The manne would like to commend African National Congress Youth League president Fikile Mbalula for his latest online missive in which he exhorts us to ”double our efforts” in the fight against HIV and Aids. Not only would a doubling of the state’s efforts put a whole 200 000 people on anti-retroviral treatment, it would leave only 4,5-million infected people in the hands of Teutonic snake-oil salesmen and their local stooges. Viva the Health Ministry, viva! Forward to 2010! Or 2020. Or whenever.
Empathy 101
When Simon Grindrod was presented by the Independent Democrats as their mayoral candidate in the Visdorp, the manne wondered whether the former manager of a swanky up-yours-to-the-poor hotel would have the common touch. They’re still wondering, after a posting on the Independent Democrat’s website this week. ”I encourage people not to equate the poor with criminals,” writes Charisma Simon. ”However, since there is a link between poverty and crime, it is in all of our interests to uplift the poor.” Lemmer doubts it could have been said any better by an investment banker behind a spiked Sandton wall: uplift the poor, or they’ll murder you in your bed and steal your hi-fi.
They’ve never had it so good
The Dispatch Online reported this week that former messenger Sinethemba Mashalaba has been appointed a provincial youth commissioner in the Eastern Cape at R450 000 a year. The manne are delighted, since they always thought the Eastern Cape was a cash-strapped lame duck, with barely enough officials to do real jobs, like teaching people, arresting people and making sure their piepie goes into the right pipes.
Homecoming revulsion
The website of Club DisA (www.takkies.co.uk) explains that it is a non-profit organisation, ”which is aiming to aid those who need our help while at the same time enjoying ourselves”. Those who need help, it transpires, are South Africans living in South Africa; while those who are going to be enjoying themselves are South Africans living in the United Kingdom. For DisA stands for ‘Democracy in South Africa’; and the site links from that of the Deeyay. Ja-nee, there is nothing like long-range expat goodwill to make an oom feel all fuzzy inside. However the fuzziness doesn’t seem to be contagious: when Lemmer visited the site this week, the hit counter revealed that just 430 other morbidly curious visitors had come and gone before him.