You know the ANC leadership succession race has begun when you see a president of its kindergarten frequenting TV screens. Collen Malatji has been doing the rounds recently, not leading the youth in demanding jobs or access to tertiary organisations but doing the bidding for one of the factions vying for the next ANC presidency.
With deputy president Paul Mashatile a strong contender to replace President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2027, Malatji has started demanding that “no pensioner”, or a person over the age of 65, should be allowed to run for ANC president. The demand sounds sensible until you realise that this is all about Mashatile, who is 63, being the main stumbling block to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who is 54, becoming the next president.
Mbaks's golden duck paté
But while Malatji is worried about Mashatile, it would seem that Mbalula is threatened by someone completely different — none other than mining mogul and billionaire Patrice Motsepe. At an Eastern Cape ANC meeting this week he expended so much energy to rubbish the belief in the party that an outsider can help them to stop losing more votes in the next election, that Hogarth figures the Motsepe campaign must be real.
However, Mbalula was decent enough to admit to the meeting that even though he doesn’t know if Motsepe is a member of the ANC, the billionaire does donate millions to the party and that, “Yes, we eat his money”.
Is this a case of biting the hand that feeds you, then Mr Mbaks?
Peace bombs away!
The Israeli attack on Iran over the last few days solicited a lot of excitement among US politicians who have been wishing their country would do the same, but know that the Orange One does not want to have another Iraq-style war on his hands.
So excited was one Congressman Randy Fine that he is said to have taken to social media to post: “I want to congratulate Israel on its mostly peaceful bombing of Iran.”
Peaceful bombing? Now there is an oxymoron.
PA ‘bishop’ irons out the differences
The anxiety over whether the GNU will be able to have finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget passed on his third attempt had some members of the ruling coalition turn to the scriptures this week. The Patriotic Alliance’s Ashley Sauls read out Proverbs chapter 27, verse 17 during a speech, which says “as iron sharpens iron, so does one person sharpen another”.
“South Africa,” Sauls continued, “what you saw during this budget process was not a conflict within the GNU, what you saw was friction in the GNU. And the scripture says ... in order for one iron to sharpen another iron, there must be friction.”
But his sermon was not well received by EFF and MK Party MPs, with one of them objecting to the speaker that the “bishop’s” sermon was not relevant to the fiscal framework.
Not deterred, “bishop” Sauls promised to pray for EFF MPs’ repentance.
Kwankwa unmoved by own speech
This whole GNU business can really be confusing, especially in the National Assembly. One moment, a party is a member of the ruling coalition, the next, its MPs speak as if it is in the opposition.
Take the case of Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, a UDM MP. Now that his boss, Bantu Holomisa, is too comfortable in Cupcake’s executive as a deputy minister to talk about his favourite subject, amasela (thieves in government), it has fallen to Kwankwa to deliver rousing speeches against the cabinet.
Kwankwa was in his element this week, denouncing Enoch Godongwana’s budget for raising the fuel levy. “We do not lie, we do not buy face. GNU or no GNU. That’s the truth. We are balancing the budget on the backs of the poor,” he said to loud applause from the EFF and MK Party.
But when it came to voting, the EFF and MK Party MPs found themselves alone against the budget, prompting one of them to shout in absolute shock: “Kwankwa!!!”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.