Jacob Zuma was the name on everyone’s lips at the Constitutional Court today as the highest court in the land heard why the Zondo Commission of Inquiry thinks he should be jailed for contempt after repeatedly dodging the commission. We don’t yet know how the Constitutional Court will rule, but we do know that President Cyril Ramaphosa will have his turn before the commission in April. 👨🏿⚖️
Plus, the interest rate holds steady; grocery and petrol prices climb – and we tip you off about some of the perhaps surprising places South Africans currently can visit despite the pandemic. So, let’s dive into your weekly simple news update, brought to you by Verashni Pillay and the explain.co.za team. 😄
*Format*
🗞 For text, keep scrolling or check out our PDF, coming to you a bit later today.
🔊 For the audio version of The Wrap, go here: https://soundcloud.com/explain-za/25-march-21-zumas-delay-tactics-run-out-of-road
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▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ *1. OUR TAKE: NO MORE DELAYING TACTICS FOR ZUMA* 🕰️
Today was D-day for Jacob Zuma. After his many, brazen refusals to appear before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry, and his poor showing at the court case around said refusals, the highest court in our land met to decide the former president’s fate. A reminder: lawyers for the inquiry previously argued before the Constitutional Court that Zuma should get two years in prison – more than is usually given – for his repeated defiance, if he is found guilty of contempt of court.
So it’s a pity that after all that anticipation, judgment has been reserved. But we’ll give you the lowdown on what the court decides when it does make its ruling.
It was such a big day that an entirely new civil society body came together to support the constitution on the day. 🇿🇦
The ‘Defend our Democracy’ campaign was launched to coincide with Human Rights Day this past weekend. An online petition was circulated calling for Zuma to appear before the inquiry and for South Africans to rally behind this call. It gathered about 7000 signatories across the ideological divide, from former DA leaders Mmusi Maimane and Lindiwe Mazibuko, to former ANC leaders like Thabo Mbeki (through the foundation that carries his name), Frank Chikane, former finance minister Trevor Manuel, and business leaders like Discovery CEO Adrian Gore and Business Unity SA CEO Cas Coovadia.
Zuma, of course, decided not to participate in the Constitutional Court proceedings. The court justices will make their decision without his input. Our former president’s famous “Stalingrad” strategy – his trick of delaying legal processes endlessly so he does not have to face justice – hasn’t worked this time.
The commission approached the apex court, so Zuma can’t waste time with endless appeals. Plus the Constitutional Court hearing was quick: legal star Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, appearing for the commission, took centre stage. The advocate argued that Zuma shouldn’t be given more time to appear before the commission, or merely fined for his non-compliance. He should, to use Monopoly parlance, “Go directly to Jail. Do not pass GO, do not collect R200.” 😜
▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ *2. THE BIG STORY: WHAT’S UP WITH THE VACCINE DELAY?* 💉
Feeling panicked about the slow-down in South Africa’s vaccine roll-out? We hear you. It’s difficult watching developed nations boast about their jabs while our first phase is seemingly stalled and most of our health workers STILL haven’t got their jabs in our first phase roll-out. #FOMO 😓
Professor Glenda Gray’s estimation (she is a co-lead investigator for the J&J vaccine trial) is that only 500 000 healthcare workers will be vaccinated by the end of April – if there are no delays.
We’re obviously falling short of the initial plan. South Africa’s original target was that 1.5 million people should be inoculated by the end of March (phase 1), when AstraZeneca was still part of the picture. We’re now closing in on that date and so far only 207 000 healthcare workers have been vaccinated. That’s a seventh of the target!
So it was no surprise when, today, government announced that the timeline for rollout has changed.
◾️Phase 2: now planned from May – Oct, targeting 13 million people from vulnerable groups like frontline workers, and the elderly.
◾️Phase 3: planned from November 2021 to February 2022, targeting 22 million citizens.
This means most of us have to now wait till November for that all-important shot. 😕
So what’s behind the delay? The big issue is lack of stock. Remember, we had procured a large amount of AstraZeneca vaccines but had to make a plan B when those were found to be of limited use against the local variant. We switched to the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine. But we just can’t get enough of it. And it’s a moving target with the other options: a new study by Israeli scientists suggests that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is ALSO less effective against the local variant.
With a situation as fast-moving as Covid, we need to accept that things don’t always go quite according to plan.
But on a more positive note, chair of the steering committee at Business for SA Martin Kingston said the rollout will go faster once commercially procured Pfizer and J&J vaccines arrive, and as the trial phase of the vaccine rollout for health workers is concluded. The country receives approximately 80,000 J&J doses every two weeks as part of the Sisonke study.
Remember: this initial roll-out was part of this large study. Things should go much faster when the proper roll-out is in place.
▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ *3. BRIEFS*
*South Africa is happy (er, kind of)*
When was the last time someone asked you how you’re feeling? How is your physical and mental health, and how have you been, given the pandemic? These are the questions the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University asks when it compiles its annual happiness report. Imagine our surprise when we saw South Africa recorded a slight increase in happiness in 2020, up from the previous year. What?! Other countries saw steep declines. Listen, we’ll take it. 🙃
Maybe spending all that time at home reminded you what you’re really grateful for. This year, South Africa ranked 103 on the index out of 149 countries. This is a slight increase in our happiness levels compared to 2019’s year’s ranking of 109. The happiest country is Finland (for the fourth year in a row) and the least happy is Afghanistan. Jeffery Sachs, an economist and former director of the Earth Institute, said the World Happiness Report 2021 is a reminder that we must aim for wellbeing rather than mere wealth. Hear hear.
*Easter and the third wave*
Maybe think of stocking up on alcohol, 🍾 in case we see a change to our lockdown level ahead of Easter. The religious holiday won’t be cancelled (as far as we know), but the celebrations might be muted. This comes as the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) advised the National Coronavirus Command Council to impose new restrictions ahead of the religious holiday, News24 reported. The recommendation is to move to Level 2, limit gatherings to 50, limit alcohol sales and impose a curfew from 22:00, again. 😶
Epidemiologist and co-chair of the MAC, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, told TimesLive that he was “deeply concerned” about gatherings across all religious groups. He said that moving South Africa to Alert Level 2 might prevent superspreader events that could drive the third wave, something that scientists have already warned us about. Do your best to flatten the curve. After all, tempting as it is to go out and celebrate with family, given our delayed vaccine roll-out, many of our health workers will still be unprotected when the third wave hits.
*Ramaphosa will have his day(s) at the state capture commission*
Remember when we told you the Zondo Commission of Inquiry HAD to finish up at the end of this month and that NO MORE extensions would be granted? Well… it’s managed to get another three-month extension to conclude by June. 😬 Look, we think it’s a good idea given how many people still need to testify – chief among them President Cyril Ramaphosa. He is now expected to testify at the commission in April. Business Day is reporting that Ramaphosa will first appear on 22 and 23 April in his capacity as president of the ANC and then again on 28 and 29 April in his capacity as the president of South Africa and as former deputy president under Zuma; after all, the lost decade of State Capture happened while Ramaphosa was deputy.
With Zuma under the spotlight and the ANC implicated in several corruption cases, Ramaphosa will have to provide insight and evidence into some of his predecessor’s dealings. Ramaphosa has previously detailed his interactions with the Gupta family in a six-page affidavit stating he had met them three times from 2012, adding that the interactions did not go beyond basic greetings and pleasantries, Business Day reported. Save the dates. It’s going to be a highly watched testimony, given that Ramaphosa’s enemies in the ANC – generally those who were part of the looting culture under Zuma – are looking for ways to nail him. 👀
*Interest rate unchanged at 3.5%*
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) today announced its decision to hold the interest rate at its all-time low of 3.5%, citing Covid-19 uncertainty and the looming third wave. Economists predicted that SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago will maintain the 3.5% rate for the whole of 2021. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the SARB has slashed the interest rate by 275 basis points. Bloomberg Economics said this is enough for now.
To put the 275 basis points cut into perspective, note this: in January 2020, the interest rate was at 6.25% (which was considered low under normal circumstances). Fast forward a year later, we’re at 3.5%. This means that borrowing costs will decrease, giving us, the consumers, more money in our pockets. 💰
*You’ll spend more on these items*
Is it just us or are groceries a little more expensive than usual? Introducing: inflation, the dark side of low interest rates. It’s what happens when the price of things rises because of our increased purchasing power, thanks to all that extra money in our pockets. (We’ve explained it previously here.) And although more money is flowing through the economy, it’s worth less. So how have the prices of items in your shopping cart changed?
Here’s a list from Statistics SA:
◾️The price of white bread and super maize meal is up by 8% and 3.5%, respectively.
◾️The price of milk, eggs and cheese products increased by 6.4% from last year February.
◾️A two-litre carton of fresh full-cream milk will cost you an average of R29.27, up from R28.03 last year.
◾️Half a dozen eggs cost an average of R19.03, compared to R15.87 in February 2020.
◾️The price of vegetables, however, decreased by 0.7%.
So it’s not just you. Use the extra cash you’re saving from lower loan repayments and spend wisely. 💸
*Can Tanzania’s new leader get a grip on Covid?*
Samia Suluhu Hassan, 61, was sworn in as Tanzania’s new president on Friday, making her Africa’s only current head of government who’s a woman AND the first ever Muslim woman president on the continent.
This comes after the death of controversial President John Magufuli. He was nicknamed “the bulldozer” – initially because he was passionate about creating a great road network for Tanzania and for his firm anti-corruption stance, but later for his bulldozing of media, civil society and opposition politicians 😕.
But who is Hassan, and will she do a better job than her predecessor?
Often described as soft spoken, Hassan is anything but a timid leader. She was Magufuli’s deputy; a veteran politician who cut her teeth in local politics in her hometown of Zanzibar – a semi-autonomous region in Tanzania. 🇹🇿
The key test of Hassan’s leadership will be her response to the Covid-19 pandemic, especially given Magufuli’s scepticism and inaction on this front. Ironically, he is widely thought to have died from Covid-related complications, though that’s not the official line. Hassan did not wear a mask at her swearing-in – just days after thousands of people also shirked masks at Magufuli’s funeral. It doesn’t bode well. We hope she gets the memo from other women leaders who have rocked their handling of Covid-19, as we previously reported. If she can clean up her country’s handling of the pandemic and civil liberties, she’s a president we can get behind.
*Driving gets a little more expensive*
Ugh! As if we’re not cash-strapped already, petrol prices are expected to increase significantly from the end of March into April. The Automobile Association (AA) said that the price of petrol is set to increase by 90 cents a litre, diesel by 60 cents a litre and illuminating paraffin by 62 cents a litre. But, when levies are factored in, the price of petrol will increase by R1.16 a litre. 🚘
The AA cites the increase in international petroleum prices compounded by the weak rand as reasons for the rise, News24 reported. Maybe it’s time we think green: bicycles, carpool and walking (skateboarding if that’s your thing) – that ought to save us a buck or two. In the meantime, remember to fill up your tank before the end of the month.
*Here’s where you CAN travel, if you REALLY want to*
When last did you feel that pre-travel rush? If you’re REALLY missing it, there are some places that you could travel to without being too stressed about quarantine measures (just be sure you’re safe before travelling). A mapping tool on Skyscanner shows there are nine (rather unusual) countries accepting visitors from South Africa. ✈
These include the Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Albania, North Macedonia, and beautiful pacific island nations Nauru and Tonga. 🏝 We’re barred from places like the US, UK, Israel, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates, thanks to the 501Y.V2 variant first identified in South Africa. Check out the tool for more as regulations change, if you still feel that travel bug! Go to: skyscanner.net/travel-restrictions.
That’s it from us at The Wrap, a product of explain.co.za – simple news summaries for busy people. 💁🏾♀
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_Till next time, goodbye from the team_ ✌🏽
