THIS week’s VAR instalment is a special on neighbouring Mzansi, seeing that some know-nothing South Africans like Aaron Motsoaledi and Phophi Ramathuba, as well as a few equally lost Zimbos continue to believe in the myth of SA exceptionalism.
To these stinkpots who appear to suffer from exceedingly low self-esteem, South Africa is very different to the rest of Mother Africa — and supposedly has more in common with Western Europe and the United States of America than its continental peers.
VAR’s educated guess is that the misguided belief of some of these skunks, especially in the case of the likes of the patently Afrophobic Aroncho and Popeye, is that by pretending to be something that they are not, they will eventually become it with time.
Their pervasive mantra is thus one of “Fake it, till you make it”. Unfortunately for this sorry lot, reality cannot always be wished away, as painful as this experience can be — as one neurotic Donald J Trump found out after the Yanks’ hotly disputed 2020 elections. Yes dear Daily News readers, even in self-righteous Amerika outcomes of polls are challenged violently, but no one is strong and brave enough to sanction Washington for this! But VAR is digressing.
Hail Msholozi
All hell has broken loose in Mzansi in recent years, making those who still believe in the myth of South Africa’s exceptionalism look decidedly dopey. What with the endless stench of corruption scandals, deadly riots, world-leading economic inequality, the incompetent leadership of its principals, greenbacks hidden in furniture and all the other myriad ills that have hit our southern neighbours lately.
No wonder, in this climate, it was reported last weekend that the unpopularity of Saint Ramadollar is now worse than that of Msholozi at his lowest point, according to a recent survey by Afro-barometer. Indeed, it is probably safe to say that never in the 26 years in power of the governing ANC did so many people expect so much from one man and receive so little, as they did with Saint Ramadollar.
Which all begs the question why South Africans, including octogenarian white tannies, are not embarking on rolling mass actions against him like they did towards the end of Msholozi’s tenure in power.
Enter Msholozi’s Ex
Now, one of the contenders for the ANC’s leadership this coming December, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma —who narrowly lost out to Saint Ramadollar in 2017 — is piling the pressure on Cereal — saying candidly that the ruling party is no longer as strong as it should be. Speaking to the SABC this week, Dlamini-Zuma also insinuated that her loss to Saint Ramadollar five years ago was suspicious.
“I felt bad that I lost … But, of course, if you can go deep into why we lost, you would probably find something different, but I will leave it at that,” she said. Which all means that it’s game on in Mzansi, especially seeing that Dlamini-Zuma enjoys the support of both her ex-husband and her brother-in-law Thabo Mbeki as South Africa looks for its next leader.
Voetsek Mantashe!
Ominously, and just like what happened to Saint Ramadollar on Workers Day earlier this year, members of militant union federation Cosatu refused to be addressed by ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe at their congress in Pretoria on Monday.
Clearly anticipating this hostility, the under the gun Saint Ramadollar had wisely commissioned Mantashe to stand in for him at the gathering. The Cosatu members proceeded to sing “Asinamali”, chanting “Hamba Gwede”, while flatly refusing to be addressed by him. The Video Assistant Referee, who has a soft spot for the ANC, genuinely fears for the party as South Africa approaches its watershed 2024 general elections.
Rand In Tailspin
To make matters worse for Saint Ramadollar and the ANC, South Africa’s rand is currently performing a worrying bellyflop, weakening past R18 to the greenback this week — amid crippling power blackouts that are clearly not going away any time soon.
For local ignoramuses who are not aware of this, South Africa has been hit by rolling blackouts since 2008, and has also experienced record power cuts this year. According to the country’s Bureau for Economic Research (BER), the near-constant load shedding will wreak havoc on South Africa’s already fragile economy and likely plunge Mzansi into a recession in 2022. Can things get any worse for SA.
Until next week, Azishe!