Cosatu to protest against Cape Town electricity hikes:
The trade union federation is concerned that the city has implemented price increases higher than Nersa’s recommended 15.1% for municipalities
Ramaphosa: Dodging the bullets of Phala Phala and Putin:
President Cyril Ramaphosa has been navigating turbulent waters for the past year but always seems to come through in the clear. Lately, he has dodged past the rugged rocks of Phala Phala and narrowly missed the cataclysmic vortex of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
A look at the words associated with Ramaphosa’s name in July’s news shows how he has managed to steer his way through with artful diplomacy. This has given him an opportunity to show some leadership in the country and on the global stage.
“Cleared” is the word most closely associated with Ramaphosa (after “Cyril”) in my online database of top daily news articles in July from IOL, News24 and TimesLive. This word aptly describes his escape from trouble in both the Phala Phala and Putin struggles. In the news, it is used primarily about acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka’s report on Phala Phala, released on 30 June, which declared him off the hook for wrongdoing related to that scandal. “Phala Phala” is also closely associated with Ramaphosa’s name in the news.
As expected, the acting public protector’s report was rubbished by opposition parties but also drew flak from rebel ANC national executive committee member Andile Lungisa, who said that even his eight-year-old son “won’t approve it”.
Julius Malema had much harsher words for Ramaphosa in his speech at the EFF tenth anniversary celebration, saying, “When we take over next year, we are arresting Ramaphosa. He is going to jail. He stole money in SA. He hasn’t been arrested. Ramaphosa is not above the law. Ramaphosa must go to jail.”
This comment made “jail” a strong association with Ramaphosa in July’s news. These words make it seem that the EFF is not quite cosying up to the ANC as a potential coalition partner just yet.
As a digression, it’s interesting that Malema wants Ramaphosa to go to jail but not Putin or Jacob Zuma. He is making clear where his loyalties lie.
So, Ramaphosa has cleared the rocks of Phala Phala — for now. Still, the acting public protector’s report is widely viewed as a whitewash and the African Transformation Movement has set the wheels in motion for a legal review of it. This means there will continue to be question marks over his integrity relating to this scandal for some time.
Ramaphosa’s escape from the Putin vortex has been much more nail-biting, leaving South Africans on tenterhooks for the past few months. No fewer than five of the 12 words showing the strongest association with Ramaphosa in July’s news revolve around his diplomatic dance with the Russian strongman.
Top of these is “affidavit”, referring to an initially confidential statement Ramaphosa made to the Gauteng high court. He said that arresting Putin when he arrived in South Africa for the Brics summit would be tantamount to declaring war against Russia.
“Arresting” is another close association with Ramaphosa because of this impasse. The court has since ruled that the affidavit should be made public. Ramaphosa apparently believed a threat by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev that the country would use its “assets [and] all our missiles” against any country that arrested Putin. This has been taken as a threat of nuclear war.
Putin’s name had a close association with Ramaphosa’s in the news, thanks to the diplomacy between the two that has unfolded over the past month. It would have been fascinating to listen in on their phone call on Saturday 15 July, just after which it was announced that Putin was no longer coming to the Brics summit by “mutual agreement”.
Less than two weeks after all this happened, Ramaphosa was in St Petersburg for the Russia-Africa summit and was singing Russia’s praises, saying, “As South Africa, we remember with deep gratitude how the support of the people and the government of the then-Soviet Union sustained our struggle for liberation. Today our bilateral relationship remains strong.” “Russian” and “Russia” were close associations with Ramaphosa’s name in July’s news.
And so Ramaphosa has diplomatically avoided both the threat of war with Russia, however real that threat ever was, and the ire of the International Criminal Court, and possible isolation from the West for failing to arrest Putin, should he have stepped on our shores. He was even able to concede to the Democratic Alliance that the government would arrest Putin if he ever dared to come here.
Another gigantic threat was dodged. But, again, where does this leave the president’s integrity? Ramaphosa has an opportunity afforded by the Brics summit and South Africa’s role in this bloc to increase the pressure on Russia to show respect for human rights and end the war on Ukraine. How will he use it?
Ramaphosa is also amassing political capital in the ANC, giving him more freedom to guide the party to the stances he chooses. Two events from the past month in which the word “support” was associated with Ramaphosa’s name illustrate this.
First, ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula publicly supported Ramaphosa in a disagreement with Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe over green energy. In June, Mantashe refused Ramaphosa’s instruction to sign a memorandum of understanding for a $ 1 billion agreement funded by the Netherlands and Denmark to help us transition to green hydrogen energy.
In response, Mbalula said he and Luthuli House, the ANC’s administrative centre, would back any steps Ramaphosa opted to take against Mantashe, saying, “If a minister does not comply, does not do what is expected, the president must act. He has all our support.” This statement also made “Luthuli House” one of the strongest associations with Ramaphosa’s name in July.
Second, the ANC Women’s League elected a Ramaphosa supporter, Sisisi Tolashe, to replace Bathabile Dlamini, one of the last holdouts of the radical economic transformation faction, as their president. As TimesLive put it even before the election, “So far, the faction has been getting bloody noses from those who support Ramaphosa.”
All this support, on the back of his wins in the December ANC elective conference and being cleared by the acting public protector, means that Ramaphosa is arguably in the strongest position since his presidency began.
As Paul Hoffman has argued, this could enable him to push through much-needed reforms in the ANC and take a bolder stance in his diplomacy with Russia. Our president has the opportunity to recover some integrity. The question is, will he take it?
Ian Siebörger is a senior lecturer in the department of linguistics and applied language studies in the faculty of humanities at Rhodes University. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Mail & Guardian.
Thinking out of the box took Jake Paul to success:
Jake Paul isn’t a very likable figure. Netflix’s documentary Untold shows how he has used that to grow his boxing career.
Jake Joseph Paul was born on 17 January 1997 in Cleveland, Ohio, in the US. He and his older brother Logan grew up playing together and recording skits.
They gained notoriety on Vine, a video-sharing platform similar to TikTok before deciding to move to Los Angeles to grow their careers as content creators.
When Vine shut down, they moved to YouTube, where Jake’s fan base would grow because of his often over-the-top and outlandish antics.
During this period, he was also looking to get into acting. He landed the role of Dirk Mann on Disney’s comedy TV series Bizaardvark.
One night in 2017, Jake’s neighbours called the police because he was disturbing the peace. This led to Disney booting him off the show. From that point, he became one of the most hated people on the internet.
In 2018, he and Logan boxed with British brothers, and fellow YouTubers, KSI and Deji. This fight would awaken a passion that lay dormant in Jake Paul.
At the time, boxing was a dying sport. People had become interested in UFC fighting and boxing heroes weren’t interesting to the public.
The KSI vs Logan Paul and Deji vs Jake Paul fights helped put the sport back on the map.
Many old-school fighters don’t like this. However, it’s important to remember boxing is also about performance— Muhammad Ali has a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Jake Paul’s image is often overshadowed by the many controversies he and his brother have attracted. The documentary highlights the human behind the image and how the negative press affected him towards the end of his YouTube career.
On it, Logan admits he and his father were concerned Jake would commit suicide and tells how he was months away from being broke.
However, when Jake discovered boxing, he found a place where he could use his bad image to succeed.
Jake’s boxing name is The Problem Child. So far, his stats are six wins to one loss. He has fought many UFC champions and knocked them out.
However, some sports commentators disapproved of Jake promoting himself as a boxer and were only willing to recognise him as such once he had fought a professional. So, he took on Tommy Fury.
The Furys are a family of boxers. Tommy’s brother is the respected Tyson Fury and their father is the legendary John Fury. Tommy began boxing when he was six years old, trained by his father. Jake fighting Tommy would help him gain recognition as a boxer.
The Problem Child lost the fight — but this was in no way a defeat. Fury won by split decision. Jake put up an incredible fight, especially as he had been boxing for only three years and Fury all his life.
The documentary allows us to see Jake Paul as a human being beyond the troublemaker. It tells of his ambition to create a fighter’s union and put women’s boxing on the map.
His business mind is also a key point. Jake Paul is self-promoted and has been able to use a bad image to his benefit. Love him or hate him, he’s doing a lot for boxing and he’s found what makes him happy. You can’t knock someone for that.
Untold: Jake Paul is showing on Netflix
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