Tainted ending

What’s in the M&G this week [View this email in your browser]( November 12, 2021 [Mail & Guardian]( [Mail & Guardian]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( Hi there, As Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said: “Mr FW de Klerk could have gone down in history as a truly great South African statesman, but he eroded his stature and became a small man, lacking magnanimity and generosity of spirit …” With his death, De Klerk takes answers and justice. In the Friday section, a highly critical take on Lewis Nkosi. The Black Psychiatrist | Flying Home: Texts, Perspectives, Homage. Writer Unathi Slasha rails against the assertion that Nkosi was a conscript to Euro-modernity. This and more in the M&G this week. Despite his role in the destruction of lives and being the last to preside over white minority rule, Frederik Willem de Klerk remained an apologist for the policy of apartheid, denying its status as a crime against humanity. He now goes to his grave without accounting for his role in the bloodshed or telling South Africans where the bodies of those who resisted were buried. De Klerk also failed to take responsibility for the murders, torture and hit squad operations that were authorised and carried out under his leadership, instead claiming ignorance of the excesses of an alleged few rogue elements in the apartheid security forces. Paddy Harper [unpacks the life and death of apartheid’s last president](. We turn to a former president that is still very much part of our political picture. With 21 municipal councils on the line in KwaZulu-Natal, [the ANC in the province is under pressure to call on one of its key negotiators]( Jacob Zuma, to begin coalition talks with Inkatha Freedom Party founder and former leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Lizeka Tandwa has more. There was also the small matter of the medium-term budget policy statement. Declaring that he was staying the course set by his predecessor, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Thursday committed to fiscal consolidation, refused further handouts to state-owned enterprises and said extending social relief distress grants would mean spending cuts elsewhere. With debt at R4-trillion, reports Emsie Ferreira and Anathi Madubela, [there was no room to exceed the spending limits]( set out in his maiden medium-term speech, the minister warned. The Democratic Alliance, for one, [has welcomed Godongwana’s tough stance]( on state-owned entities and his commitment to using the unexpected revenue windfall from higher commodity prices to address the country’s budget deficit. Sarah Smit has more on the official opposition’s reaction. South Africa remains beset by energy issues — let’s just say there was a lot of work in candlelight this week. On that topic, Marcia Zali reports that Sasol plans to migrate from using grey hydrogen, produced from coal and natural gas, [to green hydrogen produced from renewable electricity](. Sasol produces more than 2.5-million tonnes or 3% of the 80-million tonnes of the global market of hydrogen and believes investing in green hydrogen will boost South Africa’s economy. “Why won’t it do anything?” Carlos Amato checks in on Eskom chief executive André de Ruyter flogging his dead horse. As you might have suspected, yesterday was a manic day for us. After a week spent planning our coverage we were hit with news of De Klerk’s death hours before going to print. With so much tumult swirling around his complex legacy, it was never an option for us to remain mum. We were able to contribute meaningfully to the discussion because we have among us experienced, high-quality journalists who carry with them invaluable institutional knowledge. To help us preserve that ability, please consider taking out a subscription. Until Tuesday, Kiri Rupiah & Luke Feltham [Subscribe now]( Enjoy The Ampersand? Share it with your friends [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( [Share]( [Share]( Copyright © 2021 Mail & Guardian Media LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive communications from the Mail & Guardian either at our website or by taking out a print subscription. Our mailing address is: Mail & Guardian Media LTD 25 Owl St BraamfonteinJohannesburg, Gauteng 2001 South Africa [Add us to your address book]( Want to change which mails you receive from Mail & Guardian? [Update your preferences]( to tell us what you do and don't want to receive, or [unsubscribe](. *If you are a paying subscriber, we recommend updating your preferences rather than unsubscribing, as you may miss important information relating to your subscription.