Ramaphosa vows 'jail time' for commissions' implicated, Amazon looks at Airpod rival

[Click here for the web version of this email]( [FIRST THING With John Stupart]( TGIF, 5 April 2019 “Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.” Anthony Bourdain Story of the Day [Public Protector provisionally finds ‘serious irregularities’ in R255m Free State asbestos audit]( By Pieter-Louis Myburgh for Scorpio Before he was shot dead in his Bentley in Sandton, businessman Igo Mpambani was involved in a R255-million project to 'audit' houses with asbestos roofs in the Free State. Leaked emails and documents link then premier and current ANC SG Ace Magashule to some of the proceeds of the huge contract. Daily Maverick can now reveal that provisional findings by the Public Protector suggest the contract was dodgy from the outset. [THE FUTURE IS COMING. WE’VE PRE-IMAGINED IT.]( The 4th Industrial Revolution will change the world – we’re on it WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [Ramaphosa vows action on Commissions]( Speaking to an audience in Sandton on Thursday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa called the various Commissions ongoing at the moment "cathartic", but promised action. He stated “There must be jail time" for those criminally-implicated. Ramaphosa spoke on a wide variety of topics, however, moving far beyond the inquiries. [DM's Greg Nicolson]( explains. [May and Corben talk, attempt to rally parties]( A four-and-a-half-hour meeting between Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May has yielded the promise of, well, more meetings. Friday will see the two party heads resuming discussions over what the path forward for Brexit ought to be. The question of a new referendum has now firmly returned, however, but faces criticism from both Conservatives and Labour. For some, it seems, the middling, ineffective voting dystopia currently ongoing in the House of Commons is a preferable option. [Amazon prepares for]([Airpod]([rival]( Amazon will be releasing an Airpod-rivalling set of wireless earphones. The big drawcard is their built-in Alexa access and, they say, better audio quality. Given the high cost of Airpods, the Amazon rival is likely to undercut them. [Four more Democrats to join 2020 flood]( Excluding Joe Biden, at least four other candidates are expected to be joining the 2020 pack for Democrat presidential candidates. Ohio Representative Tim Ryan and three other minor politicians are expected to announce, making the Democrat field for the primaries look completely ridiculous. [THE FUTURE IS COMING. WE’VE PRE-IMAGINED IT.]( The 4th Industrial Revolution will change the world – we’re on it Picture of the Day By EPA-EFE/ETIENNE LAURENT A dancer dressed as Star Wars character Princess Leia and R2-D2 perform on stage during the Empire Strips Back show in Los Angeles, California, 3 April 2019. [Maverick Insider membership pays for our investigations.]( Those ministers that resigned? That President that resigned? Those commissions into State Capture and SARS? That Tom Moyane who was fired? Those #GuptaLeaks? Maverick Insiders helped fund the investigations that helped make all of that happen. We can’t do our jobs without your support. If you want to see what we can do next, [consider signing up and becoming a Maverick Insider.]( For R150pm you’ll get all the member benefits plus R100 back in UBER vouchers every month until October 2019. In Numbers 8001 The postal code of the Stellenbosch Wine Festival's venue. (Hint: it's not in Stellenbosch.) Facts of the Day Today in 1956 Fidel Castro declares war on Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. Smaller animals perceive time as slower than larger animals. Featured Articles Opinionistas Weather BFN: min: 13° max: 24°, rainy CPT: min: 13° max: 18°, rainy DBN: min: 19° max: 30°, cloudy EL: min: 18° max: 26°, cloudy JHB: min: 13° max: 23°, cloudy MHK: min: 16° max: 28°, cloudy NLP: min: 16° max: 32°, cloudy PE: min: 16° max: 23°, cloudy PMB:min: 16° max: 32°, cloudy Financial Data R/$ = 14.13 0.06%▼ R/€ = 15.86 -0.08%▼ R/£ = 18.85 -0.05%▼ BTC$ = 4926 0.32%▲ JSE All Share = 57711 -0.37%▼ DJIA = 26384 0.64%▲ Oil = $69.73 -0.11%▼ Gold=$1290 -0.20%▼ [THE FUTURE IS COMING. WE’VE PRE-IMAGINED IT.]( The 4th Industrial Revolution will change the world – we’re on it [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( [Fb] [Tweet] [Link] [Yt] Copyright © 2019 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. Interested in advertising with us? [Click here to sign the pact.](mailto:advertising@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=Advertising%20query%3A%20First%20Thing%20Mailers) [Getting too many emails from us? Manage your preferences]( [Unsubscribe](