HANNA ZIADY: From Boris to Busisiwe, it’s the age of pretenders
Brexit backer Johnson and our own public protector Mkhwebane have no place in leadership positions
It is not only in SA that dishonest charlatans rise to the top. No sooner had British Prime Minister Theresa May resigned in an emotional speech outside 10 Downing Street on Friday than news headlines across the UK announced Conservative MP Boris Johnson to be the favoured successor. This is the same Boris Johnson who actively campaigned for Britain to leave the EU but then failed to come up with a plan for how this was to be done. The same Boris Johnson who has made several offensive remarks concerning foreign political leaders, referred to Africa as “that country” and described women who wear burqas as “looking like letter boxes”. He was widely condemned following a Conservative Party conference in 2017 when he praised a group of UK investors’ vision to turn the Libyan city of Sirte into “the next Dubai” once they had “cleared the dead bodies away”. On Friday, Reuters reported that Johnson told a conference in Switzerland that the UK would leave the EU on October 31 with or withou...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.