THE WEEK IN WORDS
My mom is a powerful woman who could easily be one of the beautiful soldiers in Wakanda. So it’s beyond a perfect fit that she would be portrayed on the big screen by the radiant and regal Lupita Nyong’o. I’m beyond excited. – Trevor Noah, US Daily Show host and SA comedian, on Black Panther star Nyong’o agreeing to star as his mother in the movie adaptation of his autobiography, Born a Crime.
South Africans with the lowest income spend 13.8% of their disposable income on VAT and excise duty taxes, while the highest paid 10% of the population spend 12.6% of their income on these taxes. It will hurt the poor. South Africa cannot have a growing economy with these levels of poverty and inequality. – Gilad Isaacs, director of the Corporate Strategy and Industrial Development research programme at Wits University, after the announcement in the Budget that VAT would rise to 15%.
I must commend them for how fast they managed to get the children out. Fortunately, there were no injuries to the
children. – An eThekwini fire chief commenting on actions by care workers and staff to save all the children when a devastating fire broke out at Edith Benson Children’s Home in Sherwood on Tuesday night. The fire gutted the home, which was followed by a massive outpouring of help from Durban residents.
Klaasie got us ahead of the game. We weren’t sure whether we would be coming off (because of the rain). In the end it worked in our favour. – Proteas cricket captain JP Duminy after SA’s win over India in the second T20 International in Centurion on a wet Wednesday night.
When you are in nature, it proves to you that you are nothing. You think you are a dominant human being, but you aren’t. I learnt this while sitting in a storm at the South Pole thinking that I don’t want to die. – Sibusiso Vilane, adventurer and mountaineer who has completed the world’s seven summits and two poles and is preparing once again to take a group of climbers to Mount Everest. He has already summited Everest twice.
It was then that an Eskom technician offered her electricity for life for only R900 and he would tamper with the metered box. This is called the million rand ticket. – An Eskom senior employee on illegal connections being made by alleged Eskom technicians.
Branches are not getting a satisfactory explanation as the NEC is not telling them what wrong Zuma did to justify his removal. I can tell you that branches in all regions were not happy with the explanation. People are saying the removal of the president was a continuation of factionalism emanating from Nasrec. – A KZN ANC Youth League member as KZN branches expressed unhappiness over the removal of Jacob Zuma as president.