The SA Politics Thread Part 6

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ForceFate said:
Random question and perhaps a little...you know... Daily Sun-ish but are those 2 dating? From the interactions, I swear they've seen each others privates.
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You think so? never got such vibes, but I have also not observed them enough.

Talking about that, has KZN ever produced a good scandal like that in recent times? almost like all the lowlifes are interested in is fighting all the time, even uBaba does not look interested in getting a new wife these days.
 
Here's 3 great articles if you have access. I particularly enjoyed the Zille one.

www.news24.com

South Africa’s new reality: Ronald Lamola, Ryan Coetzee and Helen Zille write for us | News24

South Africa entered this week with less uncertainty than last week after an agreement between the ANC and DA to form a new government (with other minority partners) were reached. Ronald Lamola, Ryan Coetzee, and Helen Zille write for us about the country's new reality.
www.news24.com www.news24.com

Several clauses had been amended, and the crucial clauses (16 and 19) dealing with "proportional representation" and "sufficient consensus" had been diluted so much as to render them ineffectual.

There was no time to waste. I had to make it to the CTICC. I would deal with this problem there.

The last two fighters in the ring

Then I made a near-fatal mistake. I decided to manage the endgame on my cellphone and left my laptop at home.

I reached the CTICC at around 09:00, and contacted John and Tony Leon to tell them we had no deal. Much had changed since Version 10 and we could not sign the latest draft.

They agreed.

The media pack descended, and I told it as it was: There will be no deal until the DA is satisfied with the clauses on proportional representation and sufficient consensus.

By now there were two of us left in the drafting ring: former ANC MP Andries Nel (for the president) and me (for John and the DA).

Without the prospect of resolution in sight, the first session of the 7th Parliament started at 10:00. Fortunately, the swearing in of MPs took forever, as various versions of the document flew back and forth.

It was virtually impossible to compare them and check editing details on my phone, with its cracked screen (the consequences of an early morning fall). It would have been hard in the best of circumstances, but in the human melee of the CTICC it was virtually impossible to get a few uninterrupted minutes to concentrate on the critical task at hand.

Andries had produced a new system of version control. By then we had lost track of the numbered drafts, and the last three versions were labelled "Final", then "Final, Final". And ultimately "Final Final Final".

"Final Final" landed at 11h21 as the swearing in ceremony was drawing to a close. Clauses 16 and 19 still fell substantially short.

'Final, Final, Final'

I message John, ensconced in his seat as Leader of the Opposition, to inform him that there was no deal. Before we could vote for the ANC’s nominee for Speaker, we had to have a signed agreement.

John agreed that we could not be pressured into voting before these crucial details were resolved. If the ANC pressured us into voting before a satisfactory deal, we would lose the leverage we had to secure a meaningful role in government.

With John’s backing, I informed Andries that there is no deal.

At 11h35, "Final Final Final" landed in my inbox.

I start to check it, largely from memory

Inevitably, after so many revisions, the proportionality clause was a bit of a word salad, but at least it retained the core concept. And the crucial clause 19, on sufficient consensus was there, in its entirety.

By this time Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, presiding over the first parliamentary sitting, was calling for nominations for Speaker. There was no time to check the rest of the document.

We would have to live with "Final Final Final" (whatever its shortcomings).

Signing the deal

But a major hurdle remained: It had to be signed. There were, by now, so many "final" versions that we had to be able to identify the genuinely final one, complete with all its compromises.

I messaged John to say we cannot support the ANC’s candidate for Speaker without a signed deal. He agreed. Unless we cleared this final hurdle, the entire process would collapse.

Then, from the entire cast of parliamentary characters, the most unlikely one steps up to save the day: Floyd Shivambu, chief whip of the EFF.

He calls for a caucus break. The groans are audible as the MPs and their guests anticipate an imminent round of EFF disruptions. The Chief Justice stands firm. The election must proceed, he says.

My frantic thumbs fly over my phone as I message the DA to support Shivambu’s request.

"CJ is resolute," replies John, correctly interpreting Judge Zondo’s determination to continue.

Fortunately, Floyd Shivambu was also resolute, and eventually the Chief Justice allowed a "comfort break" for lunch.

If it had not been for Floyd, there would have been no signed deal, and the DA would not have been in a position to vote for Angela Thokozile Didiza as the new Speaker of the 7th Administration.
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TL;DR Floyd inadvertently saved the day and helped the ANC and DA. I wonder if that will haunt him...
 
TheChamp said:
Looks like I got it wrong with Duma, but I could have sworn I saw him being mentioned with community safety somewhere.

The Premier missed a trick because Duma looks proper in a hat.
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Isn't he the one who snatched a trophy and a mike?
 
TheChamp said:
You think so? never got such vibes, but I have also not observed them enough.

Talking about that, has KZN ever produced a good scandal like that in recent times? almost like all the lowlifes are interested in is fighting all the time, even uBaba does not look interested in getting a new wife these days.
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Dudu and Dali Mpofu have kept him busy the past few years.
 
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