OPINION
Being more like the Chinese, just to please
David Bullard |
12 December 2023
David Bullard on his new approach to column writing in the light of our new hate speech law
OUT TO LUNCH
Things don’t seem to be going at all well for the ANC at the moment, something that should come as no surprise to anybody. Last week the Gauteng Sheriff pitched up at Luthuli House as a result of a judgement in favour of Ezulwini Investments who are trying to get the ANC to pay for banners and posters they produced for the last general election back in 2019.
The amount owing is in the vicinity of R105 million which strikes me as a hell of a lot of posters and banners but there it is. The ensuing standoff was well covered by my colleague William Saunderson-Meyer in his column last Saturday.
Needless to say the ANC’s Bumble Bee impersonator, Fikile Mbalula, still insists that there was no contract because the deal was signed by junior staffers who had no sanction to do so. This despite the fact that two separate courts have dismissed that delaying tactic as “far fetched and implausible” which is legalese for “a lot of utter bollocks”.
Now the ANC want to take the matter to the Constitutional Court which, as Mark Barnes commented last week on Twitter (or X), is not really the appropriate place for a simple settlement of outstanding debt. This is clearly just another delaying tactic on the part of the ANC who are claiming that the liquidation proceedings by Ezulwini are causing the party “reputational damage” as it becomes increasingly obvious that the ANC is, in WSM’s words, both morally and financially bankrupt; something most of us have known for years.
The great mystery is why the super wealthy Pres Frogboiler hasn’t helped out. He is supposedly worth R8.5 billion so if he settled the debt he would still be worth R8.4 billion which isn’t too shabby since most of the fortune wasn’t earned by the sweat of his brow in the first place. The only reason I can think of is that this is just the tip of the iceberg and the ANC’s financial woes are far greater than any of us could possibly imagine. ___STEADY_PAYWALL___
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If Frogboiler did a quick EFT of R105 million now it would set a precedent and it wouldn’t be too long before his entire fortune would be wiped out paying off ANC debt. It was interesting to read that the contents of Luthuli House were collectively worth only R200 000 which leaves a shortfall of around R104 million that Ezulwini would still need to recover. Where are all those R30 000 Louis Vuitton bags hiding and the bottles of Johnnie Blue?
Add to this depressing start to the week the resignation from the party after six decades of Mavuso Msimang (82) and it’s no wonder the ANC are jittery about next year’s election. Msimang was no mere rank and file member of the party but a highflyer who was once private secretary to former ANC president Oliver Tambo.
He described his decision to part ways with the ANC as “painful” and one of “profound sadness’ but he could no longer associate with an organisation that tolerated corruption. It’s encouraging to learn that there are still members of the ANC with a moral compass and hopefully others will take a look at the rotting carcass the ANC has become under both Zuma and Ramaphosa and also decide to jump ship.
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“I can spend my energies doing something else. I’m very interested in good governance in South Africa. I don’t have to join a party, but my voice will now not [only] be directed at pointing out the weaknesses of the ANC. I’m out of the ANC [and] it’s not my core anymore, but it’s within my ambit,”
I suspect that the ANC head honchos knew this was coming which may explain Frogboiler’s speech towards the end of November in Durban urging us to be “more like the Chinese” and spread the message of achievement by the government instead of badmouthing the country.
In other words, completely disregard the failed and bankrupt state owned enterprises, the collapsing municipalities, the appalling health service in many parts of the country, the dismal education system which produces some of the most illiterate kids in the world (but ideal future voting fodder) and the criminally high unemployment levels.
Concentrate on the many achievements of the ANC and tell the sunshine story which is…. er …. which is….that if you are a connected cadre in the ANC you never need to worry about money ever again. Oh yes, and that water tap that Frogboiler turned on in the middle of a field the other week.