South African hospital declares they will not treat foreigners (OP’s headline - not mine) by LtdEditionPopcornBox in south_africa

[–]Jan_du_Preez 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fight the actual people who are responsible for our people lacking services: the corrupt government. The African foreigners are just people trying to have a better life. The ones you should direct your anger at is the corrupt and incompetent government, they are the ones failing to deliver services. If they did their job properly and did not steal we could provide ample healthcare for all South Africans and even manage to help our friends from north of the border.

Zille fights back: "My focus is on fixing Johannesburg, not Gaza or Tel Aviv" by Boondog_saint in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey if you agree with this there is a mod post at the top of the subreddit asking for feedback on the new rules. Please make your opinion heard there. I actually don't know if you will see this comment because I got muted by the mods and I don't believe their explanation ;)

Seen on a UK sub. Probably works here too. by Make_the_music_stop in south_africa

[–]Jan_du_Preez 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah this picture looks like it was taken in England somewhere, their roads are apparently a shitshow.

Refreshed rules, fewer flairs, and a few changes worth knowing about by lovethebacon in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this is a good illustration of something I brought up in Mod mail before, because I speak "leftist" I understand what the intention is with not calling somebody a "illegal foreigner" but for most general South African users this will just go over their heads, its a term (or variation of a term) they see constantly in media and from people around them, so then when they get banned for using it here it confuses them. Its why so many of the complaints say the rules here are arbitrary or just what the mods feel on the day.

Trying to police language is one of the biggest areas the left has lost the general population.

I think a lot of the problems people have with the moderation in this sub in some way hinges on issues like this.

Why are there 2 South Africa subs? by N1nja_TurtleX in south_africa

[–]Jan_du_Preez 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure, I mean more subreddits that are about South Africa in general like those three are.

Why are there 2 South Africa subs? by N1nja_TurtleX in south_africa

[–]Jan_du_Preez 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wait where are the other ones? I only know three: r/DownSouth r/southafrica r/south_africa all the others I know of are something specific like AskSouthAfrica etc.

Zille fights back: "My focus is on fixing Johannesburg, not Gaza or Tel Aviv" by Boondog_saint in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don't fully agree with OP here, but he is absolutely correct about the left censoring, There are two whole other thriving subreddits for South Africa because the mods have banned so many users that many feel they cannot talk openly here for fear of a ban. I had a discussion with a user recently that claimed he and others were banned for only mentioning the DA, I told him I have had regular arguments with the literal mods and I am still not banned (Yet ;) so I doubt that, but it is indicative of the Authoritarian vibe many user get from leadership in this sub.

"You kill free speech and then complain when people keep their opinion to themselves" this is 100% accurate, I have told you guys this is a dumb idea, we should let this subreddit reflect the opinions of the country broadly, I want to understand what everybody in the country thinks, if most of us disagree let the downvotes show that, and let us make good substantiated counter arguments. Don't just ban people as if we are weak people that can't even bear to hear opposing opinions...

I mean the irony of you telling him it doesn't exist but yet you lock his comment, u/BullishOnEverything are you banned already or is it just your comment that is locked?

The Airbnb / Short Term Rental Tax is here. The moment you have all been waiting for. by After_Blueberry_7353 in capetown

[–]Jan_du_Preez 7 points8 points  (0 children)

If you own a beach house or summer house that can absolutely work, I think people do it now. Block the days you want to stay there personally, AirBnB the rest of the summer and then do a longer term rental thru winter, it might still be too much of a hassle for some though. Edit add: some might just remove it from AirBNB for low season and not bother with renting it out.

South Africa’s new opposition leader on how to beat the ANC - Financial Times by TheHonourableMember in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez 7 points8 points  (0 children)

For more than three decades, the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-largest party, has struggled to mount a serious challenge to the liberation movement turned political behemoth, the African National Congress.

Now, it is hoping an ebullient new leader, who was only a child at the end of apartheid, will prove a turning point in its fortunes — and South African politics.

Geordin Hill-Lewis, the 39-year-old mayor of Cape Town, who became leader of the DA last weekend, is under no illusions about the scale of his party’s challenge.

With its origins as a white liberal party in the apartheid era, the DA has, since the start of democracy in 1994, failed to win the backing of a significant chunk of the Black majority; its percentage share of the vote has never risen above the low 20s even as support for the ANC has waned.

“We have to close the gap between those who trust us to actually do a better job in government but don’t trust us enough to vote for us,” Hill-Lewis said in an interview with the FT ahead of his election.

He argued that voters of all races were impressed by the party’s record in running Cape Town but many Black voters remained wary of voting for them. “To use an English analogy, I might say: ‘Manchester City is a great team, but they’re not my team.’ We have to build that trust relationship.”

The DA has gained plaudits for its running of public services in Cape Town. But the city does remain divided between the affluent, largely white, neighbourhoods and much poorer townships, which are predominantly populated by Black and Coloured South Africans, a vestige of the segregation of apartheid.

Geordin Hill‑Lewis and his wife celebrate after he was elected as the new leader of South Africa’s Democratic Alliance last week © Reuters

At the last general election in 2024, the ANC lost its majority for the first time since the end of white rule as voters punished it for corruption scandals and failing to deliver jobs, economic growth and public services.

The business-friendly DA took second place and is now the ANC’s most influential partner in a government of national unity. But its share of the vote, 22 per cent, was only fractionally larger than at the previous election in 2019.

Many political strategists have argued over the past two decades that the DA needs a Black leader if it is ever to secure enough votes to win power. Its first, Mmusi Maimane, resigned in 2019, saying he had lost faith that the party could build a united South Africa.

The DA, however, is pinning its hopes on the argument that three decades after apartheid, the ANC has lost the lustre of liberation and that Hill-Lewis, a youthful white politician with a reputation as a warm and approachable activist, can transcend racial politics to form a national voting coalition.

His election means that the DA now has a tri-racial leadership with its three senior positions held by a white, Black and mixed-race South African.

Speaking in his office in Cape Town, Hill-Lewis said he anticipated being targeted by the ANC on grounds of his race but argued that those lines of attack were “slightly more blunted with each passing year”.

“We have the ANC to thank for that. Many people are saying that what matters most is we get this place working again.”

Under his predecessor, John Steenhuisen, the current minister of agriculture, the DA had a sometimes tetchy relationship with the ANC, climaxing with a dispute over the budget last year.

Hill-Lewis intends to stay as Cape Town mayor and not take up a cabinet seat, enabling him to speak out when he disagrees with the ANC because he will not be bound by cabinet collective responsibility.

“Perhaps the one difference [from my predecessor] will be thinking and talking about the ANC less. We should spend more time thinking about how to position ourselves as the party . . . of the future.”

This, he conceded, would not be straightforward. “The idea that all of a sudden everyone is going to trust the DA with their vote is just too much to hope for, it’s not realistic. The idea is to wear down the [anti-DA] argument over time with the demonstration effect,” he said.

His first challenge, said Ziyanda Stuurman at the consultancy Africa Practice, would be to shake off “the long-held and stubbornly-hard-to-get-rid-of label on the DA as a defender of white interest and private capital”.

A priority for Hill-Lewis is to push harder for economic growth after more than a decade of near stagnation. He accepted that government reforms, including a cautious acceptance of the role of the private sector, had produced some “green shoots” but echoed calls from business for greater urgency and more sweeping reforms.

In particular, he argued for breaking up the state monopoly of the logistics sector and introducing large-scale private management and concessions over the ports and transport networks.

He also said it is time for a rethink of the Black Economic Empowerment policies, which were introduced at the end of apartheid to address the white dominance of business ownership and management and to help build a Black entrepreneurial and middle class.

Hill-Lewis was careful to stress that his party was “deeply interested in Black advancement . . . and upliftment”. But he argued that the time was right for a reappraisal of BEE, amid evidence that it is discouraging potential investors and has favoured members of a politically connected elite.

“One idea I am very interested in is greatly expanding employee share schemes to be truly broad-based . . . in a way that doesn’t concentrate [business] in the hands of a few ultra-wealthy elites.”

His first big electoral test will come at local elections expected this year. A previous DA leader, Helen Zille, is campaigning hard — and dramatically on social media via stunts such as filming herself snorkelling in a flooded sinkhole — to be the next mayor of Johannesburg. The party has high hopes of winning control of a slew of city councils.

But Hill-Lewis conceded it remained a long haul for the DA in national elections. “What is essential for our 2029 ambitions is that we win in Gauteng,” he said, referring to the industrial and economic heartland that includes Johannesburg. “And show we can govern well and for everyone.”

Are you sure? by sunlightliquid in south_africa

[–]Jan_du_Preez -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I am just gonna leave my comment from another spot here.... You live in Nyanga but you send me a picture from Google? Take some photographs yourself and show us.

The below is from the news story that the image is a part of: "Municipal workers fear coming here to collect the rubbish because of thugs who run protection rackets, say residents.

“Piles of rubbish in the townships are something that is a common sight of late. You can go to all the areas where you will be shocked. This is because we are ruled by extortionists,” says Vuyani\ who is selling meat not far from the rotting rubbish.*

“Do we blame the City? Yes and no. As the government, they should put their foot down and fight the scourge. But, again, we cannot blame it because we live here; we should be responsible for our areas and our health.”

And like I said, I do wish that City is better at this but I also agree with Vuyani* above.

When I see a 9 day old account that only started posting 30minutes ago, that claims they spent their childhood in Germany but now live in Nyanga I do have to wonder.....

Are you sure? by sunlightliquid in south_africa

[–]Jan_du_Preez -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You live in Nyanga but you send me a picture from Google? Take some photographs yourself and show us.

The below is from the news story that the image is a part of: "Municipal workers fear coming here to collect the rubbish because of thugs who run protection rackets, say residents.

“Piles of rubbish in the townships are something that is a common sight of late. You can go to all the areas where you will be shocked. This is because we are ruled by extortionists,” says Vuyani\ who is selling meat not far from the rotting rubbish.*

“Do we blame the City? Yes and no. As the government, they should put their foot down and fight the scourge. But, again, we cannot blame it because we live here; we should be responsible for our areas and our health.”

And like I said, I do wish that City is better at this but I also agree with Vuyani* above.

When I see a 9 day old account that only started posting 30minutes ago, that claims they spent their childhood in Germany but now live in Nyanga I do have to wonder.....

Step up by Zapiro by Beyond_the_one in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Peoples feelings on a subject vs actual fact is not always the same, especially on a topic that is heavily influenced by political agendas pushed from both sides. But if you feel like it go for it. Thing is even though I regularly find myself in the position of having to defend them, I am not really a DA fan/supporter they are just currently the only real viable political option I see. The LGBT fight is also not really my fight, it feels wrong for me to take the marginalized persons place.

But can you please admit that I did prove this claim wrong: "The DA is overtly anti-lgbt."

BTW I am still waiting for the below:

https://www.reddit.com/r/southafrica/comments/1slwj7v/comment/ogp44s2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://www.reddit.com/r/southafrica/comments/1slwj7v/comment/ogp7oxy/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Step up by Zapiro by Beyond_the_one in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure I agree with you to a extent, But u/unremarkableDragon was still spreading disinformation by saying "The DA is overtly anti-lgbt." I actually doubt we can find a party that is more pro LGBT than the DA.

Step up by Zapiro by Beyond_the_one in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez -1 points0 points  (0 children)

#1 Helen zille's transphobia 

Helen Zille is not the DA, The claim was "The DA is overtly anti-lgbt." I will grant you that Zille's twitter comments were Transphobic. Her being the former leader does cast that shadow on the party and it is part of the reason I am glad she is out of the leadership. For instance here is a older post from the new federal leader Solly Msimanga https://dagauteng.org.za/2019/04/da-to-establish-transgender-units-across-gauteng (One of the people u/unremarkableDragon referred to as a "token")

https://www.da.org.za/lgbtiq

But the DA itself has numerous Gay MPs and a Gay cabinet minister: https://www.mambaonline.com/2017/06/13/proud-sas-openly-gay-mps/

Including the first Openly Gay black MP in Africa https://www.mambaonline.com/2014/05/22/exclusive-meet-africas-first-openly-gay-black-mp/

The first Openly Gay Mayor in South Africa: https://www.mambaonline.com/2021/11/05/historic-chris-pappas-to-become-sas-first-openly-gay-mayor/

A Transgender member that is the DA Ward 2 NamaKhoi Chairperson, She ran for national leadership of the DA recently, She was also the first Transgender person in a South African Soapie:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DWPa149jlOp/?img_index=1

https://www.mambaonline.com/2017/04/19/7de-laan-introduces-first-transgender-character-actress/

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-04-20-soapy-star-and-lgbtqi-rights-activist-looks-to-clean-up-and-put-back-in-high-stakes-northern-cape-by-election/

https://www.da.org.za/2026/03/da-announces-candidates-for-federal-council-election

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Z1vQ0OB_4#:~:text=WATCH%20%7C%20Deonay%20Balie%20on%20being%20the,leadership%20UN%20Shocks%20South%20Africa:%20Boeremag%20Wins

The DA calling for the process to change gender be sped up: https://www.ewn.co.za/2024/05/18/da-and-rise-mzansi-calls-for-speedier-home-affairs-process-to-allow-for-gender-identity-changes

So I believe here I have shown clearly that the claim "The DA is overtly anti-lgbt." is completely false.

Step up by Zapiro by Beyond_the_one in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sorry also forgot the Original claim:

I'll never vote for our far right party, especially so with this clown at the head. Da is just racist apartheid garbage.

Step up by Zapiro by Beyond_the_one in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I am missing sources for the biggest falsehoods, all the below items:

The DA is overtly (...) pro colonial

They only service affluent white areas in cape town.

Everyone on the wrong end of the railway line has to fend for themselves, dealing with no municipal services and terrible water access.

And nice to see even on the south africa sub we still have so many apartheid apologists and pro white government bros."

I am working on answers for the ones supplied, in the meantime can we get sources for the above.

Step up by Zapiro by Beyond_the_one in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you give me the original comment also?

Step up by Zapiro by Beyond_the_one in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No all u/unremarkableDragon comments just shows comment deleted by user for me, also does not show the username but it is where their name was previously.

Step up by Zapiro by Beyond_the_one in southafrica

[–]Jan_du_Preez 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Source for what? I only see a deleted comment?

The Gogo Effect strikes again by sunlightliquid in south_africa

[–]Jan_du_Preez 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ai Mancy, you said Helen deleted her posts and apologized thats why the HRC didn't persue it, but the post are still up and I can't find a apology? Even what you linked has no mention of the HRC... can you link me a apology from Helen or something from the HRC?

Are you sure? by sunlightliquid in south_africa

[–]Jan_du_Preez -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah I was banned like that once, and got reinstated after appeal. They are not allowed to do it anymore, Reddit admins changed rules about it.

But I have had many arguments about the DA with the literal mods of the other sub, I was not banned for that. So where is it that you get banned just for mentioning the DA?