The Week That Was

Gerald Potash,

Hello again,

The National Health Bill (NHI) that Ramaphosa signed into law last week has been the one story of the week that has dominated our news wires. Justus Malala writing in TimesLive points out the dastardly reality of our current general health facilities. At State hospitals the following features have been highlighted; New born babies sleeping in cardboard boxes because the hospital has no cribs; 7 patients dying of cholera because another hospital has no clean water; patients sleeping on the dirty floor because that hospital has no beds for all those having treatment — and then top ANC politicians (named) heading overseas when they need (quality) medical treatment; etc., etc.

Now, after the NHI announcement, this NHI law is what the ANC’s election ploy looks like. Everyone of the poor, and they are the majority in this country, who queue for hours to see a medical person at their clinics/ hospitals, will now believe that they will get the same world class attention that we, members of our expensive Medical Aids get at our world class private hospitals. 
This is what the ANC would have them believe.

Some realists have pointed out that it will take hard work and about 10  years to get Cyril’s NHI plan to work…….if ever it will work at all.
So we have been told not to cancel our medical aid subscriptions just yet.

There has been much criticism of this new law and there is growing certainty that it will be challenged in court. Then the reality is that the well off are not going to accept that they stand at the back of a queue to get to see a doctor. And doctors are not going to accept reduced fees, set by political committees for their specialist work.

And this is David Doubel’s (Davidtoons) take on the matter in The Daily Friend earlier this week:

The polls are swinging back towards the ANC governing again. They may need to join with a small party to stay in control but that, sadly, is what the pundits are suggesting. The SRF (Social Research Foundation) with its most recent poll has the ANC at 44.8% and the DA –second most popular—at 26% but the DA are losing support to the PA  party of Gayton McKenzie. The MK party of Zuma is polled at 12% and the EFF at 11%. Then there are a myriad of small parties also attempting to get one or two seats into Parliament.

And lest we forget, this year for the first time we could also vote for independent candidates.


Jacob Zuma makes lots of news and this week was no different to the last 50 or so weeks.

On Saturday the MK party held a rally in Johannesburg at the famous Orlando Pirates football ground. Some supporters were bussed in and there were trading stalls set up to trade. Party T-shirts sold at R450 each. Caps were on sale between R100 and R150 each. 

When Zuma addressed the restless crowd at about 2.30 pm there were 37,000 packed into the stands and the whole address was in zulu. The crowd probably all went home with headaches because the continuous music was blared at the loudest the speakers could handle

Then on Monday the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously that Jacob Zuma cannot stand for parliament in the upcoming general election. This is a serious blow to his new party uMkhonto weSizwe (MK)….. but the party announced after the court’s ruling that JZ would stay on in the party as an advisor. More importantly his face will stay on their election posters because he remains the drawcard for the new party.

Next Tuesday the founder of the MK party, Jabulani Khumalo is going to court to have Zuma removed as MK party leader.

This cartoon from Rico is from Business Maverick and needs no further explanation:

It looks very much as if, at last, Zuma has run out of Stalingrad tactic options. The long-awaited trial for fraud, corruption and money-laundering where he is Accused No 1 and Thales, the French arms dealer is Accused No 2, has finally been set down to be heard on the 14th April 2025 (two days after his 83rd birthday). The Constitutional Court finally threw out his effort to get prosecutor Billy Downer removed from this case. So 20 years after he was first charged he will stand in the dock –and not for the first time, I must remind you.                                                                       And this time Downer will be waiting for him!

The DA is concerned that the aggressive ex-jail bird (sentenced to 17 years for bank robbery) Gayton McKenzie is taking votes from their party with his “big talk” for his new Patriotic Alliance party. He is a motivational speaker and a successful business man and has now turned to politics. He is the former Executive Mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality.   McKenzie talks fire and brimstone but does he deliver?
He certainly has made news with his strong campaigning in the traditional “coloured suburbs” here in the mother city.

Of growing concern is the worry that violence may accompany the voting on election day. Some of the 215 voting stations have been given high-risk status by the IEC. They are all located in KZN and you will surely remember what happened just a few years ago when JZ was imprisoned? Rioting broke out that left hundreds dead.

The police have been put on high alert in these areas to keep the observers and IEC staff safe. 

The usual suspects, at Dennis that character of note’s behest got together at the CT Press Club yesterday. Paul is still battling flu, Kenny attended an all day conference and so Robin, Henry and I joined Dennis to hear Michael Beaumont talk about the likelihood of coalition governments nationally and in the Western Cape.  Beaumont speaks well. Very well and he told us to expect surprises in the upcoming election next week. He is a member of Herman Mashaba’s ActionSA party.

In a leaked document seen by Rapport, the Afrikaans Sunday ‘paper  SANCOC (SA National Cooperatives Council) express the view that the SA rugby teams are still too white. The newspaper has had sight of an internal document meant exclusively for the Rugby administrators.

A further gripe in that document is that the coaches are also too white. None of the provincial teams competing in Europe this season has a coloured or black coach and SARU (SA Rugby Union) is unhappy that the transformation is not progressing quickly enough. Neither the Bulls (Northern TVL to you) nor the Lions (TVL), have enough black players in their teams. Even the Springboks are not yet transformed enough according to the report. The fact that they are the world champions and break records is not important to the die hard officials. Oh, dear we are back in Apartheid days except that policy is now reversed.
The document  also includes criticism of the national schools team and the ladies team (also top performers) for the same reasons.

The coach and I were on the couch to watch our Stormers beat Connacht in Ireland on Saturday evening. It wasn’t easy and our boys did well to be ahead at the end of a tense game where the lead frequently changed hands.

Then on Sunday evening the coach was back on the couch to see Tottenham Hotspur beat a feisty Sheffield side who are thus relegated to the Champions league after staying up in the Premier league for only one season. But they really are not a shabby outfit at all.
Spurs have qualified to play in the European competition next season. The squad will need to be expanded to cater for the increased number of matches they will play.

As always,
Gerald

PS : Next week’s newsletter will be a day later than usual. With us voting next Wednesday until 9.00pm I am going to wait a day to report on the data that is available. Hopefully there will already be sufficient results by then to excite us – one way or another !

Gerald