Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu is sticking by her controversial opinion piece published over the weekend where she attacked the constitution and the judiciary, questioning how a constitution lauded all over the world had failed to lift ordinary South Africans out of poverty.
Sisulu said she stood by what she wrote in the piece and said the heightened media coverage around its contents was “sensationalised”.
In an interview with News24, Sisulu said “We have got to change. What is the point of self-correction if you cannot look back and say, we have done this wrong, and we can do it better?”
While she also published a second lengthy piece on IOL, contextualising her earlier piece and responding to various criticism levelled at her since the first piece was published.
Acting chief justice Raymond Zondo, replied to Sisulu yesterday in a scathing rebuke of her comments. Zondo said that the tourism minister did not base her statements on facts, nor did she criticise members of the judiciary appropriately but rather insulted them.
“We as the judiciary have never said that we should not be criticised, we do not say even now that we should not be criticised. We accept we may be criticised, but we say it should be fair and have a proper factual basis,” said Zondo in a virtual media briefing.
He added that he would consider meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss Sisulu’s comments and hoped she would retract them.
Earlier the presidency distanced itself from Sisulu’s opinion piece, saying it did not represent the views of government and that those in government had a duty to protect the constitution.
Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said Sisulu’s comments were “recklessness of the highest order.” Gungubele added, “The worst part of her utterances was that they are an attack on the rule of law, and that is counterproductive, as it creates an environment that is orderless and makes it difficult to pursue the goals of the revolution.”
Gungubele wouldn’t elaborate on whether Ramaphosa would act against Sisulu saying only that the president knows when to talk to his cabinet members.
In the markets, US consumer prices rose to a 40 year high of 7.0%, meeting market expectations and keeping the Fed’s current monetary policy trajectory intact. “Fears of a much faster jump in consumer prices abated, and we saw the dollar weaken substantially against its major peers as well as risk-sensitive currencies,” comments forex trading house TreasuryONE.
The rand is trading firming this morning at R15,31/$ after leading emerging market currencies strength yesterday.
The weaker dollar was good for commodities, gold is trading flat at $1,827 this morning, while platinum and palladium are both slightly weaker at $975 and $1,903, respectively. Brent Crude is trading at $84,50 a barrel this morning.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
SAB ‘disappointed’ after it’s denied leave to appeal alcohol ban case – Fin24
Unions object to PetroSA staff retrenchments – The Citizen
Many South Africans still struggling to re-enter labour market: Recruitment agencies – SABC
Global Business
US regulators can go ahead with bid to make Facebook sell WhatsApp and Instagram – Business Insider
NFTs leading a new form of piracy, and this artist says her work’s been stolen thousands of times – Business Insider
US consumer prices increase strongly in December – SABC/Reuters
Markets
Asian shares mixed as investors digest U.S. inflation surge – Reuters
Dollar breaks key support, rates outlook seen unchanged by inflation data – SABC/Reuters
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.11% – Investing.com
Opinion/In-depth
How fast will the ANC fall, part four: What real growth in SA would look like – Daily Maverick
Why the forecasts for emerging market economies may be too rosy – Daily Maverick
What next for Prince Andrew? US sex assault lawsuit explained – AFP
Video
The global leading indicator for electric vehicles? China. – AusBiz
How the Landlord’s Worst Nightmare Could Protect Millions of New Yorkers – New York Times
Starbucks Rewards: How the Coffee Giant’s Mobile App Became a Winner – Wall Street Journal
Image: GCIS
