Thomas Johnson - The Blog

Politicians take credit for the good news they're not responsible for, but don't take blame when they are.  So it is that periodically the DA takes credit for the Western Cape having a lower unemployment rate than SA as a whole https://www.da.org.za/2024/05/western-cape-and-cape-town-have-the-best-jobs-and-service-delivery-record-in-south-africa-statssa. Misinterpreting the job data, they take credit for the number of employed persons that increased between their arbitrary reference periods (I suspect cherry picking when the data is favourable). They claim they are responsible for "new jobs" being "created" (https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/western-cape-stats-sa-quarterly-labour-force-survey-30-oct-2018) and the province's or Cape Town's "upward economic trajectory" and so on.  These claims are unprovable, specious and even false. At best it's a chronic misunderstanding of how the economy works, which SA's politicians don...

The University of Cape Town (UCT) is broken, financially, organisationally and its ethos. This article explains why. When I saw the title of the op-ed "Universities under siege: UCT and the assault on its autonomy and academic freedom" by Nazeema Mohamed in Daily Maverick, I thought it was going to be about how UCT's academic freedom is being threatened from within, and threats to university freedom in general. She is a member of UCT's council. Instead, it was tirade against the Trump administration, Israel and UCT's donors who object to its resolution suspending academic ties with Israel. Although it's specifically about the US and other donors cancelling and threatening to cancel funding, Mohamed's wrath is directed against everyone who disagrees with UCT's council and executive policies and decisions.  I'd never heard of Mohamed until now. But then I don't know who most council members are. I suppose I should; I'm an alumnus who has the...

Recently Daily Maverick's Rebecca Davis wrote about the severe dysfunction at the Cape Town Master's Office (see Groundup's investigation 2019). Among other problems, Davis reported staff allegedly demanding payment from users to speed up paperwork and bypass queues. I'm curious why this is new news. She omitted to mention the Justice Department has known about this for a long time. In January 2022 then deputy minister John Jeffery made an "unannounced" visit and was "surprised" (sic) it was not operating effectively.  My mother died in July 2017 and the Master has still not finalised her will. The executor has had to submit the same documents numerous times (apparently they're getting lost) and make numerous visits, all in vain. In December 2021, at his suggestion, I emailed the master, Zureena Agulhas, to complain. She forwarded my email to staff directing them to attend to the matter. Only then, four years after the will was lodged, did he rec...

At the beginning of the month The Press Council of South Africa ordered Daily Maverick to apologise for its coverage of the Pretoria High School for Girls alleged racism story. For context, the mainstream media always assumes such allegations, even if unfounded, are prima facie true before any investigation is initiated and completed. So DM is no exception. I've not seen DM apologise yet, which was to be published in a prominent place on its website. I emailed a DM editor and asked why the delay. I asked if they intend to or have they appealed the decision. There was no response. DM regularly, stridently trumpets the importance of the Press Council and its and media's adherence to the Code of Ethics and Conduct (Press Code). It was scathing of Independent Media's expulsion, or resignation depending who you believe, from the Council. DM claims that when they make a mistake, they apologise and rectify matters. However, regarding Pretoria Girls, they justify their coverage a...

Sugar tax activists had hoped the Medium-term Budget would announce an increase in the tax levy on sugary drinks. They claim the tax leads to and was a "huge success" in promoting healthier lifestyles, (Nzama Mbalati, Daily Maverick op-ed ). They claim the tax on sugary drinks per se leads to lower consumption that leads to healthier lifestyles, particularly lower prevalence of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. But escalation of these diseases after the sugar tax was introduced in 2018 prove otherwise.  Obesity   Data on the World Obesity Observatory's website for South Africa show over time, including after the tax was introduced in April 2018, obesity is increasing. The website lists the drivers to obesity: insufficient activity; fruit, processed meat and wholegrain intake, and mental disorders. They don't mention sugary drinks.  Diabetes   The International Diabetes Federation doesn't have a useful website like WOO's but gives basic country info...

 There's been the expected fulsome (definition: excessively flattering), even obsequious commentary on former ANC finance and public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan's death. On CapeTalk former ANC MP and political commentator Melanie Verwoed gushed about his sharp intellect like he was Stephen Hawking.  Most commentary including in Daily Maverick is about him being a supposed corruption fighter nonpareil. Intelligent he may have been but the rest is overblown. Intelligent as a politician and office bearer he wasn't. Gordhan was part of the ANC's system of patronage, corruption and managerial neglect who contributed to SA being where it is. He personally may not have been the recipient of ill-gotten financial gains, but he was part of a system of state-wide corruption, the worst anywhere in the world, who allowed corruption to proceed unstopped. His mild, hesitant and too late resistance to singular acts of corruption in the Zuma government, for which he was then and...

Cape Town Olympics debate already decided Sports minister Gayton McKenzie has suggested South Africa could host the F1 Motor Race. Also, others are calling for him to initiate a feasibility study into hosting the 2040 Olympics in Cape Town. Consultants Our Future Cities say it could be done "cheaply" using the Cape Town Stadium as main venue and other existing facilities. They've named the proposal Cape Town 2040 and CT2040. But can Cape Town bid for the games cheaply even if the " deserted monstrosity " CT Stadium is used as main venue? As mega-projects around the world including SA show, they're always over-budget. The World Cup 2010 was originally budgeted around R40 billion but ended at R60 billion.  Incidentally, about the CT Stadium. In 2016 I calculated, after adding costs like employee costs of R21 million and other eg municipal services and routine maintenance the city declined to disclose saying the information "simply did not exist", tha...

South Africa's unemployment rate is catastrophic, 42%. The official rate is 32%, the remainder being discouraged jobseekers having given up looking for work (because there is none) and, by definition, not unemployed. Unemployment, though, is not discussed for the disaster it is but treated as a meme or political point scoring or as a consequence of growth. There is a direct link between unemployment and poverty but these are discussed as separate things. So when this month Tim Cohen wrote in his Daily Maverick column "Are we ready for a big debate about SA's unemployment rate?", I was encouraged. Instead, I was disappointed. His effort was worse than no discussion at all. His opening sentence "South Africa’s unemployment rate, the highest in the world, … blah, blah blah [is] worrying, irritating, demeaning and, I’m willing to bet, totally wrong [sic]" stated his intention to debunk the facts. Cohen's argument, if one can call it that - not an original on...

Media, political and business commentators have greeted the grand coalition, or government of national unity (GNU) as the ANC calls it, with hope. Leftwing mainstream commentators are now reverting to their default ANC and Ramaphosa-centric positions after the last few years of pessimism and abandonment. Like the previous, original Ramaphoria (v1.0), they expect a lot from him and the GNU, his purported, exaggerated qualities advertised, his failures forgotten. One typical example of Ramaphoria v2.0 is Daily Maverick 168's editor Heather Robertson last week. She fulsomely wrote of citizens' paradoxical initiatives in Johannesburg and Durban, where municipal and goverment services have collapsed due to ANC incompetence, corruption and mismanagement, to remedy government duties as optimism.  It's one thing to volunteer - back in the day I was a volunteer in my community including police forum to help rectify the near collapse of the local police station's management; we l...

Frequently Ramaphosa-centric commentators in the mainstream media, ie those who are or were once but deep down still are Ramaphorias, state as fact he's this great consensus-builder and negotiator. They state so based on three-decade-old negotiations that led to 1994's elections. But otherwise they're unable to name significant instances of consensus or negotiated outcomes that Ramaphosa as president of the country was primarily responsible for.  Not examples of internal ANC deliberations, though, because they always agree what's good for the ANC. But even then, Ramaphosa is not as influential with the party's decision-makers as made out. He had to retract the trade cabinet portfolio offered to the DA, didn't he. And kept mediocre and corrupt ministers and a bloated cabinet to satisfy ANC rent-seekers when the national consensus, even among ANC-friendly commentators, is that it's not in SA's interest. So where is his supposed skill in this? Ramaphoria st...

Businessman and media owner Iqbal Surve's bank accounts were closed. He is a controversial figure and the butt of other media for his businesses practices and aggressive, narcissistic persona. He uses his media company, Independent Media, as his personal marketing department and to attack his critics and those who've crossed him. Independent Media does not have the best of reputations professionally - it pulled out of the Press Council because of its perceived unfairness but rejoined recently.  But it's Surve's ownership of investment company Sekunjalo that brought the most controversy. The Public Investment Corporation, the investment arm of the government pension fund, loaned Surve R5 billion with Sekunjalo as collateral. But the company was massively overvalued. Daily Maverick business editor Tim Cohen in reply to me yesterday about the matter: "Surve's big sin was that he convinced, how we don't know, the administrator of SA's state pensioners cash ...

The mainstream media is alarmed by the formation of the MK Party. It's composed of disaffected supporters. The alarm is exacerbated since Jacob Zuma has thrown his support behind it. The liberal-left blames Zuma and his supporters for SA's state: corruption death spiral, failing state and social and economic decline. While Zuma and those on his coat tails bear a huge responsibility, the entire ANC was and is responsible.  Daily Maverick asks how can Zuma's supporters still back him after what he's done to the country. They've demonized Zuma, and rightly so. But corruption has worsened under Ramaphosa. As president of the country and ANC he failed to act against those in his party, cadres and others complicit in state capture and failed to implement Zondo Commission recommendations. Members of his cabinet including himself (Phala Phala) who have credible allegations implicating them in corruption are sitting pretty. He was head of the cadre deployment committee, the ...

The inquiry into the conduct of former University of Cape Town vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng has confirmed allegations of mismanagement, unethical conduct and victimising staff. The report's publication has released claims and counter-claims from critics and supporters.  But lost in all the Sturm und Drang is the fact her conduct was a consequence of decisions and actions then VC Max Price, the executive and council made almost eight years ago. But first, down the memory lane.  In 2009 as a recent, mature UCT Master's degree graduate, I made enquiries at my former academic unit, the African Centre for Cities, about enrolling for a PhD. The distinguished (late) Prof. Vanessa Watson asked if I knew the difference between a Master's and PhD. The insulting implication was I was not worthy or qualified as a potential candidate. The director of ACC Edgar Pieterse ignored my enquiry and request to join their regular seminars but a third professor was encouraging. I was not a...