THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

THE HONOURABLE MR J.T. RADEBE MP.  PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA.

FOR ATTENTION: MR J.A. DE LANGE

jdelange@justice.gov.za copy: jskosana@justice.gov.za; drudman@justice.co.za

COMMENT: SUPERIOR COURTS BILL 2010 (Deadline 30 June 2010)

The  Al JAMA-AH  Political Party takes this opportunity to congratulate you and wish you strength when you will soon introduce the “Superior Courts Bill” in the General Assembly of the Parliament of South Africa. We would like to take up your invitation to comment on the Bill. We  now bring to your attention our concern that no provision is made to include a SPECIALIST COURT to deal with justiciable matters relating to Muslim Personal Law (MPL) which will also give legal consequences to marriages conducted according to the tenets of the Muslim religion. Reference to such a need is made in the draft “Muslim Marriages  Bill (MMB)”  Chapter 5 which currently awaits cabinet approval. Your desire to present to Parliament an all exclusive Bill is well known and we ask you to correct this oversight.

The father of Islam  in South Africa Sheikh Yusuf  1626-1699 (ORDER OF THE COMPANIONS OF OR TAMBO IN GOLD) left a legacy over 300 years ago which we believe will be crowned by the granting of legal consequences for our marriages and other matters relating to Muslim Personal Law. This was also the dying wish to me  of former Minister of Justice The Honourable Dullah Omar – a wish which his comrade and friend our beloved former President  Nelson Mandela wanted to realize together in  their lifetime but prevented from achieving because of constitutional constraints. It is only now that the best legal minds in the country  has produced a Bill that has produced this landmark legislation that the wishes of Sheikh Yusuf, Dullah Omar and Nelson Mandela is within our reach. A paper by Sheikh  Dr. AK Tofffar captures these aspirations and challenges. The AL JAMA-AH Political Party call on you  Mr J.T. Radebe to take the brave step at this final stage perhaps against all precedent to make provision for a

MUSLIM PERSONAL LAW (MPL) MATTERS SPECIAL DIVISION IN THE SUPERIOR COURTS BILL.

No harm will be done if  this provision is made while the (MMB) is still under consideration or any other Bills related to MPL is legislated.  We will further  take the liberty to suggest changes to the Bill before the above deadline to accommodate this and trust that the  two (2) attachments  will be of  some help. considered.

A paper on Muslim Personal law MPL by Dr Sheikh AK Toffar referred to in the Comment.

Chapter 5 of the Muslim Marriages Bill referred to in the Comment

120410 SAFM 1018 – Aljama Part 1

120410 SAFM 1018 – Aljama Part 2

SMS Costs R10 and will be used for the Political Party’s mentorship programme.

Party Leader Ganief Hendricks has announced the Aljama-ah Political Party’s plans to introduce more young blood as ward councilors to contest the May 2011 municipal elections in Metros and districts all over the country.

The Party is targeting young men and women in the age group 18 to 24. In this age group over 80% do not have decent jobs or are unemployed yet they constitute the “intellectual capital of the nation”, have enormous energy levels and creative skills. They want to build their own future and the Party wants to give them the best chance to cut their teeth in politics to achieve this.

The Party’s first round thinking is to reserve 1000 ward seats, recruit aspirant young politicians and train them in the art of campaigning and skill them up as ward councilors. They will also get good governance training and lectures on good morals. The Department of Labour will be approached for skills development funding and the treasury for the R1000 a month subsidy for youth jobs.

The Independent Electoral Commission does not provide funding to help Parties contest municipal elections so AL JAMA-AH has launched a novel R10 sms campaign to raise R1 million to pay for the election deposits and for their posters.

The training will be done by the Center for Political Mentorship based in Delft and which is headed up AL JAMA-AH’S Party Leader Ganief Hendricks who is a youth training and development expert and who got an award as a pioneer of the internet in 2002 for helping create new generation jobs in South Africa.

SMS aljama to 38198

SMS Costs R10 and will be used for the Political Party’s mentorship programme

22 March 2010
THE EDITOR
DEAR SIR

The damaging statement by respected academic Dr Mamphela Ramphele( Sunday Edition -Weekend Argus  21 March 2010 front page) that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has weakened democracy in South Africa  and  provided the country with inferior political education must not be taken lightly.The IEC has become a lame duck in spite of all its efficiences. She berates the opposition party  for poor oversight but maybe does not know that the 12 member Multi Party Forum of which the Aljama-ah politcal Party is a founder member has raised this with the IEC at the highest level and late last year  with President Zuma also questioning the independence of the IEC. The signature response of the IEC is that the Constitution requires that it be governed and directed by Parliament so for the past 15 years  the IEC is under the control of the ANC which it appears has thrown democracy to the dogs. How can one expect a political Party  in power to promote democracy at the expense of its seats in parliament. So  the ANC has taken  most of the electoral funds for itself and most of the airtime on radio and TV of the public broadcaster during election time and give the balance of the spoils to other Parties with seats in Parliament on a pro-rata basis. Emerging political parties and communities aspiring for a voice in Parliament do not even get any crumbs under the pretext that such funding will lead to a  greater proliferation of political parties. The ANC completely disrespects the constitutional obligation of Parliament to promote a Multi Party Democracy in the country and wants to rule until the Resurrection. A ” SUPER OPPOSITION”   is no better than the entrenched ruling Party we have now and the prospects for a democratic South Africa seems slim. The solution is for the playing fields to be levelled when elections are called so that parties in parliament  and emerging parties that can prove their bonafides are on the same footing. Political education should be the responsibility of all political parties funded by the IEC. The IEC must also fund all electoral material and reduce its deposits to facilitate easier access to a voice in Parliament. That your article appears on the day  when we commemorate  the  events around Sharpville is so ominous as the thirst for a revolution that will lead to a real democracy is stronger today than it was 50 years ago. While we share the doctor’s concerns we hope that she will not spoil her “wisdom of Solomon” by leading a dead duck like a Super Opposition. This wil be out of step with our dream for a Multi Party democracy in South Africa.

GANIEF HENDRICKS
PARTY LEADER
AL JAMA-AH

AL JAMA-AH  POLITICAL PARTY

REPORT BACK AND  LAUNCH OF ITS

PLANNING COMMISSION

2010 – 2025

will take place at  its headquarters at the

AL NAJAAE Mosque Buck Road Lotus River off Klip Road, Grassy Park Cape Town.

“HERITAGE DAY” 9 SEPTEMBER 2010.

The Party was registered by the Independent Electoral Commission as a political Party on 12 June 2007. Its constitution put in place a National working Committee whose term of office expires in December 2012. The Party participated in the 2009 National and Provincial elections as well as two bye-elections in Mitchells Plain and Maneneberg before the elections and a bye election in Atlantis after the elections. The Party is now in a position to give a report back. This report back and round table conference will enable the Party to plan the road ahead for the next 15 years.

Like the government the Party has identified the need for a PLANNING COMMISSION to address the educational, social and economic malaise of the Muslim community. Today the Muslim community is demographically worst off than several other communities and this is expected to deteriorate in the future. There is a gap in many sectors of the Muslim community between the actual Islamic message and their habitual practices making them nominal Muslim.    The Muslim community needs a plan that will capture a vision for the future. The community needs a vision that unites them on where they see themselves in the next decade or two  and how they plan to get there. Before the launch of the Planning Commission the Party will call for nominations for commissioners to serve on this commission and experts in the fields of human resources, innovation, administrative support, project management specialists, researchers, policy analysts, economic advisors, business, technology experts, transport activists, health professionals to make their services available. Once the commission has been established and experts are in place public hearings will be held to rally more  public support.

This will be followed by a funding conference. It is expected that at the report back and  launch the Party will set dates for a Constitutional Assembly and its first National Congress which will elect a Party Leader and a NEC  before the term of office of the National Working Committee expires. The leadership will take office as from 1 January 2013  allowing for a smooth handover in terms of the Constitution. A decision will also be made to confirm the Party’s participation in the 2011 Municipal elections and the 2014 National, Provincial and Municipal elections as part of its strategy to get the Muslim community more active in the political life of the country.

All  thought leaders, experts and opinion leaders and community workers  and the general public are invited to attend and take part in our interactive and participative conference.  This conference will provide you with both expert and practical discussions on the latest developments regarding current political issues related to the Muslim community. Sessions will be structured as a mix of plenary sessions, panel discussions and short sessions focusing on specific complex issues.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE 2010 REPORT BACK AND PLANNING CONFERENCE

The theme for the 2010 conference: “Goals for the next decade and beyond“.  We believe that many Muslims and others who will attend the conference are in a position to make a positive contribution and to influence the way forward. The 2010 conference aims to provide a forum for the exchange and sharing of information that all in their fields require, and to encourage high level discussion and debate about the political developments taking place in our country and its impact on the Muslim community focusing on where it ought to be headed.

• A sectoral determination for Imams to put in place a front line for community spiritual upliftment and reform. This will provide for fair remuneration and benefits which will include a retirement fund.
• Dr Sheikh Abdul Kariem Toffar who completed a doctorate in Muslim Personal Law exploring the position that administrative matters, adjudication and dispute resolution  relating to MPL should remain in Muslim hands.
• An agency to provide for Aids orphans in South Africa to show Muslim compassion for all South Africans with an “orphan sadaka” of 1% of monthly salary to be paid on Eid ul Adha.

There will be full and proper consultations with Imams and their employers who are mainly mosque committees. The process will take the format of a commission of enquiry headed up by a judge, senior counsel  or labour expert and a human resources specialist.  Ulema bodies will be lobbied for their support and investments will conform to best practice in the Islamic finance domain. Many Imams experience hardship because of the lack of social benefits.

“HELP 1000 YOUNG WOMEN AND MEN IN PROVIDING BETTER SERVICE DELIVERY FOR YOU AND FOR THEIR OWN FUTURE”

Most young men and women between the ages of 18 to 24 are unemployed and face a bleak future. It is time that this section of society be given more opportunities. They are our future. Employers will be encouraged to give them jobs by getting a subsidy from the treasury  of about R1000 towards their monthly salary for at least two years. The Aljama-ah Political Party wants to take this further and help these young people to win seats as ward councillors in the 2011 municipal elections. The Party has launched a recruitment campaign to attract and select  young potential councillors, train them to be councillors and help them campaign to win seats. The Party has also launched an SMS fund raising project to get the community to help finance the recruitment, training and campaign costs of these young people who will come from all over the country.  A donation of R10 paid by the SMS will cover the R500 registration costs of the 1000 young people to contest the elections. The target for the campaign is a half a million rand. This will be a sound investment in our youth and the future of the community. In Cape Town the Party Leader Ganief Hendricks will challenge the current Democratic Alliance mayor to give our youngsters a better opportunity to get the votes to win as many seats as possible. His expertise as a Human Resources Specialist and awards for creating new generation jobs  will give him an edge over other mayoral candidates. Municipalities need more human resource development.  While it will be a contest between Dan Plato and Ganief Hendricks the winners will be our young men and women. Muslim and other  voters will be canvassed to vote for Ganief Hendricks rather than Dan Plato. The final mayoral candidate for the Party  and the candidates for councillors will be voted for by Party members when the election is called. The Party came 8^th out of 24 Parties in the 2009 national elections getting votes in 2000 voting stations in nine provinces.

The revolution that the people wanted was not on the agenda of the ANC in 1960 in spite of the adoption of the Freedom charter five years earlier in Kliptown. People all over the country became impatient just like they are today. Robert Sobukwe prominent in the ANC broke from it on 6 April 1959 to start the revolution in South Africa the African people wanted hot on the heels of the promises made in the Freedom charter. One year later his PAC liberation movement brandished the flag of the new South Africa and planned to liberate the country and take over the benches of government on 6 April 1960. The revolution was launched on Monday 21 March 1960 and the first step was for African men to walk peacefully to the nearest police station and hand in their pass books which they had to carry on them all the time or be arrested. The British Indians fifty years earlier did the same under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and Hadjie Ozier Ally of the Indian Congress Movement when British Indians in South Africa were required to carry a pass. If enough Indians did this their movements would not be restricted and they will have more freedom. However according to the plans of the PAC leaders if enough African men did this it would stop the country in its tracks in three weeks. While the first steps were taken and a letter against the pass laws from Robert Sobukwe presented to local police officers no revolution took place in spite of great optimism by PAC stalwarts. However the Prime Minister of South Africa Dr Hendrik Verwoerd was shot on 9 April 1960 in the head and chest by a white farmer but survived – three days after “Revolution Day” set for 6 April the first anniversary of the formation of the PAC.

The ALJAMA-AH political Party remembers with sadness the 69 Africans many shot in the back and died and 178 Africans who were injured in the march on a police station 50 years ago. The Party conveys its condolences to their relatives and fellow South Africans deeply hurt by what took place.

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