President Jacob Zuma’s controversial statement on women has raised hackles – and not just among feminists. However, the SA Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) has put a positive spin on the president’s comments.
Lucy Holborn, the SAIRR’s research manager, said: “Regardless of the president’s views on women, the issue he has raised of the prevalence of dysfunctional families is an important one and needs more attention.”
In a recent interview, the president expressed disapproval of women remaining single, and said having children was “training” for women. His critics believe the views are incongruous, coming from a man with a record of extramarital sex.
The highest profile of these episodes included his “love child” with (soccer boss) Irvin Khoza’s daughter, Sonono Khoza, which was revealed in 2010 and having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman who accused him of rape. He was acquitted in 2009.
Holborn noted a statement from the president on Friday called for the strengthening of families and raised issues including unwanted pregnancy, HIV/Aids and absent fatherhood.
Holborn said: “Research shows that children growing up without both their parents and particularly without their fathers, tend to fare worse at school and may be more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviour and crime.
“We need to consider the role of attitudes, norms and individual behaviour. We need to start asking questions about why so many people have children outside stable relationships without the financial means to adequately support them. Therefore, the debate instigated by the president’s comments could not have come a moment too soon.”
The president has an estimated 20 children, according to news reports, but of course has help from the government purse which provides budgetary support for all four of his current wives.
But not all of his children are growing up with both of their parents. They are among the 9 million children which the presidential statement noted had absent but still living fathers.
Bidvest
Bidvest yesterday delivered another set of strong annual financial results in reporting a 27.4 percent growth in headline earnings a share to R14.74 a share in the year to June from R11.57 the previous year.
The earnings of the diversified services group were boosted by a R399.1 million profit on the partial disposal of its stake in Mumbai International Airport and exchange rate translations from its foreign businesses because of a weaker rand.
In contrast to many other companies, Bidvest chief executive Brian Joffe stressed that in the current economic environments in which the group operated, its global business, volatility and low growth were the norm.
Joffe said that from a cultural perspective the group did not accept that if the trading environment was bad, the group’s financial performance should be bad.
He added that the scope to perform remained despite the gross domestic product of the various countries in which the group operated, and it remained a demand-driven business where “our customers drive our focus, suppliers our efficiencies, employees our existence and our collective behaviour the results”.
Bidvest, similar to some other industrial companies such as Imperial Holdings, has a decentralised and entrepreneurial business model and an “autonomy with responsibility” culture.
Although Bidvest might be in a more favourable position because of the highly diversified nature of the group, it would appear that other companies could learn some important lessons about how to drive financial performance in so-called bad economic times.
Government
It is hard to tell which issue was the straw that broke the camel’s back. But after more than a year of controversy, it was announced yesterday that Jimmy Manyi, the president of the Black Management Forum, would not see his contract as the cabinet spokesman and chief executive of the Government Communications and Information System renewed.
The incident over “the over-concentration of coloureds” in the Western Cape may have been the last straw.
Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel declared in March last year: “I want to put it to you that your behaviour is (that of) the worst order racist.”
That was just a month after Manyi’s appointment in February, when he replaced the quietly spoken Themba Maseko.
This controversy was sparked by an interview on KykNet where Manyi said it was important for coloured people to understand that South Africa belonged to them in totality “not just the Western Cape”. He went on: “So this over-concentration of coloureds in the Western Cape is not working for them.”
Last week, after the Marikana massacre was discussed by the cabinet, Manyi was pointedly asked what steps the government was taking to prevent the unrest from spilling over to other mines in the Rustenburg area and whether the government had done anything to protect the sector.
In a startling exercise in obfuscation, he suggested the journalist was angry and trying to seek headlines at the time that the president had declared the need for a week of mourning. Ironically, strike activity spread to surrounding mines within hours of his statement.
He missed the opportunity to simply say that the government was considering its options but was deeply concerned about the impact on the mining community and on the miners’ lives, and the impact of the social unrest on the economy in general.
He also missed the opportunity to save his bacon.
* Edited by Peter DeIonno. With contributions from Ethel Hazelhurst, Roy Cokayne and Donwald Pressly.