Verashni Pillay
@verashni
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Multi awardwinning South African journalist. Founder of news platform & comms agency . Former editor-in-chief: M&G, HuffPost SA
Johannesburg
Joined October 2008
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About ten years ago, I quit my job to start my own business.
I never even got out of the starting blocks. I spent days knitting in my PJs, unsure where to start. Eventually, I went back to employed life.
Four years ago, I tried again. I now have a wonderful team working with
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Heartbreaking that Chidimma Adetshina has been effectively forced out of the Miss SA competition. It was the right call with the growing threats to her and her family. But what a completely non-compassionate society we've shown ourselves to be.
Breaking news
Chidimma Adetshina has decided to withdraw from the Miss South Africa competition.
#ChidimmaAdetshina
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How interesting
@jsteenhuisen
... You were far less gracious towards me when I was younger and had made mistakes. You demanded I resign or be fired. Renaldo has said and done far worse. Different strokes for different folks? Or is racism only an issue when white people are
DA leader John Steenhuisen responds to the DA MP Renaldo Gouws saga. He says Gouws was young and irresponsible and now acknowledges his “racist” remarks. Video: Kamogelo Moichela/IOL
Read more here:
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Gayton McKenzie is wild, guys. Runs a fundraiser as Karoo mayor in 2022, makes R3m promising to improve municipal services, then pockets the money saying it was for "a personal project". 😂😂😂
And ya'll gave him nine seats in parliament.
Investigators have had to get a judge
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This is beyond bizarre.
You don't have to support the EFF to see how faulty this logic is. Democratically elected reps belong in the legislature. Armed supporters do not.
Or is it so hard to condemn white supremacists without qualification?
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Leon Schreiber acknowledged in an interview with the Sunday Times yesterday that the backlog was halved over the past 3 months. He's been in the position for just over a month. Claiming it as a DA ministerial win goes beyond stretching the truth to just plain lying.
Two thirds
🗃️ 50% down and counting! The backlog of Visa and Permit applications at the Department of Home Affairs has already been halved.
The DA is committed to turning Home Affairs into a service-oriented department, that protects national security, but also grows the economy. 🇿🇦
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Friendly reminder that:
- The DA still haven't expelled their racist MP Renaldo Gouws, and
- The ANC still haven't made their criminally charged MP, Zizi Kodwa, step aside.
Who else? Let's keep up the pressure.
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I need a Harvard-level case study written on how the Boks:
1. United all South Africans behind them
2. Became racially integrated and excellent
3. Repeatedly takes on world class teams and comes out on top.
Then I need every government employee to study it & implement the
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I'm so shaken... The owner of my daughter's gymnastics club in Parkhurst has just suspended her.
I have tried to speak to her repeatedly about the stigma my four-year-old has faced as the only black child in an all-white group of kids. (She's adopted).
The kids have called
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I'm in a fighting mood, with Tom Curry and the Brits coming at us over
#BongiMbongambi
and SA over, wait for it, alleged racism. An issue we're possibly world experts in. So, some facts.
1. Bongi, a black player from a developing black country, grew up in a poor township in
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This man though. He deserves all the flowers. There are more like him: South Africans made of steel, filled with passion and talent. Put them in charge!
Rassie Erasmus is overcome with emotion as South Africa welcomes the World Champions home! 🇿🇦🏆
🎥 Eyewitness News
#RWC2023
#Springboks
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I can appreciate the DA's clean governance and commitment to the constitution & SA while still critiquing their dismal internal transformation and diversity, and other issues.
I can appreciate the ANC'S enormous maturity and leadership in this moment, and that they offer the
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When I made a mistake in a column I had board offers withdrawn, employment dry up and the entire DA baying for my blood. It's been four years but someone on Twitter will still at me about it at least monthly.
Something tells me Jacques Pauw won't have QUITE the same experience.
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April 2017
John Steenhuizen tweeted at me 33 times over a few hours, demanding I resign EVEN after I apologised for the HuffPost fake blog incident... For racially-loaded views that someone else had written.
Imagine that. 33 times.
June 2024: The DA and its leader John says
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Julius Malema as leader of the opposition is the gift I didn't know I needed. I've been so focused on who will be in the GNU, speaker etc, I'd forgotten about this important position. He has the hallmarks of a solid leader of the opposition. Here's trusting he does great things
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The Guptas are arrested after putting our country through 13+ years of hell, and all people can say is: Don't distract us from Cyril. Two different issues guys - can we take a moment to appreciate how momentous this is?? They cost us R250bn by some estimates and so much more.
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DA ppl are blaming an anti-GNU political agenda for the racism scandals they find themselves in.
If you switch your lights on and see cockroaches, don't blame the lights.
We all know Iqbal's papers can be dodgy and we aren't under any illusions about their agenda and the
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I get why the DA is now trying to appear statesman-like and being all kumbaya as it eyes co-governing with the ANC in a GNU, but it's ridiculous to pretend it didn't run a divisive campaign positing the ANC, EFF, MK, PA et al as the enemy, doomsday, etc. The internet exists. 🙄
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Editors: please de-platform Jacob Zuma unless what he has to say is actually newsworthy.
Spreading misinformation is not news.
I know the drama drives viewership but please be responsible.
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I've watched Floyd Shivambu as a leader from his SRC days and I think it's a mistake for him to join the MK Party. He will struggle to have as big an impact as he did at the EFF, MK is less agile and won't give him as much freedom and authority.
#juliusmalema
#eff
#mkparty
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I feel personally defeated at the state of Joburg. The city of gold is so dear to me, and to see her staggering, like a wounded creature is painful. Trash on fire on street corners. Crumbling roads. Uncertain water & electricity supply. A wilting giant that should be glorious.
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Dear South African editors.
It's possible to condemn what's happening in the US without creating a false local analogy to suit your political perspective.
Try it.
Also, you have enormous influence. Use it wisely.
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Why even write this column? Just give the space to the DA PR department.
I can understand parts of it and valid criticism of the ANC, but the narrow one-sidedness is astounding. No censure of the DA's demand to appoint DGs, which is clearly not ok. Plus the DA's other issues.
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So the ANC has expelled Zuma.
Zizi Kodwa has finally resigned as an MP.
And the DA's Renaldo Gouws... has been appointed the party's deputy spokesperson in a key committee while his sham of a "disciplinary" continues.
Lol.
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I'm not convinced of the public interest / media ethics of repeatedly interviewing the likes of Edward Zuma, Manyi, Niehaus, etc.
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The Daily Maverick's coverage of Madikizela's qualifications story vs Natasha Mazzone. I'm interested in the image and headline choice, and the casting of characters as villains vs victims.
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Let's be honest: a lesser person would have sunk us. We've castigated him for his flaws before but his character, experience and skill carried us through.
Thank you Cyril.
Honourable Matamela
@CyrilRamaphosa
is duly elected President of the Republic of South Africa during the National Assembly of the 7th Parliament.
#7thParliament
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The DA's cabinet demands, if reports are to be believed, are crazy.
If the deal with the DA gets scuppered, it's on them. Not on a mysterious political agenda or us commentators 'race baiting'.
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Many South Africans in a weird space today. Deeply excited about the Boks, along with deeply grieving for Gaza and shocked at the western world's indifference and inhumanity. A sliver of national hope in a global storm of darkness.
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The City of Cape Town had R10bn in reserve for years and is only now upgrading poorer areas? That's wildly immoral. They've left a whole generation behind.
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Cyril legit just called Helen's letter "offensive, condescending, and inconsistent with the Constitution" and her demands re DGs and tenders "legally incompetent" (which they are).
Now the DA may lose DTI.
And you guys had a fit over me saying Helen Zille has the EQ of as
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All these people on this app saying we must 'let the rand fall', reject the markets and investors, reinvent the system etc etc... Maybe spend some time living in Zim and let us know how that goes for you.
Not bashing the country itself but just an idea of what economic ruin
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Malema's attack on Ramaphosa and trying to Bell Pottinger the NUM's history was such a miss-step. The EFF came out of this looking bad. We need an actual opposition after the DA vacated that position 30. One that tackles real issues instead of wasting time punting sensational
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Sure you can get ahead in life without a degree. But you have to be pretty exceptional to go on to lead a major political party. And I'm sorry to say, neither John nor Natasha are that. A simple test: imagine they were black. They'd never have those positions.
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Please pass on to those who need it: the amazing Dr K Mohamed is offering free HIV testing and FREE ongoing treatment if you test positive. She's an HIV specialist with decades of experience, based at Netcare Garden City Hospital. See pic for info.
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MK supporters get really angry when I say if the ANC went into a coalition with them, it would tank the economy. But whether you are an MK fan or not, surely that's an objective fact? Markets, investors, and credit rating agencies would immediately punish us. We can't pretend we
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Say what you like about us, but my country knows how to pull of an election. Feeling proud. 🇿🇦
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"When people are young and irresponsible, they're young and irresponsible."
Classis quote by John Steenhuisen re Renaldo Gouws.
So you need to say the K and N word to be considered a racist by the DA? This man has been manifestly racist for years.
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Stronger than usual anti-Indian sentiment these days on people disagreeing with me on Twitter - particularly from the pro-Zuma faction. Hilarious given their main man SOLD OUR COUNTRY (yes, ours) to an INDIAN FAMILY. Go talk to them about briyani and going back to India, not me.
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As much as it pains as, the law cannot be applied selectively. Otherwise it is useless.
Limpho Hani has obviously suffered more than we can imagine, but implying the judiciary is captured because she doesn't like their decision is dangerous and reckless.
#ChrisHani
[WATCH] Chris Hani's widow Limpho Hani reacts to the Constitutional Court's decision to release his killer, Janusz Walus on parole.
#Newzroom405
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I'm so relieved you guys. This means the centre holds
- not just nationally, but everywhere. KwaZulu-Natal will not become a complete feeding trough for Zuma's pals.
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The DA will now be forced to deal with Renaldo Gouws, following the latest video of him calling for black ppl to be killed, using the K and N word.
But what they WON'T deal with is their underlying racism that allowed someone this vile & racist to become a DA MP.
Do
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I've just emerged from the ugliest fight with people who disagreed with my views on the DA's leadership make-up and I gotta tell you... it's something else. I've had conflict with EFF, ANC, and MK members when I criticise their parties. But it's nothing like this. Some DA
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Eskom is being fixed and I have so many questions about why De Ruyter couldn't have done the same when he was CEO...?
Was it really just lack of political support?
"Eskom had to change nearly half of its power station managers to fix load shedding - chair"
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I'd honestly pay to see
@PaulivW
clean up in a fair debate on this but I'm just not convinced you'd let her finish before telling her to "shut up" or similar...
You are AN UNREPENTANT LIAR,Madam
You can mislead your unsuspecting fans but we won’t allow u to get away with your agenda-driven lies
You are DELIBERATELY mixing up the issues of the PR explanation,the donation & the loan
Agree to a public debate on this?Anytime..Anywhere!👀
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Telling your critics that those who last took you on DIED really isn't the way you're going to reverse your party's electoral decline. What a wow.
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Remember when we sat through four years of state capture commission testimony? Remember how we kept complaining no one was being held accountable? Zizi Kodwa was arrested AND resigned, in the space of one day, linked to that testimony.
Justice is slow. But it comes. 🇿🇦
The
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I'm so excited for KwaZulu-Natal...
Please may this be the start of restoration for that beautiful province that's been failed again and again by corrupt and inept administrations.
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If all the talented leaders, particularly black, who were forced out the DA got it together to form one party, I'd vote for them tomorrow. Can you imagine Lindiwe Mazibuko, Phumzile Van Damme, Mbali Ntuli and more in one party?
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Gayton was mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality for about a year, from April 2022 to May 2023. Audit reports for his time as mayor aren't out yet but can't wait to see what they show when they are, compared to previous administrations.
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They've put the FF+ in charge of correctional services, lol.
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The DA's top leadership has barely any black leaders and the party wants to do away with policies aimed at righting the wrongs of apartheid like BEE and minimum wage. I've said the party is the best choice for coalition partner as the alternatives are so bad but they have to do
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Informal waste pickers in SA recover 80-90% of packaging. Globally, they save governments huge amounts of money. So why are they so poorly treated? We need to help organise them as South America has done, as the pandemic presents multiple new threats.
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@VernonHaleySA
And 80% voted against the DA by your logic. What's the point? I'm more interested in those that stayed home, who outnumber those who showed up to vote at all
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My god, they're shameless
[WATCH] Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Maile announces plans to establish a provincial state bank. He says this will be instrumental in uplifting the township economy.
#Newzroom405
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Who told food bloggers they need to write a frikken essay about a recipe before getting to the ingredients and method? The repetition! The over-the-top descriptions and endless pics! So much scrolling 😭
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Guys. Gayton as sports minister is going to be a wilder ride than when Mbaks was in the job.
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The ANC leaning towards a government of national unity where every party is represented is so typically Ramaphosa - the man can never make a hard choice and wants to do everything by committee 🙄
But is the ANC hoping certain parties will uninvite themselves and make their
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The national executive is bloated and has become a political rewards system at taxpayer expense.
But looking at just ministers won't tell you that story.
The real bloat is in the astonishing growth of deputy ministers.
Check the chart to see it visually.
As far as I can
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This... kinda makes sense! There is no legal basis to demand we renew our drivers licence every five years, Afriforum says in court papers.
Old story (given the breakneck speed of recent news lately) but still interesting.
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I got my vaccine!!!
It says a lot about my elderly millennial cohort that I'm late to the party... Even though it's a whole ten days before we were SUPPOSED to start getting it.
I stan the enthusiasm! Gen Z, over to you 😎
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@ShepherdSkhomo
To be fair News24's
@azarrahk
has been covering this since last year and the Public Protector has also been investigating. It's just the latest court development that has put it back in the headlines, which no one can really manipulate as part of some nefarious PR campaign...
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Andre de Ruyter's resignation as Eskom CEO won't fix loadshedding. But tbh I'm surprised he lasted this long. Brutal job.
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Just sent a message to our street WhatsApp group suggesting we organise a mini town hall to hear from all those running to represent our ward as councillors, to make up our mind who to vote for. Anyone else planning something similar in your hood?
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The DA announces a strong negotiation team to lead coalition talks with:
-
@RyanCoetzee
-
@Siviwe_G
-
@alanwinde
- Ivan Meyer
And of course... Tony Leon and Helen Zille 🙄 Not so sure about those, Zille has the EQ of an ostrich, and Leon is out of touch but let's see how it
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Meanwhile there's Gwede Mantashe.
While everyone else was panicking about keeping/getting positions, he was just chilling, having a streetwise two somewhere, knowing he can cost the economy as much as he likes and he's not going anywhere. 🙄
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The DA are totally within their rights to pull out of talks with potential minority coalition partners but it's a bit of an asshole move to not even TELL them before announcing it to the world. Another EQ fail for the blue party.
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Shivambu and other EFF leaders defecting to MK Party would be a net negative for South Africa, I think.
While the EFF and MK are equally troubling to our democracy in terms of their anti-constitutionalism and corruption-plagued leaders, they actually differ ideologically: MK
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I find it fascinating that Gigaba keeps getting placed so high up the ANC lists despite all the drama that precedes him... and the Gupta links. 🤷♀️
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I'm a bit of a Tintswalo myself. Public primary education, a little land restitution for my family, Nsfas-funded university, BEE policies in the workplace... all helping establish me in the middle class. But, perhaps like other Tintswalos, I can't stop thinking how it could and
South Africa is different from 1994. And there are lots of Tintswalos and
@CyrilRamaphosa
is speaking to them and the rest of the black middle class to remind them what the ANC delivered for them. Good speech-writing (given the shortage of good news).
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@GoodBadRugby
This man though. He deserves all the flowers.
There are more like him, South Africans made of steel, filled with passion and talent. Put them in charge!
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"You know what's wrong with South Africa?
All you foreigners...
You must all go back to where you came from."
Just leaving this gem of an ad here for a much needed reminder...
#MissSA
#MissSouthAfrica
#ChidimmaAdetshina
#Chidimma
#Xenophobia
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Why are we taking research paid for by the alcohol industry into the alcohol ban so seriously? Lengthy articles in mainstream publications decrying the ban based on their findings, the fact that it's biased research rather buried. Irresponsible journalism.
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Forget fact-checking: the holy grail of journalism is right of reply. No one should be able to publish an allegation without giving the other party time to respond.
But the "useless black government official" narrative is so strong in many newsrooms, they drop their standards.
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Lindiwe Sisulu's latest campaigning dressed up as debate about our Constitution has my brain hurting: "This article is the fulcrum of my thought provocation and pensive reflections over an elongated period as we sojourn in a democratic era."
Someone call the adjective police.
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My dad's 84th birthday would have been on Sunday. A week later is my and my sisters' first Father's Day without him, and August 25 marks a year since he left us. The grief is so unbearable sometimes I can't breathe. I miss you, Dad.
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@VimleshRajbansi
Vimlesh, this is wildly irresponsible.
Do you understand how averages vs totals work? This is blatantly false.
Take this down please. The ANC and EFF have respected the election outcome despite loss in support. Why are you supporting the MK'S dangerous and unfounded narrative?
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Miss SA and 'qualifying' as South African:
It's madness to try to make up your own rules for who is South African enough. We may as well bring back the pencil test.
#chidimmaadetshina
#xenophobia
#chidimma
#misssouthafrica
#Chidimma
#xenophobia
#chidima
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I remember when this city was like the crazy, cool friend you've always wanted. African. Exciting. Underground jazz, electric storms, people you'd never find elsewhere who cared so damn much about everything and fight for it too.
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@RediTlhabi
Wasn't there a story about how they made the IFP wait 2-4 hours for a meeting and never showed up?
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Now you're in the ridiculous position of trying to explain how Renaldo Gouw's racial slurs and Ian Cameron's blackface "must be understood in context" when that's really not the win you think it is.
The larger points they were both trying to make were on incredibly complex
DA ppl are blaming an anti-GNU political agenda for the racism scandals they find themselves in.
If you switch your lights on and see cockroaches, don't blame the lights.
We all know Iqbal's papers can be dodgy and we aren't under any illusions about their agenda and the
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I haven't don't an MBA but I did start a business a month before lockdown and somehow survive. Does that count? We're set to finish the financial year well and I've managed to move into an office & hire people too. Praise God. But damn, it's been tough.
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"No party is better at managing local government than the DA. Its experience and success in governing municipalities make it uniquely qualified to clean up local government structures, eradicate corruption, and improve service delivery at the grassroots level. The DA’s focus on
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Just under 5% of SA's population are migrants according to this. Places like the US, Canada and Germany are well over 14% migrants. Places like the United Arab Emirates is over 80%. Yet the xenophobes here would have us believe they're TAKING OVER 🙄
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So what was the deal with eNCA reporting last night that the ConCourt justices were meeting about Zuma's letter? Where did that info even come from and how did it make it onto air?
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Spoiler alert: the Mazzone story completely exonerates her. And falls over itself to praise her for answering questions in time. The picture choice is hilarious. Perfectly groomed, in action, on the phone. Karen getting it done. Don't question her.
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Trump's defeat is a relief but the damage he's done is incalculable. He leaves behind a deeply divided country, with masses of supporters he has effectively radicalised and trained to mistrust facts, and their very democracy. How will America heal from this? Can it?
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It's SO frustrating that our cabinet ministers largely HAVE to be drawn from the anemic pool of talent that are ANC MPs. South Africa is brimming with incredible leaders but they can't be considered for the most crucial jobs in the land.
#cabinetreshuffle
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Did ANYONE's water actually get cut in Jhb?? Or is everyone else also stuck with a bathtub full of water? 🙄
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Dali Mpofu's entire argument seems to centre on the right to a fair trial... the same trial Zuma loudly and clearly refused to partake in. It's like upside-down land there by Nkandla.
#ConCourt
#ZumaJudgement
#ZumaArrest
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Dear
@CyrilRamaphosa
,
The GNU may have five years ahead of it, but you have just three till you're probably replaced at the next ANC election.
Please don't make the same mistake as Thabo Mbeki. Don't create a power vacuum for the next Jacob Zuma to step into.
Start raising
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Much was made about HuffPost not fact-checking the fake blog. I now agree that everything, including & especially opinion, should be fact-checked. We do so at
@explainZA
religiously.
I'm just amazed at how quickly other outlets forgot the lesson they hounded me with back then.
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A man rushing to meet his boyfriend for dinner found a newborn abandoned in a subway.
Read this 20-year story about adoption, hope and love.
As an adoptive mother to the most beautiful girl I can confirm what Danny says. It's the ultimate gift.
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And this extraordinarily tone deaf tweet by Natasha shows the major blindspot for many autodidacts (self taught individuals)... Their overestimation of their own abilities and lack of humility.
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