Protests helping to consolidate civil society
THIS was the week that was:
Public marches and protests
Public protests, marches and demonstrations may not appear to achieve much in the present climate, but they are all helping to gel civil society and coordinate the various interest groups.
It is reassuring to see people from all walks of life, religions, ethnic backgrounds, colour and language walking shoulder to shoulder holding placards all reading the same message!
As Justice Malala put it in his column in The Herald (“Civil society can rescue us”, April 10), “what we do next . . . can begin a new ascent into a great country.
“I still believe that we will come through all this because civil society is awake!”
There is hope and it is up to us!
JZ uses race card
Now JZ has used his latest trump card: he blames racism as the cause of the public protests against him.
He must be running out of trump cards soon.
Even his own new Treasury Minister, Malusi Gigaba, couldn’t find words to support this line of thinking when interviewed by eNCA reporter Karyn Maughan.
WhatsApp spills the beans
The conversations revealed on WhatsApp by the Black Empowerment Foundation group illustrated just how out of touch certain ANC cabinet ministers and some top business executives are when it comes to understanding the repercussions of the ratings downgrades to junk status.
Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane even told the group, “It’s actually better as Western investors will pull back and we [ANC] then have the opportunity to bring them back on our own terms”!
As if the investors are on the end of a piece of string waiting to swop their currency for the South African rand at junk status.
Black Business Council president Danisa Baloyi even said, “Who really cares? Most South Africans do not have billions in the JSE.”
How did she get elected president of the council?
As if that would be the only effect of the downgrades.
These are the ANC ministers and supporters who were celebrating the firing of Pravin Gordhan and Mcebisi Jonas even before it was announced!
Call-centre success
Give credit where it is due! If the report by Siyo Tsewu is correct (and I am assuming it is), the Eastern Cape department of health is running a successful toll-free call centre as an intermediary between the disgruntled public and the relevant departmental officials (“Health department call centre showing the way”, April 10).
More than 6 000 calls have been taken since the beginning of January.
The callers’ issues are handed over to a team leader who then alerts the specific section in the department of health to respond to the complaint. But not only that, the call centre agents call the complainants back to find out if they are satisfied with the resolutions!
Sounds too good to be true? But well done if it is true!
Now the Office of the Premier and the department of social development are also using this call centre for their complaints (the toll-free number is 080-0032-364).
Suspicious transactions on JSE?
So now the JSE is getting involved. It is investigating certain “currency-connected” share transactions that took place just prior to the president recalling Pravin Gordhan from London.
It says this is a routine investigation, but I doubt it.
Its report will be submitted to the Financial Services Board for further attention.
Let’s hope it sees the light of day. Could be interesting if the truth ever gets out into the public domain.
No guesses as to the companies and individuals who might have been aware of the impending recall and who might have been able to benefit significantly from this insider information.
Minister isn’t off the hook yet
Now the gloves are off. Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini (still a minister, even after the reshuffle!) may not get off based on her account of the events leading to the Sassa declaration that it couldn’t take over the payments to grant beneficiaries on April 1. Further affidavits have been tabled at the Concourt by the ex-director-general of the department and the Sassa chief executive to give their version of the story, apparently a bit different from the minister’s!
Thank goodness we have the chief justice and his colleagues to unwrap the truth from fiction.
I can’t wait to hear the Concourt judges tear into someone – they can’t all three be correct!
Prasa board reinstatement
The courts have come to our rescue again. The Pretoria High Court has set aside as irrational and unlawful the dismissal of the previous Prasa board and the installation of an interim board.
Well done Popo Molefe, the chairperson of the old Prasa board, for taking this matter to the courts.
JZ and fringe benefit tax
JZ is not off the hook yet over his expensive upgrades to his Nkandla homestead. The DA is keeping the pressure on SARS to complete its investigations into Zuma’s liability for fringe benefit tax since 2014!
According to the DA, R64-million might be due.
Tony Wadsworth, Port Elizabeth