Simba and Wellington's team up for a bold tomato-flavoured chip explosion
All roads led to a flavour explosion as Simba, in collaboration with Wellington's, unveiled their boldest creation yet — a tantalisingly tangy tomato-flavoured chip inspired by the rich, iconic taste of Wellington's full flavour Tomato Sauce. A celebration of bold taste, local pride, and street culture in every bite.
The launch, held on April 16 in Fourways, was a star-studded affair featuring the likes of comedy king Mpho Popps, viral TikTok star Mbuyiselo Vilakazi, and dynamic presenter Teboho 'Caddy' Tsotetsi — all coming together to celebrate this bold new flavour with flair and flavour.
Speaking to The Star , Simba Senior Brand Manager Sibongile Mndebele said the launch was sparked by an overwhelming wave of social media requests from fans, all urging the brand to bring back the much-loved tomato sauce flavour.
'We're here to officially launch and celebrate the new Simba Wellington's flavour — a direct response to the overwhelming outcry we received on social media, with fans constantly asking us to bring back the iconic tomato sauce.'
WATCH VIDEO HERE: https://rumble.com/v6sdb5t-simba-in-collaboration-with-wellingtons..html
She added that the journey has been nothing short of incredible, especially partnering with a powerhouse like Wellington's.
'When we looked at last year's Nielsen data and shared performance, it was clear — Wellington's was the fastest-growing tomato sauce brand. And when you see share growth like that, it only means one thing: people are buying it. That told us South Africans are not only drawn to that flavour profile but are also connecting with the brand itself,' she said.
Mndebele highlighted that the collaboration came together seamlessly, as both Simba and Wellington's are united by their focus on delivering bold and distinctive flavours. With Simba known for its punchy taste and Wellington's celebrated for its rich, full-bodied sauces, the partnership was a perfect match grounded in a mutual passion for flavour excellence.
TikTok sensation Mbuyiselo Vilakazi, one of the standout guests at the event, echoed the excitement about the bold and tangy flavour, describing the experience of eating the chips as if you were dipping straight into the rich Wellington's tomato sauce itself.
WATCH VIDEO HERE: https://rumble.com/v6sdb7z-simba-in-collaboration-with-wellingtons.html
'I actually bought the chips before the actual launch, and it feels like while eating the chips, you are actually dipping into the actual sauce. The taste is very real — your taste buds are blown away by that tangy tomato sauce. It's as if they've captured the essence of the sauce in every bite, and it takes you straight to that familiar, rich flavour you love. You can really feel the boldness of the taste with every crunch. It's a flavour experience like no other.'
Teboho 'Caddy' Tsotetsi, who served as the MC for the evening, shared how the new flavour stirred up deep nostalgia for him.
'The brand took me back home — it brought back so many memories,' he said. 'Back in the day, when my grandmother came home from grocery shopping, there was always that iconic Simba plastic bag, and we'd all sit and share the chips. It was a moment we all looked forward to.'
WATCH VIDEO HERE: https://rumble.com/v6sdb9t-simba-in-collaboration-with-wellingtons..html
He also praised the collaboration between Simba and Wellington's, calling it a bold move for the future. 'It's a strong partnership, and I'm excited to see where it goes. Hopefully, this is just the beginning and more exciting flavours are on the way,' Tsotetsi said.
Simba's Senior Marketing Manager, Tongase Dhlakama, said the collaboration between Simba and Wellington's was more than just a response to consumer demand — it was about elevating a beloved classic by delivering a bolder, tastier, and crunchier snacking experience that fans can truly savour.
'Simba is known to bring Mzansi's favourite flavours to life, tomato sauce is just one of those must-haves at every meal, from braais to Sunday feasts. By introducing this new flavour, now with Wellington's signature sauce, we're not just answering the call of what our fans love but also giving them an even tastier and crunchier way to enjoy a timeless classic.'
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Daily Maverick
an hour ago
- Daily Maverick
South Africa's GNU turns one – a year of unity, friction and some green shoots
A year into South Africa's Government of National Unity, the country has learnt one thing: duct tape governance may not be elegant, but it can stick things together – at least for a while. When the Government of National Unity (GNU) was unveiled after the May 2024 election, it was hailed as a political miracle. The rand perked up. Long-term interest rates softened. Investors briefly rediscovered the word 'confidence'. President Cyril Ramaphosa managed to rebrand a shaky coalition as a 'broad-based unity project', and much of the country exhaled in cautious relief. At last, perhaps, we were entering the age of grown-up politics. Or were we? A year on, the GNU stands – just about. It's held together by mutual dependency, donor discipline and the knowledge that any party pulling the plug would likely be incinerated at the ballot box. Because although South Africans might not unreservedly love the GNU, they fear the alternative more. In the absence of performance contracts for ministers – a promise now floating in the same graveyard as 'smart cities' – South Africans are left with the GNU's founding statement of intent to judge progress. It was a maximalist document, reading less like a policy framework and more like exactly what it was: a manifesto hastily cooked up in the days of political uncertainty after the ANC's historic loss of its majority vote. It pledged rapid and inclusive economic growth, a just society, spatial redress, land reform, public service professionalism, corruption-free governance, functional state-owned enterprises, law enforcement that works, parliamentary oversight, social cohesion, nation-building, gender and racial equality, foreign policy driven by human rights, and enough job creation to absorb half a million entrants into the labour market annually. Some have said that it is not fair to judge the GNU after just a year, but it is truly startling how optimistic those aims seem now. In particular, the economy – the domain that looked most likely to reap the GNU rewards – is sending pretty dire messages. GDP growth is crawling at 0.1% in the first quarter of 2025. Unemployment has worsened, ticking up to 32.9% and the expanded definition hitting a soul-numbing 43.1%. Young South Africans, already the most disillusioned demographic, are experiencing the labour market as a doorless corridor. So much for the job-creating magic. The GNU brought with it the predictable problem of too much accommodation. Every political spouse, cousin and nephew was handed a Cabinet or deputy post, resulting in a bloated executive that still somehow lacks enough bandwidth to deliver services. In all the fanfare about new opposition ministers shaking things up, many ANC incumbents were left in peace to do what they do best: disappear. What exactly is happening in Social Development? Small Business Development? Women, Children and People with Disabilities? Before Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane went viral for her disdainful chewing performance at a recent Parliament portfolio committee meeting, how many South Africans could even have named her? Mixed signals in polls South Africans, for all their justified cynicism, have not yet given up on the GNU. A February-March Brenthurst Foundation survey showed that 57% of voters approve of it. The approval ratings for some ministries, particularly those led by opposition ministers, were sky-high. The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, under Gayton McKenzie from the PA, scored a whopping 77% approval despite sports writers and arts figures privately praying for divine intervention. Why does McKenzie score so highly with the public despite being a xenophobic populist who racks up huge travel bills and rewards his cronies at every opportunity? Because he brings a very visible energy and vigour to his portfolio that South Africans clearly crave after years of torpidity from the same tired old ANC cadres shuffled from department to department. The same Brenthurst poll showed the DA climbing in independent support to 27% (from 22%) and the ANC inching up to 43% (from 40%) in modelled turnout scenarios. MK and the EFF – both vocal GNU critics – lost ground. Clearly, opposition from the outside isn't selling. But zoom out a little and the cracks begin to show. The Ipsos Governance Barometer, conducted just before the Brenthurst poll, told a slightly different story. Only 42% of respondents thought the GNU parties were cooperating effectively; 50% disagreed. The public romance with the GNU seems conditional. Enthusiasm has waned as tangible gains remain elusive. Fewer than 40% of those whom Ipsos polled believe the GNU will improve their lives. It's a fragile arrangement, kept upright not by conviction but by consequence. Everyone knows that if the GNU falls, so does the little investor confidence South Africa has left. The DA's donors know it too. The message to its leaders has been blunt: ideology is optional, market stability is not. At times, the GNU has resembled less a unity government and more a diplomatic hostage negotiation. Opposition ministers, particularly from the DA, were met with hostility from their ANC counterparts and those demoted from Cabinet posts. Leaks and exclusions were common, records Tony Leon in his latest book, with DA ministers not invited to key meetings or consulted on matters in their portfolios, at least initially. Yet the DA also didn't help itself. Its Cabinet members wasted little time in publicly claiming credit for various successes – some of which, the ANC insisted, were already in motion before the GNU was formed. The ANC, rooted in a collectivist culture, was deeply rankled by the DA's individualist, PR-savvy approach. In the ANC, nobody takes individual credit. (Some would say nobody takes individual blame either.) The result has been a Cabinet culture clash. In the halls of government, egos rubbed raw against differing political views, and the national project occasionally seemed to be running on spite and gritted teeth. The DA has been in court against the government of which it is part on four separate matters: the National Health Insurance Act, the Expropriation Act, the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act and the VAT increase. If a coalition government is suing itself in four directions, it is either a sign of healthy institutional checks or a dysfunctional marriage. Possibly both. Institutional gains … up to a point There is a lot of hopeful waffle evident in the rhetoric surrounding the co-governance situation. But getting down to the basics, what are the practical achievements of the GNU a year down the line? In a year of limited progress, a few achievements do stand out. The Department of Home Affairs has cleared a visa backlog that previously strangled tourism and skilled immigration, and in the DA's Leon Schreiber, it has a minister who is clearly working himself to the bone and is a bona fide public policy expert. The electricity crisis has eased slightly, though most experts attribute this more to households and businesses moving off-grid and South Africa blazing through diesel than to any particular new strategic plan. But in the all-important energy sector, there has also been some genuine movement. Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has finalised long-awaited wheeling regulations, allowing the private sector to legally sell electricity to itself – finally catching up to the economic realities already playing out. He also launched a private sector transmission pilot to get new lines built where they're actually needed. Speaking of pragmatists, Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson has led a 'sort-of-ish' crackdown on the so-called construction mafia – perhaps not a scorched-earth campaign, but at least an acknowledgment of the criminal realities at play. His department deserves credit, too, for energetically identifying unused public properties to be redeployed for other purposes, such as the shelters for victims of gender-based violence planned for Mpumalanga and Gauteng. On the logistics front, Operation Vulindlela has made some strides in energy and rail reform, though the road ahead remains long. Agriculture, meanwhile, is performing minor miracles. The department, under a visibly present and competent minister in John Steenhuisen, has become one of the few from which ordinary citizens (read: farmers) get actual help from the state. Disease outbreaks in red meat and poultry have been met with responsiveness, and the sector is being hailed as one of the few that's keeping the economy upright. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has made some missteps, but has seemed to bring a new focus to his ministry, particularly in tackling the country's alarming spate of kidnappings. There have been welcome declines in some crime categories, like murder. Environment Minister Dion George has been energetic, if sometimes overeager, settling the African penguin case prematurely, but arguably forcing progress. He's shown rare responsiveness to media and citizen concerns, particularly regarding small-scale fishers and derelict harbours. Finally, Minister of Cooperative Governance Velenkosini Hlabisa has done something no one has managed in years: publish the long-awaited white paper on restructuring municipalities. Whether it changes anything is another matter, but it's on paper – so, technically, it exists. Perhaps most seismically, the GNU-era Parliament has begun to resemble a functioning institution. In what might be its most unfamiliar role to date, it has become a site of real accountability. There have been real questions and real consequences: three Budgets rejected and then passed under proper scrutiny, the Road Accident Fund chief executive suspended, and cadre appointments to the Sector Education and Training Authority boards withdrawn after a public backlash. Long may it last. The GNU's future Ramaphosa is expected to exit the political stage by December 2027, when the ANC's next electoral conference is due to be held. His departure threatens to unravel the GNU, if it can survive another 30 months. The DA entered the GNU because of Ramaphosa's centrist appeal – as Leon's book noted, the DA made it a condition of its membership that Ramaphosa be at the helm. Once he is gone, both the DA and the ANC may lose their appetite for compromise. On the DA's side, Steenhuisen is expected to step down at the DA's 2026 conference. Word is, he'll go quietly in exchange for keeping his ministerial post, assuming it is still available to the DA. (There is a precedent for this: former FF Plus leader Pieter Groenewald stepped down from the helm of his party but retained his post as minister of correctional services.) The clear DA frontrunner to succeed Steenhuisen is Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. He already enjoys good relationships with ANC figures like Finance Minister Enoch Gondongwana, and the ANC is likely to view him as less polarising than Steenhuisen. But trouble for the GNU may lie ahead if Deputy President Paul Mashatile, undisputed strongman of Gauteng, takes the ANC presidency in 2027. Gauteng's ascendancy in the ANC is recent, but decisive. The Eastern Cape is riddled with factionalism and KwaZulu-Natal has been hollowed out by the MK party. The power centre has shifted north, and Mashatile sits firmly atop it. Whether he becomes the nation's next president in 2029 is another matter. A lot can happen in four years, and in South Africa, it usually does. But a Mashatile-led GNU would be unlikely to peacefully include the DA: of all the ANC leaders, he has been the most outspokenin criticising the DA's lack of cooperation on matters such as the Budget. Hopes and headaches The GNU has delivered a fragile stability. It has stemmed some of the bleeding. It has offered voters a break from ideological trench warfare. It has even, on occasion, hinted at what functional coalition politics might look like. That is not enough, as the economic markers show. This week, Ramaphosa announced a national convention to discuss a National Dialogue: a talkshop moderated by sundry celebrities and former ANC cadres that will encourage South Africans to discuss the state of the nation. The response from citizens seemed to amount to an eyeroll, along with the sentiment that what South Africa really needs is jobs, not more dialogues. And yet, for all its dysfunction, the GNU has revealed something unexpected: South Africans may not trust politicians, but they still believe in the idea of cooperation. In a country long defined by polarisation, the mere existence of the GNU remains a psychological balm – a reminder that compromise, however begrudging, is possible. The past year has proved that the political centre can hold, but only just. Whether it can do more than hold – whether it can lead, reform, build – is still in question. One thing is clear: South Africa cannot afford another year of symbolic unity without structural change. The GNU's second act must be about delivery, not just diplomacy. Otherwise, unity will collapse under the weight of its own emptiness – and take the country with it. A reminder of what the GNU promised in its statement of intent Rapid, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, the promotion of fixed capital investment and industrialisation, job creation, transformation, livelihood support, land reform, infrastructure development, structural reforms and transformational change, fiscal sustainability, and the sustainable use of our national resources and endowments. Macroeconomic management must support national development goals in a sustainable manner. Creating a more just society by tackling poverty, spatial inequalities, food security and the high cost of living, providing a social safety net, improving access to and the quality of, basic services, and protecting workers' rights. Stabilising local government, effective cooperative governance, the assignment of appropriate responsibilities to different spheres of government and review of the role of traditional leadership in the governance framework. Investing in people through education, skills development and affordable, quality healthcare. Building state capacity and creating a professional, merit-based, corruption-free and developmental public service. Restructuring and improving state-owned entities to meet national development goals. Strengthening law enforcement agencies to address crime, corruption and gender-based violence, and strengthening national security capabilities. Strengthening the effectiveness of Parliament in respect of its legislative and oversight functions. Strengthening social cohesion, nation-building and democratic participation, and undertaking programmes against racism, sexism, tribalism and other forms of intolerance. Foreign policy based on human rights, constitutionalism, the national interest, solidarity and peaceful resolution of conflicts to achieve the African Agenda 2063, South-South, North-South and African cooperation, multilateralism and a just, peaceful and equitable world. DM
The South African
2 hours ago
- The South African
EISH WENA: Mzansi man scared of mouse carrying knife in his house
Viral videos never seem to dry up on the World Wide Web. Isn't it wild how there's always something bizarre or hilarious making the rounds? From people surfing shopping trolleys on highways to cringeworthy challenge fails, the Internet never stops surprising us. The latest viral sensation has grabbed the attention of millions, racking up likes and shares all over social media. Today's Eish Wena segment features a Mzansi man who was scared by a mouse carrying a knife in his house. Amazed, he filmed a now-viral video to share with his online friends on TikTok. Watch the video below @sbusiso8028 #treding #follow #fyp #funny #SAMA28 #🤣🤣 #duet ♬ Jukebox – Mthandeni SK Need your news quickly? Visit The South African website for all you need to know. Enjoy a wide variety of videos from news, lifestyle, travel, sports, viral videos and lots more! There is always something to watch here! Why not follow us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok while you're at it? Get ALL the news you need to know on the go at your convenience! Submit your videos for a chance to be featured in the daily Viral Video article and get your name mentioned. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
4 hours ago
- IOL News
BEE is at a Crossroads - But Who Benefits from Its Destruction?
BEE, as it has been implemented in too many cases, has failed to meet the aspirations of the majority, writes the author. Gumede is right to point to the recycling of beneficiaries, the political gatekeeping, and the elite capture of empowerment deals. But he is wrong, dangerously wrong, if his insight is used to argue for scrapping BEE altogether. Let me be clear: BEE, as it has been implemented in too many cases, has failed to meet the aspirations of the majority. It is a critique we cannot afford to ignore. But neither can we afford to allow this critique to be weaponised by those who have always opposed transformation, to delegitimise the very idea of economic justice in post-apartheid South Africa. The recent critique by Professor William Gumede that over R1 trillion has been 'transferred' under Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) to fewer than 100 politically connected individuals is a sobering wake-up call. It is ironic that the same voices calling BEE 'racist' rarely propose solutions to white economic over-representation. Here are the facts: 8 of the top 10 richest South Africans remain white men. Over 70% of agricultural land remains under white ownership. Access to venture capital, export markets, and finance remains racially skewed. The idea that 'BEE is the biggest scam in post-apartheid SA' dangerously distracts from the real structural crisis: the continued racial and gendered concentration of wealth. Certainly not the millions of unemployed black youth in townships and rural villages. Not the historically disadvantaged communities who still lack access to capital, land, and markets. And not the African, Indian and Coloured women who remain structurally excluded from the mainstream economy. We must ask ourselves: who benefits when BEE is destroyed instead of reformed? Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. The only ones who benefit from the collapse of BEE are those who were never in favour of transformation in the first place the economic oligarchs who would be thrilled to return to a status quo of white dominance wrapped in the language of meritocracy. Despite limitations, BEE is not a failure: Over 6 million black South Africans now hold direct or indirect ownership in companies through broad-based share schemes (e.g. MTN Zakhele, SASOL Inzalo, Phuthuma Nathi at MultiChoice). Black ownership on the JSE has grown from less than 1% in 1994 to an estimated 25–30% today (direct + indirect via funds and B-BBEE schemes). Over 50,000 black-owned SMEs have been supported via enterprise and supplier development obligations. BEE has enabled the creation of black industrialists, catalysed youth training schemes, and expanded procurement access. The BEE scorecard includes ownership, skills development, employment equity, socio-economic development, and procurement. It is a multidimensional framework, not simply elite enrichment. However now that we know better , we must do better. Acknowledge the Failures, But Don't Abandon the Mission As a former Member of Parliament and lifelong activist for social and economic justice, I have seen first-hand how some BEE deals were little more than rent-seeking schemes. Politically connected figures often acted as fronts for white capital, offering legitimacy without empowerment. These are not just moral failings they are strategic betrayals of the people. But the answer is not abandonment. It is reform, accountability, and reorientation toward true broad-based empowerment. We must ask: What models have worked? What does inclusive, community-rooted BEE look like? And how do we ensure that BEE no longer becomes a revolving door for the same elite, but instead a ladder for the many? What Broad-Based Empowerment Really Looks Like The idea of broad-based empowerment is not hypothetical. I have checked ,it actually exists though often drowned out by the noise of scandal. Let us spotlight real, replicable models that show us what is possible. 1. Sasol Inzalo Trust (2011) – R26 Billion Empowerment for the Public One of the largest and most ambitious empowerment transactions in South African history. Over 200,000 South Africans from nurses to pensioners acquired shares in Sasol via the Inzalo Trust. This was not an elite project, but a mass participation vehicle offering dividends, ownership, and dignity. Yes, the deal had flaws (especially when Sasol's share price dropped), but the intent and structure were inclusive. We must learn from and build on this. 2. Absa Employee and CSI Trust (2023) – A New Vision for BEE In 2023, Absa created a model that should become the new gold standard. It allocated 7% of its ownership to: 3% for over 35,000 employees; 4% to a Community Trust focused on healthcare, education, and township upliftment. This is real empowerment linking productivity with ownership, and profit with community reinvestment. 3. PepsiCo / SimbPioneer Foods (2020) – Worker Trust PepsiCo's merger with Pioneer Foods resulted in a R1.66 billion worker trust benefiting over 12,000 employees 90% of whom are black. It wasn't politically brokered. It was structurally designed to include workers at scale. 4. Heineken's 'Bokamoso' Trust (2021) When Heineken acquired Distell, it was required by the Competition Tribunal to create a broad-based employee share scheme. 'Bokamoso' gave 6% equity to workers a model where empowerment was made a regulatory condition of doing business in South Africa. These are not isolated cases. They are models for the future evidence that BEE can work, and work for the people. Why can the JSE Top 100 Listed Companies not follow this and give shares to their workers, their customers and communities they serve? B-BBEE That Serves the Nation, Not the Network For BEE to be legitimate, it must: Stop recycling elites: No individual or consortium should benefit from more than one major BEE deal. Impose sunset clauses: Empowerment credentials must expire after a certain period. Create a National BEE Beneficiary Registry: All deals and beneficiaries must be publicly disclosed and tracked. Mandate community participation: At least 30% of all future equity deals must be routed through community trusts, worker funds, and township co-operatives. Align with the District Development Model: BEE must build local economies not extract value from them. We must turn BEE into a mechanism for building black productive capacity, not just redistributing shares. That means more funding for black industrialists, township-based manufacturing, rural cooperatives, and tech-enabled youth entrepreneurship. A Call to Action: Reclaim Empowerment from the Few, for the Many To comrades, policymakers, business leaders, and community activists: we are at a crossroads. Either we allow the failures of the past to paralyse us or we reclaim the transformative promise of BEE and remake it to serve all who were historically disadvantaged: Black Africans, Coloured South Africans, Indian South Africans, women, youth, people with disabilities, and the rural poor. I call on the ANC to: Codify a new generation of community-based empowerment deals Reject individual-based enrichment without public impact Strengthen the oversight powers of the B-BBEE Commission Incentivise cooperatives, worker-ownership, and community reinvestment We must restore the moral authority of economic redress by placing THE PEOPLE not political patrons at the centre of empowerment. Conclusion: Build, Don't Burn Professor Gumede has done us a service by exposing what went wrong. But let us not allow this moment to be hijacked by reactionaries who wish to dismantle BEE altogether. Let us not abandon the house of transformation because the roof leaked. Instead, let us rebuild it, repair it, and expand it, so that it shelters all South Africans who have for too long lived on the margins. We don't need to scrap BEE. We need to liberate it from the few and make it finally work for the many. That is the real empowerment and economic justice we must fight and struggle for. This opinion piece was first published in ANC Today * Faiez Jacobs is a former MP, Public Policy Strategist and Advocate for Economic Justice ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
