Toh Unplugged

Nomthetheleli Mene In a functional democracy, the useless Eastern Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Nomthetheleli Mene and the equally inept community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha would have long resigned over their shambolic leadership that has resulted in the province resembling a criminal state by each passing day. But as former South African president and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) leader, Jacob Zuma, once said, ours is a “funny democracy”.  Which could explain why Msholozi  (Zuma's clan name), addressing school pupils in Thembisa in July 2016, had to beg South Africans to allow him six full months as a dictator to solve the country's socio-economic crisis, pleading: "If you just give me six months to be a dictator, things will be straight." How does Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane sleep at night when crime is on steroids in the province, or even explain Nqatha’s continued leadership – or lack thereof – when, under his watch, 18 relatives were massacred in cold blood at

Nonceba Khontsiwe The Eastern Cape department of sports, recreation, arts and culture, which has a budget of R3.2bn over the medium term, has failed spectacularly in its mandate of supporting the largely rural province’s young creatives trying to break into the music, TV and filmmaking industries with dogged determination. This despite its stated mission being to develop these sectors  for purported “upliftment of the people of the Eastern Cape”. The province’s biggest exports are its boxing champions and afro-pop stars such as Ringo Madlingozi, Vusi Nova, Nkosinathi “Nathi” Mankayi, Amanda Black, the Jaziel Brothers, the Bala Brothers and the late Zahara, to name but a few. The department’s sheer failure is seen in the arguably little support it lends to the sector, such that many artists - known and yet to be known - are forced to trek to Johannesburg – the country’s arts mecca – for a chance at a record deal or to audition for film and TV roles. It therefore took me by surprise t

Watch as I explain South African government's plans to capacitate and stabilise the local government sector through a raft of measures including a bill aimed at making it difficult to remove municipal executives such as mayors, chief whips, and speakers. All these measures are aimed at strengthening the country's 257 municipalities to enable them to deliver on their mandates - rolling out service delivery to the 63-million-plus people in South Africa. This video first appeared in https://www.youtube.com/@ZebramanakathePeoplespodcast

Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane The Eastern Cape, which is among provinces grappling with extortion syndicates, does not have  a proper and effective policing strategy in place. If it had, premier Oscar Mabuyane, a key ally of President Cyril Ramaphosa, would not have dared criminals to challenge the police, in the manner he has done. He sees this as a quick fix to a fundamental crime problem which has been allowed to permeate across the social fabric of South Africa, where more than 6,000 people were murdered and over 9,000 raped between April and June 2024.  According to the crime statistics for the first quarter of 2024/25 there were a total of 6,867 attempted murders, 42,858 common assaults, 11,312 common robberies, 5,438 carjackings and truck hijackings in the country, and 429 cash-in-transit heists occurred during the period under review.  I agree with police minister Senzo Mchunu, these stats are "sobering".   In a widely circulated  video clip,  [ watch from 4:10

Former Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink (centre) There you have it folks! With 120 votes, DA councillor Cilliers Brink was removed as Tshwane executive mayor during a no confidence vote on Thursday (September 26). While ActionSA has been heavily criticised for the latest turn of events, some have heaped praise on its leader Herman Mashaba for "dethroning" the DA in South Africa's capital city, which it had led via coalitions since 2016. ActionSA was initially part of the governing coalition in Tshwane but fell out with the DA over a difference of opinion on how the metro should be governed. Among other things, ActionSA accused the DA of prioritising the delivery of municipal services in affluent areas  - Tshwane (formerly Pretoria) has the second-largest number of embassies in the world after Washington D.C. - and neglecting townships where the black majority live. I recently blogged about what led to ActionSA  ditching its coalition partners in Tshwane and electing to throw

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa should be commended for growing a pair and effectively telling his peers (read: heads of state and government) that Africa is tired of being treated like an unwanted stepchild by global superpowers, stressing the need for Mother Africa to have a place in the sun. Addressing the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, US, on Tuesday, Ramaphosa criticised the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for having largely remained unchanged 78 years since its formation. The UNSC, whose stated objective is to maintain international peace and security, has five permanent member states including the US, France, UK, China and Russia. The 10 non-permanent members are Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Switzerland. While the council is mandated to mediate between warring parties to settle their disputes amicably, in some cases it