Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele has given up his R1.14-million Mercedes-Benz he received as a gift from a group of contractors.
This comes in the wake of opposition parties and analysts intensifying their calls for Ndebele to return the car as "it constitutes a conflict of interest".
He was presented with a Mercedes-Benz S500 by Vukuzakhe contractors during a function to honour him in Pietermaritzburg at the weekend. He also received a plasma screen TV, two cows!
Personally I think he should have kept it... the "conflict of interest theory" is over played! The Minister came in public with his gift. The contractors were just showing appreciation; if this was a bribery surely both the Minister and the contractors would have been smart enough to keep the matter out of the public eye. Must the media and the so-called political analysts always expect the worst out of our political leaders?
Not too long ago the SA press was very critical of Zuma and created fear in most White South Africans about Zuma’s presidency. But now if one analyses the content of leading Dailies and weekend’s newspapers, one would note that the SA press has had a change of hearts after his inauguration. One, they liked his inauguration speech, they liked the “balance” of the cabinet and they are calling for people to give him a chance huh!
I for one am not surprised that the press has had a change of hearts, we have seen it all before: Leading white owned dailies predicted doom and gloom when the Black government came to power. But after Mandela became president they again had a change of hearts and now everyone loves Mandela!
Same thing happened with the 2010 world cup, SA media ran stories of problems with stadiums and how FIFA has a “plan B” but now that all is seemingly on track… we don’t read about it!
Meanwhile Hellen Zille has really damaged her integrity! One: she appoints an all male cabinet which is dominated by whites. The Mail & Guardian had a fitting headline “The return of the White man” for one of their stories covering Zille’s white male dominated cabinet!
She then made another blunder which is going to hurt her even further… she continued her obsessions with President Zuma. Instead of giving answers for her failure to appoint a diverse cabinet she dared to personally attack president Zuma basically calling him a “womaniser who had put his wives at risk of contracting HIV”
I was once impressed by Zille but her continued aggressive behaviour is getting annoying. Everyone knows about President Zuma’s rape trial and the shower comments… no need to hold on to that! Even Zapiro removed the shower head!
These are my views on the current and very interesting SA political landscape!
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