Cartoons by Stidy

Promises, promises: Cartoons for March and April 2024

/ stidyatkusane / Leave a comment

KwaZulu-Natal opposition parties described Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube’s State of the Province Address as an “election speech”. In her speech, Dube-Ncube focused on the provincial government’s recent achievements, as well as tracing the ANC government’s achievements from around 2024 when ruling party deployees assumed key positions in the KZN provincial cabinet.

In a blow for cash-strapped consumers, there was another steep increase in the fuel price with petrol going up by R1,20 per litre while diesel increased by R1,18.

Despite promising that they would not include ANC members who have been implicated in State Capture, a number of them made it back onto their nomination lists for the 2024 elections.

Election season got into full swing with the various parties all promising they had the solution for the country’s myriad problems.

Former ANC member veteran and African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance (Areta) leader Carl Niehaus was among the top candidates on the Economic Freedom Forum (EFF) list of people headed for the National Assembly after the elections were held. Niehaus joined the Red Berets after dumping his party, Areta, which he founded after he left the ANC.

ANC leaders close to corruption accused National Assembly Speaker Nosivwe Mapisa-Nqakula of encouraging her to resign to save the party the embarrassment of defending her during a pending motion of no-confidence.

The Electoral Court overturned an IEC ban and declared former president Jacob Zuma free to stand in the 2024 elections despite his criminal conviction.

Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said he had dissolved the embattled National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board because of the member’s inability to carry out basic responsibilities, including the payment of student allowances.

On the campaign trail in KwaZulu-Natal, President Cyril Ramaophosa vowed there was “no turning back on the implementation of the NHI”, which he said was part of the ANC’s programme to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

A Neutral Stance: Cartoons for May and June 2023

/ stidyatkusane / 2 Comments

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.

Off to a Bad Start – Cartoons for January and February, 2019

/ stidyatkusane / 6 Comments

You didn’t need a crystal ball to predict how 2019 would begin – with yet more evidence of corruption and malevolent greed among the ruling elite being put before the Zondo Commission of Enquiry in to State Capture.

It was perhaps to try and deflect attention away from all the dirt being dished on them that the ANC decided to hold yet another big birthday bash for itself even though the anniversary being celebrated seemed, to some commentators anyway, a pretty arbitrary one – 107 (100 you could understand, or even 110).

Cyril Ramaphosa and Jacob Zuma used the occasion to make a big public show of solidarity but – again you didn’t need to be a psychic to predict this – it was too good to last. Within a few weeks Zuma was accusing Ramaphosa of being “defeatist” because of his comments about South Africa’s “lost years”.

Zuma and his disastrous legacy have, it would seem, become Ramaphosa’s albatross…

In neighbouring Zimbabwe, a brutal crackdown by the army and police on people protesting an enormous petrol price hike dashed any lingering hopes that the end of the 37-year old rule of the autocratic leader Robert Mugabe, 14-months earlier, would lead to significant political reform.

On the 7th February, President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his much anticipated State of the Nation Address (SONA). While his plans to turn South Africa around were laudable, the jury is out on whether he will be able to deliver on his promises.

Within days of the speech the unions, led by COSATU, were throwing up obstacles in front of his proposed ESKOM reforms. As if to compound the general gloom over the future of the parastatal, this was immediately followed by more rolling black-outs.

The fact that this occurred so soon after SONA made some suspect deliberate sabotage. I certainly wondered if someone was trying to foil my plans – I had just sat down to draw a cartoon on the subject for the Weekend Witness when the lights went out…

The immediate and substantial risk ESKOM poses to the South African economy was also the main focus of Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni’s Budget Day speech. Promising “no free lunches” Mboweni said the Government would not bail-out the embattled power utility although he did allocate R23billion per annum for three-years as a support package with conditions.

Whether ESKOM can actually be fixed is open to question. So once again it is a case of “Watch this space…”

  • Jacob Zuma continues to rock the boat.
  • Not a very dainty dish…
  • Crackdown in Zimbabwe.
  • President Ramaphosa attempts to defeat the beast.
  • Jacob Zuma continues to live a charmed life.
  • President Ramaphosa promises to take action in his State of the Nation Address.
  • Eskom’s woes continue, impacting on the whole country.
  • Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, promises to take action in his Budget Day speech.