Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout says while she’s still a staunch ANC member, it’s not going to stop her from rekking her bek about the political shenanigans in the media at the moment.
Tannie Evita may be 81 years old, but she’s still going strong, and has kept up with the times. She even has her own YouTube channel, because her grandkids “can’t afford her to be silent”.
She advises: “No matter what, we must stay optimistic because there is too much moaning and groaning.
“At 81, I don’t look bad. Look at Winnie [Madikizela-Mandela] she’s 80 and looks great, but I can’t do botox because Helen Zille took it all and there’s nothing left!”
The auntie is gearing up for her show, An Evening With Evita Bezuidenhout, happening at the Artscape from November 1-6, where she’s giving her take on SA politics.
“I’m so tired of the politicians, it’s an ongoing series and I’ve seen this episode before,” she sighs.
She admits that as an ANC member, she can’t reveal too much of the inner workings of the party or President Jacob Zuma.
“But I will say, we must remember there is good and bad on both sides, there are corrupt politicians and there are good people.”
CREDIT: Brendan Magaar
Evita is definitely not a fan of the politically connected Gupta family, though, and says: “Skop hulle uit, hulle moet bogger-off. En hulle is reg om die bank rekeninge te sluit.”
She quickly adds: “We had enough corruption under apartheid for heaven’s sake. Let’s not pretend that democracy can allow us to do the same!”
And she says all the politicking is taking attention away from bigger issues in SA.
“We’re in the middle of a drought and that should be our priority, how do we actually fight the drought.”
And while she’s sipping her tea in Darling, Tannie Evita is also keeping an eye on the #FeesMustFall university protests.
“Fees are too high and it’s impossible to afford,” she reckons.
“But there must always be a balance. You can’t burn a library and cars either. Studente en onderwysers moet ooreenstem, and at some point say, ‘now the work must go on’.”