WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-04-28 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
By Sibusiso Ngalwa and Murray Williams
President Thabo Mbeki has stirred up controversy with a speech appearing to characterise the Western Cape as a place of drunks and armed criminals.
But others praised the president for his sober warning.
In a Freedom Day message to Cape Town on Sunday, Mbeki told his audience at Turfhall Park in Athlone: “When I return here on Tuesday, let me not find anybody with babbelas.”
| ‘We must celebrate Freedom Day but not with alcohol’ |
In possibly his last Freedom Day speech as president, Mbeki said: “Just because it’s a public holiday tomorrow (Monday), don’t resort to alcohol.
“We must celebrate Freedom Day but not with alcohol. Let’s leave the guns and knives at home so that when I return here we are all here and nobody has babbelas.”
Turning to his prepared speech, Mbeki pointed out that many South Africans were still living in poverty and the dawn of freedom had not changed their lives.
“We still have too many people who are poor. There are too many people without jobs. There are too many people without houses. There are still too many children who study in dilapidated schools,” he said.
However, it was his “babbelas” statements that caught a number of people in the audience off-guard.
| ‘I was appalled at his inability to talk to people’ |
Social commentator Rhoda Kadalie said Mbeki’s comments were “patronising, insulting and inappropriate”.
Speaking after a family wedding in KwaZulu-Natal, Mayor Helen Zille said she did not want to comment on Mbeki’s speech until she had read the full text, but added: “We must be very honest with ourselves about the extent to which substance abuse is driving crime and violence in South Africa in general and the Western Cape in particular.”
The president’s warning resonated with some in the emergency services, who warned that good weather, combined with liquor, was usually a recipe for disaster. “There’s a massive peak in trauma-related incidents on public holidays, just as with weekends,” one expert said, asking not to be named.
Metro police reported on Monday morning that they would be monitoring key areas, such as the False Bay beaches, for drink-related crime.
Kadalie also criticised Mbeki’s delivery at the Freedom Day event. “I was appalled at his inability to talk to people. He read his speech, and never once looked up,” she said.
“He’s very alienated from the coloured people of the Western Cape. They are cannon fodder – they are neglected, marginalised and feel left out of the equation.
“The only time these people matter is when elections come closer.”
Kadalie said Mbeki’s presence had failed to attract Athlone residents. She claimed the Africans in the crowd had been bused in, which could provide an insight into future political developments in the province. “The ANC needs to consider very seriously: are they connecting with the people of the Western Cape? They’re not,” she said.
Mbeki devoted much of his speech to the theme of reconciliation, and issued stern warnings about racism. “We cannot allow racism and racist attitudes to prevail in our society, in our communities and in any of our various and diverse institutions.