You have your say: WhatsApps and letters to the editor, September 18

WhatsApps

Raymond Horner: Health MEC hire a foreign friend into a ACTING position, please how on earth can you hire people into a ACTING position, only a person within the organisation can ACT in a position that is either a vacancy not longer than 6 months or if the incumbent is off sick or on leave, nowhere in any business can you hire someone permanently into an ACTING POST. The MEC should be fired on the wspot, no questions. good bye

anonymous: DA municipalities should be emulated is a brave call made by Cyril Ramaphosa. He was indeed honest to unveil this truth. He only forgot to underscore that the DA only appoints the best and does not deploy grade 10 and grade 11 officials into professional posts earning over a million rand a year. This is evident in most departments and municipalities in KZN.

Letters

The ANC’s relevance cannot be denied

The notion that a discourse on the liberation struggle has lost relevance cannot go unchallenged, particularly when it comes to the ANC, which remained an undisputed and resilient force throughout.

The South African people, regardless of race, gender or social standing, overwhelmingly trusted and voted the ANC into power in 1994. From then, the ANC-led democratic government embarked on a journey to change people’s material conditions.

In striving to speed up transformation, the ANC government introduced progressive laws that brought significant improvements, particularly in healthcare, education and the provision of basic services such as water, housing and electricity.

People who had previously been relegated to the periphery were empowered to participate in the mainstream economy. A remarkable milestone was the establishment of governance and oversight structures, along with Chapter 9 institutions, to safeguard our democracy. These initiatives helped to improve the living standards of many. Desperate attempts to suppress discussions of these achievements are unfortunate.

Such tendencies, which deliberately spread misinformation and seek to shape negative perceptions, threaten to derail the noble course of our democratic project. These efforts must be defused.

The ANC has never claimed perfection. It has openly acknowledged the serious challenges and setbacks that threaten progress – including fraud, corruption, capacity constraints, lack of accountability, internal conflicts, ineffective oversight, global pressures and inadequate monitoring. Yet the ANC’s leadership has shown consistency and commitment in working to reverse these problems. To claim that the ANC is facing an existential crisis is pure sensationalism, peddled by alarmists.On the contrary, a culture of discipline, accountability and people-centred governance is gradually being entrenched.

This will help the ANC to regain lost ground, as voters are observing closely.History teaches us that the ANC has previously faced moments of weakness, but its strength lies in its ability to reflect rigorously, correct itself and move forward with honesty. The recent roll call of ANC councillors deserves recognition, and it is now incumbent on those councillors to adhere strictly to their marching orders.

The ANC’s resilience, its willingness to self-correct, and its demonstrated commitment to the people remain the foundation of its continued relevance in our democracy. | Nkululeko Ngcamu Ndwedwe

Unique Grand Prix in middle of Karoo

Have you heard of Philipstown, a dusty, little Karoo town in the North West Province?

This unknown, remote town has been thrust into the limelight because of an unusual event which started 15 years ago, fostering a wonderful community spirit of togetherness, unity and resilience in the face of poverty and adversity in the arid Karoo. It’s home to an unusual race, the Draadkar Grand Prix, the one and only wire car grand prix in the world.

Brain child of event organiser and founder Kay Fourie, it has even appeared in Guinness World Records. Last Friday, 100 boys took part in the grueling event, racing their hand-crafted wire cars on the dusty roads, from the outlying townships to the main street of Philipstown.

The race caters for different age categories over varying distances, the longest being 3km It tests the road worthiness of the wire cars and the resilience, stamina and determination of the youthful drivers. Girls also joined the race.There isn’t any big prize money, just a soccer ball, now and then some cash, vetkoek and mince and a frozen ice lolly. But more importantly, it is a community building exercise and provides the youth a useful hobby in a harsh environment. It also gives them the bragging rights that they participated in a grand prix, not with expensive toy cars like their richer counterparts from the cities but handmade wire cars. It also shows what poor people can achieve in the most trying of circumstances, in the dust bowl of the Karoo.

I hope, as this unique event gets more media coverage, it grows and attracts sponsors to make it even bigger, and, like KZN’s sardine run, puts Philipstown on the world stage. eNCA has given it wide coverage. I hope the otherwise channels do likewise. I also hope Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille will look into this unique event and see how she could use it as a tourist draw card.

South Africa wants to bring the F1 back to Kyalami but we already have the Draadkar Grand Prix – the only one of its kind in the world. | T Markandan Kloof

Trump derided, globalists sulk

Like Mushtak Parker’s opinion pieces, the one by Mahmoud Baker is afflicted by Trump Derangement Syndrome and globalism.

This affliction ensures an inability to be objective about the global revolution Trump promised and the re-establishment of the values upon which the US was founded. The adversary confronting Trump is the entrenched un-American, globalist order known as Deep State. This vast network of adherents controlled by an oligarchy has exercised influence and control over the US for more than a century.

By being exposed and uprooted, the Deep State cabal is losing control of the narrative it previously owned and ordered. Hence, articles like Baker’s prioritise disparagement while declining to provide context and contrast with the Orwellian globalist system they embrace.There is much truth in the Washington Post’s masthead slogan – “democracy dies in darkness”.

Equally true is the slogan ‘democracy dies in denial.’ Characteristically, the globalist media is committed to denying objective reporting and opinion about Trump’s policies and the work of his Administration thereby promoting unenlightened thinking.

So, for Mahmoud Baker’s benefit, here are some truths regarding his claims. None of the members of Trump’s cabinet is an amateur. Without exception they are all experts in the fields of their appointment. They have to be because Trump is intolerant of mediocrity.

Like any boss, he is entitled to loyalty. But he is also respected for his habit of canvassing opinion widely and for transparency.

Unlike the Biden regime which routinely violated several articles of the constitution, Trump adheres to it. Each of the 18 injunctions brought against his Administration by Democrat-appointed judges has been struck down by solid majorities from the bench of the Supreme Court.

Trump’s 53% approval far exceeds that of Biden or Obama. It is buoyed by the lower taxes he has applied, cheques in excess of $600 to 58 million households as a result of the inflow of tariff revenues ($58 billion since June), firm control of the border, removal of criminal and terrorist elements, more employment opportunities.

The economy would be in even better shape if the Federal Reserve lowered the interest rate from 4.3% to 1.3% as Trump demands. But Jerome Powell, the globalist Fed boss, is reluctant, aware that Trump is steadily diminishing the Fed’s role through his tariff policies.

The marches against deployment of the National Guard in cities to remove crime are funded by Democrat organisations such as Bluesky, Glaad and of course the inveterate opponent of the US constitution, George Soros. As such, they are not spontaneous protests.

Far from weakening America’s democratic foundation, as Baker claims, Trump is cleaning it up. The redistricting of congressional seats is reversing the gerrymandering the Democrats have practiced for years. Here are two examples of gerrymandered Democrat states. Although the GOP garnered 41% of the vote in Connecticut, all five congressional seats are Democrat. Despite the GOP winning 40% of the votes, only nine of California’s 53 congressional seats are held by GOP representatives.

In addition, for Baker to deprecate the termination of hundreds of billions in fraudulent and utterly wasteful USAid, the inflow of trillions in investment and the removal of control by the WHO of US health policy, is globalist sour grapes. | DR DUNCAN DU BOIS Bluff

DAILY NEWS