Absurdly long parliamentary recess proposed by ANC

[Daily Maverick] AFTERNOON THING with JOHN STUPART Tuesday, 27 March 2018 WHILE YOU WERE WORKING [Diplomatic expulsions trigger Russian backlash]( While Russians protest the horrid safety standards exacerbating Monday's deadly mall blaze, the rest of the world was busily evicting Russian spies and diplomats. Russia, in turn, has published a Twitter poll asking readers to decide which embassy it should close in Moscow. Trolling Europe and the United States in retaliation for its diplomats' mass evictions is so stereotypically Russian that there may as well be a virus attached somewhere in the message. [Big break for Parliament proposed by the ANC]( It's not just students who get massive 2.5 month holidays any more. If the ANC get their way, the country's Parliament will go on a similar recess from the end of May. The purpose of such a long break would be to allow parties time to conduct election campaigns. Just what election this might be for, however, is being kept a secret by the ruling party. Although it had emerged that the ANC was aiming to propose early national elections while Ramaphosa was still flavour of the month and the opposition parties were in disarray, this has not been formally announced. Thus, proposing a break with scores of bills yet to be passed in Parliament is, technically, bloody silly. [Mashaba defends NGO contract]( Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba has expressed his support for a contract awarded to the Field Band Foundation. Mashaba was responding to allegations by the ANC that Mashaba had illegally awarded FBF a contract without a written proposal submitted to the city. Although conceding that he had recommended FBF to the city, Mashaba insisted that they had followed all the correct due processes required for a contract award. [Linda Brown passes away]( Famous anti-segregation activist Linda Brown has died, aged 75. Brown had been instrumental in fighting the US courts in the 1950s to have public schools desegregated. The US Supreme Court made a historic ruling on Brown vs Board of Education in 1954 that helped end widespread, institutional discrimination against black Americans. FEATURED ARTICLES [It’s Complicated: The land issue according to the ANC Nasrec conference]( [It’s Complicated: The land issue according to the ANC Nasrec conference]( BY Stephen Grootes [Parliament: The Unravelling of the National Minimum Wage Bill]( [Parliament: The Unravelling of the National Minimum Wage Bill]( BY Marianne Merten [Jennifer Ferguson: Why I’ve laid a rape charge against Danny Jordaan]( [Jennifer Ferguson: Why I’ve laid a rape charge against Danny Jordaan]( BY Rebecca Davis OPINIONISTAS [Black farmers deserve state support]( [Black farmers deserve state support]( A column by Mzukisi Qobo [The ANC shall turn municipalities around]( [The ANC shall turn municipalities around]( A column by Zweli Mkhize [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2017 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](