A good week for Akani Simbine

A good week for Akani Simbine

Akani Simbine would have joined the ranks of talented but unlucky South Africans not to have won an Olympic medal — until last Friday in Paris. The sprinter anchored the team’s 4x100m relay to second place and a silver medal behind Canada in an African record time of 37.57 sec. It was a fine end for someone who had been cast as a nearly man. Simbine had close finishes at the world championships of 2017 (fifth) and 2019 (fourth), and also ended fourth in the 2020 Olympics. He was fourth again in Paris, with a personal best of 9.82 sec, impressive even against Usain Bolt’s word record 9.58.

A bad week for Kabelo Gwamanda

Kabelo Gwamanda has finally resigned as Joburg’s executive mayor. The ineffective head of a city with an annual turnover of about R80bn was always out of his depth but had resisted calls to step down until this week, when the pressure obviously became too much. Trouble is, Joburg needs more than just a new mayor (heir presumptive Dada Morero, a previous incumbent, hardly inspires hope). The city is in dire straits and needs a government that will decisively tackle its obvious problems, among them the corruption and mismanagement lurking in its Braamfontein corridors.