The trauma of the Cape Flats
All of us know a son or daughter ravaged by drug abuse. It has become far too common that we have simply become desensitized to what seems like the unintended consequence of a people bearing the legacy of oppression and continued failures by the leaders…
The perfect murder is alive and well in South Africa
Many years ago, one of the favourite topics at school and university debating societies was: “Is there such a thing as the perfect murder?” Why it was relevant was the belief that all murders were detected and that murderers were punished. The rarity would be…
To amend or not to amend; that is the question
Earlier this year, the National Assembly of Parliament adopted a resolution, mandating its Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to review section 25 of the Constitution in terms of how the state can expropriate land without compensation in the public interest. This resolution has been debated at…
It’s the economy, Cyril!
South Africa’s economy is not growing fast enough to alleviate poverty and sadly the ruling elites have run out of ideas about how to tackle the economic crisis we find ourselves in. As if this is not painful enough, the government inexplicably increased VAT adding…
Ramaphosa, Oslo & the Two-State Mirage
During his recent visit to a Johannesburg synagogue, South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa repeated an overused mantra to assuage his Jewish audience about the country’s evenhandedness. Overused and devoid of any substance, Ramaphosa insisted that South Africa is committed to a two-state solution where Israelis…
Egypt’s new capital city is Sisi’s Way of preventing being overthrown
There are few things that shock me in foreign affairs anymore, but observations from a friend who just returned from holiday in Egypt sent shivers down my spine. I hadn’t heard that the regime of General Fattah al Sisi had started building a new capital city about…
Justice Sachs and MCA must do more than defend their vested interest
David and Goliath is a useful but somewhat cliched metaphor used for too many arguments these days. Yet in a recently published opinion piece, “The secret weapon of Maiden’s Cove for all” by Justice Sachs one could not help but think that one was actually…
Punch drunk from unfavourable political and economic developments in SA
Most consumers in South Africa are probably feeling punch drunk as they have to contend with a seemingly unrelenting barrage of unfavourable political and economic developments. These include regular monthly increases in the petrol price, the rising costs of energy and water, the recent hiking…
Making the national alcohol policy alive: The role of the private sector
Zambia is among the few countries that have successfully developed a National Alcohol Policy (NAP) through an inclusive multisectoral process involving the public and the private sectors and the civil society. This strategy ensures that the human-centred approach becomes the overarching response strategy in responding…
How much compensation for expropriation?
The current national debate about land reform and expropriation without compensation has for me highlighted the vast, destructive prevalence of ignorance in our society. People are so quick to form strong yet uninformed opinions and then wholly align themselves with some or other political interest…
Tribute to Kofi Annan
Ghana gained her independence from Britain in 1957 and without wasting time the following year she hosted the historic All African People’s Conference in Accra presided over by the first President of an independent African nation, Nkwame Nkrumah. Invitations were extended far and wide and…
Syrian crises – The End of the road for Erdogan?
Photo credit: Reuters Many political analysts summarized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 15 years of rule as, “Everything has started in Syria and will end in Syria.” Not too long ago Erdogan spent a family holiday with Syrian leader Bashar al Assad. However, the honeymoon…
Mangena’s Toons
