Gerald Potash,
Hello again,
Most of the news here this week has been about the dithering of the ANC towards Trump’s tariff threat and how DIRCO (The Department of International Relations) panders to anti-America countries like Iran, China, and Russia. Did Ramaphosa really believe that we would not be hit with Trump’s punitive tariffs for our exports into the US?
Not only did DIRCO dither but Ramaphosa did what he always does. He told us that he is doing something about it. With no SA Ambassador in the USA, no special representative to talk to the right people in Washington…..so what exactly did Cyril do? He dithered. But now he will probably appoint a committee to look into the whole debacle.
The affect of the US tariffs are not yet properly accessible but our motor exports—which includes parts— to the US is already down 80% on last year’s figures (although, quite surprisingly local car sales are nicely up on last year’s figures). And the tariffs only take affect from this Thursday. Can you imagine what these tariffs will do to our unemployment figures?
Our Ministers of Trade & of Foreign Affairs say the door to negotiations with the US are still open and active. Solidarity, the largely Afrikaner trade union, believes the ANC alone is to blame for this debacle.
What the ANC refuses to acknowledge is that their policies are anti-business and with the corruption that seems never ending we are heading straight for the wall.
The ANC can organise nothing properly. Their National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting this last weekend was held in the Germiston Civic Centre where the coffee was horrible and the food, hard stale buns, inedible. That’s ANC organisation!
(They didn’t return to their usual hotel for their NEC meeting because that hotel in Johannesburg is suing them for money still owed from their last meeting).
Paul Mashatile (Deputy President) and Thembi Simelane (Justice Minister) were removed from the meeting for about 95 minutes while the Integrity Committee discussed alleged corruption charges against both of them.
At the NEC meeting he ANC resolved to expand the Government of National Unity (GNU). Interesting. Will they ask the EFF to join?
At the close of the meeting on Monday evening Ramaphosa admitted that the Trump tariffs are punitive and disastrous…….and that SA’s economy is in a state of emergency. Paul Hoffman of Accountabiliy Now points out that in his long closing speech not one word did he mention about corruption, the scourge that is gripping SA now. He is a wuss.
A very interesting political development is that the Communist Party, which has been part and parcel of the ANC since the dawn of our Democracy, has decided to drop their senior buddies and will contest the next General Election on their own. They say that they are sick and tired of the ANC’s failure to bring land to the people and are sick and tired of Ramaphosa’s multitude of meaningless meetings. The Sec-Gen of the CP, Solly Mapaila said that the ANC is arrogant. He says his Party is also tired of having to be addressed in English because the ANC has done nothing to promote indigenous languages. What could be even worse for the ANC is that COSATU (the Trade Union organisation) is thinking of joining the Communists rather than sticking with the ANC.
Ramaphosa in a speech on Monday chided the Communists and suggested that they will lose support because of the break-away.
Mapaila indicated that their split from the ANC will come as soon as next year when the local municipal elections are held.
Making lots of news again this week was our Deputy President, Paul Mashatile. He makes news for all the wrong reasons. Since becoming our Deputy President he has been dodging questions about his glamorous lifestyle. Also in the news is the exorbitant amounts of taxpayers money that he chooses to spend on his overseas trips. His recent four-day stay in Japan cost us just shy of R1 million. And we don’t have money for our hospitals or to fix the infrastructures that is falling apart.
Look at this cartoon from Brandan in this week’s Sunday Times. It says it all.
Even the diamond that he “forgot” to declare in his compulsory list for MPs of gifts and assets, Brandan added that, too
Hello again,
Most of the news here this week has been about the dithering of the ANC towards Trump’s tariff threat and how DIRCO (The Department of International Relations) panders to anti-America countries like Iran, China, and Russia. Did Ramaphosa really believe that we would not be hit with Trump’s punitive tariffs for our exports into the US?
Not only did DIRCO dither but Ramaphosa did what he always does. He told us that he is doing something about it. With no SA Ambassador in the USA, no special representative to talk to the right people in Washington…..so what exactly did Cyril do? He dithered. But now he will probably appoint a committee to look into the whole debacle.
The affect of the US tariffs are not yet properly accessible but our motor exports—which includes parts— to the US is already down 80% on last year’s figures (although, quite surprisingly local car sales are nicely up on last year’s figures). And the tariffs only take affect from this Thursday. Can you imagine what these tariffs will do to our unemployment figures?
Our Ministers of Trade & of Foreign Affairs say the door to negotiations with the US are still open and active. Solidarity, the largely Afrikaner trade union, believes the ANC alone is to blame for this debacle.
What the ANC refuses to acknowledge is that their policies are anti-business and with the corruption that seems never ending we are heading straight for the wall.
The ANC can organise nothing properly. Their National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting this last weekend was held in the Germiston Civic Centre where the coffee was horrible and the food, hard stale buns, inedible. That’s ANC organisation!
(They didn’t return to their usual hotel for their NEC meeting because that hotel in Johannesburg is suing them for money still owed from their last meeting).
Paul Mashatile (Deputy President) and Thembi Simelane (Justice Minister) were removed from the meeting for about 95 minutes while the Integrity Committee discussed alleged corruption charges against both of them.
At the NEC meeting he ANC resolved to expand the Government of National Unity (GNU). Interesting. Will they ask the EFF to join?
At the close of the meeting on Monday evening Ramaphosa admitted that the Trump tariffs are punitive and disastrous…….and that SA’s economy is in a state of emergency. Paul Hoffman of Accountabiliy Now points out that in his long closing speech not one word did he mention about corruption, the scourge that is gripping SA now. He is a wuss.
A very interesting political development is that the Communist Party, which has been part and parcel of the ANC since the dawn of our Democracy, has decided to drop their senior buddies and will contest the next General Election on their own. They say that they are sick and tired of the ANC’s failure to bring land to the people and are sick and tired of Ramaphosa’s multitude of meaningless meetings. The Sec-Gen of the CP, Solly Mapaila said that the ANC is arrogant. He says his Party is also tired of having to be addressed in English because the ANC has done nothing to promote indigenous languages. What could be even worse for the ANC is that COSATU (the Trade Union organisation) is thinking of joining the Communists rather than sticking with the ANC.
Ramaphosa in a speech on Monday chided the Communists and suggested that they will lose support because of the break-away.
Mapaila indicated that their split from the ANC will come as soon as next year when the local municipal elections are held.
Making lots of news again this week was our Deputy President, Paul Mashatile. He makes news for all the wrong reasons. Since becoming our Deputy President he has been dodging questions about his glamorous lifestyle. Also in the news is the exorbitant amounts of taxpayers money that he chooses to spend on his overseas trips. His recent four-day stay in Japan cost us just shy of R1 million. And we don’t have money for our hospitals or to fix the infrastructures that is falling apart.
Look at this cartoon from Brandan in this week’s Sunday Times. It says it all.
Even the diamond that he “forgot” to declare in his compulsory list for MPs of gifts and assets, Brandan added that, too:

William Saunderson-Meyer has in successive weeks in his column in The Citizen had a go at the DA. He does not believe that they are doing as well in the GNU as they did as opposition when the ANC governed. He believes
that John Steenhuisen is enjoying the perks of travelling the world as Cyril’s sidekick and it’s not doing the DA any good.
Jacob Zuma cannot stay out of the news. After recently losing an attempt to have a ‘go’ at Cyril in the Constitutional Court in the same matter, JZ has written an open letter to Cyril giving him until Friday to answer many questions or to resign. He writes, in the letter, that as a concerned citizen and a former head of State, the country has serious problems with the manner in which the President suspended the Police Minister. He remains on full pay and now his replacement gets full pay. SA can’t afford that writes Zuma. I’m not holding my breath in anticipation of an answer, but it could be interesting to watch what happens when (& if) Cyril refuses to respond.
More than 500,000 whites have left the country permanently since 2001.
The Dept of Statistics published figures this week showing that more than a half a million who left the country, do not return. Our children amongst them.
Johannesburg is a mess. It is a disaster zone. The Minister of Finance has given the mayor, Dada Morero two weeks to address the city’s escalating financial woes. Unnecessary spending and not complying with regulations is irritating the Minister where money (billions) is wasted and there is no accountability. The warning is: unless you fix this mess funding will be withheld. This, warned the Minister, is not an idle threat.
To quote Stephen Groote: We don’t need a National Dialogue (for all of our problems) we need action.
Siwela got it dead right with this cartoon in Tuesday’s Citizen:

I am not prepared to discuss WP’s Currie Cup match. The Lions beat us 40-19. Enough said.
Our lady’s rugby team beat the New Zealand ladies (The Black Ferns) 42-24 in the Athlone Stadium on Saturday after losing 24-34 to them the week before.
The coach was on the couch with me on Sunday to watch Spurs vs Newcastle in Seoul. A big crowd of 65,000 came, I guess mainly to watch Son play his last game for Tottenham. The South Korean is leaving the club to play in America. The crowd love their hero and sang “Spurs” songs on the stands just as we do at Tottenham. The match was enjoyable, both teams bringing on lots of players as the game progressed. The result 1-1 was fair.
I will, hopefully be in the Tottenham Hotspur stadium to watch the opening game of the Premiership season next weekend when Spurs play Burnley.
As always,
Gerald
PS:
I am going to my family in London for a short break, probably not more than two weeks, so there won’t be any newsletters from me until I get back.
Email: gpotash1@gmail.com Phone: +27 82 557 5775 |
Discover more from Africa Unauthorised
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
No newsletter nor any grammatical floors!
You can’t make these cANCer stories up!!! At least they are the gift that keeps giving!!!!
Meanwhile in Asstraliar our silly woke Trotskyist PM, Anthony Albosleazy has just returned from pandaring to the Chinese Communist Party with his floozie. He loves photoshoots with pandas🐼🐼🐼🐼🐼.
Also in Sydney 300,000 of our Useful Idiots marched across the bridge in support of proscribed terrorist organised group Hamas.
Asstraliar excels in useful idiots🐒🐒🐒🐒!!!