The terrible truth behind our wobbling political leadership

ANYONE who watched the recent opening of parliament must have asked themselves why our public representatives are almost universally rotund.

Well, the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has solved the mystery. According to him, public office is a health hazard that often results in obesity.

"The problem with being a public representative," he told a press briefing on Friday, "is that there is food everywhere.

"There's always availability of food and that is the danger of this profession. If you are a mayor, the job is to go around cutting ribbons and eating and all that because there will always be food. And I'm sorry to be saying it, but that is the nature of their job."

Hogarth offers this piece of advice: "Just say no."

And they don't even read

ANOTHER truth about our MPs is revealed in a confidential ANC discussion document on how to improve the party's image in parliament.

"All comrades should adopt a habit of reading documents in order to be adequately prepared before attending committee meetings," it recommends.

There you have it, it is official: ANC MPs don't read.

Here comes trouble again

ONE person who does read is President Jacob Zuma. Hogarth hears from his man in Cape Town that the president is a regular reader of this column.

On being introduced to a Sunday Times reporter at a post state of the nation cocktail party, Zuma told journalists that he has his own name for this newspaper: "I have renamed it Sunday Trouble."

Smiling widely, he complained about "negative coverage" in the paper and singled out Hogarth as one of those columns he is particularly unhappy about.

Hogarth is honoured, Msholozi.

I'm looking at you, Mr Zuma

SPEAKING of "negative" commentary, did the president read the rant by his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, in which he accused the United Nations of giving free rein to the US, France and the UK to intervene in Libya without any evidence of war?

Speaking in Cape Town, Mbeki said: "The naked reality is that the relevant organs of the UN - the Security Council and the Office of the Secretary-General - elected to betray their binding obligations in terms of international law, especially as prescribed by the UN Charter."

He very politely omitted to mention that the South African government was one of those countries that gave the green light to this abuse of power. That would be you, sir.

Raking about in the muck

AMONG the claims made by the president this week was that "most of the corruption you read about in the media is exposed as a result of the work of the government and its agencies".

Really? How about the Bheki Cele lease scandal? Or the public works cover-up? Or the Sicelo Shiceka debacle?

From what Hogarth can remember, the government tried to spin its way out of those before admitting something was wrong, several months later.

Setting a fine example

AMONG the more vociferous supporters of the Protection of State Information Bill at its Gauteng hearings was a "journalist" called Elias Maluleke.

He wanted the bill to be passed without delay because "the media today is operating like a mafia. They are permanently damaging people's lives and hiding behind a public interest clause."

Fascinating. Would that be the same Elias Maluleke who proudly put his name to a bogus story alleging that former national director of public prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka was an apartheid-era spy after this newspaper refused to publish it?

He was obviously upholding the very high standards he expects all others in the profession to attain.

• Write to hogarth@sundaytimes.co.za