The ANC sacked Gumede in August last year (Don’t you mean redeployed. – Ed) after her arrest relating to a R430 million waste removal tender.
Zandile Gumede, the ex-eThekwini mayor, was last week sent to warm the back benches in the provincial legislature. (Don’t you mean attend Zoom meetings from home. – Ed)
She had been scraping by ever since her axing on a lowly city councillor’s salary of R512 000 a year.
That’s no way to treat a lady, especially it being Women’s Month. So the party decided to do the right thing, swearing in Gumede as an MPL on Wednesday.
Tears and jeers
“Regarding my deployment as a member of the provincial legislature, God and the ANC have wiped my tears as you will recall that what happened last year, happened during this month. Equally, I am happy that this appointment came at the right time, during the month of women,” said Gumede, as reported by ANA.
The new job comes with a handy R1.1 million, plus perks, which signals the ANC puts its money where its mouth is, when it comes to women’s rights. (Surely you mean, other people’s money. – Ed)
But the ouens at Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) were, ANA reported, still insisting it was some kind of a scandal.
Outa’s project manager in KZN, Tim Tyrrell, said: “This move is also a clear climb-down from a decision taken by the KZN ANC provincial executive council in March 2019 that stated ‘all comrades charged with serious crimes must step aside from their positions of responsibility in government, pending the conclusion of their legal cases’.”
Rapid rebuttal unit
Good point, Outa. But this isn’t the ANC’s first rondavel (sic).
They saw that one coming and had already issued a statement reminding opposition politicians, hacks and other low life of the presumption of innocence before the law.
“The ANC KZN is fully aware of detractors who will seek to use Cde Gumede’s ongoing court case to criticize the appointment, however, we subscribe to the notion of innocent until proven guilty as enshrined in our justice system and, as such, there is nothing untoward about the appointment of Cde Gumede,” a party spokesman said.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala had to tread a little more carefully.
In a virtual engagement with the South African National Editors’ Forum, he explained that keeping Gumede in the council had led to “unhealthy” tensions within the party and the city council. He also acknowledged that moving her to the legislature brought its own problems.
“The society is correct in saying this is solving one problem by another problem as it is expected that when the person is charged, that person is removed,” said Zikalala, as reported by Bonangi Hans in IOL.
A friend in need
But Duduzane Zuma, that champion of jurisprudence, would have none of it and rallied to Gumede’s cause. (After all, the former mayor has always been a pal to his dad, former president Jacob Zuma. – Ed)
Zuma in a video clip posted on social media on Friday (see link on News24) congratulated Gumede and chastised “leaders that are flip-flopping on this premises” and “should be ashamed of yourselves”.
“So to you ma’am, keeping working hard, and keep pushing the envelope,” said Zuma in the clip.
Easy, Junior! Let’s have no talk of envelopes here.
Tekkie tax
Another slow news day at TshisaLIVE could explain a report about Black Coffee causing a “stir” by wearing a pricey pair of takkies.
The report includes an Instagram picture of the celebrity disc jockey, real name Nkosinathi Maphumulo, shod in Air Jordan 1 High OG Dior sneakers while sitting on a doorstep in Munich, during his current European tour, we are told. (Whatever happened to lockdown? – Ed)
“The sneakers retailed at $22,000 dollars (about R38,000) but their value has apparently skyrocketed since the launch,” gushed TshisaLIVE hack Kyle Zeeman.
But hold onto your hats, folks, there are more eye-watering figures on their way.
“However, that initial price may also be inflated, with reputable shoe trading service StockX listing its last sale of the shoe for a cool R171,478. The average asking price on the site is listed between R171,822 and R258,510,” Zeeman continues.
Waiting list
The shoes were said to have sold out shortly after Dior made them available online in June, with the company claiming that five million people put their names on a waiting list for a pair.
It looks like Zeeman or someone else at TshisaLIVE/TImesLive mixed up the comma place because the StcokX site in fact says the shoes originally retailed for $2000 to $2200, depending on whether they were low- or high-tops.
That’s still a hefty nearly R38 000. But does it really stack up? Has the supposed scarcity of these takkies – various reports claim anything from 8000 to 13 000 pairs were made – really driven prices up to silly money levels?
Well, only if you are paying in rands.
eBay was taking opening bids for $750 (as of Sunday none had been received). And cash-flush A Weak in the News readers needn’t hang around for the online bidding to close on Wednesday. You can buy a pair right now (new with box) for $1,200 or R20 572. Sorry, the US-based seller does not ship abroad.
Still a bunch of cash, but rather less than the original retail price.
Meanwhile, not to be beaten in the hype stakes, IOL Lifestyle tells us resellers were flogging the takkies for “$26 718 which is about R462 389,72 when converted to our currency”.
Wagging tongues
It’s all tremendously exciting and, who knows, perhaps even true. But we live in an age of celebrity, where the stars of the stage, screen and track are paid to wear brands or are at the very least are given merchandise for free, not the other way.
Did the superstar DJ really stump up for his skoene or was this all just a shameless piece of PR?
IOL after telling readers that Black Coffee “left tongues wagging” with the Instagram picture, implied that Black Coffee was a buyer, but didn’t quite say it outright.
TshisaLIVE instead told readers the DJ posted a picture of himself in a R3.7m Bentley a few years back, whatever that might signify.
The Citizen’s Kaunda Selisho said Black Coffee “got tongues wagging” for wearing the “highly coveted pair of shoes” and because of the “rare pic of his legs”.
We’ll take his word for it.
Selisho also did some number crunching and concluded that “Black Coffee’s sneakers might cost more than your car”.
“So, although we do not have an exact idea about whether or not the DJ bought the shoes and how much he got them for, one thing is for certain – he paid a pretty penny for those kicks,” said Selisho.
All clear then?
