African National Congress veteran and former South African president Nelson Mandela is expected to grace President Jacob Zuma’s first State of the Nation address next week, only when his health allows him to, said Speaker of the house of Parliament Max Sisulu, yesterday.

“Former president Mandela has indicated that he wanted to attend, but, as we all know, he is frail,” Sisulu told a media briefing at Parliament.

Madiba who will be turning 91 very soon, was driven in a golf cart when he attended Zuma’s inauguration in April.

In his address, President Zuma is expected to give details about his government’s five year plan which was discussed during the four day Lekgotla he held with his cabinet which started on Monday.

Zuma’s government is faced with major challenges due to this week’s announcement that South Africa faces a recession for the very first time in 17 years.

The treasury department made an announcement on Tuesday that South Africa’s gross domestic product has drastically dropped by 6,4 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

This leads to predictions that even more jobs will be lost in an economy that has already cut more than 200000 jobs in the first quarter of 2009.

Concerns are rising on whether Zuma’s government will deliver on the promises the ANC made during the election campaign.

Among the invited guests for this occasion is also former president Thabo Mbeki, but has not yet responded.

Former presidents Baleka Mbete and Phumzile Mlambo- Ngquka are set to also grace the occasion.

President Zuma will be greeted with a 21 gun salute, a fly over by the air force and a national salute by the ceremonial guard of the defense force.

Source: http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1008694

Image: http://www.fromthevaultradio.org/home/wp-content/images/FTV052_South%20Africa/south%20africa%2001%20nelson%20mandela%20b-w.jpg

In opposition to such reports,scenes of jubilation errupted from the crowds the moment the King arrived. It seemed as though His Majesty made his presence felt as over the 30 000 throngs of jovial audience gave a resounding  applause which lasted for over two minutes as the monarch majestically walked the red carpet towards his seat among the SADC leaders who came in numbers to witness South Africa’s greatest historic moment,which will go down in history for years to come.

History repeated itself when Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe arrived,receiving a similar reception when he attend Swaziland’s double celebrations last year, marking the monarch’s 40th birthday and the Kingdom’s 40years of independence.

Mugabe arrived before the Swazi monarch and showed his respects as he stood to welcome him,in return the King smiled gracefully and had a few words with Mugabe before proceeding to his seat.

South African television station E-TV showed clips of the jubillant public from the moment the Swazi monarch’s arrival was announced.

Zuma’s officiation took place at about 11:20 when he took the oath of office.King Mswati was among the over twenty SADC leaders invited to witness the historic occassion,counted among SADC’s greats ,the likes of Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni,Libyan leader Moammar al-Gaddafi ,Lesotho’s King Letsie,Mozambican president Armando Guebuza and others.

Known for his great sense of style,the king was clad in a smart black suit similar to those worn by American president Barack Obama.He made a grand entrance at about 10:45 hours and notably the televison crew hailed him as one of the greatest leaders of Southern Africa.

He was among the last batch of VIPs to arrive,followed by former Deputy President of South Africa Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka,who was closely follwed by the arrival of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi. His Majesty was accompanied by Her Royal Highness advocate Inkhosikati LaMbikiza who recently returned home from attending a first ladies’ meeting which was held in the United States of America ,where first ladies from all corners of the world met to discuss diverse global issues.

Source : http://www.times.co.sz/index.php?news=7597

Images:http://www.medindia.net/afp/images/Swazi-culture-lifestyle-42254.jpg

This has been marked as one of the greatest historic moments of South Africa, Africa and the African diaspora.

Finance minister Trevor Manuel and his wife Maria Ramos, former transport minister Mac Maharaj,ANC Youth League president Julius Malema, the new speaker of the National Assembly,Max Sisulu,Zuma’s lawyers Michael Hulley and Kemp J Kemp as well as former ANC spokesperson Carl Niehaus,were among the guests wrapped in blankets and sitting under umbrellas. When rain pours during a ceremony, in African culture it is considered a huge blessing.

Some guests in the VIP area had to seek for shelter in the media area as some seats were drenched by the rain.

After 9am, the Shaik brothers Yunis and Mo arrived. Zuma’s formers financial advisor Schabir Shaik could not attend the inauguration ceremony as the family said he was too ill to attend. Among the guests was also former speaker of Parliament Frene Ginwala, Unisa vice chancellor Professor Barney Pityana and Minerals and Energy Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica.

Zuma’s nephew, 47 year old Babanzi Zuma from Nkandla, who mentioned that his family was too big for the organizers to accommodate them, was among the crowd on the lawn.

“Ubaba [Zuma] has had a lot of problems that he came across to get here and today I’m very proud of him and honored to be here watching him become president,” said Babanzi Zuma.

Thoko Miya,a 43 year old, was another extremely excited South African. She is the cousin of former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Miya arrived at 4am from Tembisa in Ekurhuleni.

“Our president has come far with politics, which I think will make him a very good president,” said Miya.

“People are surprised that I support Zuma, I love the ANC and did not join it for family. I joined it because I love the party.”

As part of his oath, Zuma promised to “obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution and all other laws of the republic”.

Zuma will be the fourth democratically-elected president of the country after Thabo Mbeki, who was ousted by the party before the end of his term in 2008.

The event officially began at 11am. The new president is scheduled to address the crowd after the swearing-in ceremony.

   Source      :http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-05-09-zumas-inauguration-blessed-by-shower

   Video       :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZSIFYKTAtU&feature=related

  Image: http://photos.mg.co.za/original/0.02091700%201241860563.jpg

About 400 newly elected MPs were sworn in by Chief Justice Pius Langa on Wednesday.

Before the swearing, an elated Jacob Zuma arrived in parliament and took his seat awaiting the day’s business to commence, in swearing the country’s fourth parliament since the end of apartheid.

The President elect clad in a loose-fitting dark suit and sporting a polka dotted tie, gave a broad smile as he walked the red carpet majestically up the steps into the building.

Luxury German cars were the order of the day as they took turns dropping off the newly elected legislators during the morning, majority of who were dressed to kill for the occasion.

Members took their respective seats in the chambers. With the ruling party on the right of the speaker’s chair and opposition parties on the left.

After the national anthem, the Chief Justice convened a meeting according to the constitution and explained procedures.

The legislators in groups of ten were called to the front of the chambers where they took their oath under the watchful eyes of the VIPs and guests occupying the public galleries.

Fist to go was ANC veteran himself, Jacob Zuma, followed by outgoing Deputy President Baleka Mbete, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and Winnie Madikizela Mandela.

After all MPs have been sworn in, their attention will shift and focus on the electing the new speaker and Max Sisulu have been earmarked for this position.

Sisal will then occupy his seat and the deputy speaker likely to be Nomaindia Mfeketo, will be elected.

The honorable will then take a lunch.

Business will again commence at 14:00, this time around for the election of the new president of the Republic of South Africa, Jacob Zuma.

He is then expected to resign as an MP, having only been sworn into the position in the morning.

Source: http://www.news24.com/News24/Elections/News/0,,2-2478-2479_2511883,00.html

Image :http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=zuma+swearing+in&sa=N&start=0&ndsp=18

Jacob Zuma the President elect of the Republic of South Africa, on Wednesday made a pledge of leading the country towards Nelson Mandela’s vision realization.

Zuma got a massive vote from members of parliament installing him as the country’s president.

Pius Langa who is the Chief Justice, made an announcement of the results of the secret ballot which saw Congress Of the People’s Mvume Dandala getting a mere 47 votes, while Zuma got on overwhelming 277 votes

“I stand before this house and the nation overwhelmed by the responsibility that is being thrust upon my shoulders. I am truly humbled by the opportunity to serve as the fourth president of the Republic of South Africa,” he said.

Zuma mentioned that he was aware he was taking on a very huge responsibility.

The President elect mentioned that he hopes to take the country down a path of reconciliation and unity.

Zuma promised to open a new era with opposition parties and claimed down the dogmatic approach which has brought the parties into conflict.

He had spoken how he sat in all corners of the National Assembly and how he was unceremoniously kicked out in 2005 joking about applying for honorary life membership.

The battle for the presidency was a foregone conclusion but the Congress Of the People’s decision to nominate forward Dandala drew cheers, boos and jeers.

http://www.ewn.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=12824

“We have gone through a difficult period… it is now time to put it all behind us,” he said after the ANC’s fourth term in office was confirmed.

The African National Congress obtained 65.9 percent of the votes but could not attain its previous two-thirds majority.

Zuma has over the past eight years been charged with corruption and fraud, which led to a split in the African National Congress when he stood for elections.

The African National Congress needed the two –thirds majority in parliament, which would enable it to change the constitution.

Obviously rejecting opposition allegations, Zuma mentioned that the African National Congress was by no means a threat to the constitution.

The ANC will occupy a total of 264 seats in parliament.

Source:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8018601.stm

Images: http://www.hindu.com/2008/06/11/images/2008061151420901.jpg

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) won a sweeping election victory on Saturday, placing the party leader Jacob Zuma, on the road to presidency.

Although Zuma’s African National Congress managed to obtain a big victory, it however fell short of the two-thirds needed to ensure a parliamentary majority big enough to make constitutional changes unchallenged. The margin that would let the ANC change the constitution is largely symbolic.

The Democratic Alliance which appears to be the ANC’s major opposition, managed to obtain a convincing victory in the Western Cape Province, which has become its stronghold over the years.

Official results of Wednesday’s election gave the ANC a whopping 65.9 percent of the vote, while the Democratic Alliance managed to get only 16.60 percent of the national vote. The Congress of the People, a newly formed political party comprising mainly of former ANC members polled 7.42 percent.

“The people have spoken,” Zuma said in a statement on the ANC’s Web site.

“They have gone out in their millions, in peace and calm, to freely vote for a party of their choice. They have voted for a better future for all, for decent work, quality education, access to health care, safer communities and rural development.

“Now we must get down working to implement this mandate for faster change. Working together we will build a South Africa of expanding opportunity for all, a nation united in its diversity, at peace with itself and the world.”

A total number of twenty six parties participated in the elections. These included Islamic, Christian, the right wing Afrikaner and socialist groups, among others.

Zuma an ethnic Zulu, is expected to be elected to presidency when law makers come together to form a new parliament next month.

The ANC has over the years been alleged to be a hive of corruption and has been on numerous occasions accused of failing to deliver services to the poor.

For the past eight years, Zuma faced fraud and corruption charges. The National Prosecuting Authority, which is the country’s prosecuting authority, dropped these charges two weeks before the national elections, citing political conspiracy against Zuma, as the main reason.

Zuma, a typical Zulu man with no formal education, is set to bring a totally different face on the party than Mandela who was imprisoned during the apartheid era, and the Western educated Mbeki.

On Thursday, celebrations were the order of the day as Zuma’s supporters celebrated, danced and sang his favorite song called “Bring Me My Machine Gun.”

Source:           http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/25/south.africa.elections.results/

Images: http://www.dadalos.org/int/menschenrechte/grundkurs_mr5/Apartheid/Apartheid/Linkliste/logoflag.gif

“There is no cloud. There have been allegations against me and the State has not been able to put up the case. I have not been found guilty in a court of law,” he said.

This was in response to questions posed by the media at the Hilton Hotel in Durban.

The ANC president also mentioned that he was not above the law.
“I do not regard myself as being above the law and no public person should be above scrutiny,” he said.

“In the last eight years, I did not use my position to interfere with the due course of the law … and I always presented myself in court whenever needed.

Zuma admitted having received a loan from convicted Schabir Shaik but refused to divulge further information stating that it was contained in his representation to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

He made an admission that he had paid back part of the loan.

The media briefing began on a light note, with the ANC president sharing jokes with journalists about “converting” them to cast a vote for the ruling party, the African National Congress in the upcoming elections.

Source :             http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-04-07-zuma-i-was-a-victim-of-abuse

Image:             http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01237/jacob_zuma_1237765c.jpg

“Let’s go back to 1994… those who are saying, ‘let’s arrest’, are not putting the interests of the country first,” Malema told reporters in Johannesburg on Thursday.

“[Former prosecutions chief] Bulelani Ngcuka, McCarthy [former Scorpion's boss Leonard McCarthy], whatever else they did, we should say, as a South African society, let’s close this chapter, let’s move forward.”

In a forgiving mood, Malema mentioned that the youth league by no means does it give its support to any commission of inquiry into the alleged Zuma saga.

“If we could forgive the nonsensical, brutal apartheid regime, what stops us from forgiving these people,” he said, flanked by the league’s leadership.

Malema portrayed Zuma as a “unifying” leader and mentioned that the league does not want a divided nation under his leadership.

He said the country’s focus should rather be on the delivery of service and the construction of a united South Africa.

“If you support commissions, if you support charges, you are effectively saying even when Zuma is not charged; he must go and give evidence against the people because they are charged in relation to him.”

“So again, our president, having not been charged, will still have to go to court to give evidence and that is something we don’t want,” Malema said.

Earlier on, the Progressive Youth Alliance had said former president Thabo Mbeki, Ngquka, McCarthy and others involved in the alleged plot should be put under arrest.

Nevertheless, Malema said there was no need to pursue the matter.

“We have defeated them. We are in charge of this government. We are in charge of the ANC. We got what we wanted. What more do you want from them.”

He added that the country should rather focus on delivering to its people.

“If you charge Mbeki you are inviting unnecessary sympathy for him because the highest price Mbeki paid was when we recalled him as president.”  from them.”

He said if any other country was in South Africa’s shoes for the past eight years, it would have resulted in a civil war.

“If it was any other country we would have been in a civil war long time ago,” he said, referring to the struggle for power between Mbeki and Zuma.

The ANCYL’s position was opposite to that of the ANC, which said that, the National Prosecuting Authority. (NPA) should set up a commission of inquiry into the matter. . Malema said the ANC had made its decision to support such an inquiry but that the youth league would argue against that within the party’s structures.

“Our wish and our view is let’s close the chapter. The ANC has made the pronouncement, but you must know that whatever pronouncement has been made it must be subjected again to a constitutional meeting of the ANC, and that’s where we will argue our point and where we come from on this position,” he said.

Source:                       http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=978314

Image:                         http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=julius+malema&sa=N&start=54&ndsp=18

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki has flatly denied allegations of his involvement in the prosecution of ANC president Jacob Zuma.

“Over the years, we have consistently assured the nation that at no point did the president of the republic or any member of the executive, instructed, encouraged, aided or sanctioned by the president interferes in the case of Jacob Zuma. Personally, I wish to reiterate that at no stage did I interfere or contemplate interfering in the case,” said Mbeki in a statement yesterday.

Last week Monday, charges against Zuma were dropped by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) stating interference by former head of Scorpions Leonard McCarthy and former NPA boss Bulelani Ngquka, as the main reason in his prosecution.

It is strongly believed that the two played a major role in the case in support of Mbeki in his leadership battle with the ANC president.

Acting head of the NPA, Mokotedi Mpshe, has in possession transcripts of telephone dialogues between McCarthy and Ngquka, discussing Zuma’s manipulation in the case.

Mokotedi made mention of the fact that some of these conversations do refer to Mbeki , however made it clear that the NPA does not have any proof that Mbeki was involved in the plot.

Mbeki yesterday lamented that the ongoing investigations by the Inspector General of Intelligence into the truth of the matter, would bring clarity to the whole issue.

“Hopefully his report will not only shed light on this matter, but will also assist our government to deal with a practice that should cause any intelligence agency, government and nation grave concern.

“However, I wish to state that whatever intercepts may exist will not prove any political interference on my part, since none took place,” said Mbeki.

Mbeki pointed out that anyone with evidence of political interference on their part, was more than welcome to hand over suspect information to the police.

Source:                                              http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=977641

Image:                                        http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=leonard%20mccarthy%20former%20scorpions%20boss&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi