Politicians like to test just how far they can go with their rhetoric by saying something outrageous and then apologising and withdrawing the statement the moment there is a backlash.
That seemed to have been the case with Collen Malatji, president of the ANC kindergarten. In the middle of the cold war between President Cyril Ramaphosa and former president Thabo Mbeki about the national dialogue, Malatji added fuel to the fire by dismissing the inaugural convention last month as a “tea party”. His remarks were not well received at Luthuli House, where party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and others were trying to paint the convention as a huge success.
Hence Malatji had to apologise and withdraw his statement. But they don’t make politicians like they used to — this week Malatji rewrote the script by publicly withdrawing his withdrawal.
Any bets on how long it will take Mbalula to order him to withdraw the withdrawal of the withdrawal?
Taste of his own medicine
As a former ANC Youth League president himself, Mbalula always feels at home at its gatherings — even though most of the delegates are usually people who were still in their nappies when Mbaks was last in charge.
This week, however, a visit to a league shindig in Kimberley became awkward when a section of the crowd booed him. But Mbalula being Mbalula, he would not be cowed by youngsters using tactics that had been perfected by his own generation.
“Let me tell you, I run the ANC… and nobody will intimidate me. You can boo me for the decisions of the ANC but you won’t push me around,” he told delegates.
Judging by his recent threats to take disciplinary steps against wayward members, some in the youth league should expect a summons to Luthuli House soon.
Professor of largesse
Answering questions in parliament recently, McBuffalo argued that deputy ministers play a pivotal role even though most people believe they are just there to enjoy the gravy train without breaking a sweat.
One deputy minister Hogarth has always pitied is Cassel Mathale, who appears to never be assigned a meaningful task. In the space of just over a year, he has served as deputy to three ministers of police. The first retired, the second has been placed on special leave and the third is only acting in the role.
But things might be looking up for the former Limpopo premier. This week he was finally in the public eye when he was given the honour of handing over a fleet of new cars to the Hawks — the kind of glam event that Bheki Cele or Senzo Mchunu would have grabbed for themselves. Hogarth hopes Mathale was suitably grateful to the ex-Wits professor who’s now his boss, albeit temporarily.
Clarify, cancel and confuse
They say a week is a long time in politics. First the ANC’s chief spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu, issued a statement welcoming “the clarification on draft credit regulations” by the department of trade, industry & competition. The proposed regulations appeared to allow for the blacklisting of students who fail to pay their tertiary education debts, and sparked public outrage. The department’s “clarification” rubbished that interpretation of the regulations.
In the first statement, the ANC seemed to accept the department’s assurance that indebted students would not be rendered unemployable by blacklisting with credit bureaus.
On Friday, the DTIC withdrew the unpopular regulations altogether. Bhengu immediately issued another statement welcoming the move. “As an organisation we made it categorically clear that the regulations did not reflect the policy of the ANC as the regulations constituted a flagrant violation of access to higher education,” she said.
Clear as mud, the ANC’s position on the subject is.
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