Hi there 🙋🏾♀️
So today’s big question: Was a minister’s recent sacking a DA win or not?
Here’s what else we’ve got for you: heartbreak for Banyana Banyana after a dramatic match this week (and an injury to boot). We’re also raising an eyebrow at a certain ex-‘sushi king’ who claims he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Sure, Jan.
Meanwhile, pilots at one of SA’s most reliable airlines have gone on strike – bad news if you’re planning a winter escape. Coldplay went viral for a reason even they didn’t expect. Some countries are finally standing up for the people of Gaza. Japan’s gone right-wing. And in our longer reads, we ask: where on earth is Mcebisi Jonas?
So, let’s dive into these stories and more in this week’s wrap, brought to you by Verashni Pillay and the explain.co.za team. 😄
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Format:
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▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ BRIEFS
NATIONAL
- FlySafair pilots are causing a kerfuffle.👨🏾✈️Over 200 pilots announced a two-week strike on Monday. They’re protesting hectic schedules and demanding a 10.5% salary increase. Their union, Solidarity, rejected the airline’s offer of 5.7%, but said it was willing to “negotiate downwards” if the airline met some of their working condition demands. The strike has led to major disruptions and flight delays. Might be time for a road trip.
- The MK party is challenging President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to place Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on leave and appoint Firoz Cachalia as acting minister. For once, they might have a point. Constitutional expert Pierre de Vos says there’s no clear legal basis for either move, and a ruling overturning the appointments could invalidate subsequent decisions. The MKP’s Constitutional Court case could spotlight important limits on presidential power — and force Ramaphosa to follow proper process.
- What was Joburg’s Transport MMC Kenny Kunene doing at the Sandton home of a man accused of murder? On Monday, police arrested Katiso “KT” Molefe – the alleged mastermind behind the 2022 murder of DJ Sumbody – and found Kunene chilling in the driveway. 👀 He claims he was helping a journalist who wanted to interview Molefe. But his party, the Patriotic Alliance, has suspended him, and the DA wants him out. He’s not a suspect, but his judgment definitely is!
- Banyana Banyana’s dream of defending their WAFCON title came crashing down on Tuesday. Our women’s soccer team lost a last-minute 2-1 thriller to Nigeria in the semifinals. 💔 It was a tight, tense game in Morocco, with Nigeria scoring the decider in the 94th minute. 😦 Midfielder Gabriela Salgado also suffered a serious leg injury in the final stretch, rattling her team. They’ll battle Ghana for third place on Friday. We’re still proud of them! 🇿🇦
- South Africa is set to get its first bullet train as early as 2030.🚅 The Limpopo-Gauteng Speed Train Project will span approximately 500 km between Pretoria and Polokwane, with trips between the two cities taking as little as 90 minutes. The train is part of a national plan approved by Cabinet in November 2023, and feasibility and environmental studies have now begun. Construction could begin in late 2026. All aboard!
INTERNATIONAL
- The shock cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show has sparked fears about free speech in the US. Last week, Paramount scrapped the late-night talk show critical of Trump, blaming financial pressures. Critics aren’t buying it. The network settled a spurious $16 million defamation case with Trump, and a Trump-friendly buyer is circling. Veterans are quitting in protest, and fears are rising that watchdog journalism like 60 Minutes could be next. The network’s own drama could be its most revealing show yet. 😕
- There’s renewed hope for peace after DRC and M23 rebels signed a ceasefire deal in Qatar on Saturday. It’s aimed at ending years of deadly fighting. The DRC says it includes a demand for M23 to withdraw from occupied areas, but the rebels dispute that. The deal ties into a broader US-led peace push involving Rwanda, accused of backing M23. Both sides have until 29 July to begin implementation, with a final agreement expected by 18 August.🤞
- In a rare show of backbone, 25 countries have demanded Israel’s war on Gaza “must end now.” The joint statement, including the UK, France, Canada, and Japan, slams Israel’s “drip feeding of aid” and says its blockade has stripped Gazans of human dignity. Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the statement. But the reality is that over 59,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, while 875 died just trying to get food since May. Is enough finally enough?
- Japan’s dominant party suffered defeat as voters chose to swing right. Sunday’s parliamentary elections saw Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party lose its Upper House majority, leaving it a minority in both chambers for the first time in decades. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to stay on, despite mounting pressure from his party to step down. The biggest gains went to two right-wing nationalist parties, which drew support from younger voters frustrated by rising prices and stagnant wages.
- Coldplay hasn’t dropped a single in a while. Last week, they made two. 👀 The internet’s obsessed with Andy Byron, CEO of US data firm Astronomer, who resigned Saturday after being caught on Coldplay’s kiss cam getting cosy with HR chief Kristin Cabot — both married to other people. The drama’s gone viral, but beware fake news: Neither Byron nor his wife have actually released a statement. The board said his behaviour “did not meet” company standards… though it definitely met someone else’s. 🤭
▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ BIG STORIES
1️⃣Nkabane’s fall: DA flex or just political inevitability?
Ramaphosa finally fired Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane on Monday — and the DA immediately took credit. They’d previously vowed to vote against Wednesday’s Appropriations Bill unless Ramaphosa ditched ministers tainted by scandal, naming Nkabane and Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane. When Ramaphosa finally swung the axe, the DA called it a victory for “relentless pressure” and agreed to support the Bill. Cue collective sighs of relief from the Treasury.
The DA were wielding real leverage. If the Bill had failed, government departments would’ve had to operate using last year’s budgets — threatening service delivery and causing chaos across the state. So, yes, the clock was ticking.
The DA’s showdown over this issue started weeks ago when Ramaphosa fired DA Deputy Minister Andrew Whitfield, who served in the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, over an unsanctioned trip to the US. The DA cried foul, accusing Ramaphosa of playing favourites while turning a blind eye to scandal in the ANC’s ranks. They pulled out of the National Dialogue and threatened to block the Budget unless heads rolled.
But was the DA the sole reason for Nkabane’s dismissal? Analysts say not quite. Nkabane had drawn serious fire for misleading Parliament over the appointment of SETA board members — including ANC heavyweight Gwede Mantashe’s son — and then ghosted a key parliamentary meeting last Friday where she was supposed to account for it all. Even the ANC couldn’t defend her anymore.
According to analysts, her sacking was likely inevitable, with or without DA pressure.
So while the DA may have helped tip the scales, it wasn’t the only force at play. In the end, Ramaphosa saved the Budget without burning too much political capital — unlike what he’d face if he tried firing Simelane or Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, who faces serious allegations too.
And the DA got what it needed: a win to save face, and political cover to support the Budget. Whether they can squeeze more concessions remains to be seen. Analysts warn they must tread carefully — push too hard, and they risk being booted from the Government of National Unity.
And Nkabane? She’s out, and not quietly either. “There are forces that want me out,” she said after her firing. “To be honest, I’m not even shocked.”
Nor, it seems, is anyone else.
Oh, and in a comic twist: the MK party, which has voted against every budget so far… accidentally voted in favour this time. 🤦🏾♀️
2️⃣Parliament approves ad hoc committee
In a rare show of unity, Parliament has unanimously agreed to establish an ad hoc committee to investigate the jaw-dropping corruption allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi earlier this month. The decision was made by a joint sitting of the Portfolio Committees on Police and Justice and Constitutional Development, and adopted by the National Assembly on Wednesday.
This comes after Speaker Thoko Didiza instructed MPs earlier this month to come up with a plan to deal with Mkhwanazi’s explosive claims of collusion between criminals and law enforcement. Now, the newly formed committee has 90 days to get to the bottom of it all — and that includes looking into the role of none other than Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
Among the issues the committee will investigate: whether Mchunu tried to disband the Political Killings Task Team; whether he misled Parliament about his relationship with alleged fixer Oupa “Brown” Mogotsi; and broader allegations of corruption within SAPS, including dodgy tenders, interference in investigations, and hiring freezes in key crime-fighting units.
But it’s not just about investigating people. The committee is also tasked with identifying where government policies or laws may have allowed this rot to take hold, and proposing fixes.
Police committee chair Ian Cameron said Parliament welcomed Ramaphosa’s decision to launch a separate judicial commission of inquiry earlier this month, but emphasised that Parliament must do its own oversight. “As a people-centred Parliament, we were duty-bound to respond to the allegations made without delay,” he said.
The new ad hoc committee will set its own terms of reference and hopefully get to work fast. Between Parliament and the judicial commission, there’s now real momentum to unpack one of the most serious threats to the police in recent memory. Let’s hope it won’t turn into a pile of reports gathering dust. 🤨
3️⃣Where is Mcebisi Jonas?
The rumours have been swirling for a while, thanks to the DA. Apparently, our special envoy to the US, Mcebisi Jonas, never even made it out of the starting blocks.
The party claims the US government refused to engage with Jonas as early as May this year and repeatedly requested another envoy for negotiations.
As proof, Emma Powell, the DA’s spokesperson for international relations, showed journalists messages sent to her by an advisor to US President Donald Trump.
The presidency has labelled the DA’s claims as misinformation, but we haven’t seen proof to the contrary.
The US under Trump has been in a war of words with SA since he began his second term back in January.
By March, our ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, was kicked out of that country after calling out Trump on his dodgy politics in a webinar.
The presidency then made a big splash about Jonas’ appointment back in April. It was a stopgap measure, it seemed; not quite a full ambassador, but someone to help fix things.
But then, Jonas, SA’s respected former deputy finance minister, wasn’t at the explosive meeting between Ramaphosa and Donald Trump at the White House about a month later.
And now everyone is asking… where is he?
If he was really rejected by the US with requests for other names, has the presidency been sitting on this the entire time?? It’s been two months, if the DA is to be believed.
We all know our president’s penchant for sitting on his hands. He takes forever to think about things and make a decision, or simply prevaricates while he tries to gather more information and consensus. That approach may have worked during his days as a master negotiator back when he was a union leader or helping negotiate the end of apartheid.
Things have changed since. Trump’s trade ideas and demands are, frankly, insane. But these are the new rules of the global game we’re in, and to win it, we need leaders who are decisive.
Read the full article here.
4️⃣ South Africa scores rare G20 win as big players skip the party
KwaZulu-Natal played host last week to a major international gathering – the third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. Held at the lush Zimbali Estate, the event was aimed at addressing global economic challenges.
Although several finance ministers were absent, including those from Russia, Brazil, China, India and France, other officials attended in their stead. Even the US, while blustering about boycotting the G20 in SA previously, sent an acting Treasury undersecretary. Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago noted that all the G20 countries were represented – a coup for SA in a rapidly fracturing world
South Africa pulled off another diplomatic win by securing a consensus communiqué at the Durban meeting, a feat not achieved at the previous Cape Town gathering in February.
The consensus, only the second on African soil since the G20’s inception, agreed on strategic macroeconomic issues and the need for central banks to remain independent.
Their language around strengthening multilateral cooperation through the World Trade Organisation and reforming Multilateral Development Banks was more cautious. They emphasised its importance and signalled ongoing discussions, suggesting this remains a work in progress they’re committed to.
Even so, that’s a big deal, as Trump continues his assault on multilateralism, withdrawing the US from UNESCO this week.
explain spoke to Sumarie Swanepoel, a senior lecturer in taxation at the University of Pretoria, to unpack why this forum matters. She says the meeting is a key moment to reflect on progress toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and to spotlight the specific needs of developing countries, especially in Africa.
South Africa could use its G20 leadership to centre the voices of the Global South, Swanepoel says. “It’s a chance to showcase the country,” she affirmed.
Bottom line? With its presidency, South Africa has a shot to push for fairer global systems and development policies that don’t sideline gender or poverty. The Durban communiqué is a start, but with global politics shifting rightward, it’s going to take more than a pretty venue to make the G20 deliver for Africa.
Read the full article here.
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That’s it from us at The Wrap, an award-winning product of explain.co.za – simple news summaries for busy people. 💁🏾♀
The Wrap is sponsored by explain’s agency division. We specialise in content marketing for purpose-driven organisations, often with a pan-African reach. Mail info@explain.co.za for a quote.
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