The Week That Was

Gerald Potash,

Hello again,

Surprise! I’m still here and not in Australia. My trip has been postponed for medical reasons and I’m hoping to be able to leave in a week or two, then these newsletter will stop while I’m away.

There were simply too many political goings-on here not to share my thoughts with you. I had to tell you about the BRICS meeting that took place in New Delhi last weekend. Cyril was there. He was on the stage on Friday together with the Presidents of Iran and Russia, Pezesjikian and Putin.  Putin and Pezesjikian agreed with Ramaphosa that BRICS is at a critical economic stage. 

Ramaphosa, in his speech also talked of BRICS trading in their own currencies rather than using the dollar and the euro. He would like the connectivity of the BRICS countries to strengthen. He also talked of stopping wars. He mentioned the Middle East, and of course, the Iran war, and even what is going on in Sudan but he didn’t mention the Ukraine war. I wonder why? Doesn’t he know there is a war there going on with Russia very involved?  

I wonder if Trump saw the news-clip of the three leaders, Putin, Prezesjikian & Ramaphosa together being pally-pally at the conference.  If he did, we won’t be receiving our requested reduction in the new steep US export-tariffs for our goods into America.

Interestingly, Cyril told Putin that he unfortunately won’t be attending the Russia- Africa Summit scheduled for the end of October because of our pending Municipal elections on the 4th of November.

Today we learnt that America is going to impose further sanctions and will make it harder for SA’ns to travel into the USA because SA has not changed its attitude to land expropriations and race-based redress to minorities. 

The American Ambassador here has warned that the US will take more steps to change SA’s attitude. Theses are the beginnings he stated.

There has been an enormous amount of press about the ANC not submitting a list of prospective mayors to the IEC in time for the elections. Indeed, the ANC even took the IEC to court for not accepting 181 candidates for mayor. The judgement today went against the ANC.  Fikile Mbalula, the General-Secretary of the majority party has made nonsensical excuses, but this just goes to show that the ANC is simply not working. Mbalula is being accused of all sorts of things where the reality is that the ANC is heading for a hiding in the upcoming municipal elections and they know they are. 

Even Cosatu, the labour federation, a loyal member of the tripartite alliance with the ANC, is accusing it of presiding over decay and corruption.

It blames the ANC of “collapsing” municipalities.

What is also becoming apparent is that the Party is even fighting internally. We read more and more about it in the newspapers. Accusations are being thrown in all directions and the result seems to be that the Party is losing  support.

On Monday William Saunderson-Meyer’s critical piece in The  Citizen was headlined: ‘ANC sinks to new depths’. Does that not say it all?

I simply loved this cartoon from Stephen Fry and Rico in last weekend’s Mail & Guardian. I wonder if Cyril and Fikile get copies of the M&G. If not, could you please send them this past weekend’s edition.

The Economist this week reports on SA becoming a ‘gangster state’. It is a very depressing look at the reality we have become. Gangsters are taking over and it’s costing us, big time. The mafias have even captured the criminal-justice system as we have seen by the evidence given at the Madlanga Commission. Each year things get worse and now we rank as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. 193 countries were corruption-rated and SA is 7th. That is nothing to be proud of.

Then, the same Economist article reports that illicit business is costing huge amount of tax. 20% of alcohol and 70% of all cigarettes in SA are sold illegally.

The Economist also refers to extortion as a worrying, growing threat. Kidnapping and targeted hits by hitmen are also of growing concern.

I could go on and on but I think you get the drift.

‘Die Burger’ editorial on Monday laments that our police are now All Blacks.  On Monday, in his editorial, Johann Maarman the editor, bemoans the fact that we have “Apartheid” in our police service. At the training centre for new recruits he saw hardly a white, coloured or Indian accepted to become police officers. 

He posits that we cannot claim to have done away with apartheid only for there to be a new apartheid being imposed at the workplace. He makes a very valid point. 

Jonny Steinberg, not Steinbeck (I’m sorry for my slip last week) writes that women are keeping the ANC in power. In an article in News24, Steinberg points out that if it was not for this loyalty the DA and the ANC would be neck and neck in the voting.  As the polls show right now the ANC is likely to achieve 31% of the vote and the DA 26% in the elections. 

This was the cartoon in The Herald newspaper today:

It is interesting to note that The Common Sense Research Foundation poll found that support for the DA is now; 36% Black African, 33% White, 23% coloured and Indian/ Asian 8%. So no longer can you call the DA a white Party.

Paul Hofmann SC, of Accountability Now, has sent a very strong and clear message to the legislature that IDAC (Independent Directorate Against Corruption) is not adequate to combat the vicious corruption in government. To read Hofmann’s message here is the article that appeared, earlier in the week in the Daily Friend.  Just click on this link:                 https://bowleyo.clicks.mlsend.com/tf/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjE3MDQ2OTMsXCJsXCI6MTk4NTUyOTQxODQ0NDk3NTczLFwiclwiOjE5ODU1Mjk2MDM5Njk1MzU2Nn0iLCJzIjoiNThlNTFhYjYxNmE4MWNjYSJ9b

Last night, in Paris the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town was named as one of the top 50 hotels in the world.

Some more very good news is that nine SA companies have made it onto Time’s Magazine’s World’s Best. They are Sanlam ranked 388, ABSA 410, Standard Bank 484, Shoprite 563, MTN 636, Bidvest 664, Old Mutual 699, Pink n Pay 842 and Capitec 998.  

It was worth watching the rugby in the very late night and the very early morning. The Springboks in Baltimore (USA) beat the All Blacks in a tough, tough test match and so closed out the series, winning 3-1. It was clear from the televised build up before the game that a wonderful gees prevailed in the ground. The expats were there with their kids and the enormous crowd clearly enjoyed the event. There is not a lot to choose between these two sides who currently stand head and shoulders above the other rugby test nations. Next year’s World Cup will be interesting, but don’t bet on any other, than one of these two winning the title.

Spurs played a knock-out Cup game on Tuesday night after having played to a goalless draw on Saturday in a league game. Four league matches played, all that money spent and still not one goal scored in any of the games.

Well in the knock-out Cup match against Liverpool they scored a goal, but lost 3-1. I watched the game and must say that the score rather flattered the home team. Spurs played really nicely, so now they have to learn how to win.

As always,                                                                                         

Gerald