Neil de Beer: De Ruyter & Eskom, Cyril & Trump, the GNU & VAT, Corné & the DA- and Cele’s crime legacy

In this latest edition of the Sunday Show, Neil de Beer slams ESKOM's farcical explanation for how the country was plunged into Stage 6 Loadshedding overnight. He says the much-maligned former CEO André de Ruyter was right – and warns that the "litany of absolute destruction" continues. De Beer also gives the background to how South Africa narrowly escaping a 2% VAT hike after an hastily convened urgent Cabinet meeting resulted into the unprecedented postponement of the Budget speech that could have taken the country to "revolution". He speaks of former Police Minister Bheki Cele's legacy of crime in the wake of the latest statistics – recording 73 murders and 131 rapes every day – and calls for the head of the National Commissioner. De Beer describes how President Cyril Ramaphosa keeps triggering US President Donald Trump – and stresses that the discord between the US and South Africa will not end "until this president of ours comes back to reality". He also comments on the election of veteran politician Corné Mulder as the new leader of Freedom Front+, and states: "I think the DA is going to sit right up and they're going to have to now understand that the person that was fighting behind the other person is now the person leading that organisation..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..Watch here.Listen here.Edited transcript of the interview ___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Chris Steyn (00:01.75)Welcome to the Sunday Show with Neil de Beer, the President of the United Independent Movement. Welcome back, Neil..Neil de Beer (00:10.86)Yeah, Chris, great to be back again in our usual spot. What a great week on numbers again, crashing the 100,000 mark, and that's good. And here we are, sitting under load shedding. It is as disappearing as the budget speech. So, a shock to us, I think, Chris, but something we should never get used to at the end of the day..Chris Steyn (00:33.192)Well, Neil, South Africans narrowly escaped a 2% VAT hike, only to be plunged into Stage Six load shedding again in the middle of the night. Let's start with that load shedding. Surely, with all the capacity that has been added, Stage Six should be very worrying, as it seems to indicate that there has been no change or no step change in performance..Neil de Beer (00:59.342)Chris, I allude to load shedding like that uncle of yours that comes to every Christmas dinner. We all know that he's a soothing, sporadic alcoholic. He sits in the corner with his mini-Jack in his pocket, but we know at one or another time he's going to fall off his chair. And we know that we try and hide him so that there's no embarrassment. But there's one thing you can't do… Oom Jannie is going to drink his brandy, and he's going to pass out..Neil de Beer (01:29.772)So all of these stories that we've got about load shedding being gone, that it is totally under control, and that the matters of what they say—stabilisation and normalisation of the grid—well, at three o'clock yesterday afternoon, the thing just popped out, popped off. And there we are, that old good song: Hello Darkness, My Old Friend..I watched this morning, Chris, as if it was an absolute comic farce—the members of Eskom trying to explain how they went from Stage 3 load shedding yesterday to Stage 6 this morning. This is what they said, verbatim: By absolute surprise, a massive amount of generation power was lost….Neil de Beer (02:25.972)…up to 800 megawatts at one point in time..Now, Chris, either you are in control of something, or you are not. The word suddenly is a major, major problem to me. It's like sitting in a submarine, and suddenly, there is a leak. Now, when you're sitting in a submarine and there's a leak, this isn't suddenly—this is catastrophic. So either you don't know, or you do know. But to just come up and say there was no time for a warning because when they realised it, they were already in the dark?.So, Chris, absolute rubbish, absolute nonsense—trying to tell us that pulling the wool over our eyes will work, that Eskom is fully functional..I will never forget our great Minister of Energy frolicking in the snow in Davos, standing in front of the camera and telling the world that load shedding has been beaten. This is now the second time since building snowmen in Davos that we've had a loss of power. So there's no confidence in Eskom. I'm sorry—whatever they are doing..And now we're hearing the name André de Ruyter again. Every time Eskom has a meltdown, people ask: Was André not right? That ghost is going to haunt us for a very long time..Chris Steyn (03:59.83)Do you think he was right, Neil? After all?.Neil de Beer (04:03.968)I think he was. The hullabaloo and the running around, trashing André de Ruyter's name… I have never had the privilege of spending time with him, but I know of someone who was very close to André..He was systematic—a person who believed in solutions—and he did not tolerate fools..His book clearly lays out the disruption, the destruction, and the total depletion of what was once a state power entity that was globally respected..So, the things that we've heard—the litany of absolute destruction—it seems that the trend continues..And Chris, in conclusion on this matter: without a solid, stable power grid, there can be no future for industrialisation. There can be no sale of our economic forebearing. And there can never be a situation where… And Chris, it's the small businesses—the small- and medium-sized enterprises—that are suffering. It's not Pick n Pay, it's not Woolworths, it's not Shoprite, because those entities can buy generators. It's not the wealthy who are currently impeded in their lifestyles. It's you and me. It's the person who needs to wake up the kids, put them to bed, and still go to work for money that is becoming less and less—only for them to take the power away..Funny enough, there should be a regulation that every bloody minister in this country—who, by the way, got a generator from us—should have their power cut too. Jingle Bells. What should happen is that when they cut power, they should cut theirs too. And if they've got to go to work, they must drive into the office. We will then power-generate Parliament. Maar ons kan nie, because they burned it down. So, hulle moet maar in hulle tent sit met 'n gaslamp. That's how I see it..Read more: Gayton McKenzie: The GNU & VAT; AfriForum & America – and the Zuma threat in 2029.Chris Steyn (06:10.956)While we are talking about our suffering, that 2% VAT hike that was going to be put before Parliament in the Budget Speech has since disappeared..Neil de Beer (06:28.238)Chris, I'm going to tell you a litany of travesties—of gemors. Rubbish. Let me tell you what the Inner Circle told me. A couple of weeks ago, we were told that this country is under financial stress. Really? You and I, in our last great show, spoke about the budget deficit, spoke about the country needing to borrow money. We debated what the knock-on effect would be if they took another $27 billion from the World Bank, increasing our debt burden. We've spoken about the impact that foreign-based loans would have on this country in terms of interest..What we didn't know—but now do—came after Cyril Soekie gave his speech on the economy. Yeah, he actually gave one on the economy. And then, poor Mr. Enoch Godongwana, who now sits there, has no idea how to rebalance the budget's focus..So, Chris, what happens is a document gets put down. Cabinet reads it. They look at the holistic ideology because, remember, it is a budget of government. It is not supposed to be a budget of the ANC or the DA. It's the first-ever GNU budget. So, you can imagine the pressure—this historic moment as they prepare to table it. En almal het mos. Chris, do you know that word, mos?.Chris Steyn (08:17.262)Oh, yeah..Neil de Beer (08:17.55)It's the most irritating word on earth. I still can't find its origin. When you offer someone a cookie, they go, Ek eet mos nie cookies. Ag man, gaan… So, we thought mos that the entire Cabinet had insight and had agreed on this budget, which they would proudly table..Well, nay, nay, may. It seems they didn't because the 2% VAT hike—from 15% to 17%—was seemingly not discussed in debate. So now, we have this walk-up to the financial budget being tabled—where, essentially, they tell us what they will and won't spend on. That's the point of a budget. And it's an important milestone in any government—not just for South Africans, Chris. The world watches this budget; the world markets focus on the deliverance of our promise..Now, here comes the absolute tyranny of utter disorganisation..Rumour has it, Chris, that five hours prior to Enoch's Budget Speech, President Cyril Soekie Ramaphosa was on his way from Johannesburg to Cape Town for a special Cabinet meeting. And guess what? The windscreen of his aircraft cracked..Chris Steyn (10:02.166)Sounds biblical..Neil de Beer (10:04.558)Yes, gekraak. I mean, can you imagine? You are the President of the Republic of South Africa, so-called number one citizen, so-called 84 people having to look after you with motorcades of BMWs, Bavarians, and Mercedes. Then you get into your aircraft, and the windscreen cracks. So that apparently happened. They then had to ruffle Cyriltjie off. I mean, you can imagine the picture. Hy het maar nou nie lang beentjies nie. Now they've got to drag him onto a commercial flight. Can you imagine flying with commoners? So now they probably shuffle him into business class with his 850,000,445 other support staff en koffers, and they rush him down to Cape Town. By the time he gets to Cape Town, Uncle Paul Mashatile, who stood in for Cyril—who was treading water, let me quickly tell you, like a fallen rat in a swamp teeming with alligators—probably went, "Yoh, thank you.".Cyril walks in, and they have this massive Cabinet meeting, okay? Then they find out a 2% VAT increase is going to be announced..The DA was obviously caught totally unaware—another situation, Chris, where the DA sits in Switzerland, signing land expropriation bills without telling the people..This is called skullduggery because there was no way that the DA, the IFP, or others would have allowed this to go through if they had full knowledge of it. The rumor then has it that John Steenhuisen, in actual fact, gets up after finding two ANC ministers who also decided that if they table this, it would be lambs to the slaughter..So it wasn't just one or two parties that decided this; they were going to table a budget that could lead to revolution. The main opponent of this was the DA. John drew a line in the sand and said, "No, this is not going to go through." And the words were, "If you're going to table this budget…".Neil de Beer (12:30.476)…you are going to have a shortage of votes to push it through..So, Chris, what you see here is the first ever, in my opinion, real battle line being drawn by this GNU party—so much so that they canceled it. For the first time in the democratic history of this country, the budget is now postponed until, I think, the 13th of March..But that's not the real question. Where are they going to get the money? He's got to go find the money—and it's not going to grow on trees. The reason they wanted to implement the 2% VAT increase, which is essentially a tax on the poor, is because income tax and company tax are paid by those who are viably in the economy. But VAT? That hits everyone. Bread has VAT, milk has VAT, mielies, rice, potatoes—it's a poor person's tax in a country where we don't just have poor people; we have less than poor people. So I think this was a bombshell for the ANC, a desperate attempt to find money..Now, Chris, our budget deficit is around R300 billion. That's the current budget deficit. Dawie Roodt—he's been on this show many times, he's a well-known economist—listen to what he says. Dawie Roodt says that if they had to implement the 2% VAT increase, taking it to 17%, his estimate—and I trust Dawie's calculations—is that the maximum revenue they would generate….Neil de Beer (14:32.363)…would be just R50 billion. That still leaves us with a R250 billion deficit..So, Chris, the question is: I think when they calculated that, they backed off because the chaos that would erupt in this country wouldn't be worth the mere R50 billion they'd raise. And that's the key issue. A very interesting few days..Are they going to borrow more money? Are they going to use other forms of taxation?.But this country is in a severe cash crunch. Cyril himself admitted that they don't have enough money to start paying for certain essential services..And then, the poor Minister of Finance forgets to turn off his microphone. After the press conference, he sits there and attacks his own SARS Commissioner in a very, very embarrassing moment. So I think there's chaos within the circus. Everyone is running for the corner pen, and the bear is loose. Hulle moet maar vat wat kom. But it doesn't bode well for them..Chris Steyn (15:48.428)Now, in more bad news for the ordinary people of this country, Neil, the latest crime stats—73 murders a day, 131 rapes every single day..Neil de Beer (16:03.734)…more than what is being killed in a normal warfare situation in Ukraine and Russia. I mean, Chris, let's sit back and think about it. We merely glance over numbers. Every time the crime stats come out, the country kind of sighs, SAPS puts a spin on it, and says, "It's looking better." Better than what? Our murder rate per capita is worse than an active war zone..Chris, I will always say this because, as you know, crime and crime intelligence are things I am passionate about. And the reason I am is because it's sheer evil. It's dark. It should not exist amongst us..But this country has become numb. It has become numb in the mind and absolutely cold in the heart. Because crime has become normal. Murder is normal. Cash-in-transit heists are normal. So, Chris, I really thought, and so did you, that with the departure of this absolute idiot, Bheki Tafeltjie Stoeltjie Cele, we would see change. That we'd get Mchunu, who is a more calculated man, known for action rather than talk. But unfortunately, you can't fix something that is so broken..Chris, until we change the senior management of the police in this country—and I mean remove them—we won't move forward. If we don't get rid of Cele's legacy, if we don't change National Commissioner Fannie Masemola, who thinks it's more important to show he fits into a size 5XL tracksuit, then we won't get ahead. Over R1 billion spent by Lesufi on what are essentially his personal police in Gauteng, yet the murder rate has increased….Read more: SA's Budget crisis proves the ANC needs its coalition partners.Neil de Beer (18:28.832)…and so has their overall size. We have to go back to basics. If you've seen some of these officers, they wouldn't chase a criminal and jump over a Vibacrete wall—they'd run through it..Back in the day, our police had fitness, discipline, and training. Now? No discipline, no order. Parades are a joke. The old warrant officer with his little lever stick keeping everyone in line? That's gone. If we can't fix SAPS, crime intelligence, and law enforcement, how do we fight crime?.Buying more bakkies, drones, and aircraft won't help if we have no one fit enough to drive, fly, or operate them. Chris, it's dismal..Chris Steyn (20:43.68)Meanwhile, Neil, back to politics—party politics—the FF Plus has a new leader..Neil De Beer (20:50.691)Thank you..Chris Steyn (20:53.920)Someone you know well..Neil De Beer (20:54.190)Not unexpected by you and me. I think this week, when we prepared for the show, we said the chances of Pieter Groenewald continuing were very slim. And Bob's your uncle—there we are, Dr. Corné Mulder, new leader of the Freedom Front Plus. A new dawn..I must tell you, Chris, I think you've had a lot of experiences with him. I have dealt with him on many occasions. And may I say, he's one of the few people that, when you sit in a room or have political discussions—for example, when we were in the Multi-Party Charter—I would sit back and listen to him deliver a segment of a solution. He is one of the few people that, when he speaks, you sit back and think, "This is a statesman talking.".He has his own agendas and his own challenges to face, but he carries a certain demeanor. I mean, if I'm not mistaken, Chris, he is one of the longest-serving members of Parliament in the Republic of South Africa. He has served for more than three decades. Now, that's both a good and a bad thing..Chris Steyn (22:15.061)I think the longest..Neil De Beer (22:21.422)I'll never forget this, and he will remember too, Chris. I once called him like my old uncle because he came to me when I was quite down during an election bid. I was sitting in my chair, licking my wounds, feeling sorry for myself—eina, eina—and he came up to me and said, "Neil.".I said, "Ja, Oom Corné?".And he told me, "Remember: Don't let politics get into your head. Be strong at heart, because if you don't, this thing will swallow you alive.".He said it in Afrikaans and then walked away, and I thought, "Wow." So, yes, I have a lot of affinity for him..This is, can I call it, a new passageway? Because I think there were significant differences between Dr. Groenewald and Corné Mulder..Corné is a strong supporter of Cape Exit. He believes in self-sustainability and self-governance. Pieter Groenewald does not. So another question is: Will Pieter Groenewald remain a minister? Now that he's no longer the leader of the Freedom Front, will he stay on to see things through? That depends on how everything plays out..And now, also, Chris, in conclusion about Dr. Mulder—I think the DA is going to have to sit up and take note. They must now understand that the person who was fighting behind the scenes is now leading that organization..So, very interesting dynamics are coming up, and the interactions between them and the other parties should be….Chris Steyn (24:13.942)Lastly, Neil, I just want to touch on the tensions at the G20 in Johannesburg, where the Russian Foreign Minister was in attendance, but the U.S. Secretary of State was not. Have you been following?.Neil De Beer (24:28.418)Yes, you know, Chris, there comes a time—look, I love koeksisters, but eating eight of them at once is a killer. I think America is starting to see South Africa's leadership as a bunch of overloaded koeksisters, and they're going, "Dit was lekker, maar dis nou te soet.".Now, I understand we keep sending delegations. But, Chris, it's as if any of these delegations will actually satisfy the United States' opinion of our current status. It's laughable..You will remember, I was also asked by a group of friends internally—farmers, businessmen in Washington, and one or two political leaders—to go there. And I thought to myself, Hoeveel ossewa gaan hulle nou parkeer op daai lawn? Imagine all of us arriving there—AfriForum, Engels Forum, Solidariteit, Prioriteit, the Voortrekker Monument, Neil de Beer, and the entire gazoo of government—all standing in a queue, waiting for Trump. And then he just says, "No, no, no, no, no.".That's exactly what's going to happen. So it's a waste of time..They made it clear—they are not coming to the G20. Their Secretary of State didn't attend. They sent a minor official as an insult to us..So, Chris, what are we going to say to the U.S. that we haven't already buggered up? They know exactly where we stand, and their message is clear:."We, the United States, don't give a damn. Leave Iran. Withdraw your case at the ICJ. Declare that you are not supporting Hamas and Hezbollah. And finally, stop telling us that BRICS is your alternative.".And then—Cyril, Cyril, Cyril—he just doesn't know when to stop, Chris. He goes and says that the President of Ukraine, Mr. Zelensky….Neil De Beer (26:51.274)…is absolutely welcome to come and have koeksisters in Tuynhuis, here in South Africa. Now, as dit nie vir Donald gaan afpis en moerig maak nie, then what else? It's as if we keep pressing on the wounds where it hurts..And this was just two days after, by the way, Donald Trump came very close to calling Zelensky a terrorist..Now, Chris, here we go—this issue between us and America, no matter who you are, is not going to be resolved until our president comes back to reality..Now, you know, back in my day, Chris—sorry—I remember those comic books. We had Ruiter in Swart, Die Swart Luiperd, and, of course, Scope—because it had great articles. But here's the thing, Chris—everyone is sitting here, asking, "When is the next big shift going to happen?".Until that happens, America is not going to give us recognition. They will not move forward with us..And I hear Mr. Ronald Lamola say in a public statement that he would love to go with a delegation, but America has not approved any dates or times..I think we leave it there, Chris, because that sends a very clear message:."Dankie, maar nee dankie. Change your attitude, and we might reconsider you.".Chris Steyn (28:37.654)Thank you. That was Neil De Beer, the President of the United Independent Movement, on The Sunday Show with BizNews. And I'm Chris Steyn. It was wonderful talking to you today, Neil, as always..Neil De Beer (28:48.462)Blessings to everybody. See you next Sunday..Read also:.RW Johnson: SA is sleepwalking to catastrophe – ice is thin, water below icy and deepRob Hersov: Re-think giving in SA – charity papers over fixing the root causeEU deepens relations with SA amid Trump's rising criticism

Neil de Beer: De Ruyter & Eskom, Cyril & Trump, the GNU & VAT, Corné & the DA- and Cele’s crime legacy

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