Let’s be real: 2018 has been one very long year. If you don’t believe us, here’s a list of all the things that happened this year. SHAAZIA EBRAHIM and FATIMA MOOSA wrap up.
We switched presidents
We got a whole new president in 2018, remember? Former President Jacob Zuma resigned as the President of the Republic of South Africa just days before the 2018 State of the Nation with African National Congress Cyril Ramaphosa being sworn in soon after.
We don’t buy into the rainbowist fairytale of Cyril Ramaphosa
SA politics was a mess
But besides getting a whole new president, South African politics was as entertaining as ever. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) were embroiled in their first ever corruption scandal with the VBS Mutual Bank heist – which collapsed after a damning report released by Advocate Terry Motau titled the “Great Bank Heist” found that over 50 individuals and companies looted almost R2bn from the bank.
Then our former finance minister Malusi Gigaba resigned from his position as home affairs minister. This after being found that he lied to the High Court in the Fireblade saga, and a stint on PornHub. Good times.
Let’s not forget how the Democratic Alliance (DA) basically imploded with it’s case against former Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, who has her own party now.
Patricia De Lille’s New Party: Should We Expect Great Things?
Next year’s elections will be interesting indeed.
Cape Town was facing drought restrictions with Day Zero
In the beginning of the year Capetonians were hurtling toward Armageddon aka a severe drought and their water-usage was reduce to, like, one bucket of water or something. Thank goodness that crisis was averted. For now.
21 tips for the privileged facing lifestyle shifts as #DayZero hits
Mam’ Winnie passed on
A literal giant in the liberation struggle Mama Winnie Madikizela-Mandela passed away earlier this year. Cue the nationwide contestation of her legacy, from the demonisation of her to the hero worship and that massive state funeral at Orlando Stadium.
Patriarchy Erases Mam’ Winnie’s Contribution To The Struggle
Nelson Mandela and Albertina Sisulu centenaries
This year marked the 100 year anniversary of Nelson Mandela and Mam’ Albertina Sisulu – and while we were subjected to all of the celebrations for the #Mandela100, unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for Ma Sisulu. Even in death, patriarchy ensured that the two great anti-apartheid activists were celebrated differently.
Celebrating Mam’ Albertina Sisulu In The Hundredth Year Of Her Birth
For Mandela’s centenary – we got to see Beyoncé and other famous people
The Global Citizen Mandela 100 Festival came to South Africa for the first time ever. As part of it, Beyoncé performed in South Africa and we called it!
Held in honour of the #Mandela100, the festival asked South Africans to perform activism to get tickets for the concert. While no one was buying the idea the festival was selling, some of the performers at the event had some dodgy politics which needed to be questioned.
As part of the celebration, former United States (US) President Barack Obama came to South Africa to deliver the Mandela Centenary speech. While it was exciting seeing an actual US president in the flesh, his speech and the values he espoused were not something we could get excited about.
To top it all off, a whole entire commotion happened outside the FNB stadium after the music festival when concert-goers were robbed en-masse.
VAT increased
Remember those days when VAT was at 14%? Good times. On April Fool’s Day this year, government hiked the VAT to 15%. Even the concession made earlier this year to add sanitary products (and cake and bread flour) to the (short) list of zero-rated VAT items can’t really make up for it.
The VAT Increase is an Assault On The Poor And Lower-Income Earners
Famous musicians left the world: Hugh Masekela, Avicii, HHP
One of South Africa’s greatest musicians Hugh Masekela passed on this year after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. Bra Hugh wasn’t the only musician to leave this world and leave a gaping hole in the industry. Other notable deaths included South African rapper HHP, DJ Avicii and rapper Mac Miller.
ComicCon Africa was a giant success
The first ever Comic Con Africa came to our shores! While most of the big names that everybody was anticipating didn’t make it, the entire experience was pretty awesome as a celebration of nerd culture.
The film Inxeba caused ructions
The critically-acclaimed isiXhosa film, Inxeba (The Wound) that speaks on tradition, sexuality, masculinity, and what it means to be an outsider divided the public. The Film and Publication Board went back and forth on the classification rating of the movie from 16LS to a rating for X18. Screenings were almost cancelled in some cinemas around the world following the threats of boycotts from some social media users and traditional chiefs.
Inxeba proves how heteronormativity feels uncomfortable when challenged
Black Panther was our fav film
The first ever black superhero Black Panther not only came to the big screens but most of the stars came to South Africa for the premier including the badass women of Wakanda, Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira. We could not contain our feels at the amazingness of seeing Wakanda come to life in front of us.
Black Panther’s Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira on Woman Leadership in Wakanda
We were glued to screens for the World Cup
A whole entire World Cup happened. The 2018 World Cup in Russia might have been marred in controversy with all dodgy politics from the host country but overall the tournament was so enjoyable with “Africa’s team” taking the title.
Listeriosis was killing us
Remember when polony was a huge threat? Enterprise polony was found to contain the virus listeriosis which made a lot of people sick and claimed many lives as well – leading to all processed meats being regarded as a danger. While the source was found and it was removed from shelves, it took quite a while before the virus was successfully dealt with.
Yup, we know this year has been a lot but at least we’ve survived (sort of).
Did we miss anything shocking that happened in 2018? Tweet us @thedailyvox or let us know below.
