Bracing for a Second Wave: Cartoons for November & December, 2020

December 31, 2020 / stidyatkusane / Leave a comment

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…

No Room for Slippage: Cartoons for September and October, 2020

December 5, 2020 / stidyatkusane / Leave a comment

In the face of a fierce and vitriolic fightback by the agents of corruption in the ANC, President Cyril Ramaphosa appeared to achieve a tactical victory at a meeting of the NEC with members finally committing to act against comrades accused of corruption. He now faced the challenge, however, to give effect to the resolution, no easy task in a party riddled by factionalism and internal power plays.

The Democratic Part (DA) wrapped up its annual policy conference by adopting numerous policies, including one that said race was not a proxy of disadvantage when dealing with issues of redress. This was followed by reports that the party risked yet another exodus of senior members after opening investigations against several leaders with the intention of charging them, while others were planning to leave because they were disillusioned with the direction the official opposition has taken.

Six months after lockdown measures were imposed, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country would move to lockdown level 1 from Monday September 21. He also announced that an Economic Rescue Plan was being fast-tracked which was only to be expected given the contraction in the economy and the fact that the country was, by his own admission, now effectively bankrupt…

According to various sources, South African National Treasury officials reluctantly complied with orders to find funds to bail out the state airline, fearing they may erode the nation’s fiscal credibility. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni had long argued that the government can’t continue funding the national carrier, putting him at odds with the top leadership of the ruling ANC and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, who insist it must keep flying,

The high profile sweep on officials and businesspeople implicated in the R255 Million Free State asbestos audit deal scandal was universally welcomed because there has been an overwhelming perception among the public that thievery, as the modus operandi of the tenderpreneurs, would remain unchecked. According to opposition parties, however, the arrests marked just the tip of the iceberg and further investigations were needed to bring all those involved to book.

Meanwhile, the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa said that the practices at the KwaSizabantu – which involved allegations of human rights abuses and money laundering – were damaging to the reputation of other churches…

Msunduzi administrator Scelo Duma described the SAP financial system as “the Achilles heal of Msunduzi”. The top-of-the-range software package, installed in 2016 to integrate the management of finances, had already cost the municipality over R251 Million and had continued to be plagued with problems.

South Africa wouldn’t be able to meet its finance ministry’s debt targets and it may be undesirable for it to attempt to do so at a time when the economy is being battered by the fallout from lockdown, according to an advisory panel appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa. In a more than 100-page document advising the government on an economic recovery programme that Ramaphosa was due to unveil the Presidential Economic Advisory Council said spending cuts would hold back growth and have adverse consequences.

The news that Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and his wife May have tested positive for Covid-19 was a reminder that people are still vulnerable despite the diminishing rate of infection in South Africa. It was especially sobering considering what is happening in the US and Europe where infection rates have begun to soar again as part of the ‘Second Wave’ of the pandemic.

Tabling his mid-term budget Finance Minister Tito Mboweni stressed the country was in trouble and that something needed to be done. Acknowledging that there was “no room for slippage” he promised to put a break on expenditure and rein in civil service salaries – something that would have to be seen to be believed, given that he lost his SAA arguments and had been forced to extend a R10,5billion lifeline to the bankrupt national airline.

A Pall of Gloom: Cartoons for July and August, 2020.

September 12, 2020 / stidyatkusane / Leave a comment

SUMMARY:

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 The Witness 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 31^st 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…

Caught Between a Covid-19 Rock and a Hard Place: Cartoons for March and April, 2020

May 2, 2020 / stidyatkusane / 2 Comments

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, 26^th 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.