The South African government’s justification for its moral dereliction in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine was dealt a severe blow after the majority of BRICS nations voted for a UN resolution which described Russia as the aggressor in Ukraine and Georgia.
The KZN provincial government had still not finalised its blackout emergency plan despite electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa warning the public to expect the power supply problem to worsen during winter.
The US accused South Africa of providing ammunition to Russia through a Russian ship, the Lady R, that docked at Simon’s Town in December 20022 – an accusation the government immediately denied. With Eskom’s power problem growing worse, unemployment reaching record highs, crime levels soaring and numerous other issues facing President Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s growth outlook looked bleak.
Opposition parties urged the National Prosecuting Authority to take action against President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal. This was in the wake of the announcement by the presidency that Ramaphosa would no longer be challenging the validity of the Phala Phala report by the Section 89 independent panel.
President Cyril Ramaphosa insisted that South Africa’s non-aligned position does not favour Russia in its war with Ukraine, even as it faces pressure from some of its main partners to change course.
The High Court in Pietermaritzburg ruled that former president Jacob Zuma’s private prosecution of journalist Karyn Maughan had the hallmarks of a SLAPP suit, designed to harass and intimidate.
The ANC finally cut ties with its former secretary-general Ace Magashule, slapping him with a permanent expulsion. This after he missed the deadline to oppose the party’s National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) findings against him.
An African peace mission, spearheaded by President Cyril Ramaphosa, drew widespread criticism with some calling it a “failed PR stunt”. Both Ukrainian president Volodymyo Zelenski and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, rejected the 10-point peace plan.
Appearing before the state capture enquiry, President Cyril Ramaphosa was asked to provide the commission with evidence about the ANC’s policy of cadre deployment. While acknowledging that state capture had occurred, Ramaphosa seemed reluctant to delve into details of how it had happened and why it was not stopped far sooner.
Confusion reined after embattled ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule issued a statement saying he would appeal his suspension and that he had, in turn, suspended President Cyril Ramaphosa. However, ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe insisted he had no power to suspend Ramaphosa because the decision could only be taken through party structures.
As scientists continued their warnings of a third wave, the figures coming through from some provinces, notably Gauteng, showed a definite upward trend. In comparison to many other countries, South Africa still lagged woefully behind in its vaccination roll-out.
The fraud and corruption case against former president Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thales was postponed for the umpteenth time in the Pietermaritzburg High Court – and it seemed likely it would be postponed again when the parties meet on May 26. With the case having dragged on for over a decade, an increasingly cynical public was left wondering if the ex-head of state will ever get to answer the allegations made against him.
Ex-president Jacob Zuma pleaded not guilty, before the Pietermaritzburg High Court, to charges of corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering linked to the multi-billion rand Arms Deal. In his 141-page plea for immediate acquittal, Zuma relied on arguments that had already been exhausted in other courts about his inability to get a fair trial. He also sought the removal of state advocate Billy Downer, accusing him of bias. The case was postponed to 19th July.
“ We can’t afford it and we object.” That was the message from the Pietermaritzburg and Midlands Chamber of business in response to Msunduzi Municipalities new approved hikes. With Covid having taken its toll and people have lost their jobs, the general feeling was that the increases couldn’t have come at a worse time for many individuals and businesses already battling to stay afloat.
Msunduzi residents mounting anger over ongoing power outages spilt onto the streets with protests in the Pietermaritzburg CBD and Sweetwaters – as some citizens complained they had been without power for seven days. Fuelling the frustration was the fact that Eskom yet again decided to implement load-shedding across the country, with virtually no notice being given.
Addressing the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa cited the sharp increase in infections as the main reason behind the government’s decision to reinstate alert level 3 lockdown restrictions. The latest measures were criticised by the South Africa Medical Association (Sama) for not going far enough. They felt the government should have honed in on the way people live their lives and not just on the alcohol trading hours and stricter curfew hours. The situation had also not been helped by the government’s tardy response to the virus in terms of vaccine roll-out.
Service delivery in Msunduzi ground to a halt after the city’s coffers apparently ran dry. Ward councillors were told during a Rapid Response meeting that there was no money to deliver critical services. Services not being delivered included repairing of traffic lights, grass cutting and attending to power outages.
Hours after hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol in a harrowing assault on American democracy, a shaken Congress finally certified Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory. Immediately afterwards the White House released a statement from Trump promising an “orderly transition” when Biden is sworn in to office on 20th January although he repeated his false claims that he won the November election.
It was a dark start to the year as residents living in large parts of Pietermaritzburg, Hilton and Howick West found themselves without electricity for up to seven-days. Besides causing widespread anger and frustration, the severe electricity disruptions plaguing the city also posed a threat to the local economy as industries considered pulling out and potential investors were scared away. To overhaul the entire ageing infrastructure will cost the bankrupt municipality at least R4 billion.
The alcohol sales ban was extended along with other restrictions as part of adjusted lockdown Level 3, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in an address to the nation. On the much-anticipated vaccine roll-out in the country, Ramaphosa, without giving a time frame, said “South Africa’s vaccine strategy is well underway,
Joe Biden was sworn in as the president of the United States, pledging to unite a deeply divided nation reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic. Faced with a country whose fissures have been widened by a brutal wedge over the past four years, he acknowledged the social wasteland he had inherited, but emphasised unity, conciliation and called for an end to the “uncivil war” that had ravaged the country. In an extremely rare move his predecessor, Donald Trump, chose not to attend the ceremony.
Heavy rain, with flooding in places, hit the northern parts of South Africa as Cyclone Eloise moved down the Mozambique Channel – with more large downpours falling in KZN later in the week. At the same time, the murky world of spies, black ops and the unauthorised spending of millions of rand took centre stage at the Zondo Enquiry as evidence concerning the activities of the secretive State Security Agency (SSA) was heard. In a related ruling, Concourt ordered former president Jacob Zuma to obey all summons issued against him by the State Capture Enquiry and appear before it – saying he does not have the right to remain silent in proceedings.
ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule reacted defensively in an effort to deflect questions about Jacob Zuma’s defiance of state capture saying the former president should not be suspended from the party he believes in. “Leave president Zuma alone,” he said. Magashule, himself, was granted bail of R200 000 after he was arrested on 21 charges of fraud and corruption, alternatively theft and money laundering, stemming from the Free State asbestos scandal.
Glossing over government’s plans to vaccinate the nation to beat Covid-19, President Cyril Ramaphosa focused on South Africa’s economic recovery from the pandemic in his State of the Nation Address, in a thinly populated National Assembly Chamber. Adding to the many problems the under pressure Ramaphosa faces was the news that EFF leader, Julius Malema, had travelled to Nkandla to have tea with his long time adversary, former president Jacob Zuma, as part of a plan to form a broad alliance to undermine both the president and the Zondo Commission.
The first group of KwaZulu-Natal healthcare workers got their Covid-19 jab amid an outcry from doctors over the slow pace at which government is procuring vaccine. The South African Medical Association (Sama), which initially supported government’s vaccine procurement plan, said its members were becoming disillusioned with the manner in which the entire vaccination programme was unfolding. “We are worried that the target to vaccinate 40 million people by the end of the year will not be achieved,” Sama KwaZulu-Natal provincial chairperson Dr Zanele Bikitshe said.
Taxpayers were able to breathe a sigh of some relief as Finance Minister Tito Mboweni tabled a 2021 Budget free from substantial tax hikes aimed at bank-rolling South Africa’s Covid-19 vaccination programme. The sting in the tail – for smokers and drinkers anyway – was that excise duties on tobacco and alcohol would increase on average by eight per cent – double the rate of inflation.
NOTE: In addition to my normal weekly cartoons for the Weekend Witness, I did two extra ones for the paper in February:
(1). A cartoon celebrating the 175th anniversary of The Witness, the oldest continuously published newspaper in South Africa:
(2) A farewell cartoon for editor Yves Vanderhaeghen who retired from the Witness at the end of February, 2021:
In the same week that Minister of Health, Zweli Mkhize, warned that South Africa was on the verge of a spike in Covid-19 cases, the Auditor-General (AG), Kim Makwetu, issued yet another damning report of incompetency and thievery in Kwa Zulu-Natal’s municipalities. According to Makwetu: “There was little change in the audit outcome of the province, accountability was not adequately practiced or enforced by leadership, and the failure of key controls continued.”
Most of the municipalities, including Msunduzi, remained in “dire financial health.”
According to a report tabled before the KwaZulu-Natal legislature’s portfolio committee on economic development, tourism and environmental affairs, the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown has had a devastating effect on Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. Reporting a shortfall of R34,5 million for April and May, they also estimated that they would lose R199 million from tourist-related revenue, and another R9.8million from other revenue streams.
As a result of this shortfall the already embattled agency may be forced to limit or even stop some of its conservation work unless they get a significant cash injection.
For the most part, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of steps in reaction to the sharp increase in Covid-19 infections appeared realistic and unavoidable. However, the decision to allow taxis to fill to capacity seemed bizarre if the object of the regulations was to break the chain of infections by, among other things, limiting the number of people in close proximity to each other. The ban on booze, while a logical way of combating drunken violence and in the process keeping health staff and beds free for Covid-19 cases, betrays governments incapacity to maintain law and order.
Pietermaritzburg was once again left choking when the New England Land Fill site caught alight. As a result, schools and businesses were forced to close early while those living by the dump complained of sore throats and nose bleeds.
Ironically, the inferno erupted just hours after the environmental consultancy company, Surg Sut, had spoken to TheWitness about the measures they had put in place since being appointed to turn the situation around at the site and address environmental issues…
Adding to the pall of gloom hanging over the city, was city boss Mahodu Kathide’s frank admission that Msunduzi is broke and can’t even pay creditors on time. He was responding to questions related to the city’s financial situation as council expressed concerns about the runaway debtors book, theft of municipal services and the lack of movement on the indigent register.
With continued electricity outages over and above load-shedding, many residents were left wondering the point of the city being under administration, when they are being subjected to a deterioration of life.
The Covid-19 pandemic continued to exact a heavy toll on the country with South Africa ranked fifth globally in the number of infections with 493183 and 8005 deaths as at the 31st July. This traumatic and tragic situation was compounded by increasing levels of government corruption, fraud and maladministration in relation to the amelioration of the virus.
The ANC’s faux apology and claim that it “hangs its head in shame” over the conduct of some of its members was greeted with overwhelming cynicism by a largely disillusioned public…
If further proof was needed that the ANC was slightly less that sincere in its commitment to fighting nepotism, cronyism and corruption it was provided by a City Press report that the party’s Secretary-General Ace Magashule and his family and allies continued to benefit from contracts awarded by the current Free State administration. Expressing their concerns as to what was happening in the country, the South African Council of Churches (SACC) committed itself to mobilising all sectors of society against government corruption which had been recently highlighted by the looting of Covid funds.
Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala attributed a surge in Covid cases in the province to complacency and a general disregard for lockdown regulations.
More evidence that South Africans were staring in to the abyss was then provided by researchers at the Council for Scientific and Industrial who warned that 2020 is shaping up to be worse than 2019 in terms of load-shedding. As if to confirm their prognosis, ESKOM promptly announced it was reintroducing Level 2 load-shedding with immediate effect…
It got worse. In the same week KZN premier Sihle Zikalala pledged to fight corruption within government, the ANC went ahead and deployed the thuggish, corruption-accused ex-mayor of eThekwini, Zandile Gumede, who is out on R50 000 bail, to the KZN legislature.
Approached for comment, Gumede said “All I am prepared to say is that I’m grateful that the ANC used Women’s Month to honour me by deploying me to the legislature.” Not many shared her sentiments, her appointment proving, once again, that the ANC acted only in its own interests and that public malfeasance was no impediment to advancing your career.
The ANC went on the defensive following comments by former finance minister Trevor Manuel that the party had squandered its achievements and that “the ‘Zuma Years’ were for South Africa a period of regression” and that “We’re a country that has lost its moorings and it is a tragedy.” In a statement, ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said there was absolutely no basis to portray a doom-laden picture of the country to the media and to the outside world. He said Manuel should not fall in to the trap of an “ongoing onslaught” against the party, which he claimed was being choreographed on various social media platforms…
The public’s faith in the ANC government’s ability to manage the Covid-19 crisis – initially high – began to fray as signs of disarray appeared within the party. The most striking example of this was over the cigarette sales ban. Having announced it would be lifted, President Cyril Ramaphosa was over-ruled, a few days, later by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosana Dlamini-Zuma, who insisted the ban would stay, leaving many wondering just who was in charge? With Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, complaining publicly that the government was losing millions a month in lost revenue it could ill-afford as a result of the ban, some journalists and opposition parties went so far as to suggest that Dlamini-Zuma had connections to the illegal cigarette trade.
There was even speculation that the radicals within the ANC, led by Dlamini-Zuma and Ace Magashule, were using the pandemic as a pretext for pursuing power.
With public goodwill evaporating, as what started off as a health emergency increasingly turned in to a matter of law and order, many South Africans were anxious to hear what President Cyril Ramaphosa would have to say in his next address to the nation. In attempting to allay these fears, the clearly tired president said the Covid-19 lock-down had achieved its objectives so far, and had saved many lives, and as a result it was now possible to adopt a slightly more flexible approach depending on where high levels of infection occur.
He announced that the easing of restrictions would start at the end of May with the metropolitan areas of Gauteng, Cape Town and eThekwini the most likely to remain at Level 4.
More than 40 000 people were expected to die from the corona-virus in South Africa by November, one million will be effected and the country is unlikely to have enough ICU beds at the peak of the pandemic according to projections by Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize, and members of a Covid-19 Modelling Consortium. The briefing came after intense criticism about the apparent lack of transparency over the modelling and other Covid-19 data.
With the easing of restrictions on religious gatherings the government appeared to abandon all pretence it was following the science or acting rationally. It also showed it was remarkably susceptible to pressure groups with many people questioning the need for the continuing ban on cigarette sales or why churches should be allowed to open their doors to up to 500 people when other organisations – such as restaurants and hair salons – couldn’t?
In a scathing rebuke to a government that postures as democratic-minded and rights conscious, the Pretoria High Court ruled that the regulations enforced upon South Africans under Level 3 and 4 of the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the Covid-19 corona-virus were “unconstitutional and invalid”. The court gave the government 14-days to amend the regulations that were still in play under Level 3.
In the wake of the global Black Lives Movement, triggered by the killing of George Floyd in the United States, a social media furore laid bare the experiences of black Africans at some of South Africa’s most celebrated private schools at the hands of both staff and pupils. The anti-racist account, “yousilenceweamplify” on Instagram, set up for past and current students at Herschel Girls High School in Cape Town quickly spread and prompted hash-tags denouncing racism from across the country, including Pietermaritzburg.
Without naming dates or specific security measures, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the grooming and personal care business will be allowed to open soon, along with sit-down restaurants, accommodation establishments, conference facilities, theatres, casinos, non-contact sport and contact sport (but only for training). He warned that as the country opens up the risk of infection “inevitable increases”.
This was followed by a warning from Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, that South Africa was staring a debt crisis “in the eyes” as soon as 2024 if the country’s spending and economic outlook did not change dramatically.
An ashen-faced Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, could offer no green shoots during his emergency budget presentation, warning instead that South Africa would record its worst economic performance since the Great Depression with a projected contraction of 7.2%.
Invoking the image of a hippo’s wide-open jaws – to symbolise the gap between income and expenditure – the finance minister said that closing this gap was the Herculean task South Africa faced…
With only a few days
to go before the May 8 general election, all South Africa’s political
parties were in a final push to woo citizens. Among those visiting
KwaZulu-Natal were President Cyril Ramaphosa, former president Jacob
Zuma and former deputy president Kgalema Mothlanthe.
As expected, the
elections were won by the ANC, although the official results –
which saw the party down to a 57% share of the votes from 62% in the
2014 elections – underlined the huge task which faces President
Cyril Ramaphosa as he tries to push through his reformist agenda. For
their part, the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, failed
to make any gains while the radical Left, Economic Freedom Front, led
by firebrand Julius Malema, was in third place – up four per cent
from 2014. Reflecting a world-wide growth in nationalism, the
Afrikaner-rights FF+ and the Zulu-orientated IFP also made
substantial gains.
With the elections
over, speculation next turned to what changes President Ramaphosa
would make to his cabinet and whether he would cut the number of
Ministries. Hopes were also expressed that he would use the pending
cabinet reshuffle as an excuse to get rid of some of his more
controversial ministers such as Bathabile Dlamini and Nomvula
Mukonyane.
Cyril Ramaphosa was
duly elected unopposed as president by the National Assembly. In a
unifying speech in Parliament he promised to be “a President for
all South Africans and not just the African National Congress”.
His message of
inclusivity was not, unfortunately, picked up by all members of the
party. In his inaugural address to the provincial legislature, the
newly appointed premier of KZ-N, Sihle Zikalala, declined to pay
tribute to the new official opposition, the IFP, by neglecting to
mention that party’s previous premiers when he praised previous ANC
premiers..
On the 29th
May, President Cyril Ramaphosa finally announced his new cabinet in
the process downsizing his number of ministers from 35 under Zuma to
28.The big surprise was his appointment of Good Party leader,
Patricia de Lille, who had quit the DA after months of acrimony, as
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure.
Underlining the huge
problems facing Ramaphosa, was the news that South Africa’s economy
had shrunk by more than three percent in the first quarter of 2019 –
as load-shedding, a strike on the gold mines and a dire lack of
investment hit growth. In KZN there was another fiery weekend on the
roads with 17 truck-and-rigs being torched on the N3 between
Johannesburg and Durban. To date over 200 people have been killed,
1400 vehicles damaged and R1,2billion lost as result of these ongoing
incidents – losses the country can ill-afford with its economy
under huge economic strain.
The divisions within
the ANC once again came under the spotlight when it was announced
that the ANC would launch a probe, chaired by Kgalema Mothlanthe, in
to claims that its Secretary-General, Ace Magashule, was involved in
the formation of the African Transformation Movement (ATM) – a
rival political party – ahead of the previous month’s election.
Former President Jacob Zuma’s confidante, Bishop Timothy Ngobo, who
had aggressively campaigned for the new party, to which Zuma had also
been linked, immediately rubbished the probe as being a “witch-hunt”.
Delivering his State
of the Nation (SONA) speech in parliament, President Cyril Ramaphosa
announced a number of measures to grow the economy, tackle poverty
and unemployment and fight corruption. Whether the ambitious targets
he set – such as halving violent crime in the next 10-years and
creating two million jobs for youth over the same period – are
achievable remains to be seen.
The following week, his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, confirmed he would testify before the Zondo Commission in to State Capture even though he believed it is “prejudiced” against him and “lacks requisite impartiality”. According to his lawyer the former president “can’t wait to attend…he is relishing the moment.”
Election time – the politicians mysteriously reappear.
The ANC wins the election.
President Ramaphosa considers his new cabinet.
A heavy load to carry.
Helen de Lille is a surprise cabinet appointment.
It is another fiery weekend on KZN roads.
The divisions within the ANC once more come to the surface.
President Ramaphosa aims for the stars in his SONA speech.
Former president, Jacob Zuma agrees to testify before the Zondo Commission.
Stidy's Eye 