Cape Town – Members of Parliament gloated about their respective election victories during the first post-election sitting of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen picked on Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who owns a stake in McDonald’s SA.

"In the House we have Mr Ronald McDonald himself. The ANC’s election results are his fault," he said, referring to the fast-food franchise’s mascot clown.

"He arrogantly told his supporters in Tshwane, Johannesburg, and Nelson Mandela Bay that the ANC was not going to lose any key metros.

"Now he’s swapped his Happy Meal for a bit of humble pie."

EFF leader Julius Malema was scathing of the ruling party during his speech on the election results. After the debate concluded, he stood up to raise one last point of order.

"Madam Speaker, I never thought I would live through the day where the ANC was crying for the EFF votes," he said cheekily, before sitting down again.

ANC defiant

His comrade Mbuyiseni Ndlozi followed him, asking stand-in Speaker Mmatlala Borotho if Baleka Mbete would be returning to her seat to give her take on the election results.

"Madam Speaker, I never thought I would live through the day where the ANC was crying for the EFF votes,"

In his speech, ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu defiantly declared that the ANC still won the elections with 54% of the vote nationally, down from 61% in the 2011 local government elections.

EFF MPs cheered and jeered as Mthembu claimed victory. Ndlozi shouted sarcastically: "Well done! Hip hip [hooray]."

During his speech, Freedom Front Plus MP Pieter Mulder asked: "Will Mr Zuma go back to Soweto and tell voters what went wrong? Will he go to Tshwane and tell the people that the ANC lost before Jesus came back?"

Ramaphosa laughed when DA MP Kevin Mileham remarked that President Jacob Zuma would be working in a DA-led metro in Pretoria, and visiting a DA-led metro in Cape Town when visiting Parliament.

The National Assembly is due to have its second plenary session of the third term on Wednesday at 15:00.

Cape Town – Members of Parliament gloated about their respective election victories during the first post-election sitting of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen picked on Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who owns a stake in McDonald’s SA.

"In the House we have Mr Ronald McDonald himself. The ANC’s election results are his fault," he said, referring to the fast-food franchise’s mascot clown.

"He arrogantly told his supporters in Tshwane, Johannesburg, and Nelson Mandela Bay that the ANC was not going to lose any key metros.

"Now he’s swapped his Happy Meal for a bit of humble pie."

EFF leader Julius Malema was scathing of the ruling party during his speech on the election results. After the debate concluded, he stood up to raise one last point of order.

"Madam Speaker, I never thought I would live through the day where the ANC was crying for the EFF votes," he said cheekily, before sitting down again.

ANC defiant

His comrade Mbuyiseni Ndlozi followed him, asking stand-in Speaker Mmatlala Borotho if Baleka Mbete would be returning to her seat to give her take on the election results.

"She needs to come and share her perspective," he said with a smile.

In his speech, ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu defiantly declared that the ANC still won the elections with 54% of the vote nationally, down from 61% in the 2011 local government elections.

EFF MPs cheered and jeered as Mthembu claimed victory. Ndlozi shouted sarcastically: "Well done! Hip hip [hooray]."

During his speech, Freedom Front Plus MP Pieter Mulder asked: "Will Mr Zuma go back to Soweto and tell voters what went wrong? Will he go to Tshwane and tell the people that the ANC lost before Jesus came back?"

Ramaphosa laughed when DA MP Kevin Mileham remarked that President Jacob Zuma would be working in a DA-led metro in Pretoria, and visiting a DA-led metro in Cape Town when visiting Parliament.

The National Assembly is due to have its second plenary session of the third term on Wednesday at 15:00.

Cape Town – Members of Parliament gloated about their respective election victories during the first post-election sitting of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen picked on Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who owns a stake in McDonald’s SA.

"In the House we have Mr Ronald McDonald himself. The ANC’s election results are his fault," he said, referring to the fast-food franchise’s mascot clown.

"He arrogantly told his supporters in Tshwane, Johannesburg, and Nelson Mandela Bay that the ANC was not going to lose any key metros.

"Now he’s swapped his Happy Meal for a bit of humble pie."

EFF leader Julius Malema was scathing of the ruling party during his speech on the election results. After the debate concluded, he stood up to raise one last point of order.

"Madam Speaker, I never thought I would live through the day where the ANC was crying for the EFF votes," he said cheekily, before sitting down again.

ANC defiant

His comrade Mbuyiseni Ndlozi followed him, asking stand-in Speaker Mmatlala Borotho if Baleka Mbete would be returning to her seat to give her take on the election results.

"She needs to come and share her perspective," he said with a smile.

In his speech, ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu defiantly declared that the ANC still won the elections with 54% of the vote nationally, down from 61% in the 2011 local government elections.

EFF MPs cheered and jeered as Mthembu claimed victory. Ndlozi shouted sarcastically: "Well done! Hip hip [hooray]."

During his speech, Freedom Front Plus MP Pieter Mulder asked: "Will Mr Zuma go back to Soweto and tell voters what went wrong? Will he go to Tshwane and tell the people that the ANC lost before Jesus came back?"

Ramaphosa laughed when DA MP Kevin Mileham remarked that President Jacob Zuma would be working in a DA-led metro in Pretoria, and visiting a DA-led metro in Cape Town when visiting Parliament.

The National Assembly is due to have its second plenary session of the third term on Wednesday at 15:00.

The country was dying a slow death under the ANC

Cape Town – EFF leader Julius Malema told the ANC on Tuesday to "jump into the nearest hell”.

The country was dying a slow death under the ANC, he said in the National Assembly, during a debate on the August 3 local government elections.

The ANC had dug its own grave, which was why it lost a number of municipalities to the DA and other opposition parties.

He said voting with the DA in hung municipalities was an emergency measure. The party would go back to fighting white monopoly capital once it had rescued the country from the brink of collapse.

“I hear people, and the ANC, saying we are voting for a white party.”

The ANC had worked with the National Party in the fight for democracy, he said.

'Instagram celebrity' ministers

"We will never vote for a party presided over by a person who defied the Constitution. This is the party that killed our people in Marikana. We will never vote for you. He will never get our vote," he said, referring to President Jacob Zuma.

Malema said the ANC should not blame the EFF for losing metros such as Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane. 

“We don't vote for crooks, we don't vote for kleptocracy. We don't vote for a party that is going to pass a nuclear deal that is going to collapse this country. Zuma wants to enrich his family and he will never get our vote.”

He told the ANC to get their "Instagram celebrity" ministers to vote and campaign for the party.

“Don't blame it on the EFF. It is of your own making. You've got yourself to blame. You are self-destructing. You can jump into the nearest hell,” he told ANC MPs.

Self-inflicted setbacks

ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu said their engagements with the EFF had convinced them the  party was driven by bitterness and vengeance and had nothing to offer people.

The ANC remained the people's choice and the losses it suffered at the polls were not because any other party was better than it. 

“The losses and setbacks suffered in these elections are self-inflicted. The message sent to us by our people by not voting in their majority, and including many who abstained and decided to stay at home, has been loud and clear and we have heard it,” he said.

The party would change its behaviour and the perception that it was aloof, inward-looking, self-serving, and arrogant.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane said millions of voters chose hope over fear in the elections.

“They refused to succumb to divisive race-based rhetoric, because they know that we are better together. So, to my ANC colleagues on the other side of this House, the lesson of this election is very clear: never take the voters for granted.”

He said voters would throw politicians out of office if they were disrespected.

Jobodwana'disappointed' with Telkom's Bolt deal

JOHANNESBURG - South African medallist Anaso Jobodwana  criticised Telkom on Wednesday for choosing a foreign athlete, world champion Usain Bolt, to market  fibre broadband.

Jobodwana said on radio it was "disappointing"  that local athletes had not been chosen.

"Wayde [van Niekerk] is fastest in the world and he is South African. It just sent out sent out this message that we are not good enough," he told Kaya FM's Mosibodi Whitehead.

Jobodwana added that Bolt was already a brand ambassador with a telephone company in Jamaica.

  in November and has since been criticised for overlooking local athletes.

Telkom spokesperson Jacqui O’Sullivan said Telkom would soon announce deals with local athletes.

"Telkom has huge respect for our local sports stars and their achievements. We are  working on some exciting ideas for local athletics in the coming Olympic year and we look forward to announcing those in due course."

O’Sullivan defended the choice of Bolt.

"The association with Usain Bolt links Telkom not just to another brand but to an individual who has become a legend in his own lifetime. We’ve got South Africa’s fastest network and Usain Bolt is the fastest man on the planet and is universally known and recognised. We believe this association is a powerful way to communicate the world-class speed of our fibre."

Athletes approached to change citizenship

Jobodwana said he had been approached at this year’s World Championships about changing to become a citizen of  another country. He didn't say which country had approached him, but said he hadn't even considered the offer because he loves South Africa.

Two other South African athletes mentioned that they had been approached to change citizenship.

South African race-walking record holder Lebogang Shange, who  also spoke on the radio show, said that if he got an opportunity to change citizenship he would accept because he was not getting support from the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) and the ministry of sport.

Sprinter Akani Simbine said he had received more than one offer to change citizenship. He admitted that some of the offers were tempting because they involved big money. But, he said, he would never leave because it would mean sitting  out international competition for two years.

Earlier this year South African golfer Kevin Anderson revealed that he would take US citizenship and have dual nationality.

Rio 2016: 'Hands off Caster' trends in South Africa

More than 17,000 tweets made the hashtag #HandsOffCaster South Africa's top trend over the past weekend. It sent a clear message - South Africans were ready to defend their middle-distance runner Caster Semenya from persistent questions over whether she should be excluded from racing in Rio.

Semenya was made to undergo gender testing after winning gold at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. She was cleared to compete in 2010 after being sidelined for 11 months while the tests were carried out.

The tag #HandsOffCaster appears to date back to the London 2012 Olympics, but again began to trend over the weekend, following the publication of two magazine articles in the US. The title of the Sports Illustrated piece was, "Is it fair for Caster Semenya to compete against women at Rio?" The second article was a conversation between author Malcolm Gladwell and editor Nicholas Thompson for the New Yorker.

When Thompson asked whether Semenya should be allowed to race with other women, Gladwell responded "of course not... Remember, this is a competitive issue, not a human-rights issue."

Gladwell, who is a proponent of the 10,000-hour rule (the theory that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery of a skill), was immediately subject to a social media grilling.

Lenovo quarterly profit rises 64% despite 'challenging' industry

The world's biggest personal computer-maker, Lenovo, said first-quarter earnings rose 64% to $173m (£132m), beating market expectations.

The Chinese firm said its PC business had delivered "strong profits" despite a slowdown in the overall market.

However, revenue fell by 6% from a year earlier to $10.1bn in the three months to June.

Lenovo attributed that to the "challenging" environment and the decline in China's currency.

The Chinese firm has been aggressively cutting costs and investing in new growth areas such as cloud computing.

"Our PC business delivered strong profits and our smartphone business stabilised compared to last quarter," Lenovo chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang said in a statement.

"Although the macro-economy and our industries remain challenging, causing a decline in our revenue, we significantly improved our profit year-on-year through innovative products and strong execution," he said.

Thompson wins women's 200m gold

Thompson, 24, clocked 21.78 seconds to beat Netherlands' world champion Dafne Schippers by 0.13sec and add the 200m title to the gold she won in the 100m.

USA's Tori Bowie took bronze in 22.15, while Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith, 20, ran 22.31 to finish fifth.

"It is a very special and welcoming feeling for me. I think my light has shined," Thompson told BBC Sport.

"Watching Veronica Campbell-Brown, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and then putting my name there is an amazing feeling."

Campbell-Brown won the Olympic 200m title at Athens 2004 and retained it in Beijing 2008, while Fraser-Pryce took 100m gold at both Beijing and London 2012.

In all, Jamaica have won 10 of the past 11 Olympic golds in the 100m and 200m, with Usain Bolt a strong favourite to extend that record in Thursday's men's 200m final (02:30 BST, Friday).

Asher-Smith ran from lane two in her first Olympic final - posting her fastest time of the year but 0.24secs under her personal best.

"I am really happy, I think I still could have done a bit better but I can't be disappointed with that," she said.

"It is a learning curve and hopefully I'll have more world championships and Olympics to get it right."

It doesn’t feel nice to be called ugly: Muvhango actress

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JOHANNESBURG – Popular for her role as the Chief of Thathe’s first wife on SABC 2 soapie Muvhango, Maumela Mahuwa admitted that she hadn’t always been the confident and bubbly person she appeared to be on social media. 

DA, EFF marriage will not last': ANC

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DA coalition - supported by EFF - to take over from ANC

KZN: Opposition big 3 get ready to stand up to ANC

JOHANNESBURG – The ANC says that any agreement between the EFF and DA will not stand the test of time.

On Wednesday, the EFF and DA held separate media briefings where they announced their coalition government decisions.

The EFF said that it would not be part of any coalition but it would work to ensure that the ANC is removed from power.

Related: Broad DA-led coalition - supported by EFF - poised to take over from ANC

EFF leader Julius Malema announced that his party would snub the ANC and vote for other opposition parties in hung municipalities, particularly siding with the DA in the metropolitan municipalities of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay and Ekurhuleni.

But the ANC said that it was not bothered by the EFF and DA’s partnership as the wheels would soon come off.

“We don’t think their marriage will last,” said ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa.

“The EFF has no reason voting with the DA, it is closer to the ANC regarding policy than it is to the DA.”

Kodwa said that the ANC would be a formidable opposition in municipalities where they failed to get a majority.

“The ANC is at the moment hard at work in councils it has not won,” he said.

“It must be noted that the ANC will be a co-operative and fierce opponent where we have not gathered a majority vote.”

Malema had said the ANC failed to meet their conditions to form a coalition. One of those non-negotiable demands was the removal of President Jacob Zuma as head of state.

Related: The day the EFF punished the ANC

Nonetheless, Kodwa said that the ANC was a party focused on the collective.

“The people of South Africa voted for the ANC as a collective and not for individuals,” he said.

Kodwa was optimistic that the ANC would hang onto larger municipalities like Johannesburg, saying council meetings had been concluded yet.

The EFF singled out one agreement they needed to iron out with the DA if they were to govern in Johannesburg.

Malema said although he supports the DA's bid to run the city, he does not want the DA's mayoral candidate – Herman Mashaba – in that position.

“That guy is a problem, he has no idea of what we are dealing with,” Malema said of Mashaba.

“He thinks being a mayor is like buying shares in a company and becoming a chairman.”

Malema said Mashaba’s “anti-blackness’ was a problem for the EFF and he said he asked the DA to compromise if they were to get their full co-operation in Johannesburg.

“Where there is talks in terms of power sharing including getting support from others, you must be prepared to compromise,” he said.

“The DA is doing exactly what the ANC is doing, they are prepared to lose a metro because of an individual. The ANC was prepared to lose a metro because of an individual called Jacob Zuma.

“Those who have an ear of the DA must warn them that they must not lose a metro because of an individual.”

However, on Wednesday afternoon, Malema told Talk Radio 702 that if Mashaba was 

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Zuma put Nkandla on the map for all the wrong reasons - mayor

Amanda Khoza, News24

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2016-08-02 07:42

Nkandla mayor Thami Ntuli (Amanda Khoza, News24)

Nkandla – President Jacob Zuma has put Nkandla on the map for all the wrong reasons, said Nkandla Mayor Thami Ntuli on Monday.

"This is where the president of the country lives, however in terms of the development, he never had an influence. There was no value in having the president come from Nkandla in terms of development," said Ntuli.

The mayor of three years was speaking to News24 from his office at the Nkandla Municipality in the small town. The IFP governs the municipality.

Zuma was recently ordered to pay R7.8m for non-security upgrades at his Nkandla homestead.

News24 recently reported that a Constitutional Court document posted on social media read: "Having regard to paragraphs 7 and 8 of its order of 31 March 2016, this Court signifies, with effect from the date of this letter, its approval of the amount of R7, 814, 155 as at June 2009, set out in the paragraph of the Report by National Treasury submitted to the Court on 27 June 2016."

All the wrong reasons

Ntuli on Monday said it was unfortunate that the small town had become famous for the misuse of taxpayers' money and lavish spending at Zuma's homestead in kwaNxamalala village, about 50km from the Nkandla CBD.

However, he said it should have been a good thing that Zuma had come from the area.

"We believe that it [his being from Nkandla] should have had an impact in enhancing service delivery. There are backlogs in the municipality in terms of service delivery. People are still poor and unemployed and there are a lot of social ills that need to be addressed."

He said Zuma had put Nkandla on the South African map for all the wrong reasons.

"The R7.8m we are seeing is bad publicity for Nkandla, we have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. We are in the news for using taxpayers money for the president's home."

Ntuli said the homestead was a waste of taxpayers' money.

Political killings

When asked about his relationship with the ANC, the IFP mayor said his party planned to retain the municipality.

He said there were no tensions between councillors in the municipalities it governs.

He added the political killings in the province were mostly of ANC councillors. "We have not had councillors killed here."

About 12 people, mostly ANC members, have been killed in the province in what were believed to be politically motivated killings.

Ntuli said the IFP was not only going to retain the municipality, but it was going to improve its performance.

"In 2011, no political party won Nkandla. Prior to that the IFP was leading the municipality and in 2011, the IFP and the National Freedom Party formed a coalition. In 2012 December, the ANC councillor died and when we went for a by-election that is when we won back the municipality.”

He said people who left the IFP for the NFP had returned.

"Right now there is no NFP in Nkandla, even the deputy mayor from the NFP, he is now back with the IFP. We have grown from strength to strength."

Ntuli said the citizens of Nkandla were confident in the IFP.

ConCourt approves R7.8m Zuma must pay for Nkandla

2016-07-26 15:26

Nkandla (Matthew Middleton/News24)

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Cape Town - The Constitutional Court on Tuesday said it had approved the amount of R7.8m that President Jacob Zuma must pay for non-security upgrades at his Nkandla residence.

This comes after Treasury calculated that this was the amount payable by the president.

A Constitutional Court document posted on social media read: " Having regard to paragraphs 7 and 8 of its order of 31 March 2016, this Court signifies, with effect from the date of this letter, its approval of the amount of R7, 814, 155 as at June 2009, set out in the paragraph of the Report by National Treasury submitted to the Court on 27 June 2016."

Zuma has 45 days from today [Tuesday] to pay the money.