Power, drunk and younger chaps in mind!!

I am fascinated by the time line of Julius Malema. He was born on 3 March 1981, in Seshego, Limpopo province. He was raised by a single parent, his mother, and was the only child.

He supposedly joined the Masupatsela ("Trailblazers") pioneer movement of the African National Congress at age 9, 10 or 14 according to different sources. Their main task was to remove National Party posters from outside police stations. They all agree that by age 14 he was receiving military training – was this for the daunting task of removing the posters from out side police stations we have to ask!! At this point it was 1995 and Mandela and the ANC were already ruling South Africa. There were many people out there who risked their lives in their real fight for Freedom from the apartheid government but just where does Malema fit in to all this!

His school career was undistinguished and he failed two high school grades as well as several subjects in his final secondary school examination. He finished his secondary school education at age 21 which would be end of 2002!!! We have all heard the rumours at how well he did in the woodwork class. Let me remind you all that soldiers don’t make coffins so he didn’t need the woodwork proficiency!!!

His early political career is very interesting. Malema was elected as chairman of the Youth League branch in Seshego, Limpopo and the regional chairman in 1995. This puts him at 14 years of age and also removing those posters from outside the police stations!!! Being so busy school was just a means to an end!!. In 1997 at 16 years of age he became the chairman of the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) for the Limpopo province. Would YOU be worrying about a woodwork class with all this responsibility at such a young age!! He just wanted to stay at school. Some of our children do post matric to stay at school and play sport, he just had other reasons!!! He was elected as the national president of that organisation in 2001 when he was 20 and still at school. There was method to his madness!! In 2002 at 21 years of age when most of us are celebrating the key to our futures at the coming of age 21st birthday and getting drunk on all sorts of drinks, Malema led a Cosas march by school pupils, through the streets of Johannesburg that was marked by serious incidents of violence and looting!!

Malema was elected as the president of the ANC Youth League in April 2008. It was a close race at a national conference held in Bloemfontein. The election – and the conference – were characterised by what Malema himself later described as "unbecoming conduct" which rumour has it – this unbecoming conduct is following him around since then. (BBC journalist incident, Kill the boer song, to name but a few!!). Allegations of irregularities in the polling procedure saw the conference adjourned shortly after the election results were announced. Malema's election was officially accepted when the conference was resumed only in late June. The integrity of his election has been criticised and questioned!!

Malema is well known for his controversial statements like - “He is a girl” and more recently on relationships - “one man one woman but that does not mean I’m against polygamy”!! He also said “One of the things I have learnt is never rely on any individual who is in politics," – So there we have from the horses mouth!!.

I am not sure about all of you out there but I will be watching the political arena with interest over the next few months. He is attacking the old men in politics saying they must give way to be ruled by the ANCYL and younger men and that they (the ANCYL) should have better representation in ANC matters. This week during the league conference he surprisingly extended that to his mentor Robert Mugabe saying “Mugabe must go and must hand over to those young chaps so that we can engage with (them) on the same level,”!!

While solving Zim’s problems he did admit to “sometimes power makes you drunk” but this statement was directed at Mr Tsvangirai and definitely not himself!!

So with power, drunk and younger chaps in mind this ANC conference around the corner could be very very interesting!!

Where are our talented Youth!!

How many of you out there have been watching or just taking note of the Inaugural Youth Olympic games? I am for one very excited about this new addition to major competition. I do understand that this might mean more stress for younger athletes but what an amazing opportunity for the youth to be able to compete and mix with different cultures of the world in preparation maybe of things to come!! Syrop

South Africa got nine medals according to other official sources and SASCOC sources 11 medals. Not quite sure but could be combined Africa relays that got us the 2 extra medals!! 5 medals were won by Chad le Clos of Westville Boys High for Swimming with One Gold and Jacques Du Plessis got the other gold for Discuss throw.

I know that all these athletes tried really hard and did a great job for South Africa but I have one question…

Where are all our talented youth!!!!

We have one of the best sport schooling systems in the world. Not many countries have such an integrated sport education system. Even in our close rival countries (Rugby and Cricket) like Australia, New Zealand and England they do not have sport in schools like we have besides a few elite private institutions. So how does the wealth of talent that exists in this country even at that age slip through the cracks.

My son is at senior primary level and many of you will have been to the school athletic meetings many schools are holding this term. Did you notice that talent!!!! I certainly did. What happens to it!! Too many schools are so wrapped up in there quests to be the best Rugby / Cricket schools around that they forget that talents of all sorts should be nurtured on the playing fields at schools.

I heard about an inter schools athletic meeting that they hold at Kings Park in Durban. 3 Meetings over 7 or 8 weeks. What a well organised day the first meeting was. I told a person from school to give the schedule to the sports masters at school. Their response was – ‘I hope she (me) doesn’t expect us to officiate!!!! No you bumbling oafs – I expected you to notice that talent at our inter house sports day and put the schedule in the weekly monthly news letter! I expect you to inform those parents whose kids did well that such a meeting exists and why don’t they take their children down there to compete if they so wish!! And yes that you won’t be there to officiate but hey Parents – He can’t be expected to do everything at school and not teach a class!!!

We probably all have been following the Caster Semenya story. Last Monday on the news the ANC publically congratulated her on her run in Berlin! I for one do not want to take that away from her!! But…what they failed to do as far as I’m concerned was to publically congratulate Chad le Clos on bringing 5 Youth Olympic Games medals home to South Africa!!

Sam Gideon SASCOC last week made this statement about the commonwealth games - “If we can lay the foundation with medals from athletics and swimming, the other codes will add to it, but we need to have our swimmers and athletes firing on all eight cylinders. If not, we will have serious problems!!” and with this in mind they fail to honour an up and coming swimming youth!! Take away Chad’s 5 medals and you do the math on the 9 we bought home!!


Sam also said. “We have to think about what we’re doing in South African sport. Other countries are miles ahead of us, I felt so sorry for those athletes. Let this be a warning to the various sporting federations as they will be asked to account for what is going on. If the youth in Singapore were anything to go by, what have we got in store for 2016 and 2020?”

This is after he made this statement on Sunday March 7, 2010 where he was speaking after a two-day President’s Council meeting at Birchwood, Boksburg that good progress has been made in taking South African sport forward but as always, there’s work to be done. How could he have got it so wrong 5 months ago!!!! I mean our basketball team and Hockey team never won a single match

Reading through various articles people are still complaining about colour in Sport and why we have no black swimmers (Just look how many blacks go to the Olympics world wide and maybe they are barking up the wrong tree). They say that on a national level the federations must bring in more sportsmen of colour etc etc etc…..(I’m yawning now) SO boring actually because in my view this is what needs to happen!!

SASCOC, lotto funding, all other concerned ANC citizens and the Minister of Education 14 years down the line need to stop moaning about white sportsmen and post to ALL schools in the rural areas a dedicated Sports teacher/ Coach/ Mentor who is accountable for what they do in this position in promoting and finding talent in their school. This way talent is scouted young and they will not have to push athletes of sub standard into teams at high level for quota purposes because we would have enough talent coming through!! They will stop blaming the whites and just get on with it! We on the other hand don’t care what colour they are as long as the flag is flying high and our athletes are doing us proud!!

So well done to the BOKKE for your great win yesterday - You did us proud and if anyone from SASCOC is reading this blog and you can see this white blonde head jumping around at the back of the crowd trying to be noticed. Pick me please for a Sports coach talent scout in a local rural school. I won’t toi toi and strike and you will get the results you are looking for… That I promise!!!