President Cyril Ramaphosa calls this a mark of respect for a predecessor.

A State memorial service for de Klerk will be held a date to be determined.

The former president’s family has opted to have the 86-year-old cremated after a small funeral service for family on Sunday.

It is a wise decision given the mixed feelings expressed since de Klerk died of lung cancer last Thursday.

There are those who say he does not deserve any honour because of his active involvement in the apartheid system.

His unqualified apology,  recorded near his demise, to those hurt by apartheid would indicate that he was regretful about this.

His critics say he released Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners and unbanned the African National Congress and other political parties because he had to.

No-one has suggested that de Klerk acted altruistically at the time.

He realised, as previous leaders of the National Party must have done, that the system was untenable.

By the time he took the helm of the ruling party, the Soviet empire had fallen and the game was up for the apartheid system that was only allowed to survive as a Cold War bastion against Soviet imperialism at the foot of Africa.

In short, his was a classic piece of pragmatism.

If one is to castigate a politician for pragmatism, there would be virtually no public representatives – proud exponents of the art of the possible – left to admire.

De Klerk’s move was indisputably a courageous one. It spelled the end for himself as leader and his party as the instance of power.

Happily, this was realized by leaders at home and abroad. 

It was why he got to share the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela.

That the overwhelming majority of black South Africans retain a sense of suspicion, not to say bitterness, is hardly surprising.

Where would one hear open appreciation of any system universally and rightly denounced as a crime against humanity?

However De Klerk’s role in dealing a fatal blow to that system is self evident.

The ANC is right: “De Klerk’s legacy is a big one. It is also an uneven one, something South Africans are called to reckon with at this moment.”

The sooner we get around to this, the better we will be able to move on.

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On his official visit to South Africa Nobel-Peace-Prize-laureate Ahmed will attend the ANC’s birthday celebration in Kimberley tomorrow and have substantial talks with Ramaphosa in Pretoria on Sunday.

Assuming the African Union  chair next month, President Cyril Ramaphosa needs to be up to speed on the continent’s largest hydro project.

Talks in Addis Ababa broke up this week without agreement between Ethiopia, building the Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile, and the countries downstream Sudan and Egypt.

Dependent on the Nile for 90% of its water needs, Egypt wants Ethiopia to take 12 to 21 years to fill the dam.

Ethiopia maintains this should take four to seven years. 

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He was speaking to journalists at the regional summit in solidarity with the Saharawi people.

Gwede Mantashe says Morocco’s admission to the African Union and what he calls the Israeli invasion of Africa is making the continent a playground for occupying forces.

African countries that had a part in liberating the continent have a duty to raise awareness of this.

Engaging the Moroccan ambassador finally granted admission to South Africa will be an opportunity.

“The Moroccan ambassador must be explained and accept that Morocco must move out of Western Sahara and give the people of Western Sahara space and right to self determination and freedom,” he said.

He says Morocco’s admission to the AU last year is conditional on Morocco ending its occupation of Western Sahara.

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Two thirds of the local authorities in the corruption-plagued province have been placed under the control of the ministry of cooperative governance and traditional affairs.

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This is the first time the national executive has taken over an entire provincial administration.

Facing his most substantial test of leadership since becoming head of the ruling African National Congress last December, President Cyril Ramaphosa was forced to act when provincial premier Supra Mahumapelo reneged on his undertaking to resign and took an indefinite leave of absence.

Violent demonstrations demanding the sacking of Mahumapelo forced Ramaphosa to truncate his attendance at the Commonwealth summit in London last month.

His non-confrontational style has failed with Mahumaplo who was part of ousted president Jacob Zuma’s inner circle and maintains the graft-mired president should never have been forced out.

Significantly, Ramaphosa sent his minister in the presidency Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma as the head of a commission to investigate Mahumapelo’s rule and allegations that he was using the provincial government as a personal piggy bank.

Mahumapelo was one of the main backers of Dlamini Zuma in her toe-to-toe battle with Ramaphosa for the party leadership.

However, given the parlous state of the province’s finances, she had not option but to recommend his sacking

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She was speaking as she was about to be sworn in as a new member of the Pan African Parliament.

Thandi Modise has a very clear view of her future.

“I am and wish to continue to be chairperson of the National Council of Provinces and I am about tone sworn in as a member of the Pan African Parliament,” she says.

She says if she very much doubts reports she’s  about to be redeployed in North West Province because if this were so the ANC would surely have told her not to be sworn in at the PAP.

Modise becomes one of five South Africans on the 255-member continental body starting the sixth session of its fourth parliament today.

The others include Julius Malema and Mandla Mandela.

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He also crossed the Limpopo recognizing the value of his country’s biggest trading partner.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa saw President Jacob Zuma, only hours after the  South African leader got home from the protracted ANC elective conference.

Mnangagwa reports that Zanu PF also had a peaceful conference last week.

He drew belly laughs from his host pointing to an important difference between how the leadership is determined the ruling parties in the neighbouring states.

“In Zimbabwe, the Deputy President serves at the President’s pleasure. In South Africa he has a constituency,” he said.

Mnangagwa says he impressed on Zuma the need to be completely open and free to discuss anything in order to grow the already very close bilateral relationship.

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The ruling African National Congress, is in danger of losing control of local authorities in  the administrative capital Pretoria, the commercial capital Johannesburg and the former ANC stronghold of Port Elizabeth.

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The South African Police Service and the Independent Electoral Commission are assuring South Africans they’ll be able to vote efficiently, secretly and peacefully.

This has been a deadly campaign in the ANC stronghold of KwaZulu Natal where at least 13 people, including election candidates, have been killed.

The election has seen the three main parties – the ANC, the Democratic Alliance which is the official opposition and the ultra-left Economic Freedom Fighters battle for the soul of previous leaders.

To the chagrin of the ANC, the DA claims that anti-apartheid icon and first democratic president Nelson Mandela would have voted for the them were he still alive.

EFF leader Julius Malema called on former president Thabo Mbeki to beg for the vote from the man whom he was party to humiliating with an early recall from the top job in 2008.

The issues in this election are the ANC’s failure to meet commitments to provide essential services and  burgeoning corruption, nepotism and cronyism within  President Jacob Zuma’s government.

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The fallout is over the announcement of the party’s mayoral candidate for greater Pretoria are known as Tshwane.

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Police leave has been cancelled in Pretoria and officers‚have been drafted in from other areas to quell the violence that has seen at least 21 buses torched‚ foreign-owned business ransacked and roads into the townships barricaded  making it impossible for hundreds of thousands of people to get to work.

Journalists covering the unrest have been threatened.

Police have been engaged in running battles with protestors determined to block off townships to the east and west of Pretoria.

Police denied accusations that they had seriously underestimated the extent of the anger after the ANC

imposed a Zulu candidate, former cabinet minister Thoko Didiza on the Pretoria electorate

They say the ANC cannot bring a Zulu person to rule Pedi, Tsongas, Shangaans and Vendas.

ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa says tribalism has no place in ANC politics.

Pretostors are saying they will burn down the capital if  incumbent mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa is not allowed to keep his job after local elections in early August.

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Duduzane Zuma says he’s resigning to protect Oakbay Investments’ more than 1 000 employees and to depoliticise his participation in business.

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The political heat generated by  Oakbay Investments has caused its auditors and bankers to abandon the holding company owned by the Gupta family.

The firm says in a letter to employees that it’s impossible to do business under the circumstances and it may find itself unable to pay them.

The Guptas  say they’ve decided the family should end their association with Oakbay.

They’ve approached President Jacob Zuma and members of his Cabinet protesting about what they call the staggering action by the banks and auditors and the sustained political attack against them.

The president’s association with the Guptas, who are accused of interfering in senior Cabinet appointments, is only one of the major problems Zuma is facing.

The ANC leadership is undertaking an examination of what is being called state capture.

There’s mounting opposition to Zuma within ANC ranks.

A growing number of senior ANC members are saying Zuma’s apology after the highest court in the land last week accusing him of flouting the constitution  and his undertaking to repay public funds for non security upgrades to his private home is not enough.

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