Look at it from South Africa’s point of view
Rate this OpinionAT PRESENT in South Africa there is a palpable anti-Australianism, particularly around Cape Town. This is a convergence of the ball-tampering scandal and Peter Dutton’s dog-whistling. South African citizens unfortunately believe that what Dutton says represents what Australians really think (after all, he…
Hundreds of children killed as government departments flounder in red tape
Rate this OpinionTHE dismissal of a claim for about R3 million in damages brought against the Limpopo Department of Basic Education following the drowning of five-year- old Michael Komape in a school pit latrine in 2014 has been greeted with dismay. The failure to provide…
State Machinations Round 2 – Post Polokwane to NASREC
Rate this OpinionLong live the spirit and memory of Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela-Mandela! Yet sadly, by Monday morning after her funeral, the media in South Africa had shifted its focus and was directing the nation’s narrative again. The outpouring of grief, memories and examination of Mme…
Beware of allowing your foes to determine who your foes truly are
Rate this OpinionFake news is not new nor is it exclusive to elections. It could easily be found in other realms and the sphere of international relations is not left untouched. We could very well argue that fake news is a child of a political culture…
Judicial Disconnect – the function gap between investigating and prosecuting
Rate this OpinionHow long did it take Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report to get into gear? How long has it taken to lay criminal charges against ex-president Jacob Zuma? How long has it taken to get the Vrede Dairy project onto the front burner? Why has…
Who really runs the DA
Rate this OpinionIn one of her interviews Mama Nozamo Madikizela-Mandela tells the story of how a young Zinzi came rushing through the front door one day to ask her mother about her father’s whereabouts. “You said he was in prison, right,” enquired the young Zinzi. “Yes”,…
Prioritising and understanding land reform
Rate this OpinionTHE prioritisation of land reform presents an historic opportunity for civil society and state to right past wrongs and build a more inclusive economy, experts told a recent public meeting in Cape Town. But the issue can also sow division and undermine the…
Losing ground is an EmotioNolotov Cocktail
Rate this OpinionOver the past decade my experience with “squatters” has turned my head around. I have been converted from one who championed “Jubilee” – the biblical return of land to its owners – into a believer in the primacy of non-racialism. I have concluded…
Newspaper spies and hypocrites
Rate this OpinionTHOSE of us who aligned ourselves with the liberation struggle in the 1980s were well aware that the apartheid state had spies in newsrooms throughout the country. Of course, we did not know who they were, but this didn’t stop us from speculating…
Own Your Anger as a Black Womxn: Finding inspiration in Mam’ Winnie
Rate this OpinionAs a womxn of colour, I am familiar with silence. I know when to be quiet, and to speak when I am spoken to. I know how to refine and enunciate my words so that my message is more palatable to my audience….
Winnie Mandela: Beloved, Berated and Behoven – an ANC leader till death
Rate this OpinionA great African warrior has fallen asleep. A titan of the liberation of our people and the African continent has joined the ancestors of our movement. Like the Egyptians who wailed for Cleopatra, our mourning and sorrow will be immense. Our mother, the…
DA’s service delivery plan omits the poor
Rate this OpinionThe recent violent demonstrations in Zwelihle, Hermanus in the Overstrand Municipality must be and have been condemned. In a democracy we simply cannot condone violence of any kind. There is a need to inculcate a culture of engagement and sense of belonging in…