not be confused with the work done by judicial officers. Furthermore, the importance of the work of the traditional and community leaders does not need the cloak of officialdom in order to be credible.

This is a country with a history of fragmentation and divisions. It is ill-advised for us to introduce separate but equal justice systems that will apply different laws and rules. Communities however constituted, must and will continue to settle disputes and engender peace.

The law and justice system is and should remain the one thing all South Africans can always turn to in times of need. The integrity of the legal and justice system is the one thing we should never mess or tamper with. In the absence of a justice system we all have confidence in, how else will we settle disputes? From a woman who wishes to wear what she wants, to a family that wishes to save a patch of land for survival, we should all be guaranteed access to justice.

What value will fragmenting the South African justice system bring?

If only the Human Rights Commission worked . . .

The habit of reading South African Sunday papers is not without its risks to one's health and sanity. One's blood pressure is invariably likely to rise to unhealthy proportions as a result of the bulk of the stories and opinions contained in these papers. Still, I am largely a spectator to the events that are reported on. The events that affect real people causing real pain and real pleasure, depending on which side of the fence one sits.

Take the story of a woman who was (I believe she remains) suspended without pay by her employer because she is too fat. I do not know what being too fat is. We could go on about the "body mass index" and such other wonderful health indicators - to this woman I suspect all that will be just words. The employer does not (at least is not quoted to) state that this woman's weight interferes with her duties or renders her unable to perform her job. According to the newspaper report, when she joined this company, she was only marginally lighter than she was at the time that she was told go home to lose weight and to forfeit her salary while she is at it.

This is not new where this employer is concerned. Some time ago, it took a Cape Town based lawyer to come to the rescue of its workers. The company is based some 1400 kilometres away from Cape Town in the now North-West province. At that time, the workers apparently had their digits falling off because the company would not provide adequate protection to them while working under below freezing conditions. It took a court of law to make the company behave humanely towards its employees, the very people who make it possible for the company to do business.

I applaud the newspaper for reporting on this story. This is a cry for help and hopefully as you read this post, you may be moved to help this woman and others in her shoes; our country is full of them. This all happens while the Human Rights Commission (HRC) stands by and does nothing. Of course the HRC will claim (truthfully) that it did not know about this traversty and if it did get to find out (those who work at the HRC do read the papers) it may correctly say that the matter is not properly before it. Would the editor of news at radio 702 put the plight of this woman before the HRC? It will be quick.

These are the problems the HRC should have at least sought to address by now. It is no rocket science. The people who need the services of the HRC do not and cannot under the current structure of the HRC, have access to it. Take the case of desecrated graves of a community somewhere near Gauteng, the families that live in make-shift PVC hovels alongside farms they ones worked; and many others. While at it, consider the case of the editor of news at radio 702 and some non-organisation having a non-meeting (for more on this, see Moremogolo's post somewhere on this blog). Contrary to prior belief, the HRC and all other chapter 9 institutions can only be effective if they become activist; if they go out there closer to the people who need it the most.

The conduct of employers like the one in this post creates and feeds resentment. We should be well advised not to take resentment lightly. Remember Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Zimbabwe and watch the realities cascade south-wards. This is not scare-mongering, there is enough of that going on already and I do not need to add to it. The point is that we all need some place, someone, some organisation, something that can take up the fight on our behalf when our very humanity is trampled on and we are treated worse than beasts of burden. We all need some justice against treatment as inhuman as that meted out to the poor woman. The alternative is of course helplessness and resentment.

In the meantime, the company continues to trade and prosper; the HRC continues to fail those that needs it the most. Thirst (an old friend) tells me that it is time that we go back to being activists again. Time that we believe in our liberation and our future - I think she is right.

Honesty is the best spin . . .

When did it become standard operating procedure to spin? I suspect that this came about with the advent of the "communications" professionals. The advice is these professionals give is that how one says something is important, sometimes more important than what one is saying. It seems to me that the "spokepersons" of the various government departments, companies and other organisations are measured on their inability/refusal to answer questions. It seems to me that the bonus is inversely propotional to the number of questions you do answer.

Take the matter of shit in the ocean, somewhere along the Durban's coast. The question was simply whether or not there was shit in the water. I still do not know the answer to this seemingly simple question but I am somewhat of an expert on how a beach is designated blue and how it may lose its blue status, something I was quite frankly not interested in. The reporter did not cover himself in glory either. There is the obsession to show that things don't work because they don't work. No effort to tell the whole story and let us get to grips with what is really happening - just scare-mongering about shit in the ocean. The authorities on the other hand were in denial - he just wanted his blue flags back despite the shit. Every sane South African knew about the floods that devastated some parts of the Durban coast. They also know about the squalor that some of our people live in along that very coast. Now put the two together and the fact that all rivers eventually end up in the sea and you will agree that the city manager should have answered yes to the question and then gave himself the opportunity to explain the shit. The journalist fuelled the denial, it made for a great story - "government in denial again". What really got to me was something about it being recognised that this is Africa and consequently the measure of what is a blue flag beach must be adjusted (down presumably). All I want is to go to the beach, swim a little with no fear of icoli. I am sure the tourists would appreciate that too, with or without the blue flags.

Tell the people about the shortage of city engineers if that is the truth, the private sector may offer some of their engineers to help because no-one I know wants shit in the water they swim in, fish in or that they drink. This issue came up during the run up to the famous Duzi canoe marathon; even back then all I saw in the papers did not make the issue any clearer; spin took over. Maintenance scheduling is clearly a problem. It could be as a result of budget constraints, skills shortage or simply disinterest by those that have to get the work done. The local authority will look good if they are good people. Good people do not disrespect the citizens by lying to them and putting spin on what is clearly shit. Good leadership comes clean with the people and where necessary ask for help.

This penchant for spin has unfortunately become part of the South African socio, economic and political landscape. Now for a young nation such as ours mistakes are inevitable. These mistakes, thanks to spin, remain unfixed for a long time with the result that they become unfixable. Our people do not expect the leadership to be perfect but they definitely expect them to be honest.

Zimbabweans went to the polls some weeks ago. As at the time of writing this post, they still did not have the results of the presidential elections. The opposition tried to get the courts to force the electoral commission to publish the results, the court refused apparently on two occassions. I have not had an opportunity to read the judgement of the court on the issue and can therefore not comment. I assume that the court applied the law as it exists in Zimbabwe. My knowledge of the courts in Zimbabwe is one of courage where various judgements have gone against the government. On this basis and this basis alone I assume that the inaction of the electoral commission and their failure to publish the results is not unlawful. I do know however that the continuing delay is not good for the people of Zimbabwe. The people know that the composition of parliament has changed dramatically from the last elections. There is also a chance that the incumbent president may have lost the elections. Add that to the known difficulties that the people of Zimbabwe have endured, it is reasonable to conclude that the uncertainty in that country has reached crisis proportions. To intimate that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe sounds to close to saying that all is well in Zimbabwe; and that is insulting and dishonest.

Our president should simply tell the world that he has tried to convince president Mugabe to relinquish power, for the sake of the people of Zimbabwe and that president Mugabe refuses. If our president told the world that he is fresh out of ideas on this issue he will gain respectability and not the ridicule he has had to endure thanks to him being "right" about there being no crisis in Zimbabwe. It is not surprising that our president is behaving like this, his is a history of diplomacy and behind the scenes negotiating - there is no huge demand for honesty there, it's all about presentation of facts and submissions.

Personal experience of honesty has been rewarding in my life. On no less than 3 occassions I or Stha indadvertently hit a stationary car in one or other shopping mall parking lot. On each occassion we left an appology for damaging their car and our contact details for the people to get in touch with us to discuss how the damages can be fixed. On each of these occassions the people we had wronged got in touch with us to thank us for the honesty and went ahead to have their cars fixed without demand of payment on us. People appreciate honesty.

Of Chihuahua’s, posturing and non consequence: By Moremogolo

The Forum for Black Journalists is creating quite a storm in a tea cup. For the first time we see the Human Rights Commission threatening legal action against a public or private institution. I’ve never heard the HRC threatening to take government to court for failing to implement its hundreds of recommendations on the protection and enforcement of socio-economic rights of the poor and the vulnerable in society. The many hearings and the recommendations that the HRC have held are gathering dust in some attic without any threat of enforcement. I agree, for once, with Xolela Mangcu when he says that the exchange between the HRC and FBJ is a side show that has nothing to do with reality. The HRC should show its teeth first taking government to court on failure to implement its many recommendations. They should stop threatening a body that is of no consequence.

There may be an argument for the need of an FBJ but the way they went about it was just laughable and plainly stupid. By holding an off the record briefing with ANC president Jacob Zuma, he who have been a “victim” of such an exercise, was a wrong premise to move from. I bet you they learnt nothing new from this briefing. Now they want to compare themselves to the Black Lawyers Association, Black Management Forum and the like. They should go back to the drawing board and learn from these organisations and conceptualize the need for the existence of their organisation better.

The majority of the editors within the media are Black and they were part of a similar but defunct forum. They have been cold to the need of such a body, why? Are these Black editors lackeys and are they not addressing the conditions of Black journalists in their organisations? What has changed/not changed with their assumption of editorialship in these media establishments? Has there been no real transformation with the assumption of duty of these editors? What areas of concern does the FBJ want to address? These are some of the questions that the FBJ should have addressed and convinced the public that they have considered and as a result have seen the need for such a body. Hell, Abbey Makoe is an editor within the SABC, is he just a stooge.

There is a lot that needs to be done in terms of Black advancement in all sectors of society but the ill conceived organisations such as the FBJ sets back the agenda and serves as ammunition for people who do not see the need for the existence of your BLA, BMF and the like.

And as for the HRC I did not know that they had a bite. There are many serious cases that they could show their effectiveness in. Many cases of abuse and racism have been reported to them and they have done absolutely nothing except public posturing, which I must admit they are good at.