14

June 8

2013

OPINION

S AT U R D AY S TA R

Something to celebrate
T
HIS week an impressive set of elders met at the launch of a programme leading up to the 20th anniversary of freedom and democracy . Former political prisoners Andrew Mlangeni and Ahmed Kathrada, who were on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela, sat at a table with lawyer George Bizos and former speaker Frene Ginwala among others. The gray-haired and sometimes frail ANC veterans were invited to share their experiences of the first two decades of democracy and to make suggestions on how to make these celebrations a success. Kathrada shared an anecdote of how he discovered Mandela was talking to the enemy while they were incarcerated in Pollsmoor prison. Ginwala said she was unhappy that the gap between rich and poor had widened since the first democratic elections. Bizos admonished people who said nothing had changed in 20 years as doing the country a disservice. While the society had its problems our deficiencies should not discourage us from trying. Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile said the celebrations needed to find a resonance with all people in South Africa. With the DA and the ANC already in election mode this may prove difficult especially as there were a couple of embarrassing omissions to the guest list the opposition parties. Thats the trick. How do you get poor and rich, black and white, young and old together to celebrate 20 years of democracy? Perhaps by subjecting our society to a honest evaluation admitting its deficiencies and celebrating its successes we can use this year to chart a trajectory for the future of our promising constitutional democracy .

THIS WEEK IN

QUOTES
One of the things that is a by-product of 15 to 20 years of Cosatus view of the world is that employees do not believe a single word that management says... They (workers) also have no understanding whatsoever that a 60 percent increase is not obtainable. Labour economist Andrew Levy calling for workers to be educated about the economic context their employers operate in. I felt sick to the stomach how this has gone. Autism South Africa director Jill Stacey after a publicity campaign to raise awareness about the condition backfired. People make funerals a show-off, from the coffin to what family members wear. It is sad to see how our people are doing such things; we need to stop this trend. We should not expect people to attend a funeral from 9am to 3pm. Bishop Makhosi Ngcoza, quoted in the Dispatch Online, speaking at a seminar to help reduce the length of funerals.

Motoristslast opportunity
ANRAL has been on a charm offensive all week. Its employed a PR company and its making its e-toll project look absolutely marvellous. It started the week with a call for people to register for e-tags, then it announced it had won a technology award. The past two days its been welcoming criticism as if it agrees with it. Beneath the polite language in the media releases, however, the message is clear, tolling of roads is a fait accompli and its time people of this province accept this. What is not said is a little more sinister: This is that these tolls on Gauteng roads are the beginning. Motorists will, in the future, be obliged to pay tolls on all new major roads both here in Gauteng and beyond. The Opposition To Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) review is the only hope motorists have to stop this for now and for the future.

Prison overcrowding not just due to effective NPA

About 30% of those incarcerated in the country are there without a conviction
RUTH HOPKINS and NOOSHIN ERFANI-GHADIMI
INISTER of Justice and Constitutional Development, Jeff Radebe, made a bold statement last week that had everyone reeling. When pressed by a media crowd on the efficiency of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Radebe defended the public prosecutor by claiming South Africas severely overcrowded jails are indicative of a proactive and successful NPA. According to the Department of Correctional Services, our prisons are 133 percent overcrowded. There is a complaint that there is overcrowding of our prisons, Radebe said. People dont volunteer to go to prison. It is because weve got energetic prosecutors on all levels in our country who prosecute without fear or favour or prejudice. While energetic prosecutors are not necessarily a bad thing, the assumed correlation between their energy and successfully convicted criminals who overcrowd jails is not as clear-cut as Radebe makes it out to be. Firstly , conviction rates are not an uncontested barometer of success. In April, Africa Check researched and wrote about the NPAs conviction rates: Conviction rates do not reflect the number of successful prosecutions in relation to the number of crimes reported to police each year, let alone the large number of crimes that go unreported 23 086 rapes were reported in Gauteng in 2012. Of that number, 55.6 percent were referred to the NPA to be prosecuted. But 35.6 percent of those were referred back to police for further investigation and 38.4 percent of the cases prosecuted were thrown out of court due to incomplete investigations. Furthermore, prisons are overcrowded because there are many inmates in detention who are not supposed to be there; they have a right to, but lack the finances to, pay for bail. According to Legal Aid there are about 10 000 inmates awaiting trial in prisons, who have the right to bail, but cant afford the bail sum. In half of the cases this sum is below R1 000. Then there are inmates who have to await their trial for months and sometimes years on end because of a flawed and clogged-up court system. The Wits Justice Project has followed a case of 11 co-accused, charged with murder and robbery , allegedly committed in 2007 in Krugersdorp. They have

What do you mean a PR exercise? What you wanted me to do was to say to him, 'you're lying, Robert Mugabe you're a liar. That's not true, how dare you say that? You're a bloody liar'. People of the South presenter Dali Tambo reacting to criticism, from a Cape Talk567 presenter, about his interview with Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe.

Tambos twirly tache twitches midst Muga-beam

THERE has been a Daliballoo over Tambos interview with Robert Mugabe. In fact, many people who watched the show accused Dali of being surreal. The morning after the interview aired Dali sits in his office with his producer, watching keyboard warriors scorn his softly-softly PR exercise on social media platforms. An amateur cruciverbalist has even compiled a clue for the occasion: Fawning talkshow host takes refuge in scandal interview (4).* Tambos twirly tache twitches. Theyre calling me soft. I can be fierce if I want to, he tells his producer. Dali, you are about as fierce as a goldfish. Please take that back, Dali snaps. Yes, okay , youre right, I take it back: Youre about as fierce as a timid goldfish. Dali puts his head in his hands. Were People of the South, not Politics of the South. Im not supposed to be fierce. I can be tough if I have to, he says. Perhaps its time to pimp the show, suggests the producer. No more People of the Mealy Mouth. What about Tambos TOUGH talk? But can you ask the really tough questions? I told you Im as tough as they come, says Dali. Puh-leeze, Dali, says his producer, youre a poodle. Get Debora Patta on the line, Dali barks. Ms Patta, I need you to school me in interviewing skills. I need you to turn me into, um, well, not quite a bulldog. No disrespect, they are visionary and honourable dogs, but they are also a wee bit ugly . Perhaps a bad-tempered Pomeranian? An hour later Patta pulls into Dalis studio. Dali, says Debora, the first rule of being a tough interviewer is to perfect your facial expressions. I have four smirks in my arsenal: the Patta

They can do that with me, displaying me next to the monkeys, it's okay. Nothing shocks me. Our people are subjected to harsh realities of racism every day. Former ANCYL leader Julius Malema reacting to a report that a Bloemfontein primary school is displaying a picture of him alongside that of a monkey in a classroom. I don't believe it. This is utterly beyond belief. What it means is that there has not been one single lesson learned from Marikana or from the high levels of unemployment. Labour expert Andrew Levy, quoted in Business Day, reacting to moves by ANC MPs to ban labour brokers.

ANGRY UTTERANCES

JONATHAN ANCER
Pout, the Power Glower, the Debora Sneer and the 3rd Degree Leer, which Ill let you have at a discount because Ive left the show. Lets see your best sneer. Hmm, you look constipated. Keep trying while I show you how a sneer makes a seemingly soft question menacing. Heres one without a smirk. Dali, how are you? You see, its softer than a babys bum. Now, heres a question delivered with a Patta Pout: Dali, when you were bust at the brothel a decade ago you claimed you were only there because you were doing research for a documentary . Why have we never seen that documentary? See? Its easy . Now, you try . Lets roleplay . Ill be Hendrik Verwoerd and you give me the third degree. Remember your sneer. Dali clears his throat. Mr Verwoerd, you honourable racist Nice, interrupts Patta, youre buttering him up, making him feel at ease Now give your sneer some throttle as you go for the kill. Mr Verwoerd, says Dali, scrunching up his nose and eyes into his best sneer, our viewers would like to know, please, um, what is your favourite colour? I like all colours as long as theyre white, says Patta. Meanwhile, back at The Ranch, why were you really at the brothel all those years ago, Tambo? Collecting titbits for a sex documentary? I dont think so! Come clean, Tambo. Confess! Confess! Confess! *DALI: The name of the fawning talkshow host is hidden (takes refuge) in scanDAL Interview).

TOUGH CONDITIONS: A warder keeps a close eye on prisoners.

been in remand detention in Joburgs Sun City prison for six years. The delays were for various reasons: The judge was allocated to another case, which ground the trial to a standstill for months. Then lawyers and the prosecutor claimed illness or vehicle problems and didnt show up, often communicating their absence through last-minute text messages. A year ago, there were about 50 ad hoc postponements, in addition to longerterm delays that added up to 13 months in total. Not much has changed in a years time, as the trial was remanded again on June 5, because Mrs Ranchod, the prosecutor, was ill. Other recent court sessions were also remanded, when the Legal Aid advocates for the suspects didnt appear. Overcrowding in prisons is not an anecdotal phenomenon, though. Nationally , there are about 2 700 awaiting trial detainees who have been incarcerated for more than two years. This is despite constitutional requirements which stipulate that awaiting-trial detainees have the right to a trial that begins and ends without unreasonable delay . The Criminal Matters Amendment Act sets a time limit: remand detention should not last beyond two years. Interestingly, Radebes colleague, the minister of Correctional Services, Sbu Ndebele, does recognise there is a problem with overcrowding. Speaking to journalists before his budget speech in Parliament last week, Ndebele pointed out that about 30 percent of those incarcerated in the country are there without a conviction. Of the 152 514 total prison population, only 107 471 have been sentenced and are serving time. On average, 15 to 20 percent of awaiting-trial detainees are in custody because they cannot afford bail, Ndebele said. He added that Correctional Services only had beds for 119 000 of the 140 000 prisoners. Its a crisis for us, Ndebele said. Prison overcrowding is also not just a matter of statistics and numbers. The effects on the lives of inmates are severe. Victor Nkomo, who was arrested for alleged complicity in a casino heist, has been detained in remand for nearly seven years now. He is allowed out of his cell for an hour a day and has no access to educational or other reading material. Because remand detainees are considered a flight risk, they are classified as non-contact inmates and are not allowed any physical contact with their loved ones. Slowly but surely Nkomo grew apart from his wife, who married a new partner in his absence. His son, who was 10 years old when Nkomo was arrested, is now a teenager

PICTURE: STEVE LAWRENCE

who does not really know his father behind bars. Nkomo also told the Wits Justice Project he was afraid of getting ill. His fear is not only related to contracting TB, which is the main cause of death in South African prisons, according to figures of the Inspecting Judge of Correctional Services, but also of being stabbed or maimed by the gangs who control the jail. Dudley Lee is a former inmate who experienced the ill effects of overcrowding first hand. Lee was arrested in 1999 (and acquitted in 2004) for fraud and forgery and was sent to the overcrowded remand section of Pollsmoor prison in Cape Town, where he contracted TB. After his release, he won his case before the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the Department of Correctional Services had been negligent and had even violated its own standing orders in the process in its approach to curbing TB in prisons. The community is also affected by having to cope with the physical and mental health impacts of receiving detainees back who have communicable diseases and who have been traumatised and desocialised. Prison walls are porous and what happens there seeps through and affects the outside community . So, sadly , the overcrowding in prisons is in no way a reflection of the energy or tenacity of the NPA. It is more an inevitable outcome of a flawed criminal justice system that is not handling its case flow of suspects in a humane or effective way .

It is a matter of record that the affairs of the respondent (ANCYL) were shambolic and chaotic. ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe in an affidavit filed to oppose a High Court application to have the ANC Youth League liquidated to settle its R15 million debt. We did not save the youth from the shackles of apartheid only to allow ourselves to be fenced off in groups. ANC MP Judy Tshabalala, quoted in Beeld, expressing concern that white youth feel excluded from Youth Day celebrations. Sapa

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Prisons are overcrowded because there are many inmates in detention who are not supposed to be there.