disabled Flying Minister of women & children

Hogarth does not suffer fools lightly and is compulsive reading for the millions of South Africans who share this intolerance.

Maybe Pravin would like to come along this time?

WHAT do you do when a minister takes eight ministers and deputies and a host of government officials on a sightseeing tour of New York at taxpayers' expense?

In the case of the Minister of Women, Children and the Disabled, Lulu Xingwana, you give her R10-million to travel the world in the next financial year.

Xingwana's neat travel bonus was among the less publicised allocations in Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's budget.

If the New York junket - exposed on the pages of this newspaper for the sham that it was - is anything to go by, the R10-million will be spent on business-class tickets and stays at the Ritz Hotel for R5000 a night.

All in the interests of helping women, children and the disabled, of course.

And he stole the thunder

TALKING of Gordhan, he invited three of his colleagues to join him for the pre-budget speech media briefing to explain some of their own initiatives in more detail.

But Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele, who was there to explain the new Gauteng freeway toll fee structure, had his thunder stolen.

Gordhan read a prepared statement on Gauteng freeway toll prices while a bemused Ndebele could only look on in frustration.

Gordhan was taking his toll.

Manyi spins a web

WHILE Gordhan did his best to sugar-coat the bitter toll pill, government spokesman Jimmy Manyi was not as subtle.

"This is not just a bad dream, it's reality; it's going to happen. No one should have any illusions whatsoever that this thing is going to go away. It's a fact of life, and it's going to happen," he said.

Hogarth is hoping to one day wake up from the bad dream of having Jimmy Manyi as cabinet spokesman...

- Timeslive