Pick of the week's articles

[Daily Maverick] Sunday, 22nd January 2017 [Elections aftermath: Why did the ANC ignore its own research?] STORY OF THE WEEK [Absa Public Protector report and other ghosts of things past may come back to haunt ANC] By MARIANNE THAMM It is no coincidence that Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s version of former PP Thuli Madonsela’s preliminary report into the Absa/Bankcorp bailout was leaked just as President Zuma, the Gupta family and those who have illegally benefited from State Capture are slowly being cornered and squeezed. And while the Twitter rent-a-crowd predictably howled “white minority capital”, the most obvious question is why the ANC, when it was informed of it all back in the mid ‘90s, did nothing about grotesque apartheid-era plunder? Someone who was there at the start is veteran journalist and lawyer Martin Welz, editor of Noseweek. He spoke to Daily Maverick. [Maimane’s Israeli blunder: The DA’s self-inflicted injury] There is only one show in town in 2017. The ANC succession battle will dominate the political agenda and various factions are destined to eviscerate the organisation even more as they campaign for their preferred candidates to occupy the top positions in the party. As in the past, dirty tricks and negative campaigning will be part of the game. At the end, a portion of the ANC will be crushed. Opposition parties need to do two things – watch from a safe distance and avoid provoking their own controversies. This is why Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane’s trip to Israel and the party’s handling of the visit is such a faux pas. By RANJENI MUNUSAMY. [‘Lifeboat’ scandal: An unlikely whistle-blower?] What media reports have largely glossed over is crucial new evidence from the unlikeliest source, Dr Chris Stals, the consummate insider. By HENNIE VAN VUUREN and MICHAEL MARCHANT. [President Trump, SA’s white right’s white knight?] Steve Hofmeyr and Donald Trump. It’s a match made… well, somewhere. Organisers of a crowdfunding campaign to send Afrikaans singer Hofmeyr to Washington to meet Trump claim that their appeal is developing momentum. The aim of the meeting? For Hofmeyr to sit down with Trump and persuade him that white genocide in South Africa is real. By REBECCA DAVIS. [TRAINSPOTTER: Bankorp, BLF and the radioactive dust in our eyes] This is a story about how paid propaganda, real investigations, ancient cover-ups and a Chapter 9 institution have collided during the latter days of the Age of Zuma, starring Andile Mngxitama. By RICHARD POPLAK. [The Sound System and the Fury: IPID targets Police Commissioner’s house] On Thursday, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) took divisions among SA’s top cops to the next level. Investigators met Acting National Police Commissioner Khomotso Phahlane and searched his house. It could have far-reaching implications both for policing and politics. By GREG NICOLSON. [Reporter’s Davos notebook: A tête-à -tête with Pravin, Cyril and Maria] It is not very often that a South African journalist gets any face time with Cyril Ramaphosa. Our deputy president, the man who many want to take over from our current leader, is someone who, perhaps understandably, keeps away from prying questions. But, as the leader of Team SA in Davos, he had no choice but to do a round of interviews, even with the pesky independent media. Meanwhile, Pravin Gordhan was doing his thing, talking up the country and explaining why he’s got nothing to fear from the Guptas. And, in the afternoon after a climb up an incredibly steep hill, a chat with Maria Ramos, who probably understands the relationship between business and government better than anybody. It was Day Three at Davos. By STEPHEN GROOTES. [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND] Copyright © 2016 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]