Good week
Queen Elizabeth may have missed one of her favourite events, the Epsom Derby, on Saturday, but she seems very much in the saddle, even as she approaches the final ride into the royal sunset. After 70 years on the job at Buckingham Palace, they gave her a Trooping of the Colour, an air force fly-past, a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s and a huge party on the Mall. Thousands turned up to cheer a woman who was not elected to the position but is probably one of the most popular people in Britain.
Bad week
Hats. That’s what police minister Bheki Cele should stick to — matters of the millinery kind. Or teaching a masterclass in bombast. Anything but actually keeping SA safe. The latest crime stats have shown, again, how woefully ill-equipped Cele is for the task at hand. Over 3,300 kidnappings from January to March (up more than 100% y/y); 10,818 rapes (+14%); 6,083 murders (+22%); 42,992 grievous bodily harm assaults (+18%). These are not numbers that inspire confidence in the blustering poseur in blue. As for his promise to “do things differently”? That rings particularly hollow when you consider he’s been in the job for more than four years.