AN OPEN LETTER TO DUDUZANE ZUMA

Hey Dudu:

The Times reported (31/5/17) that in 2015 you purchased a swanky Dubai flat for nearly R18 million in the prestigious Burj Khalifa.

I am pleased your association with the Gupta brothers has not only been an enriching experience, but one that has taught you to geographically diversify your property portfolio.

Although I, and many South Africans have never met you, we do have a special relationship.  As South African taxpayers we funded the purchase of your flat through an exclusive VIP programme, the brainchild of you know who, infamously known as 'State Capture'.

Inasmuch as I, and my fellow taxpayers are third party beneficiaries in the purchase of your flat, we clearly share in the fruits thereof. I suggest a time share arrangement managed by your friends at the Saxonwold compound.

I plan to be in Dubai in two weeks to check out the place, and report back to my fellow time share beneficiaries.  Please insure a plentiful supply of Chivas and caviar, not forgetting fresh 600 thread count cotton sheets on the beds.

I, and my fellow South African taxpayers are keen to meet you. I suggest we do so over a drink - that's what new friends do.

Regards,

Errol Horwitz

JARED KUSHNER - THE COST OF NEPOTISM

As more details emerge of Russia's interference in the US presidential election, speculation is transforming into recognition that Trump's campaign and transition team aides acted in concert with Russia.

The recent revelation to surface is the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, proposing to Russia's ambassador to the US, a clandestine communication channel  between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team.   His proposal - a backchannel with equipment located at the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C.

Kushner is in for a torrid time, a time that may include prison time.  His failure, according to Reuters, to disclose phone calls with Russian officials when applying for his security clearance puts him squarely in the middle of a federal investigation.  Kushner's explanation:  he has no "recollection" of the calls.  A  simply absurd defence unless he can produce evidence of an early onset of dementia!

Inasmuch as Kushner now finds himself in the centre of a federal probe, he should  have at the outset realized that, as a real estate developer, he was unqualified to be Trump's senior adviser for everything.  The die is cast as Kushner will learn to his detriment.

A DEN OF THIEVES AND LIARS

The ANC's has expressed public outrage at Brian Molefe's reinstatement as Eskom's CEO.  Other than outrage it refuses to take action, and has called upon government and parliament to remove Molefe.

Clearly all is not well at Luthuli House.  Public Enterprises Minister Lynn Brown was summoned to Luthuli House on May 15, 2017, for the express purpose of instructing Brown to reverse Molefe's appointment, alternatively, dissolve the board.

Nothing came about following Brown's tete-a-tete with the ANC's top six. - no reversal of Molefe's reinstatement, or dissolution of the board, other than an expedient referral of the scandal to government and parliament -  another clear indication of the ANC losing control.

In the meantime Molefe's hotline to the Gupta brothers must be ringing off the hook.  We have Brown  and Ben Ngubane, Eskom's chairman to thank for reinstating Molefe, which can be turned into an opportunity by firing all three of them.

EUROPE SEES DONALD TRUMP FOR WHAT HE IS - A CLOWNISH MORON

For a time Europe's political elite were filled with confusion and trepidation about Donald Trump and his foreign policy.  His rantings appeared to to be cemented in right-wing populist ideology.  In time the Europeans realiized their mistake. They now view Trump as an unprepared and ill-informed dilettante, whose sentence structure is limited to a noun, a verb, and ending in "fake news", "build a wall", or "America First".

The world will be watching Trump closely  on his international tour of the Middle East and Europe - not for diplomatic triumphs of his making, but rather to what extent Trump will erode America's global standing even further.

Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of the conservative National Interest Journal  told a meeting at the German Foreign Office that "the dominant reaction to Trump right now is mockery", to which the word "irrelevant" can also be added.  Irrelevant inasmuch as the upcoming NATO meeting with Trump  has supposedly been downgraded from a summit to a dinner.  Those attending the meeting have been asked to confine remarks between two to four minutes to keep Trump's attention. In other words, there is no need to invest meaningful time and effort because the Trump presidency is destined to be the shortest in US history.

TRUMP'S DAY OF DESTINY

May 17, 2017, will be a day Donald Trump will want to forget.  It was a day when he was given a civics lesson on the limitations of presidential power, a lesson that presidents before him grumbled about, but in Trump's feeble mind did not apply to him at all.

The appointment of a special counsel by the Justice Department to take over the investigation into collusion between Trump campaign aides and Russia was a good day for democratic institutional accountability.

The rule of law in the US is alive and well, and events of the past week highlight the rules that apply to other politicians have finally inveigled Trump.  He once boasted that his shooting of someone on Fifth Avenue would be inconsequential to his voters.  But, as President his arrogance, pomposity and hubris has become a liability even amongst his most ardent supporters.   To Trump, the race for the White House was a game in which winning is paramount - an obsession that is central to Trump's egomaniacal character.   

In time Trump may face impeachment.  He will resign rather than impeachment which in his disturbed mind will be a win. 

JACOB ZUMA, HIS CABINET & A PiG WITH LIPSTICK

The Times recently reported on President Zuma's cabinet "spruc[ing] up [the] shop" in preparation of upcoming visits by rating agencies.

The cabinet's task reminds one of the porcine proverb:  "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig".  It will be interesting to see if Zuma and his cabinet  can do the impossible by making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Until such time as the ANC government actually implements wide-ranging political and economic reforms, the country's sovereign credit rating will not be upgraded.

ANC government's promises to effect change do not sway rating agencies, unless meaningful change takes place. There is a problem, however, as Zuma and his cabinet fail to understand that one can, in the words of Barak Obama, "wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called 'change'.  It's still gonna stink after eight years".

TRUMP'S RUSSIAGATE A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

Donald Trump isn't an ignoramus. He just talks like one.  One analysis, citing "a cramped simplistic vocabulary found that Trump talks just below a sixth-grade reading level".   His followers, embedded with the intellectual level of a can of sardines, are intoxicated by his incendiary language, as they see him as the savior of America's forgotten men and women.

The forgotten are angry white voters who from day one refused to accept Barak Obama, a black man, as president of the United States.  Trump understood the raw emotions of his followers, and used a litany of linguistic contrivances to exploit their prejudices to the fullest. One merely has to look back on Trump's campaign of relentless deception to undermine the legitimacy of the nation's first black president.  Was it the cynical start of his campaign for president to curry favour of the missing white voters from elections in 2008 and 2012?  Applying the 'duck test' it is exactly what it seems to be.

As far as his followers are concerned, Trump can do no wrong, despite his blatant anti-truth-telling shrouded in a mix of repetitive short sentences characterised by empty adverbs and adjectives.   Trump comes across as a spiteful, vengeful, arrogant, boastful,  naive, and unquestionably a serial prevaricator.   He doesn't fit the mold of a normal president - what you see is what you get. A bizarre authenticity that resonates with 46% of the electorate.

Since the election the majority of the electorate believe Trump is bad for America - a colossal case of buyer's remorse, and with each passing day, proving to be unfit for the job.

There are signs that Trump's presidency is in trouble. A case in point, the FBI's criminal investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to derail Hillary Clinton's election is ongoing despite Trump's bombshell in firing FBI Director James Comey.  The firing reeks of a cover-up reminiscent of Richard Nixon's firing of Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor in the Watergate scandal.  With near-certainty of impeachment and removal  Nixon resigned as president.  Will Trump suffer the same fate?  For the sake of America  and its democratic institutions, let it be soon.