DINNER PARTY INTEL...
Zille jumps back into the colonialism debate with defence of the comments that got her into trouble The topics you have to be able to discuss this week
What do Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba and rapper/ singer Kanye West have in common? It’s their fondness for US President Donald Trump.
Mashaba put his foot in it again on social media this week, prompting Western Cape premier and former DA leader Helen Zille to do the same.
Mashaba took to Twitter on Monday, claiming Trump is running a more efficient government than SA President
Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Joburg mayor posted a comparison of the two presidents, listing Trump’s so-called successes and Ramaphosa’s failures, with a suggestion to “judge for yourself”.
This did not sit well with many of Mashaba’s followers.
They began gunning for the mayor and the DA, which has been having a rough time in the face of the Patricia de Lille debacle and the party’s stance on BEE.
One Twitter user questioned Mashaba on whether he was publicly declaring support for Trump, called his tweet revolting, and ended with “another DA vote lost”.
Mashaba tried to defend his post. “This comparison has nothing to do with Trump, but with government that serves the people and put serious matters in perspective. It appears to me that some people enjoy seeing our people suffer,” he responded.
Another Twitter user who took aim at the DA said it is “despicable and disgusting” that Trump is now the party’s role
1. Markus Jooste goes to church
Disgraced former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste emerged from hiding on Sunday, but only for a brief while and not quite in the public eye. He attended the christening of his 10-month-old granddaughter — the child of his daughter Andrea and her husband, Stefan Potgieter — in the NG Church in Hermanus, according to Die Burger. Jooste, who is believed to be in seclusion in his Hermanus mansion, joined family and friends for the christening, then slipped out of the church through a side door.
2. Low point for Sky
Australia’s Sky News is paying for right-winger Blair Cottrell’s recent racist rant on the channel.
Cottrell, a confessed admirer of Adolf Hitler, has a string of criminal convictions, according to Australian media. He told the television channel that migrants from other African countries should be banned and preference be given to white SA farmers.
So far, advertising has been pulled from the channel by multinational financial firm American Express, Huggies nappies, optometrist company Specsavers and pharmaceutical giant Glaxosmithkline. The state of Victoria has stopped broadcasting Sky at its train stations.
3. The real GI Jane
The US Marine Corps has put a woman in charge of an infantry platoon for the first time.
Lt Marina Hierl broke this barrier a year after she became the first woman to pass the corps’ infantry officer course, according to the New York Times.
The 24-year-old Hierl was one of two (of a total 37) women to pass the tough, 13-week course. Her battalion is stationed in Northern Australia, where she is leading 35 men in training.
Hierl told the Times that she became interested in joining the Marines during high school after meeting a recruiter. She was advised to attend university before pursuing a military career.