You’d be forgiven for thinking body snatchers had taken over government on Thursday, instituting a massive bout of much-needed change all at once.
If it’s true, body snatchers please stay.
Multibillion-dollar, possibly corrupt, Airbus contracts got cancelled, lying sport bosses were fired and incompetent parastatal heads finally resigned.
It was almost as if government knew the Mail & Guardian’s deadline was on a Thursday and decided to have a good laugh.
You would have been torn as a journalist. Attend the explosive Eskom press conference at 1pm or cover the briefing by Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu at noon. The Eskom announcement would end weeks of speculation over the board’s battle to get rid of CEO Jacob Maroga and Sisulu’s briefing dealt with the controversial airbus military contracts — which has more than doubled in cost to about R40-billion of taxpayers’ money.
The best bet would have been the latter option. A smiling Eskom spokesperson, Raeesa Waja, cheerfully informed reporters that the press conference had been cancelled. Business reporters desperate for any sort of clarity fell to their knees, broken. Raeesa shook her head sympathetically and said: ‘I know — and I wore my best shoes.â€
OK, not really. (The business reporters, that is. Raessa had some killer heels on.)
It turned out Eskom chairperson, Bobby Godsell, told his staff the news first and was summoned off to a mysterious meeting immediately afterwards (*cough* government *cough*) leaving reporters stranded. I imagine he assumed the memo would be leaked anyway — as it was — thus getting to the press eventually. Now that’s news savvy.
But barely had the reporter mob made it back to their offices before a rather innocuous notice appeared on the website of South Africa’s Olympic governing body, Sascoc ( I know, who?). It casually informed us that the body had met and decided to suspend the reviled Athletic South Africa boss Leonard Chuene. With immediate effect. And oh, did they mention? They’re axing the entire board too.
Maybe it was the Mail & Guardian report revealing that Chuene lied about knowing Caster Semenya’s gender test results, but pushed the young athlete into the World Athletic Championships anyway in his desperation for a gold medal.
Or maybe it was to wrestle back a battered leg to stand on so they could let loose with the torrent of righteous indignation and hellfire they’ve been itching to unleash on the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) over their handling of Semenya.
I know. Probably the second one.
Either way, a great day for the South African public. If this is alien invasion, you can keep it coming.