President Jacob Zuma’s name was among three that were dropped by officials to get permission for a private plane carrying the guests of the Gupta wedding to land at the Waterkloof air force base.
Many whites argue they had a tough time after the 1994 transition, as equity and empowerment policies ensured economic opportunities were closed off to them.
Former president Nelson Mandela did not want his children to be involved in the management of his money and artworks.
The high cost of funerals in black communities is putting families under unnecessary pressure and needs to end, an Eastern Cape bishop has said.
Gauteng economic development MEC Nkosiphendule Kolisile’s decision to withdraw a proposal that would have banned alcohol sales in the province on Sundays has been welcomed.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has dug in its heels, vowing not to accede to rival union Amcu’s demands to vacate its offices at the embattled Lonmin mine in Rustenburg.
Hot: City Press readers. This week, your newspaper won a clutch of awards at the Sikuvile ceremony. The awards were won for our work on finding the stories of the lives of the miners who died at Marikana and for our investigation into the splurging of R206 million on the president’s estate at Nkandla. Thank you for supporting City Press and our work.
Not: Instructors at the Army Infantry School in Oudtshoorn, who were suspended this week after assaulting 10 recruits who sneaked out for a drink. The recruits were hit with broomsticks on their kidneys while they were forced to carry poles while naked. The military ombudsman is investigating the disgusting incident.
Hot: Gwede Mantashe. The ANC secretary-general called time this week on the cronyism and influence-peddling in South Africa that has been the practice of the entrepreneurial Gupta family for years now. Late on Tuesday night he said enough following reports of a chartered wedding jet landing at Waterkloof. He should blow the whistle more often.
Not: Banana republics are places where the rule of law is a slippery thing that can be evaded by backhanders and the politically connected. Sometimes South Africa can feel like one when impunity rules, despite serious allegations of corruption. When a foreign jet landed sans permission and its passengers walked unchecked into Mzansi, we felt like one. It must not happen again.
Hot: Incidents of shack fires increase every winter. As reported in Daily Sun this week, four-year-old Spelele Mzizane of Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, became a hero when his family shack caught fire. The young boy woke his older sister, who in turn screamed for help to save a nine-year-old brother who was still trapped inside the house. A neighbour went into the house and saved him.
Not: One can always count on conservative lobby group AfriForum for a good laugh – like painting themselves black. But their latest antic – of selling coffee at different prices for different races to mock affirmative action policies – smacks of a complete lack of historical context and ignorance of recent studies showing how well white people have been doing since 1994.
Hot: Smartphones. For the second time in the past two months, major human rights violations were recorded by a citizen on a smartphone. Last month, Mido Macia was dragged by a police van and tortured to death; and this week, Esther Mankge was brutally beaten. The only way we know about these incidents is because of amateur video footage taken on smartphones.
Not: Tukwini Mandela (don’t worry, we hadn’t heard about her either) continued to heap opprobrium on her revered family name this week. The daughter of Makaziwe (last seen launching a wine label in Nelson Mandela’s name) wrote an open letter to 84-year-old George Bizos, accusing him of bringing the Mandela family name into disrepute. Pot. Kettle. Black.
Hot: Maggie Thatcher, the former British prime minister who died this week. Thatcher completely overhauled the British economy, yanking it into the 21st century. She knew that legacy industries had to end, she made the City a key node on a new global economy and reversed a three-decade long decline in Britain. Good leaders are not scared of tough decisions.
Not: Maggie Thatcher, the former British prime minister who died this week. Thatcher was no friend of the trade unions and in mining towns across Britain, her death was celebrated. Milk snatcher Maggie, as she was called, withdrew rations of milk from school as she eroded the welfare state. Bad leaders are not humanists.
The Hawks have declined to comment on a report that police and the State Security Agency (SSA) monitored training of al-Qaeda “terrorists” in South Africa without taking action.
The super-rich Gupta family has received a property tax bonanza on their luxury R26.5 million estate that other homeowners could only dream of.
There are certain muti practices some wealthy and powerful people like to pretend they would never engage in, even though they may admit to knowing of “other people” who do them.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu will not vote for the ANC, he wrote in an opinion piece.
The Democratic Alliance has asked that President Jacob Zuma be present at a debate on the use of Air Force Base Waterkloof by the Gupta family, chief whip Watty Watson has said.
Cadre deployment to parastatal boards is acceptable if the individuals concerned are skilled for the position, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba has said.
The ANC says it hopes those who have relationships with its members do not abuse those relationships.
In a way I am glad it is all over now because it has been hard work. It has been overwhelming.
@City_Press: School stripped by vandals: http://t.co/Zv1aQ9yMkl@City_Press: Snoop Lion ‘ignores’ dagga warning: http://t.co/zCIXDrYeiz@City_Press: Two men appear for allegedly raping mentally disabled girl: http://t.co/hVdbK37iJK@City_Press: Mbuli died of pulmonary embolism: http://t.co/pTxPC679bA@City_Press: Visas for British tourists ‘bad for SA economy’: http://t.co/jyAY6l2Jwy
