Politics.za

January

• National government becomes more antagonistic to the court system and proposes limiting some of it’s powers over blocking legislature. The relationship does not get better during the year.

February

• The High Court takes press freedom back to the Apartheid era by pre-emptively blocking the publication of cartoons depicting Muhammad, claiming that the cartoons were hate speech (when they were nothing of the sort) and that the ‘right to dignity’ trumps the ‘right to free speech’.
• In the week before local elections take place Cape Town, which is facing up for a battle between the DA and ANC, suffers rolling blackouts thanks to someone dropping a bolt in the reactor of Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power plant.
• In one of the worst cases of foot in mouth disease Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin claims that Koeberg shutdown was an act of sabotage. When he tries to claim he never said that radio stations have a field day repeatedly playing back Erwin’s own statements to him.

March

• The 2006 local elections go off without a hitch. The focus of the elections is Cape Town, where the DA narrowly beat the ANC and both parties begin a frenzied attempt to put together coalitions that will give them a majority of votes. The ID, who are expected to be the ‘king makers’, are rumoured to be in talks with the ANC.
• In a tense vote the DA’s mayoral candidate Helen Zille is elected as Mayor of Cape Town. The DA build a coalition of minority parties to give them a slim lead. Despite my beliefs at the time that the coalition wouldn’t last very long it seems to be rock solid.
• The ID finds itself in a party revolt as members and councillors voice their displeasure in the ID’s backing of the ANC in the mayoral elections. The ID, who had been expecting to use their swing vote to attain some power find themselves shut out in Cape Town.
• In a foreshadowing of what may be still to come, Mayor Zille freezes the construction of World Cup stadium in Cape Town until it is known who is responsible for the (rapidly ballooning) cost.

April

• The ongoing Zuma rape trial produces some of the most cringe inducing quotes ever attributed to a major SA politician.
• The Dept of Home Affairs, proving themselves possibly the worst run department in government, manage in one month to get temporary SA passports declared invalid by the UK and then to run out of paper for normal passports later on.

May

• Thabo Mbeki declares he believes the next president of South Africa should be a woman
• The rape case against Zuma collapses and he is reinstated as Deputy President of the ANC putting him back in the succession battle.
• The SACP continue with their almost endless hand wringing over whether to leave the tri-partite alliance but decide not to.

June

• Tension remains high in the ANC as the ANC leadership try and handle Zuma’s return into the ANC leadership.
• COSATU decide they might want to split from the tri-partite alliance. To date they’re still in it.
• The SABC cancel the screening of a documentary that dared to be slightly critical of Thabo Mbeki.
• Later it is revealed the SABC Head of News Snuki Zikalala has a blacklist of commentators and freelance journalist who are not allowed on SABC news and current affairs programs.
• China and South Africa come to an agreement to limit Chinese clothing imports. A little too late though as China has already decimated SA’s textile industry by then.

July

• Auditor-General Shauket Fakie hands in his notice after a two year career involving almost nothing more than filling government departmental accounting books with red ink.
• ANC Secretary General Smuts Ngonyama all but says that the coloured population is not really a high priority for the ANC.
• Some members in the ANC debate whether or not the rampant centralisation that has occurred under the Mbeki administration was really such a good thing.

August

• The ANC believes it might have to start limiting it’s member’s business interests and deals. Some of the recipient’s of those deals make up stupid excuses as to why they’re using their government position to get rich.
• The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, who oversee one of the most important areas in a developing economy – telecommunications, become one of the most toothless, ineffective watchdogs in the country.
• Former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni finally goes to jail. Four months later he’ll be released on weekend parole.
• Cape Town city manager Wallace Mgoqi is finally fired following a court battle over an employment contract signed the day before the local elections in March.
• The ANC reveals plans to reduce service delivery holdups by totally restructuring the provincial government system. Proposals include either scrapping some of the provinces entirely or changing provincial government to be little more than a provincial administration.

September

• South Africa is given a seat on the UN Security Council.
• Moeletsi Mbeki, brother of President Thabo Mbeki, unleashes a torrent of criticism on Jacob Zuma and his supporters (COSATU,SACP), accusing them of being more interested in power than helping the poor.
• Stories circulate Western Cape MEC for Local Government Richard Diyanti will use his power to restructure the Cape Town local government into an executive committee based system, effectively making the position of mayor powerless and giving the ANC seats on the executive committee. A week later the stories are confirmed when Diyanti notifies Mayor Zille of his intention to begin the restructuring.
• Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial is struck off the court roll (but not dismissed) as the prosecution is forced to wait for a separate appeal over some evidence to be concluded first.

October

• Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni and Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula are identified as possible presidential contenders.
• The DA retains control of the Cape Town council following the intervention of Minister for Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi.

November

• Same sex civil unions are made legal.
• Proving their incompetence once more the Dept of Home Affairs deports a South African to Zimbabwe by mistake.
• Glenn Agliotti is arrested for the murder of Brett Kebble as well as being a suspect in a major drug/cigarette trafficking operation. National Police Commissioner Jacki Selebi calls Agliotti ‘My friend, finish and klaar’.
• The SABC pays R123 000 to have SABC CEO Dali Mpofu put on the cover of Leadership magazine.
• DA leader Tony Leon announces his intention to vacate his DA leadership position by May 2007.

December

• The Western Cape branch of the ANC continues to fight internally with Premier Ebrahim Rasool facing increasing pressure to reshuffle his provincial cabinet to bring members of ANC Provincial Chairman Mcebisi Skwatsha’s faction into more power.
• The Chinese community of South Africa apply to be reclassified as black in order to be fully allowed to take part in BEE.