10. The Mercury report on how yet another "politically connected business" loaned money by KZN's Ithala Development Bank has folded:

Bronwyn Gerretsen writes that "Rio Ridge cc, which lists Eugene Desele, the husband of Nandi Mandela - a granddaughter of former president Nelson Mandela - as a director, borrowed R10-million from Ithala in 2006 to buy a company, Cascolor Aluminium Powder Coating KZN....Cascolor ground to a halt in June, 2009. Electricity and phones were disconnected, suppliers were not paid and the company could no longer supply customers...Cascolor went into voluntary liquidation in February, giving its employees about two weeks' notice. Many claim to have still not been paid for the two weeks of February that they worked. But Desele said only a few had not been paid."

9. Ivo Vegter's column in the Daily Maverick on how FIFA's greed has helped cripple South Africa's chances of making a long-term return on its massive investment in the World Cup:

Vegter notes that "During the 2004 Olympic Games, the Greek capital [Athens] gained a reputation as a rip-off destination among international tourists. By contrast, Barcelona kept its prices down and has enjoyed a massive tourism boom since its own day in the sun in 1992." In this context it is galling that the South African hospitality industry stands accused of price gouging "when it is not the real culprit. The biggest offender of them all is Match Services, the organisation that was granted monopoly rights by FIFA to sell tickets and tour packages to foreign visitors. Match is part-owned by a company run by Phillipe Blatter, the nephew of FIFA president Sepp Blatter. It has been cavalier in its treatment of South African businesses and rapacious in its sales to foreign tourists."

8. The Star report on odd happenings in the case against Molemo "Jub Jub" Maarohanye and Themba Tshabalala for allegedly killing four schoolchildren in a car crash:

Solly Maphumulo and Baldwin Ndaba report "that people who have vested interests in the case are seeking a ‘political' solution to the charges. It is understood that senior high-ranking ANC officials have been asked to intervene, and their alleged interference is attributed to the fact that Maarohanye played an important role in campaigning for the ruling party during last year's general election, while Tshabalala has strong family ties within the ANC....According to insiders, the investigators and prosecution team were under pressure to charge the two on the lesser count of culpable homicide instead of murder, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years on each count."

7. Peter Bruce's column in Business Day (Monday, April 19) on why the ANC had to seize the moment and get rid of ANCYL President Julius Malema:

Bruce writes that "What Malema does to this country is tantamount to treason. He is destructive and careless. He represents, in every conceivable way, what failure would look like for this country....The ANC leaders who will sit in judgment of Malema need not fear him if they should decide to expel him from the party. Like all bullies, he is basically a coward and would soon vanish from public view. There is no way he would survive as a political force outside of the ANC. He is not smart enough. If the ANC leadership does not get rid of him now, it will never have the opportunity again. And the damage he does will only get worse."

6. Justice Malala's column in The Times (Monday, April 19) on how Jacob Zuma's authority was on the line, if action was not taken against Malema:

Malala writes that in pushing for charges against Malema "Zuma has now entered a fight for his political life. If he loses, he will be more of a lame duck than he already is, and will be seen as a fool and a joke. If he wins, he may still command the respect he needs to bring the ANC's various warring factions together and concentrate on real issues bedevilling South Africa. To do that Zuma has to get Malema expelled from the party." Malala argues that Zuma had to deal decisively with the ANCYL president: "the youth leader has to be suspended for a lengthy period or expelled. A sanction less than this will mean resurrection for Malema and a slow, sure death for Zuma."

5 - 3. The reports in the Sowetan, The Times and Business Day on Tuesday (April, 20) on the outcome of the meeting between the Youth League and the top six officials of the ANC:

The various reports, based mainly on Youth League sources, said that Zuma had effectively capitulated to ANCYL demands for the disciplinary charges against Malema to be dropped.

In The Sowetan Zukile Majova quoted "ANC insiders" as saying that "Malema would not be disciplined because Zuma's hands were tied." Disciplinary action would cause a rift within the ANC, while Zuma was dependent on ANCYL support if he wanted to secure a second term as party president.

In The Times Sipho Masondo reported that "Although the meeting was initially supposed to be attended by all six ANC officials, treasurer-general Mathews Phosa did not pitch up while secretary-general Gwede Mantashe left early to attend one of his children's graduation ceremony. With only Zuma, deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe, deputy secretary-general Thandi Modise and national chairwoman Baleka Mbete representing the ANC, the youth league leadership had its way." It was only Motlanthe who had pushed for the disciplinary action to go ahead "Zuma caved in under Malema's pressure." The newspaper quoted on senior ANCYL leader as saying ""To summarise everything for you: Julius is very powerful".

In Business Day Karima Brown quoted a source, who had attended the meeting, as saying "The president of the ANC has capitulated. Politically the ANC Youth League president has won. The charges are gone - they will be dropped." Brown noted that "The ANC's disciplinary process remained in place last night, although those pursuing it would have lost political backing for the action." Several ANC NEC members told the newspaper that if the charges fell away "Zuma's presidency was ‘finished'." Another source was quoted as saying "The ANC Youth League president was able to put the ANC president under enormous pressure politically. The disciplinary process will thus be managed in such a way that the charges will be dropped."

2. The Daily Dispatch reports (see here and here) on a serial killer on the loose in East London:

Bongani Fuzile reported on Tuesday (April 20) that a severed head had been discovered "in dense bush next to the Mercedes-Benz factory in East London's West Bank on Tuesday" bringing to eight the number of bodies found in the area in the past year. On Thursday Fuzile reported that police had established a task team to investigate the gruesome killings. "Police have linked at least four of the bodies to the same modus operandi."

1. Anthony Butler's column in Business Day on the original intentions behind of Chancellor House:

Butler writes that by the time of the 52nd ANC national conference in Polokwane, in December 2007, Chancellor House had contributed R150m to the ANC's operating budget, and "amassed assets in excess of R1bn by investing in the energy and resources sectors where government officials (and Mbeki deployees) exercised control over licences and tenders." Butler notes, "Chancellor House was not primarily created in 2003 to pay for ANC election campaigns. It was designed to fund the vastly expanded Luthuli House machine Mbeki envisaged as the centre of power after 2007, when he planned to become life president of the ANC."

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