President Cyril Ramaphosa continued to back his police minister Bheki Cele amid continued calls for him to be sacked due to the country’s crime statistics.
Ailing state-owned parastatal, Eskom announced it was ramping up load-shedding to stage 6 until further notice. The power utility said the higher stage of the deliberate power cuts was necessary due to severe capacity restraints.
The South African government called for calm amid heightened tensions in many communities about service failings and the continued crippling load shedding.
International relations and co-operation minister Naledi Pandor dismissed criticism of joint military drills with China and Russia saying hosting exercises with “friends” was the “natural course of relations.
The Economic Freedom Front president Julius Malema announced that his party had instructed EFF deputy mayors in eight hung KwaZulu-Natal Councils to resign immediately and that the co-governance agreement between the two parties was over.
President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his State of the Nation (SONA) Address declaring a State of Disaster for the electricity crisis and saying a minister of electricity would be appointed.
Annual consumer inflation cooled to 6.9% in January but food inflation hit its highest levels since 2009.
Tabling his 2023 Budget, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that the National Treasury will relieve the struggling parastatal Eskom of R254 Million of its debt over the next three years but said that strict conditions would be attached to this. Shortly after his speech, Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter left the power utility “with immediate effect” after launching a stunning attack on the government and the ANC.
The Constitutional Court sentenced former president Jacob Zuma to 15 months imprisonment for defying its order to appear before the Zondo Commission to give evidence on state capture. In its judgement, the ConCourt gave police minister Bheki Cele three days to arrest Zuma should he fail to hand himself over to the police within five days.
Jacob Zuma finally surrendered himself to police less than an hour before midnight on Wednesday 7th July after a night of high drama during which a phalanx of heavily-armed police units was on its way to arrest him at his Nkandla home. The disgraced former president, who oversaw a decade of state capture and decline, spent his first night at the Estcourt prison after high-stakes-cat-and-mouse negotiations with the police.
In a week that marked the darkest point in South African history since independence, large parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng found themselves at the mercy of marauding gangs of looters, ostensibly protesting the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma. Extremely tardy in their response, the security cluster ministers would continue to insist the situation was being contained despite numerous lives being lost and billions of rands worth of property destroyed. President Cyril Ramaphosa, would, to his credit, later admit the Government had been caught unprepared.
While fire-fighters, private security companies and local communities joined forces to try and protect the towns and cities, the ANC government was slammed for failing to be more visible on the ground while the country was gripped by riots and looting that brought the economy to its knees. Its slow and poor response was later blamed on budget cuts, poor intelligence and rifts between the security cluster ministers. Visiting the Liberty Midlands Mall in the aftermath of the wave of unrest, Police Minister Bheki Cele belatedly acknowledged the extent of the damage and warned that the country was “not out of the woods” even if it appeared on the surface that life was returning to normal.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s assurance, to the nation, that his government would “leave no stone unturned” in its efforts to bring the anarchy that played out across parts of the country to an end seemed unlikely to convince a sceptical public, long inured to the ANC’s empty promises. This was especially so as most of the prime instigators behind the unrest came from within the party itself and the ANC had always shown a marked reluctance to deal with its wrongdoers.
Msunduzi Municipality warned that it might not be able to assist businesses that were affected by the unrest. With some of its commercial customers having had their businesses looted and destroyed, the municipality was also unlikely to collect the revenues it had estimated at the start of the 2021/22 financial year and this could also severely impact its ability to deliver services – already under strain as a result of the ongoing Covid pandemic.
Appearing before the State Capture Enquiry President Cyril Ramaphosa spent much time trying to avoid directly implicating ANC members in state capture. He did, however, admit that ANC factionalism had debilitated its ability to fight corruption because it led to people having “vested interests in maintaining certain activities.”
Following reports that KwaZulu-Natal schools had emerged as the biggest contributor to the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases in the province, there were calls for the closure of those most badly hit. According to KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala, more than 120 schools had reported clusters in their school settings and more than 800 teachers and learners had been affected. Learners made up 95% of the number, while educators accounted for the remaining 5%.
The Msunduzi Municipality Council agreed to sponsor Maritzburg United FC to the tune of R9 Million for the next three years despite warnings from opposition parties that it could not afford the expenditure. Questioning where the council’s priorities lay, the Msunduzi Association of Residents, Ratepayers and Civics (MARRC) said they would be seeking legal advice.
A lack of financial controls and consequence management had resulted in the KwaZulu-Natal conservation entity, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, incurring more than R48 million in irregular expenditure, it was revealed during a virtual KZN Scopa meeting. Ezemvelo – currently struggling to find R100million to fix its porous fences, which have seen wild animals escaping from its facilities – is battling to comply with Treasury supply guidelines due to the entity’s weak financial unit.
Despite the ANC leaders describing their meeting with former president Jacob Zuma as “positive and constructive”, political analysts described the gathering as a waste of time. In the meeting, the ANC top brass led by President Cyril Ramaphosa could not convince Zuma to change his mind on his decision to defy the Constitutional Court order that he should appear before the Zondo Commission.
Msunduzi Municipality’s financial reserves continued to be a huge source of concern, with the City’s December accounts showing it owed a whopping R500 million to its suppliers. Further evidence of the general malaise gripping the municipality was then provided when large parts of the city were again plunged into darkness, for up to twenty-four hours, as two Eskom breakers tripped. This was in addition to the normal Stage Two load-shedding being implemented by Eskom.
On a happier note, the 70th MyLife Dusi Canoe Marathon got underway in Pietermaritzburg although, because of the Covid restrictions, there weren’t the usual large crowd of fans to cheer the canoeists on…
As South Africa acknowledged the first anniversary of the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the maladministration in the Msunduzi municipality once more came into focus. In a two-part package devoted to the failing city, the Witness provided a range of stories showing how ordinary residents (and city workers) felt they had been abandoned by the uncaring administration. The newspaper’s report also captured the frustration of the business, real estate, tourism and other sectors of the local economy who had suffered as a result of bad management, bad choices and lack of consequences.
Following a heated ANC meeting over the weekend, former president Jacob Zuma’s supporters, who had come out second best in the battle to control the party, were now at risk of being expelled from the party should they continue with their campaign against President Cyril Ramaphosa and the judiciary. Meanwhile, the election of mostly white males to key leadership positions, at the DA’s KZN provincial congress, seemed to suggest the party had ditched its “inclusive” policy, according to some political analysts.
At a time when he needed to be busying himself with the urgent business of running the country and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa found himself having to ward off more attacks from former president Jacob Zuma and his supporters within the ANC. In 23 pages of speaking notes, Zuma complained that his comrades had left him high and dry and attacked Ramaphosa for stopping the state from paying his legal fees. Zuma also launched a broadside at the independence of the judiciary, questioning the legitimacy and credibility of South Africa’s constitutional democracy.
Plessislaer is now one of South Africa’s murder capitals. This was revealed by the country’s Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, who urged police to get tougher on criminals following a spate of murders in and around Pietermaritzburg. Cele said KwaZulu-Natal had become a problem area along with the Western Cape and more police would be deployed to the area to try and curb the violence that has been spiraling out of control.
While fires raged on in Cape Town and emergency services battled blazes around the clock, it was revealed that KwaZulu-Natal’s fire-fighting capacity had heavy shortfalls. Not only did it lack over 550 fire-fighters but it did not have enough Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) equipment or personnel. The problem was not confined to KZN alone with a Daily Maverick report revealing similar shortcomings throughout the country.
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…
In the same week it was announced that South Africa was in recession, King Zwelithini tried to lever support for a vanity project of his. Claiming, somewhat dubiously, to have the support of Britain’s Prince Charles, Zwelithini announced at the opening of the KZN Legislature that he wanted a dam – not just any old dam but the biggest and longest in Africa.
What he didn’t explain was how he expected it to be funded given the cash-strapped state of the country’s economy and the burgeoning national debt.
The World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a global pandemic as the virus, unknown to world health officials three-months ago, rapidly spread to more than 120 000 people across the world. The growing crisis saw the rand crash through R17/$ and South African shares plummet as scenes of market mayhem played out across the globe.
In the midst of this carnage, Eskom chose to announce it was once again implementing Stage Four load-shedding putting the already ailing South African economy under even greater strain.
With Italy seeing 475 deaths in one day – the highest daily toll in one country throughout the entire pandemic – World Health Organisation head Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Africa “to prepare for the worst and prepare today”.
His views were backed up by Professor Saloshini Naidoo, the head of public health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, who said she could not emphasise enough the importance of behaviour change to prevent a wide scale and unprecedented spread of the virus in South Africa.
“These next two weeks are vitally important for people to adhere to the president’s recommendations and ensure that there is little to no contact with others so we can flatten the curve,” she warned.
Following the example of numerous other countries around the world, South Africa went in to full lock-down at midnight, 26th March. The drastic measures, aimed at slowing the spread of the Covid-19 virus, included a complete prohibition on non-essential movement, a ban on liquor sales, a closure of public spaces, community halls and religious premises, all under penalty of prosecution.
The first week of the Covid-19 lock-down saw many South Africans already beginning to feel the pinch, with many of the self-employed fast running out of cash. Their anxiety levels were not eased by the warning from Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize, that they must not expect the increase in cases and deaths to slow immediately as a result of people staying at home. He added that the lock-down may need to be extended.
With the rate of infection from the Covid-19 soaring to unprecedented levels in the United States, President Donald Trump continued to bluster, misspeak and ad-lib his way through the crisis. Having earlier clung to a narrative of normality (It is a Democrat “hoax”, it is just a flu), he had been obliged to make an embarrassing U-Turn and now sought to transfer the blame for the pandemic elsewhere. He found another convenient scapegoat in the form of the World Health Organisation who he sharply criticised for being too focused on China and issuing bad advice during the outbreak.
While President Cyril Ramaphosa’s – and his Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize’s – political capital soared over their handling of the Covid-19 crisis in South Africa, the same could not be said of his grand-standing, thuggish, Police Minister, Bheki Cele. With many reports of police brutality emerging, he was criticised for, among other things, allowing his personal obsession with alcohol to lead to unconstitutional and criminal action by security force members.
In an address to the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the gradual easing of Covid-19 lock-down restrictions from the beginning of May although public gatherings and movements would still be highly restricted and some parts of the country would remain in hard lock-down. The easing of restrictions meant the country would move from its current strict Level 5 lock-down to a slightly relaxed Level 4.
Stidy's Eye 