Cyril rejects Zuma's deal
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has shot down President Jacob Zuma’s proposal that the losing candidate in the ANC presidential race should, by default, become the deputy for the purpose of forging party unity.
The crucial leadership election is scheduled to kick off on Saturday at Nasrec, Johannesburg, and the race to succeed Zuma is too close to call.
Ramaphosa was in pole position after he attained the majority of branch nominations. However, given the varying sizes of ANC branches across the country, this does not necessarily translate into a majority of delegates.
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'My rapist is now a deputy minister'
Popular author Jackie Phamotse dropped a bombshell during the launch of her second novel in Johannesburg yesterday.
When she was 17 years old, and at a club called Whispers in Bloemfontein, she was gang-raped by five men who had hired the club for a party while they were attending a conference. The man leading the pack – then a powerful local government official – “is now a deputy minister in [President Jacob] Zuma’s Cabinet”, she told City Press at the event.
And her rapist, she claims, has actively tried to block the launch of Bare, a work of fiction based on Phamotse’s own life as a model and blessee – before she became the businesswoman she is today.
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How they robbed Mandela
A school could have been rebuilt if R22m from the Eastern Cape Development Corporation’s social infrastructure grant budget had not been wasted on T-shirts, catering and transport to memorial services for former president Nelson Mandela.
While a total of R330m was diverted from the corporation’s budget that was supposed to have been spent rebuilding mud schools and electrifying villages, pupils at Mpozolo Senior Secondary School, outside Willowvale, were trying to learn under appalling conditions.
Although it is a government school, the government did not construct a single one of its buildings.
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Democracy's the real winner
In 2017, the ANC's race for the presidency played out in the open.
Interestingly, the floodgates were opened by the very candidate Zuma has anointed to continue his legacy.
Even before she officially returned from her African Union posting, Dlamini-Zuma’s supporters were openly campaigning for her, in defiance of the ANC’s archaic rules, writes Mondli Makhanya.
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Charlize pioneers new app for Africa's youth
Oscar winner Charlize Theron has taken a keen interest in the 16 Days of Activism campaign, knowing what it’s like to grow up in an abusive home.
“I grew up in a very turbulent home, as my father was an alcoholic. I think what affected me most was waking up each day, not knowing what was going to happen or how my day was going to go. Everything depended on whether or not somebody else was going to drink,” she told City Press this week.
“My mother was a true inspiration during this tumultuous time, and her attitude is something that women who find themselves in similar situations can find strength in. Her philosophy was: ‘This is horrible. Acknowledge that this is horrible. Now make a choice. Will this define you? Are you going to sink or are you going to swim?’,” she said.
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