Latest news with #GaytonMackenzie
IOL News
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Mackenzie's pricey teacup brews questions
This cup and saucer set was produced by the Imperial Lomonosov Porcelain Factory in Russia. Hand painted and embellished with 22-karat gold, it retails for R4132,53. Image: Supplied. PINKIE up or pinkie down, how does Gayton Mackenzie drink his tea? Some might say it doesn't matter, but it does, when the teacup costs thousands of rand. This week, it emerged that the Honourable Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture received a saucer and teacup valued at exactly R6,093, courtesy of the Russian Cultural Ministry. This was revealed in the Register of Members' Interests, where all MPs must declare the gifts that they receive. Naturally, the cup became a talking point on social media. Ramesh Nana joked: 'They not gold plated but pure gold cups.' Oomtas Mike weighed in with a picture of a steaming cup of tea sitting on a newspaper, and captioned: 'This cup was R2,50 at MR CHEAP.' A Facebook user poked fun at the R6000 cup and saucer which was gifted to Gayton Mackenzie, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture. He says this one was bought at Mr Cheap. Image: Facebook. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Mackenzie's actual cup remains unseen, so, true to form, the Independent on Saturday did what any curious tea lover would do: we went online to see what it might look like. Dr Google led us to a Russian website showcasing the finery produced at the Imperial Lomonosov Porcelain Factory. There, we found a hand-painted set which is embellished with 22-karat gold, complete with the original Lomonosov factory mark on the bottom of the cup and saucer. One listing read: 'Enjoy a steaming cup of hot tea with the Lomonosov Porcelain Tea Set Cup and Saucer Spring Winter Fairytale. This unusual Tea Cup and Saucer is made from white porcelain by the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St. Petersburg. It will be a perfect gift for avid tea and coffee drinkers. It's also a perfect addition to any porcelain drinkware collection.' The 1980s vintage special Russian silver Cloisonné gold plated coffee cup set which sold for almost R18 000. Image: Supplied. Sadly though, that particular set was only valued at $230 (R4,132.53, almost two thousand rand less than Mackenzie's. Another cup and saucer that caught our eye, made from bone china and based on costumes worn by ballet dancers in the Bolshoi Theatre's 1968 production of Spartacus, came in at a paltry $134 (R2,400), despite the hand-painting and 22-karat gold trim. Finally, we stumbled across a cup and saucer that could almost rival the minister's: a 1980s vintage special Russian silver cloisonné, gold-plated coffee cup set for $1,000 (R17,967.51). And before you choke on your tea, Sotheby's once auctioned off a tiny porcelain cup dating back to the Ming dynasty. Known as the 'chicken cup', because it's decorated with a rooster and a hen, it went for a cool $36 million (R646 million) in Hong Kong in 2014. Whatever Mackenzie's drinking, we hope that the tea itself is local.
TimesLIVE
09-06-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
‘You can't put a price on justice': Mackenzie on reburials of ancestral remains and exile repatriation project
The government doesn't yet know how much it will cost to rebury the remains of Khoe and San ancestors or to bring home the remains of freedom fighters who died in exile, but minister of sport, arts and culture Gayton Mackenzie says the cost doesn't matter. 'It can't cost enough because people gave their lives. You can't put a cost to a life,' Mackenzie said during a media briefing on Monday. Mackenzie announced two major national projects: the reburial of 58 ancestral remains from the Khoe and San communities and the next phase of the Exile Repatriation Project, both backed by the government of national unity. 'These are not just projects — they are acts of justice, remembrance and healing. 'They affirm our government's commitment to restore dignity, promote cultural restoration and confront the painful legacy of apartheid. These initiatives are about re-humanisation. They are spiritual but, most importantly, they are necessary,' he said. Mackenzie said the 58 ancestral remains originating from the Northern Cape would be reburied in consultation with affected communities, including the Nama, Griqua, Korana, and San. The process was being led by the Iziko Museums, the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) and a local task team. 'It is not just about returning the remains to the soil. It is about restoring dignity. It is about fulfilling cultural and spiritual obligations. It is about healing the deep wounds of dispossession and, most importantly, historical erasure,' he said.
IOL News
03-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
The VAT betrayal: how SA's political charlatans sold out the people
WHEN the ANC announced plans to increase Value-Added Tax (VAT) in 2025, it struck a dagger into the heart of every struggling South African. VAT - a tax that punished the poor for simply surviving - was once again being weaponized to protect the rich and punish the working class. Today, the so-called "leaders" of South Africa's political parties stand exposed, naked before the nation, stripped of their empty rhetoric and false promises. The VAT saga has laid bare their treachery, their hypocrisy, and their unforgivable betrayal of the very people they swore to serve. The real impact of VAT on the poor Let's be clear: VAT is not just another tax. It is a tax on survival. When government raises VAT, it increases the price of bread, milk, school shoes, and bus fare -essentials that millions of South Africans already struggle to afford. VAT doesn't ask if you are rich or poor. It strikes hardest at the empty pockets of the working class, pensioners, and the unemployed. In a country where over 18 million people depend on social grants, unemployment has soared to over 32% and more than 55% of citizens live below the poverty line, a VAT increase is economic violence. And yet, knowing all this, the ANC still proposed a VAT increase of up to 3% in internal discussions - a brutal attack on the most vulnerable. Only a massive public outcry forced them to reduce the immediate increase to 0.5%. Had the ANC still held its old majority, the VAT increase would have sailed through Parliament unchallenged. It was the entry of the MK Party into Parliament that weakened the ANC's iron grip. But even then, the betrayal was only beginning. The fiscal framework farce When the Fiscal Framework - the blueprint for government spending, including the VAT increase - came before Parliament, the ANC desperately needed allies. They found them among parties that had loudly campaigned against the ANC, sworn never to work with the ANC, and claimed to stand for the people. Yet when the moment of truth arrived, ActionSA, BOSA (Build One South Africa), Rise Mzansi, Gayton Mackenzie's Patriotic Alliance, and others stood not with the people - but with the ANC. In a narrow vote, the Fiscal Framework was adopted, giving life to the VAT increase. These so-called opposition parties handed the ANC a knife and pointed it at the neck of the poor. ActionSA, a party that had thundered against ANC corruption and mismanagement, voted for the ANC's Fiscal Framework. BOSA, led by the so-called "new hope" Mmusi Maimane, voted with the ANC. Rise Mzansi, the party that brands itself as the future, voted for a future with higher VAT and deeper poverty. Gayton Mackenzie, who styles himself as a man of the people, handed the ANC the majority it needed. The great lie: "The fiscal framework had nothing to do with VAT" When caught, these parties scrambled to spin a narrative so ridiculous it insults the intelligence of every South African. They claimed: "We voted for the Fiscal Framework, but it had nothing to do with VAT." Lies. Blatant, shameless lies. The Fiscal Framework explicitly includes the assumptions and parameters for government revenue — including the VAT increase. It is the foundational document that dictates taxes, spending, and borrowing. Without the Fiscal Framework being adopted, the VAT increase had no legislative path forward. On Monday, the Western Cape High Court confirmed what any honest politician already knew: The Fiscal Framework contained the VAT increase. The court set aside the adoption of the Framework and suspended the VAT hike, exposing the lies told to the people. The spin has failed. The betrayal stands naked before us. The reality voters must never forget South Africans must remember this treachery. Remember that these parties made public pledges - and broke them when it mattered most. Remember that in the corridors of Parliament, when faced with a choice between standing with the people or kneeling before the ANC, they chose to kneel. They are not opposition parties. They are political charlatans. They are the ANC's convenient enablers, eager for scraps from the table of power. The tragedy of South Africa is not just a corrupt ruling party. It is an entire political class - old and new - that talks revolution during elections but practices betrayal in Parliament. A systemic betrayal This is not a once-off event. It is a symptom of a deeper sickness: A political elite more interested in self-preservation than public service. A culture of spin doctors, legal loopholes, and manufactured consent. An economy managed for the rich, subsidized by the poor. And VAT is just the beginning. Behind every act of betrayal today lurks the threat of more: More taxes on the working class. More protection for monopolies and billionaires. More lies dressed up as governance. MK Party: a different road In this sea of betrayal, the MK Party has stood firm. From the outset, MK MPs opposed the Fiscal Framework, exposed the hidden VAT increase, and demanded that the burden of fixing the economy be placed where it belongs: on the backs of the wealthy, not the poor. Tax the billionaires, tax the monopolies, nationalize key industries and use the wealth of the country for its people, not for its elite. That is the road to freedom. Not endless VAT hikes. Not squeezing pensioners and single mothers to please global markets and local oligarchs. The final verdict: voters must choose South Africa is at a crossroads. The mask has slipped. The lies have been exposed. In the next election - and every election to come - South Africans must remember who voted for higher VAT. They must remember who lied to them. And they must punish every political party and every political opportunist who chose betrayal over bravery. Never again must we allow political charlatans to dictate the destiny of our children. The VAT saga is a warning. Let us heed it.
