Social media trends ‘akin to election period’
The director of Acumen Media Tonya Khoury says the social media trends this week is similar to the election period when political parties were at loggerheads.
According to Khoury, conversations on social media were again dominated by politics.
President Cyril Ramaphosa topped the charts with the #RamaphosaLeaks, dropping the public protector to the third position.
The public spat between the ruling party and opposition parties played out at the National Assembly on Thursday where Ramaphosa appeared for a question-and-answer session.
Ramaphosa was asked about the CR17 campaign after leaked emails from the campaign revealed that some ministers and deputy ministers reportedly received payments from the campaign.
'It almost feels like we're in the election period the way the opposition and the ruling party are publicly tearing chunks out of each other. While they're making headlines, the country is frustrated by the lack of moving forward," says Koury.
"We almost seem to be making promises and the we sort of forget about what was tabled on the bill and South Africa also angry about that one."
Here are some of this week's top stories:
[LISTEN] Ramaphosa defends R80K donation to EFF MPs
The question, during a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly on Thursday, comes a day after the resignation of two of its MPs, Tebogo Mokwele and Nkagisang Mokgosi. Both admitted to receiving R80,000 from Ramaphosa. The president defended the decision, saying he acted out of generosity and humanity.
EFF: We've lost two talented leaders
The duo resigned from Parliament and the political party's central command team after they admitted to receiving money from President Cyril Ramaphosa. Mokwele explained that her resignation followed "a deep and careful introspection about the impact of my association with the President of the ANC and the Republic in which there was an exchange of money for my personal use; a total of R80 000 between 2017 and 2019".
Old flag 'reminds black South Africans of the inhumane nature of apartheid'
Judge Phineas Mojapelo delivered the judgment on Wednesday. He ruled in favour of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, supported by the South African Human Rights Commission and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. The foundation brought the matter to court after the old flag was displayed during the Black Friday protests against farm murders in 2018.
Findings of inquiry into arms deal set aside
The application was brought to the high court in Pretoria by civil society organizations, Corruption Watch and the Right2Know. The commission, which cost the taxpayer some R140 million, found no corruption or any wrongdoing during the multibillion arms deal. However, Mlambo believes the commission failed to test the evidence.