Weekend Thing: Eskom's dark days, Mentor's mental moments at Zondo

[Click here for the web version of this email]( [Daily Maverick]( Saturday, 16 February 2019 [Eskom Shines a New Brilliant Light of Failure]( “I am a big proponent of harnessing the power of fusion – from 93 million miles away. Fusion is done by our sun really, really well and for free. Here on Earth in reactors, not so much.” Joe Romm In sum The week would have started with a flash had there been any power. But, thanks to a stupendous accumulation of factors at Eskom such as maintenance issues, delays, and sheer ineptitude, [stage 4 load shedding came into swift and early effect.]( Power Corrupts, No Power Corrupts Absolutely Financial mismanagement, fine ash pollutants, cell phone usage, the list of reasons behind the blackouts were vast. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan did not shy away from the crisis either. Labelling it an "emergency", Gordhan cautioned that the load shedding could [continue until April.]( Hundreds of billions of Rands in debt, President Ramaphosa announced that government would bail out Eskom one way or another. South Africans would need to wait until the budget speech to see just how and for what amount, however. Why should you care? The disaster at Eskom is unquestionably vast. Beyond the damage it has and will continue to wreak upon the South African economy, there is a growing wave of antipathy towards a ruling ANC that seems incapable of fixing the mistakes of the previous presidency. Indeed, even when some measures, such as the splitting of Eskom into three parts, are proposed, the unions threaten the president with their votes. If the opposition parties were not so busy conjuring up assassination plots and undermining their own leaders, they would have easily capitalised on these problems. — [Free Delivery]( to your nearest Exclusive Books when ordering via on EB Online [This weekend we're watching]( It's Rapunzel, but not at all the fairy tale you might remember. Let your hair down and have a watch. [A Quick Mentorship]( 2 How many days this week it took for Vytjie Mentor to wrap up her testimony Fault Lines Show Former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor has had a [troubled second innings]( at the Zondo Commission. Recalling events spanning several years, including some at least nine years back, Mentor's claims of meetings and encounters with Gupta associates and the family itself showed some holes. Not Quite Agrizzi When faced with brutally honest documentation contradicting claims made about dates of events and indeed even the details of the Gupta inner-sanctum, Mentor ultimately cast doubt on the veracity of said records, at one point [requesting an investigation]( into any renovations made at the Saxonwold residence. Some of what Mentor has claimed at the Zondo Commission may be true. However, the former MP was meant to be the inquiry's star witness, who instead came across as somewhat confused on critical details. Not quite the Angelo Agrizzi testimony. — [Free Delivery]( to your nearest Exclusive Books when ordering via on EB Online [WoW, What a World (of Warcraft)]( Mats Steen died aged 25 of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. What Mats' parents had not known was that Mats, AKA "Ibelin Redmoore", had lived a life online through the global online multiplayer game World of Warcraft. Constantly harangued to "get off the computer" and go to bed, Mats parents were astounded to find out how, following news of his death to his guild members online, a worldwide outpouring of love and sympathy issued from this digital world. For Mats, the World of Warcraft was a place free of disability, social othering and medical problems. In his blog, he wrote, "it's not a screen, it's a gateway to wherever your heart desires." [Read the full story]( to see just how video games are not necessarily the prime evil corrupter of your children. — Key Reading [No pay: Annual admin snarl-ups hit junior doctors on community service]( By Yanga Sibembe Junior doctors across the country should have received their salaries on 31 January 2019, but the day came and went without a cent finding its way into their bank accounts. The ripple effects have been far-reaching as the euphoria of being placed at a medical facility turned to frustration and anger. Obi-Wrong Kenobi George Lucas considers the Empire Strikes Back to be the worst Star Wars movie. [How To Invest Offshore]( [Sponsored Content by Investec]( Given the compelling reasons for investing offshore, which include diversification benefits, reduced emerging market and currency risk, and maintenance of ‘hard’ currency spending power, how best should investors go about investing offshore? — [Unlike Eskom - We Won’t Keep You In The Dark]( Our journalists work hard every day exposing the corruption in our country. In fact, Daily Maverick has published 147 Scorpio investigations since 2017. We’re not going to keep that behind a paywall. Our readers need to know what’s really happening in South Africa. The number one benefit of becoming a Maverick Insider is ensuring that our investigations remain free and accessible to all. [Sign up and help us enlighten all South Africans.]( Weekend reading [The true cost of load shedding in rands and cents – and life and death]( [The true cost of load shedding in rands and cents – and life and death]( BY Ayanda Mthethwa [ANC’s SNAFU days – right in time for 2019 elections]( [ANC’s SNAFU days – right in time for 2019 elections]( BY Stephen Grootes [As Great Whites disappear off the Cape’s Seal Island, sevengill sharks, ‘living fossils’, move in]( [As Great Whites disappear off the Cape’s Seal Island, sevengill sharks, ‘living fossils’, move in]( BY Shaun Smillie [Free Delivery]( to your nearest Exclusive Books when ordering via on EB Online [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2019 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick Afternoon Thing subscriber list. Want to advertise in this mail? 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