Parliament in crisis - the back story

Yesterday's debacle in Parliament left many people licking their wounds, both literally and figuratively, but four in particular will need more than band aid to repair the damage done to their reputations - Speaker Baleka Mbete, ANC Chief Whip Stone Sizani, Minister of Small Business Development Lindiwe Zulu and House Chair Cedric Frolick. They must be reflecting on what came over them during those few hours of madness and mayhem which will go down in the annals as one of the darkest moments in our new democracy. 

ANC self destructs in Parliament. South Africa the loser. DA the sole guardian of democracy.

Today will be remembered as a dark day in  South Africa's democracy. The Speaker and ANC Chief Whip cross swords. Speaker Mbete withdraws ignominiously. The House descends into chaos. Riot police enter the House and are forcibly removed by Members who refuse to be intimidated. Members are assaulted. Rules are ignored. DA Parliamentary Leader Mmusi Maimane restores order and dignity, establishing himself as Parliament's moral guardian. DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen the bastion of order and propriety.

Tomorrow I will post a summary of events, and try to make sense of it all.

Is Andile Cele South Africa's budding Ralph Lauren?

Yesterday, on my way to Soweto, I made a detour to Marshalltown in downtown Johannesburg to visit a friend of my Constituency Officer, Nomzekelo Monakali. Her friend, Andile Cele, owns a fashion store, she said, and wanted to talk to me about how to grow the business. I'm always keen to talk to budding entrepreneurs so I didn't take much persuading. What I found was a young man filled with ideas, perseverance, a determination to succeed and the makings of a fashion brand that, I believe, has the potential to make him rich and famous.

The beauty of choral evensong

One of the highlights of my month is singing in choral evensong at St George's Church in Parktown. Evensong is peculiar to the Anglican church and is taken from the Book of Common Prayer with most of the liturgy sung rather than spoken. St George's evensong takes place on the first Sunday of each month, followed by sherry in the hall. It is a beautiful service which leaves one feeling spiritually enriched and ready for the week ahead.

Lufhereng housing development in Soweto shrouded in controversy

Today in Parliament I called on the City of Johannesburg to come clean on the Lufhereng housing development in Ward 53, Soweto, which is shrouded in controversy.

Statement by Toby Chance, MP

30th October 2014

The City of Johannesburg has long been bragging about its massive Lufhereng housing development in Ward 53 in the far west of Soweto. Launched in 2008, it was projected to comprise 6 000 rental units, 6 000 bonded units and 12 000 RDP units, as well as schools, clinics, crèches, agricultural and commercial land.

Press statement: E-tolls killing jobs throughout Gauteng

Democratic Alliance press statement by

Toby Chance MP

DA Shadow Minister of Small Business Development 

E-tolls killing jobs throughout Gauteng

27 October 2014

Release: immediate

Note to editors: This statement was delivered to members of the media at a press briefing hosted by DA Shadow Minister of Small Business Development, Toby Chance MP, DA Parliamentary Leader, Mmusi Maimane MP, DA Shadow Minister of Transport, Manny de Freitas MP, and DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport, Neil Campbell MPL, this morning. A spreadsheet detailing the costs breakdown is attached here.

The Democratic Alliance today announces the initial findings of our survey on e-tolling’s impact on small businesses.

The results confirm what the DA has said all along – e-tolls are killing jobs and businesses in Gauteng.   

Entrepreneurs worlds apart

This opinion piece appeared in the Cape Argus on Thursday 23rd October.

Earlier this month I attended two events which at their core aimed to achieve the same thing – entrepreneur development and job creation, but which illustrate the huge gulf that exists in South Africa between the worlds of the informal township entrepreneur and the connected tech entrepreneur. They also gave me an insight into the political and economic terrains in these two worlds, where the language used seems to have been drawn from completely different dictionaries, written with contrasting ideologies and politcial imperatives in mind.

The first event was the Township Revitalisation Summit in Orlando Stadium, Soweto, convened by Gauteng Premier David Makhura. The second was the SiMODiSA Start Up SA conference at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The two venues immediately set the scene for a dichotomous relationship.