Erasibo

Good presentation from Stephen Timm at the TIPS study.

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Presentations from BUSA and SACCI on SMME access to finance.

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Status

Source: http://anneliebotes.blogspot.com/

Well I guess it’s about that time, when an unknown (to me) author tries to sell more books. Here we have Annelie Botes trying to be edgy, brutal, soul searching and truthful. It is important to not let nonsense like this to go by without being exposed. This story will get a lot of traction on the internet and free, clear thinking people need to raise their voices to balance out the hype around this nonsense.

When we allow idiocy to prevail we open the door for all kinds of nonsense to emerge and fog the real issues we have in this country. Botes shows no critical thinking, she merely spurts prejudice.

I wonder we’ll a Human Rights Commission (HRC) complaint leveled against Botes? I think this would be a waste of the HRC’s time but if its attention Botes wants then maybe the HRC should give her some.

Botes is no Salman Rushdie, there is no argument and from the hazy hype around her its not clear if her works have tried to tackle the issue of race in any significant manner.

Original source for article: IOL

Author and columnist Annelie Botes told Rapport newspaper in an interview, that she did not like black people.

Remarks made by a prominent Afrikaans author have opened a debate about race in South Africa.

Author and columnist Annelie Botes told Rapport newspaper in an interview last week she did not like black people.

People have since either hailed Botes as “brave” or called for her to leave the country.

Asked in the Rapport interview which people she did not like, Botes paused before she answered that she would be honest despite knowing her answer would shock.

“I don’t like black people.”

She continued: “I don’t understand them! … I know they are people just like me. I know they have the same rights as me. But I do not understand them. And then I do not like them. I avoid them because I am scared of them … My neighbour was brutally murdered. For what?

“If black people are hungry, why don’t they, like in the old days, break in, steal the fridge and walk away? I know where their anger comes from. It has f**k all to do with apartheid. They are angry because of their own incompetence.”

Botes had since told Rapport this weekend she was not a racist and should have instead said she did not like “all black people”.

Her publishing company, NB Publishing, had distanced itself from her comments.

A number of people have tweeted their feelings, left messages on Facebook and commented on the Rapport’s website.

Zimo2 tweeted: “Why don’t you relocate you ugly minded? Are you beautiful by any chance?”

Zena wrote on the Rapport website: “I agree 100 percent with her. Too many people out there are false.”

Pierre de Vos, constitutional law expert at UCT, wrote on his blog Constitutionally Speaking that Botes’ comments were an indication of the feelings of other South Africans. “We all know now that this is not an aberration. These sentiments are rife and are supported either tacitly or more loudly by many white South Africans.”- Cape Times.

This hands-on workshop (by Nicholas Lamphere) will provide an introduction to the social web and current, popular tools and topics. Social Media has great applications for the public sector agencies.

The way in which the proposals are positioned in this document is interesting e.g. the R550k per year cap on executive earnings is surely a non starter, so why have it in this document at all?

Infrastructure development is identified as a critical driver of jobs across the economy. The document identifies investments in five key physical and social infrastructure areas, namely energy, transport, communication, water and housing. The sustaining of high levels of public investment in these areas would create jobs in construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure.

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The New Growth Path sees the infrastructure programme as a trigger to build a local supplier industry for the manufacture the components for the build-programme. Specific measures, particularly changes to procurement policy and regulations, are identified to ensure this is achieved.

The New Growth Path sets out an ambitious programme to create jobs, through a series of partnerships between the state and the private sector that builds on our strengths in the following areas:

• In the green economy, expansions in construction and the production of technologies for solar, wind and biofuels is supported by the draft plan for electricity (IRP 2), which proposes that green energy sources contribute 30% of new energy generation in the next 20 years. Clean manufacturing and environmental services is projected to create 300 000 jobs over the next decade.
• Jobs will be created in agriculture through interventions to improve efficiency by addressing the high costs of fertiliser and other inputs and by upscaling processing and export marketing. More livelihoods can also be created through support for smallholders, including access to seeds, silos, tractors, finance, marketing, water, extension services and other key inputs. In addition, government will explore ways to improve working and living conditions for the country’s 660 000 farm workers. The New Growth Path also commits the government to unblocking stalled land transfers which constrain new investment.
• In the mining sector, the document calls for increased mineral extraction through reviewing the existing legal framework and improving infrastructure and skills development. It focuses support for beneficiation on the final manufacture of consumer and capital goods, which can create large-scale employment, rather than only on smelting and refining, which are relatively capital and energy intensive. It foresees the establishment of a state mining company concentrating on beneficiation and enhanced resource exploitation in competition with a strong private mining sector.
• The New Growth Path calls for re-industrialisation in the South African economy based on improving manufacturing performance through innovation, strong skills development and reduced input costs in the economy. The document targets a doubling of South Africa’s research and development investment to 2% of GDP by 2018.
• It identifies the employment potential of tourism and other high-level services and calls for South Africa to position itself as the higher education hub of the African continent.

I found this interesting article at govinthelab.com, on how Gov 2.0 technologies could be used to fight political corruption. If we had the data sets available to us in South Africa would we build something similar?

“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” – John Steinbeck

I recently came across a post stating that the House and Senate Ethics Committees Protecting the Most Corrupt Members of Congress.  While no one is surprised to read about corruption in government my question is how can we use government 2.0 technologies to add more transparency to government, making the fear of losing power greater than the gains made possible by corrupt behavior.

• Congressional Monitoring Applications.  If you are curious to see what your lawmakers in Congress are doing check out the Congress Application created by Sunlight Labs.  I have it installed on my Android mobile and can monitor how each person is voting, new laws as they happen, and much more.

• Pork Finder.  Many time complex pieces of legislation contain unrelated items in order to get others to vote for the bill.  If you’re interested in finding these anomalies without spending hours reading these bills check out the IBM Many Bills application created by IBM Research.

What about local level government?  This is where the push for publishing data in open formats becomes critical.  The upfront cost to publish open data may, in some cases, be high.  However, cost reduction is generally seen as fewer people need to visit town/city halls to request documents.

How does it reduce potential corruption?  Take a look at Washington, DC where the local budgets,and up to date spending information, is published for everyone to see. If your expenses are showing up on a public facing web site are you more likely, or less likely, to make responsible choices?

We have a long way to go and corruption will never be eliminated. However, we live in a world where corruption can more easily be made visible.

John

We are always looking for ways in which smart people try to innovate in business, especially businesses which some may see as being no go areas. Urban Khana for us is one such business.

UrbanKhana (http://urbankhana.co.za) is a dinner delivery service in Cape Town. The company is just a few months old and is showing promise.

Source: http://www.info.gov.za/events/national/16days.htm

The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children is an international campaign. It takes place every year from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to 10 December (International Human Rights Day). The period includes Universal Children’s Day and World AIDS Day.

During this time, the South African Government runs a 16 Days of Activism Campaign to make people aware of the negative impact of violence on women and children and to act against abuse. We are firmly committed to lead a coordinated effort to sustain the campaign into its next decade.

Every year, government, civil-society organisations and the business sector work together to broaden the impact of the campaign. By supporting this campaign, thousands of South Africans have also helped to increase awareness of abuse and build support for victims and survivors of abuse.

What can you do?

Together, let us take actions to support the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign.

• Support the campaign by wearing the white ribbon during the 16-day period: A white ribbon is a symbol of peace and symbolises the commitment of the wearer to never commit or condone violence against women and children.
• Join the Cyber Dialogues initiative: The Cyber Dialogues facilitate on-line discussions amongst people to discuss issues related to the abuse of women and children, share experiences and propose solutions. Professional experts in the caring professions (social workers, psychologists, counsellors) and political principals also participate in the on-line chatroom. The discussion takes place in cyber space in chat-room format, with discussions in real time via various access points (Thusong Centres) around the country. The Cyber Dialogues are hosted by Gender Links (an NGO) with role players, including Women’s Net, the Gender Advocacy Programme and Government Communications (GCIS) which avails the Thusong Service Centres as communication nodes around the country.
• Participate in the various 16 Days of Activism events and activities: A calendar outlining events taking place around the country over the period of the 16 days will be made available.
• Volunteer in support of NGOs and community groups who support abused women and children: Many organisations need assistance from the public. You can volunteer your time and make a contribution to the work of institutions. Help plant a garden at a shelter, sponsor plastic tables and chairs for kids at a clinic or join an organisation as a counsellor. Use your skills and knowledge to help the victims of abuse.
• Donations: You can donate money to organisations working to end violence against women and children by making a contribution to the Foundation for Human Rights. The Foundation receives money raised during the campaign and distributes it to non-governmental organisations. There is no minimum or maximum amount set for your donation – it is up to you! Tel: 011 339 5560/1/2/3/4/5.
• Speak out against woman and child abuse. Encourage silent female victims to talk about abuse and ensure that they get help. Report child abuse to the police. Encourage children to report bully behaviour to school authorities. Men and boys are encouraged to talk about abuse and actively discourage abusive behaviour.
• Join community policing forums (CPFs).
  The community and the local police stations are active partners in ensuring local safety and security. The goal is to bring about effective crime prevention by launching intelligence-driven crime-prevention projects in partnership with the local community. You may want to also become a  reservist, a member of the community who volunteers his/her services and time to support local policing efforts to fight crime. For  more information on how to join, contact your local police station
  1. Seek help if you are emotionally, physically or sexually abusive to your partner and/or children. Call the Stop Gender Based Violence helpline (0800 150 150).
  2. Talk to friends, relatives and colleagues to take a stand against abuse of women and children.
  3. Try and understand how your own attitudes and actions might perpetuate sexism and violence.

Did you know?

• Since 1994, Government has developed several pieces of legislation to redress the wrongs affecting women and children.
• Government has implemented and supported many interventions that protect the human dignity of women and children.
• The rights of the Victims Charter are being translated into reality for victims of crime.
• South Africa cooperates internationally in addressing challenges of violence against women and children.

Where to get help

• Counselling and support for women
  • National Crisis Helpline (Lifeline) 0861 322 322
  • Stop Gender-Based Violence Helpline 0800 150 150
  • People Opposed to Women Abuse 011 642 4345
  • Family and Marriage Society of South Africa 012 460 0733
  • National Network on Violence Against Women 012 321 4959
• Counselling and support for children
  • Childline 0800 055 555
• Social Security
  • Child support grants 0800 601 011
• Healthcare
  • Marie Stopes clinics 0800 11 77 85
  • Depression and Anxiety Group 011 783 1474
  • AIDS Helpline 0800 012 322
  • AID for AIDS 0860 100 646
• Legal assistance
  • Legal Aid Board 011 845 4311
  • Lawyers for Human Rights 011 339 1960
• Campaigns for men who support no violence
  • Men as Partners Project 011 833 0504
• Information
  • Sexual Harassment Education Project 011 403 0541
  • Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation 011 403 5650
• South African Police Service
  • 10111
  • Suicide Crisis Line 0800 567 567

A little bit of history that seems (to me) to have gone by quietly.

Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese opposition politician and a former General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% (392 of 485) of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained under house arrest before the elections. She remained under house arrest in Burma for almost 15 of the 21 years from 1990 until her release on 13 November 2010.[8]Aung San Suu Kyi was the recipient of the Rafto Prize and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. In 1992 she was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding by the Government of India and the International Simón Bolívar Prize from the Government of Venezuela. Aung San Suu Kyi is the third child and only daughter of Aung San, considered to be the father of modern-day Burma. source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi

A little more video background on the political conditions in Burma.