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.
With the latest fuel hikes, the already beleaguered South African consumer would have to find even more wriggle room in their monthly budgets to fill their tanks. They would also have to accommodate the rise in the cost of goods that would inevitably follow these price increases.
With the presidential race hotting up the probe into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm robbery reached a crucial stage. At this stage. the two front-runners appeared to be Ramaphosa and Dr Zweli Mkhize although an adverse finding against the president could affect his chances of being re-elected.
The SAHRC found that comments made by EFF leader Julius Malema constituted incitement to violence and hate speech and requested he retracts them. Having refused to do so, Juju, later in the same week, went on to demand that copies of Jacques Pauw’s Our Poisoned Land be removed from all bookstores because of specific allegations it made against him.
Responding to criticism in parliament over the ongoing Eskom crisis, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said government intervention, including President Cyril Ramaphosa’s energy plan and Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), should be given a chance to take effect.
The country was plunged into crisis as the section 89 panel set up to investigate the Phala Phala scandal found that President Cyril Ramaphosa had an impeachment case to answer over serious violations of the constitution for exposing himself to conflict of interest, doing outside paid work and contravening the Corruption Activities Act.
President Cyril Ramaphosa secured the political support of the majority of his party as the delay in the vote for his impeachment gave him respite for a week. The president slammed the Section 89 panel for relying on the Fraser accusations in their findings.
The ANC’s acting Secretary-General, Paul Mashatile, referred Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to the ANC’s disciplinary committee. This came after she went against party instructions to vote against adopting the Section 89 report on Phala Phala.
With Christmas fast approaching, South Africa continued to suffer relentless load shedding. Eskom was thrown into further disarray with the resignation of its CEO, Andre de Ruyter.
Cyril Ramaphosa was re-elected leader of South Africa’s ruling ANC Party despite being badly damaged by a cash-heist scandal that has dogged him for months. His re-election came at a time when the country was being beset on all sides by a multitude of crises – crises that threatened to get worse with every passing moment of indecision or inaction by Ramaphosa and his government.
Following continued disruptions which Eskom blamed on striking employees, the power utility increased load shedding to stage six. With the economy already under heavy strain, the move, yet again, highlighted the fact that the Government had not been very successful in dealing with Eskom’s numerous problems.
Adding to local motorist’s woes was the news that they faced further large fuel price hikes as the petrol levy cut fell from R1,50 a litre to 75c. As a result, the cost of petrol was raised by R2,37 (93) and R2,57 (95) a litre while the price of diesel rose around R2,30 depending on what grade you bought.
Stuck in the past, wedded to the use of coal, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe continued to pour scorn on those seeking cleaner alternatives, calling them “climate imperialists”.
Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe’s suggestion that South Africa create a second SOE power utility to foster competition in the electricity space was greeted with derision by most political commentators – including me.
In an apparent blow to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the KwaZulu-Natal ANC voted against his alliance and instead elected leaders sympathetic to former president Jacob Zuma.
A sombre mood hung over the ANC policy conference. Although a rebellion against President Cyril Ramaphosa and his reformist agenda was neutralised many questions still hang over the future of the party.
KwaZulu-Natal treasury MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube was sworn in as Premier during a special sitting in Mooi River in the Midlands. She replaced outgoing Premier Sihle Zikalala who had resigned. The first woman to be appointed Premier, her swearing-in came at a time when there was widespread public dissatisfaction over the provincial government’s performance.
While President Cyril Ramaphosa continued to maintain a stoic silence in dealing with the question about the big money found at his Phala Phala farm in 2020, opposition parties in Parliament continued to pile on the pressure, calling for his impeachment and requesting an ad hoc committee be set up to look into what they believed was a cover-up and abuse of state resources.
Labour union Cosatu and affiliates embarked on a day-long “national shutdown” to protest against the rising cost of living – warning the ANC voters would punish them at the polls unless they did something to rein it in. In an unrelated incident, two lions and two rhinos escaped from Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve as the cash-strapped KZN Ezemvelo Wildlife struggled to resolve an ongoing conflict with the surrounding communities over, among other things, similar escapes.
In the same week that Eskom implemented yet another round of load shedding, the Msunduzi Municipality announced it had assigned a team to investigate what was suspected to be a coordinated campaign to sabotage its electricity and water infrastructure. Ongoing outages caused by a persistent lack of investment in maintenance further added to the problems, continuing to cripple an already battered local economy.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edca) revealed that while 97 rhinos were poached in 2021, a startling 60 rhinos were killed between January 1 and March 25 this year. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife blamed budget constraints for the inadequate resources to curb the scourge. Meanwhile, COGTA MEC, Sipho Hlomuka announced additional support measures – including an amount of R25 million – for the embattled Msunduzi Municipality, still struggling to address crippling electricity supply problems and growing pothole challenges.
According to the latest data from the Central Energy Fund, petrol and diesel prices looked set for large increases in the first week of June. Grain prices also sky-rocketed on the back of shortage fears also brought about, in part, by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Nature’s wrath struck again as the second bout of floods damaged homes and infrastructure in parts of KwaZulu-Natal. The weekend’s heavy rains came as many of the April flood victims were still trying to rebuild their lives while others searched for their loved ones who had been washed away.
Businesses and consumers would have to tighten their belts as the recent fuel price hikes were predicted to have a devastating effect on everyone. They would also have an effect on the country’s repo rate as the government struggled to rein in rising inflation.
Questions were raised about whether President Cyril Ramaphosa was involved in criminal behaviour after former SSA director-general Arthur Fraser opened a criminal case against him. Fraser alleged that Presidential Protection Unit head Major-General Wally Rhoode and Ramaphosa were involved in a cover-up of a burglary on the president’s farm in 2020.
The public furore over the burglary of alleged millions from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Limpopo farm just before the ANC holds it its crucial provincial conference has left his enemies in the ANC – mostly the Jacob Zuma-aligned RET faction – scenting blood. A delegation of secretaries and chairpersons from all eleven of KwaZulu-Natal’s regions immediately descended on Nkandla to confer and receive “wisdom” from the former president.
The four-and-a-half-year State Capture Enquiry finally came to an end when Chief Justice Raymond Zondo released the final part of his voluminous report. Former president Jacob Zuma, who condemned South Africa to state capture, remained the golden thread running throughout the report although Zondo also said that President Cyril Ramaphosa could have done more to lessen its grip.
As international tensions rocketed over the invasion of Ukraine, Russia reminded South Africa about its own role in the fight against apartheid. Earlier, International Relations minister Naledi Pandor called on Russia to withdraw but appeared to be then overruled by President Cyril Ramaphosa, supported by the ANC, who called for mediation – not withdrawal – creating tension among the political leadership and uncertainty surrounding South Africa’s official stance on the conflict.
Disruption in water and electricity supply in Msunduzi Municipality continued to keep both residents and businesses at their wit’s end. The outgoing municipal manager, Mdoda Kathide, admitted the city is now in a state of disaster while the Pietermaritzburg and Midlands Chamber of Business (PMCB) said it was in economic ruin.
uMngeni Municipality is owed R2,5million by government departments with most debts sitting on over 90 days. Democratic Alliance Mayor Chris Pappas, who has been vocal about money owed to the municipality, urged residents to pay their accounts “to help bring the long-waited change in uMngeni Municipality.
Opposition parties blamed the governing ANC – particularly the fumbling Department of Home Affairs – for the recent rise of xenophobia, exemplified by groups like Operation Dudula. The matter was being debated in Parliament.
There was a rapid increase in the cost of the household food basket in KwaZulu-Natal according to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD). “The surge in the Brent crude oil price (which is an output in everything from the farm to the plate) including the higher cost of wheat, sunflower oil and other foods and agricultural outputs which South Africa imports, will drive prices up as the conflict in Ukraine continues,” said Mervyn Abrahams, the PMBEJD programme coordinator.
Msunduzi Municipality’s proposed rates and tariff hikes were met with fierce opposition from residents who said they were “excessive” and “unjustifiable”. They pointed out that service delivery and maintenance of infrastructure had deteriorated significantly over the last several years and residents had been forced to deal with these issues themselves rather than wait for council.
Addressing the nation on the government’s response to the catastrophic floods which have devastated parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the Finance Minister had made R1billion available to go towards rebuilding the affected areas. Instead of gratitude, the announcement was met with an overwhelming cynicism with most people believing the money will simply be stolen – as had happened during the Covid-19 pandemic.
With a fifth Covid-19 wave approaching, the Department of Health said it was keeping an eye out for new variants of concern. The warning came at a time when Covid fatigue had resulted in many disregarding the health protocols that are meant to protect them from the virus.
Pietermaritzburg and Midlands Chamber of Commerce CEO Melanie Veness called on the City to protect its electricity structure or risk losing out on investment. She said some businesses in the Mkondeni area were at times forced to go without power for up to two weeks as a result of, among other things, illegal connections. This was having a devastating impact on confidence and some had already relocated to other parts of the country…
The situation in many South African municipalities remained dire with the Auditor-General warning, in a recent report, that the financial situation of just over a quarter of them was such that there was doubt that they would be able to continue operating as going concerns. Leadership instability, poor oversight by councils, significant financial health problems, protests and strikes, a lack of consequences and interventions that were not effective, were all contributing factors to a general inability to deliver services to citizens.
In KZN, the position had been exacerbated by the recent unrest and looting with more than half of its rural towns facing economic devastation.
The National Teacher’s Union (Natu) slammed the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government for using budget cuts as an excuse to deny pupils quality education. Natu acting president, Sibusiso Malinga, said the union would approach the courts should the KZN education department go ahead with plans to retrench 2 000 teachers.
Appearing before the Pietermaritzburg High Court, Jacob Zuma’s advocate, Dali Mpofu, said the former president continued to be “most concerned” by the alleged leaking of his confidential medical information by state advocate Billy Downer. This was but the latest in a long list of arguments put forward by Zuma in his attempts to get the Arms Deal corruption charges against him dropped. The judgement was postponed until 28th October.
Despite damning Special Investigative Unit (SIU) findings against former health minister Zweli Mkhize, his family and his local ANC branch (and President Cyril Ramaphosa himself) rallied behind him. In a report, which the president had sat on for three months, the SIU claimed that Mkhize failed to exercise oversight in relation to the Digital Vibes communications tender awarded to the company by the Health Department.
Delivering the parties so-called corrective manifesto ahead of the forthcoming local elections, President Cyril Ramaphosa promised that this time the ANC will do better. Considering his party has spent almost three decades in power, during which time they have delivered very little of their promises, his assurances were met with a certain degree of scepticism. Elsewhere, the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma intensified, prompting the evacuation of 6000 people.
Various businesses in the Pietermaritzburg area again warned that the prolonged power outages and load shedding were crippling them. The situation was exacerbated by the exorbitant price of electricity in Msunduzi.
Msunduzi’s attempt to boast about its service delivery achievements was blasted by irate residents who called the city out on its glaring failures. They were responding to a Facebook post where the municipality had a picture of the Moses Mabhida road which they listed as one of their success stories even though it had been funded entirely by the national Department of Transport.
With municipal elections looming in just under a week, Eskom announced it would be implementing Stage Four load shedding because of numerous breakdowns, including a key unit at the Koeberg power station. At a media briefing, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan and current Eskom group chief executive Andre de Ruyter both acknowledged the endemic corruption and mismanagement that had plagued the power utility for the last decade. Meanwhile, the latest Citizen Satisfaction Index dropped to a five-year low as South African municipalities continued to fail to meet basic delivery requirements.
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.
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.
According to the opposition Democratic Alliance, Msunduzi is far worse now than it was before it was placed under the “selective” and “ineffective administration, which served only to placate ratepayers rather than deal with the problems that had bought the city to its knees”. It is a view shared by many ordinary citizens who continue to voice their concerns over the ever-increasing signs of neglect and poor maintenance.
The Arctic is unravelling faster than anyone could have imagined just a few decades ago. Scientists have warned that the Greenland Ice Sheet, for example, is no longer growing. Instead of gaining new ice every year, it has begun to lose roughly 51billion metric tons annually, discharged into the ocean as melt-water and icebergs.
In the United States, President Donald Trump was condemned by opponents for firing the senior official who disputed his baseless claims of election fraud as the president pressed on with his his increasingly desperate battle to overturn Joe Biden’s victory. This despite the fact that officials declared 3 November’s contest between Trump and Biden the most secure US election ever.
Former President Jacob Zuma continued to duck and dive and do everything thing he could to avoid facing justice. Having briefly appeared before the state capture commission to hear whether his recusal application for commission chair Ray Zondo had been granted he disappeared, without being excused, during the tea break. The commission adjourned to reflect on what to do next.
There were mounting fears that Msunduzi could face a massive blackout if the municipality does not urgently deal with the persistent outages that have severely compromised the network. The City’s electricity problems was also strangling the local economy and some businesses were even considering leaving Pietermaritzburg for towns with more stable power supply.
South Africa has entered a second wave of Covid infections, breaching 6 000 new cases, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a special television broadcast. The peak age bracket is now between 16 and 19. “It’s believed to be due to a large number of parties involving young people drinking alcohol with no adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions, wearing of no masks and social distancing and hand sanitising not taking place,” Mkhize said.
In an address to the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa, announced a tightening of Covid-19 restrictions, including the closure of KZN beaches during the main days of the festive season. He attributed part of the cause of the second wave of infections to a lack of compliance with safety measure such as social distancing.
In the wake of a year dominated by Covid-19, being cautious is probably the best thing you could do over the festive period so I decided to make that the subject of my Christmas cartoon.
2020 was a truly terrible year and I think most people were glad to see the back of it – hence my New Year cartoon…
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…
Stidy's Eye 