South Africa Living in Cuckoo Land - Part 8

SOUTH AFRICA – CUCKOO LAND: AN EVIL CESSPOOL? continued

A question needs to be asked as to why the Libyan government had not taken any action in order to ascertain as to what moneys had ever come to South Africa and as to where it is now?

Anything and everything in the RSA is about money. Apartheid was about money, the ANC’s struggle was about money as so eloquently put by one Smuts Ngonyama at the time when he was to garner R 120 million by way of a dubious transaction – “I did not join the struggle to be poor”. Very telling.

Indeed the principle followed today in the RSA coincides to a T with the Marxist ideology as can be seen in their failed attempts at taking over Chile and Turkey. South Africa is being marshalled into a Marxist state by a nomenclature which makes the Old Russian power of Brezhnev ET all look like a kindergarten. Even Pres Putin had to learn that for these so called leaders in the RSA, a contract means nothing. The building and the financing of nuclear reactors for the RSA had come apart due to the alleged leadership not honouring their contractual undertakings. These are the people who want to be the leaders in Africa. Smell the cess-pool!! The building of a power station, Medupi, at twice the rate of anywhere else in the world – what is wrong with this picture? ESCOM, the power utility running out of capacity! What is wrong with this picture? Newly rich – some 50 000 of them in USD terms being millionaires. In a 20 years time – bottom feeders?

RW Johnson, a former journalist makes the point in an open letter to Ronnie Kasrils as to when he found out that the ruling party, the ANC is corrupt. The fact is that the previous president, Thabo Mbeki due to his denials pertaining to Aids had cost the country the lives of 360 000 people! Yet, nobody brings charges against him for crimes against humanity! It was President Zuma who rolled out ARV’s at no cost, the same person who is blamed for the corruption. As Johnson states, did people not realize that the ANC is corrupt? As a matter of fact after the elections in 1994 which brought the ANC to power in the RSA, the members of the French Communist party which were in the RSA as observers, were so disgusted with the pilfering and blatant theft by members of the ANC of donor funds that they left South Africa remarkably quickly. President Mandela declared it struggle accounting!

The only difference today is that it seems to have snowballed. Today one sees that Julius Malema from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have been implicated in

questionable state tenders. The RSA Constitutional Court had in the last month given judgment in a matter of Tender Irregularities pertaining to the payment of allowances to the poor on behalf of the State.

When 1.6 million taxpayers bear the burden of the 17 million beneficiaries for these allowances, it becomes clear that the country is heading for a major problem. With the problems affecting the world economy, this must surely sooner rather than later impact on the country.

Max Du Preez in his latest book “A Rumor of spring” addresses the “selfish and corrupt ANC.” In the current environment, it makes sense. However, what about the National Party (NP), what about the governments under Mandela and Mbeki? The question is, to what extent are the wrongs of Zuma but a splinter in everybody’s eye? This does not mean that one should have to accept it, be content therewith. However, the role of the Intelligence Agencies under Zuma is actually a mighty worrisome issue.
In the matter of the Boeremag trial, some sixteen white police officers were implicated as training and providing these people with the explosives eventually used. Even the professed key witness in this case was paid R 6, 6 million in cash it has been alleged. It is abundantly clear that the police service and the intelligence agencies are seriously compromised and are creating issues in order to show results. How many of the alleged drug busts were actually created by the police service? All of this to create a diversion and to re-focus the governments’ attention to somewhere else. For what rhyme or reason?

The intelligence services dominate the press. The people who preach about the freedom of the press are targeted by every notorious intelligence service that is a reality at any given time. However, in South Africa they are being played by the intelligence services. Defense Intelligence, the State Security Agency etc, they are all in cahoots with journalists such as Erica Gibson, Jacques Pauw, George Mazarakis etc. The bulk of the black journalists are continuously in contact with intelligence services despite their denial thereto. People have no idea as what is going on in the RSA, the fact that the Intelligence Agencies are being used to steal for their bosses. During the apartheid days, some of them were running syndicates of stolen motor vehicles through the neighboring countries. Today they are stealing businesses, as before, the reference to the Tollgate saga and the Pinnacle Property history. The same people, repeatedly.
The Mail & Guardian carried articles over a couple of weeks of the role being played by the intelligence agencies in assisting the leading players in the tobacco industry to establish their position. Whilst there are indeed bona fide issues pertaining to smuggled cigarettes whereby the State had been losing massive amounts of taxes, this does not mean that these intelligence agencies should be in the employ of these companies. Yet, this is exactly what happens according to these articles.
Images of Sherwood Forest and the king’s evil men are conjured up!

In this whole issue, the role of the SA Revenue Services (SARS) is also spotlighted. The feeling amongst South Africans is that SARS is nothing else but a bunch of jackbooted Gestapo’s as their actions seem to be a duplicate of the Gestapo playbook. It has also been a feature in the legal profession that whence one takes on the State that SARS will follow. In this regard, they will exploit the existing legislation, which is of a draconian nature. Many people have had experiences whereby moneys are taken from their accounts based on moneys due, which generally end up actually as being a pre advancement of the state. It takes ages to recover one’s own money.
SARS are being used as a tool of victimization by the officials in the more than 800 parastatals in South Africa. In this regard, one Johan Erasmus and NGAM (New Generation Arms Management) became such a victim. Instead of paying, the more than R 1, 9 million owing and due to NGAM, SARS and Armscor conspired to raise massive fictitious amounts in taxes on both of them and to treat anybody in the vicinity with the same brush. SARS had been declaring certain collections during the year, but it would seem as if this could be fabricated in most cases. This in a country where one, 6 million taxpayers are carrying the burden for 17 million beneficiaries. Thus, if there is a false declaration, the effect thereof would be that less money is actually available to be spent by the State. This plus the ongoing over spending and massive corruption is certainly at the heart of the fact that the debt of the State is starting to exceed 30% of GDP (gross domestic product).

Erasmus is also a registered debt collector, who has moved away from this in the current years. Until 2009,, he was involved in the collection of Regional Council Levies (RSC Levies), under Act 109 of 1985. The payment of these levies was repudiated by the then Min of Finance, Mr. Trevor Manuel. The most intriguing was that the Act was not repealed, only the payment of the levies were repealed, a exceedingly strange situation. By 2008, the RSC levy income throughout the country was standing in excess of R 8,8billion, a much unencumbered income for the Municipalities. The shortfall of these levies was to be made up by additional payments from SARS according to certain formulas. However, the non-payment of these levies was and still is a criminal offence.
The fact that the Act has not been repealed means that the violation still stands, even if it should be repealed now. At the time, Erasmus according to the regulations in this issue pointed out that different powerful entities owed millions to the City of Tshwane, the Municipality in the Greater Pretoria. Amongst those so identified was the National Treasury, on their investment income, according to Erasmus. Also implicated was SANRAL (The SA National Roads Agency), also on their investment income. All these calculations could be made based on public information. The City of Tshwane lost just in these two matters at this time more than R 200 million, more than 10% of the municipality is operating budget. SARS and the National Treasury both fall under the Ministry of Finance- is it coincidental that SARS cloaks itself it the mantle of the Gestapo and sets of after Erasmus? Erasmus and the company he was working for at this point lost 15% on the amounts due as it was never paid. Yet, SANRAL is the same dubious entity who wants to prosecute everyone for the non – payment of E-Toll levies, which according to all information is clouded in a great controversy. The foreign shareholders in the company appointed to collect the e-tolls; Kapsch International apparently belongs to the Gupta family, a dubious band from Indian ancestry who started out from a shoe shop until they met Pres Jacob Zuma.

Erasmus quite obviously has tried every possible and difficult method to rectify this issue out. The CEO of SANRAL. M Nazir Ali is the same person who apparently said to Devi Sankaree Govender from Carte Blanche when she was interviewing him that she should “give a brother a break.” Erasmus had referred this to Themba Godie, the Chairperson in Parliament of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA.) After a meeting between Godie and SARS, the issue of the unpaid levies was swept of the table. What happened there? Was there a deal struck between SARS and Godie?

However, Erasmus has lodged criminal charges with the SAPS (Police). All to no avail. Nevertheless, SANRAL insists on e-tolls being paid and threatens all and mixed with legal action. It is a fact in law that one cannot approach a court of law with dirty hands. This point seems to elude all and sundry!

To be continued............
Every picture has a story to tell. Perhaps one day we will tell all the stories..