Lift sanctions, Lesotho PM tells EU, US
17/08/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
LESOTHO Prime Minister Motsoahae Thabane has called for the unconditional removal of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the European Union and the United States. Addressing the 32nd Ordinary Summit of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government Summit in Maputo, Mozambique Friday, Thabane said the region was united in calling for the removal of the sanctions.
"Despite limited relaxation of sanctions by countries of the European Union on Zimbabwe, we must continue to call for the lifting of all sanctions against Zimbabwe," he said. Thabane said the region has always stood together to prevent externally imposed solutions to regional problems and should continue to do so in Zimbabwe.
"Our region has consistently stood together to reject external solutions that seek to undermine the hard-earned political and economic independence of Zimbabwe," he said.
The sanctions were imposed more than a decade ago over allegations of electoral fraud and human rights abuses.
[Editorializing. And of course untrue. Read ZDERA. - MrK]
President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party insist Britain pushed the imposition of the sanctions to punish Zimbabwe for its land reform programme.
The Zimbabwean leader also blames the sanctions for the country’s economic problems.
[As do I, based on the macro-economic data and the national currency. Looking at the timing of the collapse of the Zimbabwe Dollar in the year 2002 when ZDERA came into force, I would say the conclusion is inevitable that the credit freeze caused the start of world record hyperinflation in 2002, not in 1999 when the so-called farm invasions started. Read more about the macro-economic data, the ZDERA related timing of the collapse of the Zimbabwe Dollar, the rising export surplus and the rising tobacco exports the year ZDERA came into force here. ZDERA Section 4 C put a credit freeze on the Zimbabwean government that froze the Zimbabwean government out of international financial markets - this is what led to the collapse of the Zimbabwe Dollar, which led to the collapse of the economy. Retaliation, not landreform. (Not once in the history of the world has land reform caused world record hyperinflation. World record hyperinflation always comes from financial manipulation, through legislation like the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 and the Versailles Treaty. - MrK]
Both the EU and the US as well as countries such as Australia New Zealand have indicated they are prepared to remove the sanctions on conditions the country organises free and fair elections.
Zimbabwe is expected to hold fresh elections next year to replace the coalition government which has been in office since 2009.
Labels: LESOTHO, SADC, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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Bloodbath revives memories of racist SA
17/08/2012 00:00:00
by Reuters
THE police killing of 34 striking platinum miners in the bloodiest security operation since the end of white rule cut to the quick of South Africa's psyche on Friday, with searching questions asked of its post-apartheid soul.
Newspaper headlines screamed "Bloodbath", "Killing Field" and "Mine Slaughter", with graphic photographs of heavily armed white and black police officers walking casually past the bloodied corpses of black men lying crumpled in the dust.
The images, along with footage of officers opening up with automatic weapons on a small group of men in blankets and t-shirts at Lonmin's Marikana platinum plant, rekindled uncomfortable memories of South Africa's racist past.
Police chief Riah Phiyega confirmed 34 dead and 78 injured in Thursday's shootings after officers moved against 3,000 striking drill operators armed with machetes and sticks at the mine, 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Johannesburg.
A sombre-looking President Jacob Zuma, who cut short a trip to Mozambique for a regional summit because of the violence, travelled to Marikana and announced he had ordered an official inquiry into what he called the "shocking" events.
"This is unacceptable in our country which is a country where everyone feels comfortable, a country with a democracy that everyone envies," he said in a statement read at a news conference. He did not take questions.
Phiyega, a former banking executive appointed to lead the police force only in June, said officers acted in self-defence against charging, armed assailants at Marikana.
"The police members had to employ force to protect themselves," she said, noting that two policemen had been hacked to death by a mob at the mine on Tuesday.
However, the South African Institute of Race Relations likened the incident to the 1960 Sharpeville township massacre near Johannesburg, when apartheid police opened fire on a crowd of black protesters, killing more than 50.
"Obviously the issues that have led to this are not the same as the past, but the response and the outcome is very similar," research manager Lucy Holborn told Reuters.
In a front-page editorial, the Sowetan newspaper questioned what had changed since 1994, when Nelson Mandela overturned three centuries of white domination to become South Africa's first black president.
"It has happened in this country before where the apartheid regime treated black people like objects," the paper, named after South Africa's biggest black township, said. "It is continuing in a different guise now."
Zuma, who faces an internal leadership election in his ruling African National Congress (ANC) in December, called on South Africa to mourn together. "It is a moment to start healing and rebuilding," he said at Marikana.
"We believe there is enough space in our democratic order for any dispute to be resolved through dialogue without any breaches of the law or violence," an earlier statement from him said.
Despite promises of a better life for all South Africa's 50 million people, the ANC has struggled to provide basic services to millions in poor black townships.
Efforts to redress the economic inequalities of apartheid have had mixed results, and the mining sector comes in for particular criticism from radical ANC factions as a bastion of "white monopoly capital".
Police presence
Hundreds of police patrolled the dusty plains around the Marikana mine, which was forced to shut down this week because of a rumbling union turf war that has hit the platinum sector this year.
Crime scene investigators combed the site of the shooting, which was cordoned off with yellow tape, collecting spent cartridges and the slain miners' bloodstained traditional weapons - machetes and spears.
Six firearms were recovered, including a service revolver from one of the police officers killed earlier in the week.
Before Thursday, 10 people had died in nearly a week of conflict between rival unions at what is Lonmin's flagship plant.
The London-headquartered company has been forced to shut down all its South African platinum operations, which account for 12 percent of global output.
South Africa is home to 80 percent of the world's known reserves of platinum, a precious metal used in vehicle catalytic converters. Rising power and labour costs and a steep decline this year in the price have left many mines struggling to stay afloat.
Although the striking Marikana miners were demanding huge pay hikes, the roots of the trouble lie in a challenge by the newer Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) to the 25-year dominance of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), a close ANC ally.
"There is clearly an element in this that a key supporter of the ANC - the NUM - has come under threat from these protesting workers," said Nic Borain, an independent political analyst.
Pre-crackdown footage of dancing miners waving machetes and licking the blades of home-made spears raised questions about the habitual use of violence in industrial action 18 years after the end of apartheid.
"This culture of violence and protest, it must somehow be changed," said John Robbie, a prominent Johannesburg radio host. "You can't act like a Zulu impi in an industrial dispute in this day and age," he said, using the Zulu word for armed units.
Labels: MASSACRE, MINERS, MINING, RACISM
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COMMENT - This is the same Dan Gertler whose Cayman Island based RP Capital Partners privatised ZAMTEL to the Libyans state. Read more
background about Dan Gertler and Glencore International PLC here. Tokyo Sexwale and the DRC's Mr Grab
17 Aug 2012 07:00 - James Wood, Craig McKune, Stefaans Brümmer
A $150-million investment ties Tokyo Sexwale to a controversial Israeli businessman as he pulled off the "heist" of a prize mining asset in the DRC. Tokyo Sexwale funded the controversial Dan Gertler, who 'grabbed and flipped' DRC mining assets. (Oupa Nkosi, M&G)
The name of Dan Gertler, the Israeli, has become synonymous with "grabbing and flipping" – he allegedly used his relationship with politicians to bag Democratic Republic pf Congo mineral concessions, stripped from others if necessary, only to sell them on at great profit.
He most controversially flipped the multibillion-rand Kolwezi tailings project, stripped from Canada's First Quantum Minerals, to a London-listed miner in 2010. Gertler, who strenuously denies wrongdoing, earned the wrath of anti-corruption campaigners and much negative publicity, but Sexwale and his associates' proximity to these events has gone unreported.
And while there is no evidence that Sexwale or his associates actively participated in the Kolwezi grab and flip, they arguably sailed very close to the wind after investing $150-million with Gertler two years earlier.
That investment involved them partnering Gertler as he sold Kalukundi, a separate concession "grabbed" by a third party, back to its original owner.
Kalukundi grab
The Kalukundi concession, located in the heart of the south-eastern DRC copper belt, was worth fighting over. A December 2006 expert report predicted high yields of copper and cobalt should a mine be developed, which would pay for itself in less than four years.
At the time Kalukundi was owned by Congolese company Swanmines, which was part-owned by Canadian miner Africo Resources. Africo listed in Toronto that month, seeking capital to develop the mine and start digging.
In April 2007, Africo was readying a large share offer, hoping to raise more than $130-million. It also bought more shares in Swanmines to become its majority shareholder and gain firm control of Kalukundi. Or so it thought.
Another company appeared, claiming to be the true owner of Africo's stake, having "bought" it for a measly $600 000 from a former Africo employee, who claimed he was entitled to sell it to enforce a labour-related debt judgment. Both the debt judgment and the sale in execution were allegedly done in secret, without Africo being informed.
This unleashed a slew of litigation. Africo brought judicial misconduct motions against three judges and sought to have the "sale" of its stake nullified.
But without legal certainty, Africo had to can the $130-million share offer, leaving it increasingly out of pocket as the dispute dragged on in DRC courts.
In a letter to shareholders, Africo summarised the "perplexing and frustrating" state of its litigation, voicing "a profound sense of grievance at what is clearly an attempted theft of [the] asset by third parties through the systematic misuse of the judicial system".
Enter Gertler … and Vipar
Africo was over a barrel when Gertler, a confidant of DRC President Joseph Kabila, entered with an offer it could hardly refuse: he would buy out the intruder company to make the legal problem go away, while buying a controlling stake in Africo itself, capitalising it at last.
The deal was concluded in July 2008, with Africo selling new shares worth about $100-million to a Gertler company, while paying for the return of the lost Swanmines stake with shares worth about $13.5-million. This gave the Gertler company, Camrose Resources, a 63% controlling stake in Africo.
Africo chair Chris Theodoropoulos said: "In hindsight, the $100-million financing by Camrose was of great benefit to Africo and its shareholders. Given the economic turbulence of the times, and Africo's legal difficulties in the DRC, we were unlikely to find other investors of this magnitude."
But Gertler was not alone. In announcing the deal, Africo had to disclose that "Vipar Investments Limited has made certain credit facilities available" to Gertler's Camrose and that "Vipar may become a direct or indirect holder of securities of Africo pursuant to the terms of the facility ."
Put differently, Camrose had paid for the Africo acquisition – and presumably whatever millions to pay off the intruder – with a loan from Vipar, which under the terms of the loan had certain rights over Camrose and its assets.
Who was Vipar? Registered in the offshore haven the British Virgin Islands, its ownership would have remained hidden were it not for public documents filed by Camrose reflecting a charge – the equivalent of a mortgage – as security for Vipar's loan. It described Vipar as an affiliate of Africa Management Limited.
Tokyo et al.
The latter needs no introduction. Africa Management was set up the previous year, 2007, as a joint venture between Sexwale investment vehicle Mvelaphanda Holdings, its associate company Palladino Holdings, and Och-Ziff Capital Management, a $30-billion New York hedge fund.
Set up largely to pursue resource investments in Africa, Africa Management's business model was described by one observer as: "Och-Ziff brings the money; they [Mvela and Palladino] bring the political solutions."
Corporate documents, some leaked and some open source, make it possible to reconstruct further terms: Och-Ziff stumped up a large amount, of which $150-million was on-lent by Africa Management, through its special purpose vehicle Vipar, to Gertler's Camrose.
This tied Sexwale's fortunes, together with those of his partners in Africa Management, to those of Gertler.
Sexwale declined to comment, saying through a spokesperson: "It is reiterated that no response will be entertained in respect of operations and activities of companies that the minister is no longer in charge of."
At the time of the loan, Sexwale was still executive chair of Mvela. After his appointment to Cabinet in 2009, trusts associated with him retained their beneficial interest in Mvela.
More than a loan
In the two years following Sexwale and his associates' loan to Camrose in 2008, Gertler was associated with several alleged grabs and flips, enhancing his reputation as a businessman who used his close relationship with Kabila and Kabila's now late adviser Augustin Katumba Mwanke to profit from privileged access to DRC assets.
Seen from a distance, Sexwale and his associates were no more than arms-length lenders through Vipar to Gertler. But on closer examination the $150-million loan was secured in a way that made it more of a co-investment, giving them significant rights to Camrose even though Gertler was the formal owner.
At the time of the loan, Camrose amended its incorporation documents to reflect the relationship. Significantly, Vipar was entitled to convert its loan to equity, making it a full co-owner. But in the absence of it doing so it still had rights, including:
* It was party to a shareholders' agreement with Gertler;
* It held the right to appoint an observer to Camrose's board
* It was party to the creation of a three-year business plan for Camrose, helping to devise its strategic direction; and
* Gertler needed Vipar's consent before any Camrose shares or assets could be sold.
In this light, it may be asked what insight Sexwale and his associates had into Gertler's more controversial activities, and whether they should not have extricated themselves as the reputational risk grew.
Kolwezi grab
Two years and a month after Sexwale and company had invested with Gertler, he perfected the alleged heist that caused the greatest uproar from anti-corruption campaigners.
In brief:
* Toronto-listed First Quantum Minerals (alongside South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation and DRC state miner Gecamines, among others) owned the prized Kolwezi copper and cobalt tailings project in south-eastern DRC.
* By late 2009 First Quantum had, according a subsequent court filing, spent $430-million readying Kolwezi for production, which was imminent. But it came under increasing pressure from the authorities, who unceremoniously revoked its concession in January 2010 and passed it on to a new joint venture encompassing state-owned Gecamines (30%) and the mysterious Highwind group of companies (70%), registered in the British Virgin Islands.
* By August 2010, Gertler presided over a simultaneous set of transactions that saw both the completion of the grab and the flip, as follows: Camrose – the Gertler company in which Sexwale and company had invested – acquired the Highwind group and then sold half of Camrose to the London-listed Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation – so putting Eurasian and Gertler in joint control of Kolwezi
* Eurasian faced heated criticism as it appeared to have enabled even the initial grab through the back flow of its purchase consideration of $175-million – which happened to be way below the many hundreds, if not billions of dollars Kolwezi was worth by then.
* Even Eurasian appeared concerned, filing a "suspicious activity report" with British authorities as required under anti-corruption legislation. The report said: "There is a risk that the assets of the Highwind group may have been obtained by corruption and the transaction [Eurasian's acquisition of half of Camrose] may facilitate the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property by the Highwind Group-Dan Gertler and others, and may result in corrupt payments being made to public officials."
Exit Sexwale
But what of Sexwale, his associates and their loan? The question remains how Gertler could have pulled off the transaction without their knowledge – he even used Camrose, over which they had say, for its completion.
But perhaps to their credit, they exited Camrose in the same transaction, transferring the loan obligation to another Gertler company, its repayment guaranteed by Eurasian.
The loan is due for repayment two years on – next week.
Labels: DAN GERTLER, DIAMONDS, TOKYO SEXWALE
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Anger grows over invite to Tony Blair
17 Aug 2012 09:00 - Fatima Asmal-Motala
A group of Durban-based organisations want to arrest Tony Blair on charges of war crimes when he arrives in South Africa later this month.
A protester in London epitomises the sentiment against the former British prime minister, who is accused of lying to the people to start the war in Iraq in 2003. (Leon Neal, AFP)
Blair will be in the country to participate in the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit.
"Various Muslim organisations are in talks about possible actions that will be carried out should Tony Blair visit South Africa," said Mustafa Darsot, a member of the South African Muslim Network executive committee. "This includes protest marches outside the summit venue, possible sit-ins and legal action against Mr Blair. We have also asked various legal professionals to look at the feasibility of having a warrant of arrest issued against him."
Blair will join several big names, including Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, chess master Garry Kasparov and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan at the annual event, which will take place in Sandton on August 30.
Darsot said the network and several other organisations had written to Discovery Group founder and chief executive officer Adrian Gore urging him to withdraw the invitation to Blair. They did not believe he was "fit to lecture on leadership" because of his key role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"Mr Blair is complicit in the murder of thousands of people in Iraq and should be tried for war crimes," Darsot said. "He violated the trust and responsibility of his office and it was his cosy and illegitimate relationship with the [Rupert] Murdoch press that prevented much of the truth about his role in the invasion of Iraq and murder of its citizens from being revealed in the press."
Offence
But Iona Maclean, head of Discovery Life and Discovery Invest Marketing, said the invitation to Blair would not be withdrawn.
"The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit brings together a range of leaders to debate the challenges that face the world's economy, business, government and society," she said. "The event is not intended to reflect a political view or cause offence. Discovery Invest selected the speakers based on their experience as leaders from various spheres of society and we will not be withdrawing our invitation to any of the speakers."
Patrick Bond, director of the Centre for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said there was no question that Blair could be prosecuted for a "crime of aggression".
"The website arrestblair.org spells out Blair's role in recent mass murder from the Middle East to Central Asia," he said (See "Make a citizen's arrest and be rewarded").
"Since Pretoria politicians justifiably complain that the International Criminal Court mainly prosecutes African tyrants, leaving European and American war criminals to travel the world gathering huge speaking fees, some action by Foreign Minister Maite Nkoane-Mashabane would reduce the talk left, walk right accusation against South Africa. She might simply follow the recent lead of Malawian President Joyce Banda, who warned Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to stay away from Lilongwe on threat of arrest."
Bond said if Nkoane-Mashabane did not intervene, South Africans who viewed Blair as a war criminal could attempt a citizen's arrest.
Disproportionate obsession
A spokesperson for the department of international relations and co-operation refused to respond to Bond's comments.
Meanwhile, at a press briefing held earlier this week, Deputy Minister of International Relations Ebrahim Ebrahim again discouraged South Africans from visiting Israel.
His comments were condemned by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, which said in a joint statement with the office of the chief rabbi and the South African Zionist Federation that they were "indicative of a highly discriminatory and disproportionate obsession with the Jewish state".
But a group of prominent Jews, including Shereen Usdin, Alan Horwitz and Robert Freeman, distanced themselves from the statement and added that, "in fact, we strongly support the progressive position our government has taken".
"Trips organised by the Israeli lobby present a biased picture of Israel and seek to whitewash Israeli human rights abuses.
"As the South African government has already proposed, visits should only be undertaken if they are to genuinely pursue the peace process," they said in a statement.
Make a citizen's arrest and be rewarded
South Africans who attempt a "citizen's arrest" of Tony Blair could claim about R300 00 from the website arrestblair.org as a reward for their efforts. According to the site, donations it receives from supporters (the total is nearly £10 000) are used to pay bounties for attempts to arrest the former British prime minister.
Anyone attempting an arrest is entitled to one-quarter of the money collected at the time of his or her application. South Africans would certainly qualify, said the founder of the website, Guardian columnist George Monbiot.
"The same rules apply everywhere on Earth. Anyone who abides by the conditions we lay out on the website is entitled to one-quarter of the money in the kitty at the time of the claim." So what exactly are the conditions?
According to the rules listed on the site, the attempt should be non-violent and cause no injury to Blair and those around him. It should also be reported in at least one mainstream outlet as a way of ensuring that it has political consequences and the claimant, who needs to apply for the award within 28 days of the attempt, must provide proof that he or she is the subject of the report.
Arrest attempt
If several people are involved in a single arrest attempt, or if more than one person makes an attempt at the same event, one-quarter of the total pot is to be shared between them. Performing a citizen's arrest seems simple enough.
The method recommended by the site is "to calmly approach Mr Blair and in a gentle fashion to lay a hand on his shoulder or elbow, in such a way that he cannot have any cause to complain of being hurt or trapped by you, and announce loudly: 'Mr Blair, this is a citizen's arrest for a crime against peace, namely your decision to launch an unprovoked war against Iraq.
I am inviting you to accompany me to a police station to answer the charge.'" To date, three individuals have received awards from the site for trying to arrest Blair. In September 2010, Kate O' Sullivan was sent a cheque for £3129.02.
At a book signing in Ireland, she told Blair she was arresting him. More recently, Tom Grundy, a Briton living in Hong Kong, walked up to Blair during an address at a local university and said: "Mr Blair, under Hong Kong's Power 101 law, the law which allows for citizen's arrest here, I'll be arresting you for crimes against peace." It is not clear yet whether Grundy will receive arrestblair.org's fourth award.
Labels: TONY BLAIR, WAR CRIMES
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Amcu blames NUM, politics for Lonmin massacre
17 Aug 2012 15:41 - Faranaaz Parker
Amcu head Joseph Mathunjwa has laid the blame for the Lonmin massacre on mine management, the National Union of Mineworkers and North West police. Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa breaks down. (Paul Botes, M&G)
The Association of Mineworkers and Constructution Union (Amcu) has distanced itself from the conflict at Lonmin mine and said the massacre could have been avoided had management made good on their commitments to workers.
Speaking at a press briefing in Sandton on Friday, Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa, said management had reneged on commitments it had made to miners earlier in the week.
On Thursday a violent confrontation between striking Amcu members and SAPS forces at Lonmin's Marikana mine in the North West left 35 dead and 78 injured.
President Jacob Zuma has returned from a SADC summit in Mozambique to visit Rustenberg. The presidency said in a statement that Zuma was concerned about the violent nature of the protest. Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa also visited the area.
Ongoing violence
There has been ongoing violence in the area, with clashes between two rival unions at the mine – the older National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the decade-old Amcu.
Earlier this week Amcu and NUM blamed each other for the violence.
Mthunjwa presented two documents as evidence that the mine had made commitments to the miners that their grievances would be dealt with.
"Management could have stuck with their commitment … The commitment was once you're there peacefully at work, management will address your grievances through union structures," he said.
According to Mathunjwa, it was this about-turn that led workers to refuse to lay down their arms and leave the mountain.
Mathunjwa also slammed the media for characterising the conflict at Lonmin as a clash between the two unions.
Infighting
"This is an infight of the members of NUM with their offices. It's got nothing to do with Amcu," he said.
According to Mathunjwa the workers on the koppie where the massacre took place were largely disgruntled NUM members who had lost faith in their union representatives.
"It's possible that Amcu members were there but its not Amcu that coordinated the protest on the mountain," he said.
He said Amcu's leaders had been called to the site on Monday to intervene in the standoff between workers and the mine, even though it did not represent those involved in the dispute.
"I pleaded with them. I said leave this place, they're going to kill you," said Mathunjwa, who later broke down in tears.
He denied that it had promised the workers that it could negotiate a wage of R12 500, as has beenreported.
The two unions have been fighting for control of mines in the area. In February they clashed over membership at Impala Platinum mines in Rustenberg.
In the run-up to Thursday's confrontation with police, ten people including two police officers and two private security guards were killed and cars were torched.
Amcu calls for an external inquiry
Mathunjwa also said that recent allegations of links between Amcu and the PAC or the ANC Youth League were "baseless and unfounded".
"We have no relationship with any political movement in this country or outside this country," he said, adding that Amcu was "apolitical" and would " never ever" associate itself with any political party.
However, he also implied that politics had had an impact in how the situation unfolded.
He complained that the security detail extended to Amcu and NUM representatives who had gone to speak with the workers on Monday was withdrawn on Tuesday once the NUM leaders – who are part of both Cosatu and the SACP – left the area.
"You can draw the conclusion," he said.
Mathunjwa called for an independent, external inquiry – not conducted by the South Africa government – to identify the causes of the Lonmin massacre. He also gave assurances that Amco would "cooperate and support any action taken to deal with this issue".
Union rivalry
The violence that erupted at Lonmin's Marikana mine had been long in the making, the ANC Youth League said on Friday.
"The signs were loud and clear for all to see during the Impala tragedy," the youth league said in a statement.
"We refused to see them, we were happy to accept then, as we did now, that the problem is and was trade union rivalry."
The league said an exploitative mining regime, capitalist greed and poverty were to blame.
It also condemned the use of live ammunition in public order policing.
"[We] call on Minister [Nathi] Mthethwa to conduct a full investigation to explain to South Africans how it is that police turned on our people and killed them, when the right to life is paramount."
Blame game
Parliament's portfolio committee on police on Friday said it was too early to blame anyone for the shooting.
"Playing any form of blame game at this stage would be irresponsible and insensitive," acting committee chairperson Annelize van Wyk said in a statement.
"We need to have all facts before we pass judgement. We call on all commentators to respond in a sensitive and responsible manner, and to refrain from making statements that can further entice violence and endanger more lives."
Van Wyk said the portfolio committee supported a request by Mthethwa for a commission of inquiry into what had happened.
The committee also wanted the inquiry to investigate developments over the past eight months at the mine.
Van Wyk said the training of police also needed scrutiny.
"We need to look at the training of police members, [and] relevant equipment in relation to the level of violence they are confronted with."
Violence and intimidation
The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said strikes in South Africa were becoming synonymous with violence and intimidation.
"The tragic events of the past week cast a negative light over South Africa and the willingness of stakeholders to enter robust debate," Sacci said in a statement.
The Pan Africanist Youth Congress of Azania expressed shock at the number of people killed in Marikana.
"We strongly condemn the barbaric conduct of the police and the government's indifference in resolving the dispute, which has been going on for more than a week already."
Payco called for Mthethwa and national police commissioner Riah Phiyega to be fired.
– Additional reporting by Sapa
Labels: ANC YOUTH LEAGUE, LABOUR, MASSACRE, MINING, NUM (SA)
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Zuma announces inquiry into Marikana shooting
17 Aug 2012 17:58 - Phillip De Wet
President Jacob Zuma says a commission of inquiry will be established to investigate the cause of the Marikana shootout that led to over 30 deaths.
When the police finally told its side of the Marikana story, it didn't speak of panic and mistakes, arguing instead that they "had no choice". (Oupa Nkosi, M&G)
Our Coverage
* Amcu blames NUM, politics for Lonmin massacre
* Lonmin's burning: Mthethwa says over 30 killed
* Lonmin violence: It's D-day for the unions
* Lonmin crisis: A tinderbox of discontent
* Live blog: Lonmin mine shootings
More Coverage
* Independent police body to investigate Lonmin shooting
"We have to uncover the truth about what happened here. In this regard I've decided to institute and commission of inquiry. The inquiry will enable us to get to the real cause of the incident."
* Read the liveblog of the Lonmin mine shooting here.
Zuma, who cut short his SADC meeting in Maputo to visit the site on Friday afternoon, offered his condolences to the families of those killed.
"We offer our sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones. Our thoughts are also with those who are recovering in hospitals and clinics. Our thoughts are also with the police service who are at times called upon to intervene in difficult situations. The events of the past few days have unfortunately been visited upon a nation that is hard at work at addressing the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality."
Zuma was careful to steer clear of blaming either side for sparking the violence that resulted in 34 deaths and 78 wounded.
"Today is not an occasion for blame, finger-pointing or recrimination. Today challenges us to restore calm and to share the pain of the affected families and communities."
"Having received the briefing … it is clear there is something serious behind these happenings and that's why I've taken the decision to form the commission."
"In a very short space of time, we will announce the results."
For Zuma's full speech click here.
'No choice'
When the police finally told its side of the Marikana story on Friday, it didn't speak of panic and mistakes, arguing instead that they "had no choice".
Video footage and witness interviews paint a definite picture of the Marikana shooting (the one national police commissioner Riah Phiyega says should not be referred to as a "massacre"): a small group of police, caught wrong-footed by aggressive protesters, firing in panic on the onrushing crowd. And perhaps using more live ammunition than is strictly necessary, in shock and in fear of their lives.
But on Friday, after nearly a full day of silence, the police did not speak of panic or mistakes. Instead it argued – without saying in so many words – that its members had done nothing wrong.
"The militant group stormed towards the police firing shots and wielding dangerous weapons," Phiyega said, reading from a prepared statement. "Police retreated systematically and were forced to utilise maximum force to defend themselves."
Police footage and documents, including aerial shots documenting events, argue persuasively that the group of miners were indeed militant and armed, and concertedly attacking. That is born out by the fact that the protesters were, apparently, not necessarily acting in a fully rational manner; the SAPS seemed to confirm swirling rumours that protesters had, under the ministration of a sangoma, come to believe that they were bullet-proof.
What neither documents nor police top management addressed, however, was the sheer number of shots directed at the onrushing protesters, leaving 34 dead and 78 injured. Numbers that look all the worse in contrast with the single policeman injured in the incident, and who had been discharged from hospital in less than a day. That disparity seems to stem from exactly the panic the police are now denying was present.
There are a number of other questions that remain unaddressed. As angry and concerned women protested near the site of the shooting, police said they had no mechanism in place for families to determine whether their loved ones were among the dead and injured. The SAPS did hope, however, to at least positively identify all the dead before the end of the day.
Nor could police say whether any of the 423 police members who were on the front lines of the confrontation had been suspended from duty, implying that at least some who had been involved in the shooting were still policing the area. That is directly contrary to regulations, although a fluid and remote situation means usual rules can be bent.
Amcu head Joseph Mathunjwa on Friday laid the blame for the Lonmin massacre on mine management, the National Union of Mineworkers and North West police.
Amcu distanced itself from the conflict at Lonmin mine and said the massacre could have been avoided had management made good on their commitments to workers.
Mathunjwa said management had reneged on commitments it had made to miners earlier in the week.
President Jacob Zuma has returned from a SADC summit in Mozambique to visit Rustenberg. The presidency said in a statement that Zuma was concerned about the violent nature of the protest. Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa also visited the area.
Ongoing violence
There has been ongoing violence in the area, with clashes between two rival unions at the mine – the older National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the decade-old Amcu.
Earlier this week Amcu and NUM blamed each other for the violence.
Mthunjwa presented two documents as evidence that the mine had made commitments to the miners that their grievances would be dealt with.
"Management could have stuck with their commitment ... The commitment was once you're there peacefully at work, management will address your grievances through union structures," he said.
According to Mathunjwa, it was this about-turn that led workers to refuse to lay down their arms and leave the mountain.
Mathunjwa also slammed the media for characterising the conflict at Lonmin as a clash between the two unions.
"This is an infight of the members of NUM with their offices. It's got nothing to do with Amcu," he said.
Losing faith
According to Mathunjwa the workers on the koppie where the massacre took place were largely disgruntled NUM members who had lost faith in their union representatives.
"It's possible that Amcu members were there but its not Amcu that coordinated the protest on the mountain," he said.
He said Amcu's leaders had been called to the site on Monday to intervene in the standoff between workers and the mine, even though it did not represent those involved in the dispute.
"I pleaded with them. I said leave this place, they're going to kill you," said Mathunjwa, who later broke down in tears.
He denied that it had promised the workers that it could negotiate a wage of R12 500, as has been reported.
The two unions have been fighting for control of mines in the area. In February they clashed over membership at Impala Platinum mines in Rustenberg.
In the run-up to Thursday's confrontation with police, ten people including two police officers and two private security guards were killed and cars were torched.
Amcu calls for an external inquiry
Mathunjwa also said that recent allegations of links between Amcu and the PAC or the ANC Youth League were "baseless and unfounded".
"We have no relationship with any political movement in this country or outside this country," he said, adding that Amcu was "apolitical" and would " never ever" associate itself with any political party.
However, he also implied that politics had had an impact in how the situation unfolded.
He complained that the security detail extended to Amcu and NUM representatives who had gone to speak with the workers on Monday was withdrawn on Tuesday once the NUM leaders – who are part of both Cosatu and the SACP – left the area.
"You can draw the conclusion," he said.
Mathunjwa called for an independent, external inquiry – not conducted by the South Africa government – to identify the causes of the Lonmin massacre. He also gave assurances that Amco would "cooperate and support any action taken to deal with this issue".
Labels: JACOB ZUMA, LABOUR, MASSACRE, MINING, TRADE UNIONS
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Chikaonda, Anadkat miraculously saved from criminal investigation in M320m collusion scandal
By Joshua Chisa Mbele
August 17, 2012
The death of Dr Bingu wa Mutharika saved Dr Mathews Chikaonda and his HitechAnadkat from being arrested following the investigations conducted by Reserve Bank of Malawi.
As a matter of introduction and background. I write in my personal capacity as the Founding Member of Ulalo Group of Companies with interests in diversified sectors of economy on two Continents, namely Asia and Africa. Ulalo Group has investments and operates in South Africa, China and Malawi. I’m, therefore, suitably well-informed to shed true light on matters surrounding Ulalo Malawi, its success, challenges and failures if any at all.
Background.I have stayed outside the country for than 2 decades. Before going into business, I worked with world-class organisations ranging from Manufacturing, Engineering, Mining, Information Technology and Telecommunication. I, therefore, have a well-balanced understanding of business and how the corporate world is supposed to operate. Mine are skills horned on the floor. Not evangelical or theoretical.
Chikaonda
Despite my longer stay outside the country, Malawi remains closer to my heart. That is the land of my brothers and sisters, the land of my ancestors. I have refused to acquire any Citizenship of any country. I remain committed to my country and proudly Malawian. I share a view that says Malawi has suffered for a long time and we must do everything possible to fight the scourge of poverty. Eradicate it in its entirety. Within our lifetime, Malawi must rise and join rich nations. That’s my position. That’s my dream.
With that in mind, I consistently look for any opportunities available in Malawi with a view to invest. To create sustainable jobs. To facilitate funding for other organizations. To spearhead technology transfers. I look for fellow Malawians with a view to empower them. I look for Corporate Partners with a view for shared growth and synergies for greater good of our economy.
Ulalo Capital Investments (Malawi) is the holding company with shares in a number of listed companies in Malawi. Our direct and largest investment being in Telecommunication. TNM. It was here where we also suffered losses due to unsympathetic collusion of TNM Directors. Much of this saga has been articulated in the past. I gave a detailed radio interview with Brian Banda of Capital FM on Straight talk. The records still exist in their archives.
Following that interview, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi contacted me with a view to ascertain some of the allegations or revelations that I made. On 22nd March I landed at Lilongwe International Airport and was whisked away from VIP lounge to a secure location with 12 hour security for my personal protection. I had interviews with Reserve Bank officials that included the governor, legal advisers, financial analysts and everybody relevant to hear the matter. After two days of grilling interviews and submissions of documentation, I returned to South Africa.
A week later they informed me that my submissions and testimonies stood the test and there was reason to believe that TNM Directors had indeed acted in a criminal manner. Reserve Bank as the final Regulator of Financial Services in the country, they would seek redress and proceed with criminal investigation and prosecution. They formerly wrote to TNM to seek their position and TNM was given 10 days to reply. The Reserve Bank completed the report and submitted to the Office of President and Cabinet so that final determination could be made to refer the matter to Anti-Corruption Bureau. (ACB)
With change of leadership at the Reserve Bank of Malawi, I’m informed that Ulalo should not drag the Bank into commercial issues between two willing parties that engaged in a transaction. Ulalo should follow a legal route to recover losses if it has a case against the other. This is an amazing U-turn that requires no further comment.
Another body that approached me for clarity on the matter was SOCAM. When I was in Lilongwe I met the CEO who also demanded so much of evidence of what I had uttered. I provided every piece of evidence ranging from commitment correspondences between Ulalo and TNM Directors, Transaction documentation, money transfers records including official letter stating reasons why they reneged on the agreement. It is in black and white. They informed us that government interference was to blame. Reserve Bank was mentioned in that letter. SOCAM has an Ethics Committee that investigates any alleged misconduct of their members. In our particular matter, members have failed to meet. In my view, the Ethics Committee members are conflicted, too scared, corrupted or simply ineffective to do anything considering the prominence of the individuals concerned.
The evidence of wrong doing is overwhelming on TNM Directors. The perpetrators had to find a small bush to hide. Last week, Nyasa Times published Joshua Mbele Expose’ in order to deflect attention and assassinate the character of the complainant because there were obvious blatant lies in that article hence the author was generic. Fortunately, the entire article had closer resemblance to the email I received from Dr Chikaonda on 27th March this year in which it was demanded that I withdrew my allegations or stand to be exposed and humiliated. It was like blackmail. I refused but instead showed him that the contents were defective and inaccurate. I gave full response and attached documents to prove my position. So the Nyasa Times article was not something new to me. I expected it. The author is well known in this regard.
Readers may not have known this; every aspect in the article was tested in the High Court Commercial Case between Standard Bank Malawi and Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund (SAEDF) which provided Capital to Ulalo in Malawi. I was the key witness in that Case. Under intense cross-examination, SADEF legal Counsel tried to portray me as unreliable witness by asking much of the stuff which was later harvested and appeared in the so called Expose’, I competently answered all the questions. Last month, end July to be precise, the High Court delivered Judgment. Standard Bank won the case. My testimony stood the test and cross examination. SAEDF was found to be simply a bad liar. Dishonesty litigant. The Expose of Joshua Mbele was based on dishonesty sources of information that had dismally failed to dent my standing. The harvesters of information had no full understanding of issues at hand and were not aware that SAEDF had just lost the case.
I had protracted legal wrangling with both the Funder and Ulalo Shareholders. They had suspected that MK320m transaction was collusion between me and Chikaonda. I defended Chikaonda much as I defended myself. I defended Chikaonda based on faith and trust I had in him as a person though I had troubled conscience. They alleged that I must have bought shares at an inflated price and received a kick-back thus defrauding my own company. Nothing could be true. Nothing was done outside Ulalo Board mandate. We were faced with huge Forex losses. The perpetrators had calculated their moves and we were in a fix or catch-22 situation thus we do we are doomed. We don’t do we are still doomed.
Everything said and done, Ulalo settled its full obligations to SAEDF. We paid back more than MK840m in cash and shares. It was an outside Court Settlement agreed by both parties. The Settlement was only baptized by the court. Ulalo was left with just under MK100m net assets. We still have these assets.
In Summary and closing, I want to state something obvious. The Rule of Law must prevail in Malawi. The Lady Justice must be truly blind. People should be held accountable for their actions regardless of their standing in the society. We have Captains of the economy who are lacking in standing and integrity. Captains who are doing more harm to the country yet nobody can touch them because their influence is far reaching and felt in all corners and bedrooms of the country. The losses we suffered drained us of our enthusiasm to woo direct foreign investments into the country. It created bad record. It left bad taste in our mouth.
In a democracy, nobody should be above the law; nothing should be swept under the carpet. I, therefore, urge the authorities to proceed with Ulalo-TNM investigations so that the truth is finally established. It’s good for their names, good for TNM Brand and Good for Ulalo. Confidence in the market is what Malawi needs.
As a TNM Shareholder who was misled to a tune of MK320m by men of honour, I suspect dubious dealings happened in the allocation of TNM shares to those connected to each other. I would not be surprised if some people never paid for the shares but made massive financial gains. I would not be surprised if some people cheated in their declarations of capital gains and never paid due taxes to the government. Let us allow thorough forensic investigation to bring some confidence back. Let us follow the money trails and see where we may end.
As TNM Shareholder, I’m extremely uncomfortable with the close relationship between Hitesh Anadkat and Dr Chikaonda considering how they successfully trapped Ulalo into MK320m transaction that benefitted Hitesh Business.
As TNM Shareholder, I do not want Mr Hitesh Anadkat to deputise Chikaonda as Chairman of TNM. Let other competent independent professionals fill that role for the sake of Corporate Governance. The business connections between TNM and Livingstone Empire are too many to be true and a source of main concern. TNM IPO wiped people’s savings making them financial nightmares except for Livingstone that made huge profits based on nothing but manipulation, inside trading and collusion.
*The author is Joshua Chisa Mbele, Chief Executive of Ulalo Capital Investments Group.
Labels: BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, CORRUPTION
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Chikaonda, Anadkat miraculously saved from criminal investigation in M320m collusion scandal
By Joshua Chisa Mbele
August 17, 2012
The death of Dr Bingu wa Mutharika saved Dr Mathews Chikaonda and his HitechAnadkat from being arrested following the investigations conducted by Reserve Bank of Malawi.
As a matter of introduction and background. I write in my personal capacity as the Founding Member of Ulalo Group of Companies with interests in diversified sectors of economy on two Continents, namely Asia and Africa. Ulalo Group has investments and operates in South Africa, China and Malawi. I’m, therefore, suitably well-informed to shed true light on matters surrounding Ulalo Malawi, its success, challenges and failures if any at all.
Background.I have stayed outside the country for than 2 decades. Before going into business, I worked with world-class organisations ranging from Manufacturing, Engineering, Mining, Information Technology and Telecommunication. I, therefore, have a well-balanced understanding of business and how the corporate world is supposed to operate. Mine are skills horned on the floor. Not evangelical or theoretical.
Chikaonda
Despite my longer stay outside the country, Malawi remains closer to my heart. That is the land of my brothers and sisters, the land of my ancestors. I have refused to acquire any Citizenship of any country. I remain committed to my country and proudly Malawian. I share a view that says Malawi has suffered for a long time and we must do everything possible to fight the scourge of poverty. Eradicate it in its entirety. Within our lifetime, Malawi must rise and join rich nations. That’s my position. That’s my dream.
With that in mind, I consistently look for any opportunities available in Malawi with a view to invest. To create sustainable jobs. To facilitate funding for other organizations. To spearhead technology transfers. I look for fellow Malawians with a view to empower them. I look for Corporate Partners with a view for shared growth and synergies for greater good of our economy.
Ulalo Capital Investments (Malawi) is the holding company with shares in a number of listed companies in Malawi. Our direct and largest investment being in Telecommunication. TNM. It was here where we also suffered losses due to unsympathetic collusion of TNM Directors. Much of this saga has been articulated in the past. I gave a detailed radio interview with Brian Banda of Capital FM on Straight talk. The records still exist in their archives.
Following that interview, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi contacted me with a view to ascertain some of the allegations or revelations that I made. On 22nd March I landed at Lilongwe International Airport and was whisked away from VIP lounge to a secure location with 12 hour security for my personal protection. I had interviews with Reserve Bank officials that included the governor, legal advisers, financial analysts and everybody relevant to hear the matter. After two days of grilling interviews and submissions of documentation, I returned to South Africa.
A week later they informed me that my submissions and testimonies stood the test and there was reason to believe that TNM Directors had indeed acted in a criminal manner. Reserve Bank as the final Regulator of Financial Services in the country, they would seek redress and proceed with criminal investigation and prosecution. They formerly wrote to TNM to seek their position and TNM was given 10 days to reply. The Reserve Bank completed the report and submitted to the Office of President and Cabinet so that final determination could be made to refer the matter to Anti-Corruption Bureau. (ACB)
With change of leadership at the Reserve Bank of Malawi, I’m informed that Ulalo should not drag the Bank into commercial issues between two willing parties that engaged in a transaction. Ulalo should follow a legal route to recover losses if it has a case against the other. This is an amazing U-turn that requires no further comment.
Another body that approached me for clarity on the matter was SOCAM. When I was in Lilongwe I met the CEO who also demanded so much of evidence of what I had uttered. I provided every piece of evidence ranging from commitment correspondences between Ulalo and TNM Directors, Transaction documentation, money transfers records including official letter stating reasons why they reneged on the agreement. It is in black and white. They informed us that government interference was to blame. Reserve Bank was mentioned in that letter. SOCAM has an Ethics Committee that investigates any alleged misconduct of their members. In our particular matter, members have failed to meet. In my view, the Ethics Committee members are conflicted, too scared, corrupted or simply ineffective to do anything considering the prominence of the individuals concerned.
The evidence of wrong doing is overwhelming on TNM Directors. The perpetrators had to find a small bush to hide. Last week, Nyasa Times published Joshua Mbele Expose’ in order to deflect attention and assassinate the character of the complainant because there were obvious blatant lies in that article hence the author was generic. Fortunately, the entire article had closer resemblance to the email I received from Dr Chikaonda on 27th March this year in which it was demanded that I withdrew my allegations or stand to be exposed and humiliated. It was like blackmail. I refused but instead showed him that the contents were defective and inaccurate. I gave full response and attached documents to prove my position. So the Nyasa Times article was not something new to me. I expected it. The author is well known in this regard.
Readers may not have known this; every aspect in the article was tested in the High Court Commercial Case between Standard Bank Malawi and Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund (SAEDF) which provided Capital to Ulalo in Malawi. I was the key witness in that Case. Under intense cross-examination, SADEF legal Counsel tried to portray me as unreliable witness by asking much of the stuff which was later harvested and appeared in the so called Expose’, I competently answered all the questions. Last month, end July to be precise, the High Court delivered Judgment. Standard Bank won the case. My testimony stood the test and cross examination. SAEDF was found to be simply a bad liar. Dishonesty litigant. The Expose of Joshua Mbele was based on dishonesty sources of information that had dismally failed to dent my standing. The harvesters of information had no full understanding of issues at hand and were not aware that SAEDF had just lost the case.
I had protracted legal wrangling with both the Funder and Ulalo Shareholders. They had suspected that MK320m transaction was collusion between me and Chikaonda. I defended Chikaonda much as I defended myself. I defended Chikaonda based on faith and trust I had in him as a person though I had troubled conscience. They alleged that I must have bought shares at an inflated price and received a kick-back thus defrauding my own company. Nothing could be true. Nothing was done outside Ulalo Board mandate. We were faced with huge Forex losses. The perpetrators had calculated their moves and we were in a fix or catch-22 situation thus we do we are doomed. We don’t do we are still doomed.
Everything said and done, Ulalo settled its full obligations to SAEDF. We paid back more than MK840m in cash and shares. It was an outside Court Settlement agreed by both parties. The Settlement was only baptized by the court. Ulalo was left with just under MK100m net assets. We still have these assets.
In Summary and closing, I want to state something obvious. The Rule of Law must prevail in Malawi. The Lady Justice must be truly blind. People should be held accountable for their actions regardless of their standing in the society. We have Captains of the economy who are lacking in standing and integrity. Captains who are doing more harm to the country yet nobody can touch them because their influence is far reaching and felt in all corners and bedrooms of the country. The losses we suffered drained us of our enthusiasm to woo direct foreign investments into the country. It created bad record. It left bad taste in our mouth.
In a democracy, nobody should be above the law; nothing should be swept under the carpet. I, therefore, urge the authorities to proceed with Ulalo-TNM investigations so that the truth is finally established. It’s good for their names, good for TNM Brand and Good for Ulalo. Confidence in the market is what Malawi needs.
As a TNM Shareholder who was misled to a tune of MK320m by men of honour, I suspect dubious dealings happened in the allocation of TNM shares to those connected to each other. I would not be surprised if some people never paid for the shares but made massive financial gains. I would not be surprised if some people cheated in their declarations of capital gains and never paid due taxes to the government. Let us allow thorough forensic investigation to bring some confidence back. Let us follow the money trails and see where we may end.
As TNM Shareholder, I’m extremely uncomfortable with the close relationship between Hitesh Anadkat and Dr Chikaonda considering how they successfully trapped Ulalo into MK320m transaction that benefitted Hitesh Business.
As TNM Shareholder, I do not want Mr Hitesh Anadkat to deputise Chikaonda as Chairman of TNM. Let other competent independent professionals fill that role for the sake of Corporate Governance. The business connections between TNM and Livingstone Empire are too many to be true and a source of main concern. TNM IPO wiped people’s savings making them financial nightmares except for Livingstone that made huge profits based on nothing but manipulation, inside trading and collusion.
*The author is Joshua Chisa Mbele, Chief Executive of Ulalo Capital Investments Group.
Labels: BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, CORRUPTION
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President Joyce Banda: What is your agenda for Malawi?
By Benson Jackson Teki
August 12, 2012
Her Excellency the President, let me begin by bringing your attention to the fact that throughout civilization, people have vested their trust in the state as a provider of their needs. This is because state has the capacity to generate a mass of resources (human and material) enough to alleviate their suffering.
State intervention has therefore been at the core of wealth creation and economic success throughout history. This started with Britain and Europe in the late 15th century, USA in the 19th century, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea in the 20th century and now China and India in the 21st century.
These countries madam President attained their economic success through the same economic policies. If we are serious about transforming this country, which I believe we are, then let us seriously think about and perhaps emulate them just as they all did.
Africa including Malawi, is being told to open up to foreign direct investment (FDI), jump to free trade with the developed economies and liberalize their economies because that is supposedly the only way to grow their (our) economies. If we go back their history Her Excellency, the developed economies i.e. Britain and USA, opposed the very economic policies that their forgetful descendants are telling us to do today.
All today’s developed countries used nationalistic policies (export led growth, subsidies, mechanization, tariffs, restrictions on foreign investment, distribution of monopoly rights) to protect and promote their infant industries. Not all that the IMF or World Bank tell us to do is true neither is the loan they have given let us celebrate all the way to the bank. These are the very factors that are keeping Africa “artificially” poor. What Malawi needs right now madam president is a strategic rather than unconditional, integration with t he global economy based on a nationalistic vision.
Let me provide an example to illustrate my point. Venice and the Dutch Republic became wealthy economic powerhouses in the 13th in the then poverty-stricken Europe due to a flourishing industrial sector that manufactured woolen cloth. Guess where they got their raw materials from? England!! Madam President this meant that England was exporting employment and its other advantages i.e. creation of knowledge, technology, division of labour, increasing returns and most importantly employment.
England was thus exporting raw materials and remaining poor! Take note that this is exactly what we did and continue to do right now. It was until 1485 when King Henry VII ascended to throne that the English realized that they were in wrong business. King Henry VII therefore made policies that made England into an exporter of finished woolen cloth and not raw cotton! He also used protectionism, subsidies, distribution of monopoly rights, government sponsored industrial espionage also known as reverse engineering where a foreign product was stripped down and copied.
Madam, he even introduced export duties which ensured that foreign textile producers who imported raw materials, had to process more expensive raw materials than their English counterparts. These initiatives made England the richest country on earth, a country envied and imitated by others including USA! Interestingly Madam President, USA later in the 19th century emulated the same economic policies that Britain had employed. Again they also gained economic mileage and became the world’s richest country attaining position of world super power in the process!! Now China and India are using the same economic policies of state intervention and the results you know them madam.
LEARSONS FROM YOUR PREDECESSOR
Madam President, the ascension to power of the late Professor Bingu wa Mutharika in 2004, his soul rest in peace, can equally be likened to that of King Henry VII. In him, was a man who had vested interest in the development of his country. Whether we like it or not, this is a fact. Just as King Henry VII, Professor Mutharika emulated and encouraged all Malawians to be actors not listeners. He encouraged that Malawi should move from being a pre-dominantly importing nation to a pre-dominantly exporting one. The results are clear to us all!
For the first time Malawi’s economy grew at unprecedented rate second to Qatar! Secondly, the former Head of State introduced subsidies whose results again are out there where again for the first time Malawi exported and donated maize to other countries. Then he began the big one!!! Nsanje World Inland Port. Madam President this was not just a dream, it was dreaming in colour. Doing what the Americans and the British did not what they are telling to do.
Nsanje World Inland Port is one of Malawi’s economic doors to success! Professor Bingu wa Mutharika did not leave anything to chance neither did he wait for God to do it for us or wait for World Bank or IMF. He downplayed the spirit of begging, waiting for donations or dependence. He realized that dependency can not lead this country to economic independence! In fact no country has ever developed under dependency conditions. They only experience their greatest economic development when they take their development agenda in their own hands. What am I saying madam president? I am saying let us understand what caused economic prosperity of the now developed countries and emulate. This is what Professor Mutharika did!
To this far madam president, I believe that you are a woman of distinct and rare abilities. I trust that you will move this to a better economic position than you found it. Let me conclude by quoting what Mr. Jay Naidoo, Chairman of Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition said at Brand Africa Forum 2010; “we are naïve to think that the people that come into our country, even the ones who are here to help us (donors), have no agenda. Everyone has an agenda” What is your agenda for Malawi madam president?!
Labels: JOYCE BANDA, NEOLIBERALISM
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Of war and dying for my country: The case of Lake Malawi
By Prince Bright Majiga
August 16, 2012
There are but two types of men who desire war: those who haven’t the slightest intention of fighting it themselves, and those who haven’t the slightest idea what it is. … Any man who has seen the face of death knows better than to seek him out a second time. — Abraham Lincoln For the past three weeks or so, there have been reports of a diplomatic stand-off between Malawi and her eastern neighbor, Tanzania, over the ownership of Lake Malawi. That is regrettable. However, that is expected, for in the affairs of nations, disagreements are inevitable. It has been claimed that Tanzania’s renewed interest in the lake is due to possible discovery of oil. Whether that is true or not, is not the aim of this essay to show. However, disturbing trends have largely been about war talk (both subtle and direct) from both sides, officially and otherwise. My take is that this war mongering is needless, irresponsible and is rooted in the rocky soils of sentimentalism and not in common sense and reason.
War is sweet to those who have never fought it. Reality tells us that once one hears the details of victory, it is hard to distinguish it from a defeat. Indeed, if we really saw war, what war does to young minds and bodies, it would be impossible to embrace the myth of war. If we had to stand over the mangled corpses of school children killed in South Sudan, Angola, DRC or Libya and listen to the wails of their parents, we would not be able to repeat arguments we use to justify war. This is why war is carefully sanitized. This is why we are given war’s perverse and dark thrill but are spared from seeing war’s consequences. The mythic visions of war keep it heroic and entertaining.
As the situation between Malawi and Tanzania stands now, diplomacy is the way to go for both nations. Diplomacy will help both sides avoid needless bloodshed. For example, if on the negotiating table Malawi accepts to cede 50 percent of its northern part of the lake to Tanzania, it will do so without any Malawian dying for the nation.
The same case also applies to Tanzania. If Tanzania agrees to yield the part it claims as hers to Malawi, some youths in Mwanza or Dodoma today won’t have to die from Malawian bullets. Methinks it is not in the best interests of the two nations to involve themselves in a senseless war only for their leaders to later to come to their senses and resolve to solve the problem in air-conditioned hotels somewhere in exotic parts of Europe or East Africa.
Yes, we should avoid the classical situation whereby the master class always declares the wars and the subject class fights the battles. Reality tells us the master class has all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has nothing to gain and all to lose – especially their lives. And in the case of Tanzania being a neighbor whom Malawi relies for many of her imports and exports to pass through, we risk a situation where we might “win a war but lose the peace”.
Sadly, this war talk has made many people lose sight of key questions that should be tackled. Issues over how residents and the environment will be affected by oil drilling, or how disempowered communities might benefit from major finds are not being addressed/tackled as comprehensively. These issues need to be discussed and addressed, especially given that information about existing taxation and fiscal distribution systems in Malawi, and probably Tanzania on the other hand, is at times clouded.
Looking at the situation in the Great Lakes region, it can be seen that much of the oil drilling in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique is occurring in areas suffering from poor soil, low water tables and geographical isolation, and in regions in which many residents struggle to find employment. In our case, we should be talking of whether discoveries of valuable natural resources will help or hinder communities around the lake and not of gallant soldiers we have made ourselves believe we have.
This cheap war talk has also in a way taken our eyes off the possible agent of this confrontation – Western corporations. While this is highly speculative, it is an open secret that western corporations involved in arms trade will benefit from an increased demand for their products if the nations at loggerheads decide to go to war. Corporations know that negotiations may lead to a peaceful settlement; and since peace is the enemy of the war industry, they might be seduced to attempt to derail the said peaceful process.
In case someone has doubts over the role of the western war industry in Africa, the question she or he should be asked is “how come wars are failing to stop even though the conflicting parties do not have anything close to a weapons manufacturing factory on their territory?”
As a reminder, oil or any other natural resource is going to be a curse to Africa if there is no better leadership. I am not speaking of leadership that can’t or won’t recognize the need to develop these resources, no. I am talking about leadership that recognizes that need as well as the need to see to it that their citizens, nations and institutions also benefit from the revenues.
Most importantly, instead of indulging in wars of nations; which are fought to change maps, we need leaders who will wage war on of poverty. In doing so, they will mapchange.
Labels: MALAWI, OIL, POLLUTION, TANZANIA
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Maputo welcomes Sata
August 17, 2012 | Filed under: Local News | Posted by: web editor
From KASUBA MULENGA in Maputo
PRESIDENT Sata arrived here yesterday to join other leaders attending the Southern African Development Community (SADC) 32nd heads of State and government summit taking place at the Joachim Chissano Convention Centre in the Mozambican capital.
The challenger jet carrying Mr Sata, First Lady Christine Kaseba and other senior Government officials touched down at Maputo International Airport at about 12:05 hours.
PRESIDENT Sata shakes hands with Inspector General of police Stella Libongani at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport before leaving for Mozambique. - Picture by JOHN NGOMA.
He was received by Mozambican minister of Tourism Antonio Sumbanah, minister of Foreign Affairs Given Lubinda, Ministry of Foreign Affairs permanent secretary Peter Kasanda, Zambia´s High Commissioner to Mozambique Japhen Mwakalombe and senior Government officials from both countries.
Mr Sata and Dr Kaseba immediately proceeded to the pristine Polana Serena Hotel, located on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Bob Sichinga, Deputy Minister of Finance Miles Sampa and Attorney General Mumba Malila received Mr Sata at the hotel, after which he had a private luncheon.
The heads of State and government summit is scheduled to be officially opened today and will run simultaneously with the SADC First Ladies meeting at which Zambia will be represented by Dr Kaseba.
So far, some meetings have already taken place, including the standing committee of senior government officials and a special ministerial task force on regional integration which took place on Monday.
The finance and investment committee meeting took place on Tuesday, with representation from Mr Sichinga and Mr Sampa.
The council of ministers meeting took place yesterday at Indy Village Hotel, which all the Zambian ministers attended.
Mozambican President Armando Guebuza will host a state banquet for visiting heads of State and government scheduled tomorrow.
President Sata is today expected to deliver his maiden speech about 11:15 hours. Others who will deliver similar speeches are Malawian President Joyce Banda and Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane.
Angolan President Jose´ Eduardo dos Santos, who is SADC chairperson, will later during the official opening ceremony give prizes to regional winners of the 2011 SADC essay competition and media awards.
President Dos Santos will later present a keynote address before handing over the SADC chairperson´s badge to his successor President Guebuza who will then deliver an acceptance statement of the SADC chairmanship.
Meanwhile, TEDDY KUYELA in Lusaka reports that Mr Sata yesterday left the country at about 10:25 hours at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.
He was seen off by acting President Alexander Chikwanda, Vice President Dr Guy Scott, Minister of Defence Geoffrey Mwamba, Lusaka mayor Daniel Chisenga and other Government officials.
Labels: MICHAEL SATA, MOZAMBIQUE, SADC
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Congo Genocide: Will Obama's America collaborate or refuse?
by Ann Garrison
Global Research, August 15, 2012
San Francisco Bayview
On Aug. 4, I reported on KPFA Radio that cholera had broken out in the internally displaced persons camps growing again in eastern Congo, as Congolese people flee the war which, with backing from the Kagame regime in Kigali, Rwanda, resumed in April. The cholera outbreak has sparked fears of an epidemic.
Several days later, the AP’s Michele Faul reported – with a heartbreaking photo essay – that drenching rain was adding to the refugees’ misery.
This looks in many ways like Native American Genocide or any genocide of native people. Armies break up families and communities, forcing them off the land that someone else covets, to die in refugee camps of hunger, disease or heartbreak. It took four centuries to decimate the native population of what became the United States, but millions of eastern Congolese people have perished since 1996 alone, mostly from hardship after being displaced.
As I worked on the radio news, I asked myself, as I often do, why report this on KPFA’s FM radio signal here in Northern and Central California, or even on KPFA’s webstream, to an audience which is mostly American?
My answer always is, because the U.S. is very, very involved. Two of the Pentagon’s most longstanding “partners,” Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, have been the principle aggressors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1996.
Two of the Pentagon’s most longstanding “partners,” Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, have been the principle aggressors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1996.
The U.S. has armed, trained and provided logistical and intelligence support to both their armies for many years and employed their soldiers in service to its national security agenda in Haiti, Sudan, Somalia, elsewhere on the African continent, and even Iraq.
Congolese wait for aid in Kibati with little or no shelter from the storm or protection from the insipient cholera epidemic. – Photo: Jerome Delay, AP
In October 2010, President Obama announced the introduction of combat equipped U.S. Special Forces into the region, and this week the ENOUGH Project’s John Prendergast published a horrifying argument, “Let Them Hunt,” in the influential journal Foreign Policy, where he called on Obama to “unleash the dogs of war” in Congo and neighboring countries to hunt down minor East African warlord Joseph Kony and his LRA militia.
“Hunt” is a terrible word to use in combination with an admonition to unleash dogs, including the “dogs of war,” to go after people, any people, but in this case, African people. And, as Ugandan American Black Star News Editor Milton Allimadi, TransAfrica Forum’s Nii Akuetteh, war correspondent and human rights investigator Keith Harmon Snow and many other Africa scholars and journalists have told KPFA, AfrobeatRadio, the SF Bay View, RT, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now and other outlets, this is not a hunt for Joseph Kony or any other bad actors. It’s a military operation to secure oil and other African resources and limit Chinese access.
In October 2010, President Obama announced the introduction of combat equipped U.S. Special Forces into the region. But this is not a hunt for Joseph Kony or any other bad actors. It’s a military operation to secure oil and other African resources and limit Chinese access.
If the phony Kony hunt escalates, as Prendergast and the ENOUGH Project urge, as more and more Congolese people flee the Rwandan backed M23 militia, seeking shelter in camps, without adequate food, clean water or sanitation, Obama will become the Black face of genocide in the heart of Africa.
Many agree that has already happened.
Driven from her home, where she would have been warm and dry during the rainstorm, this child must try to survive a war fomented by foreign forces plundering resources that belong to her and all Congolese in a camp threatened with cholera. – Photo: Jerome Delay, AP
However, cynical as I may become about the brutal and ruthless scramble for Congolese resources, I never imagine that this is what the American people who rose above their history to elect their first African American president imagined. Americans voted him into the job, but they didn’t write the job description.
Hugely powerful people no doubt realized that Western corporate, criminal and military interests would be more difficult to resist in Africa with a Black man in charge, but far more Americans cheered or even wept when Obama was elected, because they had so long believed that they’d never see the day.
And now, grim as the news from eastern Congo is, there is some hope. It is still possible to fight for the Obama so many Americans hoped to elect. Here are reasons for hope:
1) Last week, a bi-partisan Congressional coalition headed by Washington State’s Jim McDermott wrote a letter to Rwandan President Paul Kagame to say that the latest U.N. report decisively proves that Kagame is backing the M23 militia’s resumption of the war in eastern Congo and that the current relationship between the U.S. and Rwanda must end.
2) The most recent U.N. experts report on Congo includes photographic and other documentary evidence that Rwanda is backing the M23 militia in Congo.
3) In response to the U.N. experts report, the U.S. suspended $200,000 in military aid to Rwanda, and the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden suspended contributions to Rwandan budget support.
4) More prominent people and publications, including Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, writing in the same Foreign Policy journal that published Prendergast’s “Let Them Hunt,” are pointing to President Obama’s own Senate legislation, the Obama Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act of 2006, which became Public Law 109-456, and suggesting that it gives Obama both special expertise and obligation in Congo.
5) On Friday, Aug. 17, Rwandans and Congolese will gather in The Hague, Netherlands, to present a complaint with documentary evidence and petition the new chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to indict Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
These efforts all deserve the attention and support of those who worked to elect Barack Obama, not because they thought he would serve as the Black face of resource war and African genocide, but because they hoped his election would signal the end of it.
Ann Garrison is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by Ann Garrison
Labels: ANN GARRISON, DRC, KEITH HARMON SNOW, PAUL KAGAME, WAR CRIMES
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Mugabe launches census, wants baby boom
Lighter moment ... Mugabe shares a joke with Minister Biti while DPM Mutambara looks on
15/08/2012 00:00:00
by Moses Chibaya
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe launched Zimbabwe’s 2012 population census on Wednesday by calling on Zimbabweans to multiply. Mugabe said results of the 2002 census showing Zimbabwe’s population at 11,6 million people made for “miserable” reading. He insists that Zimbabwe’s population has stagnated as a result of HIV-Aids related deaths.
“We want more children. Give us more children you women. Muri kurambirei mimba? Makapihwirwei? Aiwa aiwa musanyime (Why are you refusing to get pregnant? Why were you given bellies? No, no, don’t refuse),” Mugabe said at a hotel in Harare, where he joined Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in launching the census.
He added: “The census results of 2002 were a disappointment to me the numbers were down, miserably down. Well, they have not increased very much.
“The country’s population has been decimated by the pandemic we all know – HIV and Aids. We still need to establish whether that pandemic still has that same effect of decimating our population or have we managed at least to control it in such a way that even though it still affects us, we managed to beat our death rate.”
The 2012 census, which gets underway on at midnight on Friday, is the fourth since 1980.
In 1982, Zimbabwe’s population was 7,6 million, in 1992 it rose to 10,4 million and then slowed to 11,6 million in 2002.
Mugabe said an honest and objective census would help the government focus resources. He urged all Zimbabweans to cooperate with the 30,000 enumerators by “answering all the questions truthfully.”
“There are some countries in Africa in which censuses are impossible to do because of ethnic differences or regional differences. You will find mid-way through the process boxes disappear, disappear like they do on elections because one will say our region or province would be considered smaller or our ethnic group would be considered smaller," Mugabe said.
“We want honest and objective facts, the data which will help us.”
Tsvangirai said the transformation of the country’s economy will depend on reliable statistics.
“The need to turn the economy around, to plan and execute development programmes depends upon the production and dissemination of quality and reliable statistics on the economy of Zimbabwe,” he said.
“In other words, statistics is an indispensible tool for evidence-based policy formulation at all administrative levels of government.”
Finance Minister Tendai Biti said the population census will cost US$40 million.
Biti saluted the international community for the intervention they did to help the cash-strapped government.
“Let me express my great gratitude indebtedness to the international community which has chipped in with a figure of US$12, 6 million.”
Biti, who was last month forced to cut his budget by over US$600 million due to low revenues, said the census has been launched by the grace of God.
“From where we have come from, it is a miracle and God’s work that we are launching this census today."
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara said census is not only important to the planners of the economy but even for the private sector and investors.
He said the census programme should be conducted in harmonious manner “as we must all work together in alignment as the people of Zimbabwe so we can deliver a credible outcome from the census.”
Labels: CENSUS, ROBERT MUGABE
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9/11 Attacks: Criminal Foreknowledge and Insider Trading lead directly to the CIA's Highest Ranks
CIA Executive Director "Buzzy" Krongard managed Firm that handled "Put" Options on UAL
by Michael C. Ruppert
Global Research, August 13, 2012
- 2001-10-20
Global Research Editor's note
As September approaches, we are reminded that the anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11 will soon be upon us once again. 11 years later, are we any closer to the truth about what really happened on that fateful day?
For the next month until September 11, 2012, we will be posting on a daily basis important articles from our early archives pertaining to the tragic events of 9/11. The following text by Michael C. Ruppert published in October 2001 brings to the forefront the issue of foreknowledge and insider trading pertaining to airline listings on the Chicago Board Options Exchange including United Airlines and American Airlines.
Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, August 13, 2012
Suppressed Details of 9/11 Criminal Insider Trading lead directly into the CIA`s Highest Ranks
CIA Executive Director "Buzzy" Krongard managed Firm that handled "put" Options on UAL
by Michael C. Ruppert
FTW Publications, 9 October 2001, Centre for Research on Globalisation, globalresearch.ca, 20 October 2001
Although uniformly ignored by the mainstream U.S. media, there is abundant and clear evidence that a number of transactions in financial markets indicated specific (criminal) foreknowledge of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. That evidence also demonstrates that, in the case of at least one of these trades -- which has left a $2.5 million prize unclaimed -- the firm used to place the "put options" on United Airlines stock was, until 1998, managed by the man who is now in the number three Executive Director position at the Central Intelligence Agency. Until 1997 A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard had been Chairman of the investment bank A.B. Brown. A.B. Brown was acquired by Banker's Trust in 1997. Krongard then became, as part of the merger, Vice Chairman of Banker's Trust-AB Brown, one of 20 major U.S. banks named by Senator Carl Levin this year as being connected to money laundering. Krongard's last position at Banker's Trust (BT) was to oversee "private client relations." In this capacity he had direct hands-on relations with some of the wealthiest people in the world in a kind of specialized banking operation that has been identified by the U.S. Senate and other investigators as being closely connected to the laundering of drug money.
Krongard (re?) joined the CIA in 1998 as counsel to CIA Director George Tenet. He was promoted to CIA Executive Director by President Bush in March of this year. BT was acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999. The combined firm is the single largest bank in Europe. And, as we shall see, Deutsche Bank played several key roles in events connected to the September 11 attacks.
The Scope of Known Insider Trading
Before looking further into these relationships it is necessary to look at the insider trading information that is being ignored by Reuters, The New York Times and other mass media. It is well documented that the CIA has long monitored such trades - in real time - as potential warnings of terrorist attacks and other economic moves contrary to U.S. interests. Previous stories in FTW have specifically highlighted the use of Promis software to monitor such trades.
It is necessary to understand only two key financial terms to understand the significance of these trades. "Selling Short" is the borrowing of stock, selling it at current market prices, but not being required to actually produce the stock for some time. If the stock falls precipitously after the short contract is entered, the seller can then fulfill the contract by buying the stock after the price has fallen and complete the contract at the pre-crash price. These contracts often have a window of as long as four months. "Put Options," purchased at nominal prices of, for example, $1.00 per share, are sold in blocks of 100 shares. If exercised, they give the holder the option of selling selected stocks at a future date at a price set when the contract is issued. Thus, for an investment of $10,000 it might be possible to tie up 10,000 shares of United or American Airlines at $100 per share, and the seller of the option is then obligated to buy them if the option is executed. If the stock has fallen to $50 when the contract matures, the holder of the option can purchase the shares for $50 and immediately sell them for $100 - regardless of where the market then stands.
A "call option" is the reverse of a put option, which is, in effect, a derivatives bet that the stock price will go up.
A September 21 story by the Israeli Herzliyya International Policy Institute for Counterterrorism, entitled "Black Tuesday: The World's Largest Insider Trading Scam?" documented the following trades connected to the September 11 attacks:
*
Between September 6 and 7, the Chicago Board Options Exchange saw purchases of 4,744 put options on United Airlines, but only 396 call options... Assuming that 4,000 of the options were bought by people with advance knowledge of the imminent attacks, these "insiders" would have profited by almost $5 million.
*
On September 10, 4,516 put options on American Airlines were bought on the Chicago exchange, compared to only 748 calls. Again, there was no news at that point to justify this imbalance;... Again, assuming that 4,000 of these options trades represent "insiders," they would represent a gain of about $4 million.
*
[The levels of put options purchased above were more than six times higher than normal.]
*
No similar trading in other airlines occurred on the Chicago exchange in the days immediately preceding Black Tuesday.
*
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., which occupied 22 floors of the World Trade Center, saw 2,157 of its October $45 put options bought in the three trading days before Black Tuesday; this compares to an average of 27 contracts per day before September 6. Morgan Stanley's share price fell from $48.90 to $42.50 in the aftermath of the attacks. Assuming that 2,000 of these options contracts were bought based upon knowledge of the approaching attacks, their purchasers could have profited by at least $1.2 million.
*
Merrill Lynch & Co., which occupied 22 floors of the World Trade Center, saw 12,215 October $45 put options bought in the four trading days before the attacks; the previous average volume in those shares had been 252 contracts per day [a 1200% increase!]. When trading resumed, Merrill's shares fell from $46.88 to $41.50; assuming that 11,000 option contracts were bought by "insiders," their profit would have been about $5.5 million.
*
European regulators are examining trades in Germany's Munich Re, Switzerland's Swiss Re, and AXA of France, all major reinsurers with exposure to the Black Tuesday disaster. [FTW Note: AXA also owns more than 25% of American Airlines stock making the attacks a "double whammy" for them.]
On September 29, 2001 - in a vital story that has gone unnoticed by the major media - the San Francisco Chronicle reported, "Investors have yet to collect more than $2.5 million in profits they made trading options in the stock of United Airlines before the Sept. 11, terrorist attacks, according to a source familiar with the trades and market data.
"The uncollected money raises suspicions that the investors - whose identities and nationalities have not been made public - had advance knowledge of the strikes." They don't dare show up now. The suspension of trading for four days after the attacks made it impossible to cash-out quickly and claim the prize before investigators started looking.
"... October series options for UAL Corp. were purchased in highly unusual volumes three trading days before the terrorist attacks for a total outlay of $2,070; investors bought the option contracts, each representing 100 shares, for 90 cents each. [This represents 230,000 shares]. Those options are now selling at more than $12 each. There are still 2,313 so-called "put" options outstanding [valued at $2.77 million and representing 231,300 shares] according to the Options Clearinghouse Corp."
"...The source familiar with the United trades identified Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown, the American investment banking arm of German giant Deutsche Bank, as the investment bank used to purchase at least some of these options..."
As reported in other news stories, Deutsche Bank was also the hub of insider trading activity connected to Munich Re. just before the attacks.
CIA, the Banks and the Brokers
Understanding the interrelationships between CIA and the banking and brokerage world is critical to grasping the already frightening implications of the above revelations. Let's look at the history of CIA, Wall Street and the big banks by looking at some of the key players in CIA's history. Clark Clifford - The National Security Act of 1947 was written by Clark Clifford, a Democratic Party powerhouse, former Secretary of Defense, and one-time advisor to President Harry Truman. In the 1980s, as Chairman of First American Bancshares, Clifford was instrumental in getting the corrupt CIA drug bank BCCI a license to operate on American shores. His profession: Wall Street lawyer and banker.
John Foster and Allen Dulles - These two brothers "designed" the CIA for Clifford. Both were active in intelligence operations during WW II. Allen Dulles was the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland where he met frequently with Nazi leaders and looked after U.S. investments in Germany. John Foster went on to become Secretary of State under Dwight Eisenhower and Allen went on to serve as CIA Director under Eisenhower and was later fired by JFK. Their professions: partners in the most powerful - to this day - Wall Street law firm of Sullivan, Cromwell.
Bill Casey - Ronald Reagan's CIA Director and OSS veteran who served as chief wrangler during the Iran-Contra years was, under President Richard Nixon, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. His profession: Wall Street lawyer and stockbroker.
David Doherty - The current Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange for enforcement is the retired General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency.
George Herbert Walker Bush - President from 1989 to January 1993, also served as CIA Director for 13 months from 1976-7. He is now a paid consultant to the Carlyle Group, the 11th largest defense contractor in the nation, and which shares joint investments with the bin Laden family.
A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard - The current Executive Director of the Central Intelligence Agency is the former Chairman of the investment bank A.B. Brown and former Vice Chairman of Banker's Trust.
John Deutch - This retired CIA Director from the Clinton Administration currently sits on the board at Citigroup, the nation's second largest bank, which has been repeatedly and overtly involved in the documented laundering drug money. This includes Citigroup's 2001 purchase of a Mexican bank known to launder drug money, Banamex.
Nora Slatkin - This retired CIA Executive Director also sits on Citibank's board.
Maurice "Hank" Greenburg - The CEO of AIG insurance, manager of the third largest capital investment pool in the world, was floated as a possible CIA Director in 1995. FTW exposed Greenberg's and AIG's long connection to CIA drug trafficking and covert operations in a two-part series that was interrupted just prior to the attacks of September 11. AIG's stock has bounced back remarkably well since the attacks. To read that story, please go to http://www.copvcia.com/stories/part_2.html.
One wonders how much damning evidence is necessary to respond to what is now irrefutable proof that CIA knew about the attacks and did not stop them. Whatever our government is doing, whatever the CIA is doing, it is clearly NOT in the interests of the American people, especially those who died on September 11.
The original URL of this article is:
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/RUP110A.html
Copyright, 2001, Michael C. Ruppert and FTW Publications at http://www.copvcia.com.
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Labels: 911, AL-QAEDA, CIA, TERRORISM
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