By Susan Shepherd Taking your infant to the paediatrician for a check-up and shots may seem like just another chore but, last week, Nigeriens mothers, nurses and doctors reminded me just how powerful and important these simple actions are. I’m just back from southern Niger where Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has worked for more than […]
Reader Blog
On our Reader Blog, we invite Thought Leader readers to submit one-off contributions to share their opinions on politics, news, sport, business, technology, the arts or any other field of interest.
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Posted inNews/Politics
Save the lions ad ‘censored’
By Emma Ruby-Sachs This year the poaching of more than 430 rhinos in South Africa has rightly dominated the news. The massacre of these animals has forced the government to respond with more rangers in Kruger and stronger surveillance at the airports. Sadly the energy and hand-wringing to protect one species is not extending to […]
Posted inNews/Politics
We need a rescue act only a woman can deliver
By Sicelo Kunene With the world smarting over its new challenges — ranging from the economic meltdown to new hostilities — there has been a consistent clamour for new leaders. Be it political, corporate, educational or civic, a new way of thinking is required to carve the way forward. The composition of our leaders thus […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Are whites committed to equality?
By Xhanti Payi Is it possible to say the public education system has collapsed without saying there are no good and effective public schools in the country? Is it possible to say black people in SA are poor without being understood to mean that there are no rich black people in SA? Is it also […]
Posted inNews/Politics
0800MALEMA
By Lukhona Mnguni 0800MALEMA is the number. Don’t get left behind, make that call. It’s free of charge. Do you want an economic freedom fighter at your doorstep? Just dial and you’ll receive one in a flash. There’s no diary, first come first serve, but you will be attended to. Qualifying criteria: 1 You’re a […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Wake up white South Africa!
By Andrew Tudhope As an educated person, I think it is possible for me to lose touch with the reality of the world around me while I search for abstract truths; be they mathematical, economical, philosophical or literal. I can use such education to find many attacks on Vlismas’ article. His tone is too severe […]
Posted inLifestyle
These chickens…
By Rudene Gerber “Two chickens were found abandoned on the beach and were brought back to the kennels. The problem is that the staff members are upset about them being here.” I couldn’t help a little eye roll and a sigh when I heard these words. Managing an animal welfare organisation in a semi-rural area […]
Posted inNews/Politics
How to fix Lindela
By Corey R Johnson The Lindela Repatriation Centre, South Africa’s main detention facility for persons deemed to be illegal and slated for deportation, has a long and notorious reputation for repeated rights abuses of detainees. In 2000 the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) released a report, which detailed the human-rights violations and listed a […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Anything but the ANC
By Liz Molomo Watching silently from the side-lines over the last few months, as our country slowly unravels, many feel the restlessness of a nation at war with itself. It is not a war of guns and bombs. Neither is it a war of the pen and the sword. It is a war of words, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Marikana: Time to rethink mining rights?
By Takura Zhangazha The tragic and fatal shooting of 34 mineworkers in South Africa has sadly brought back memories of the violence of the apartheid years. And because memories of apartheid are not only limited to South Africa, the killing fields of Marikana must also be viewed as part of the Southern African narrative of […]
Posted inNews/Politics
What next for SA-Israel relations?
By Howard Sackstein This week the South African ambassador to Israel was summoned by his hosts for a severe reprimand. Our government’s increasingly aggressive stance on Israel has caused relations between Jerusalem and Pretoria to implode. One by one we have watched our despotic friends in the Middle East tumble from power and we watch […]
Posted inNews/Politics
President Zuma is a hands-on leader
By Sydwell Mabasa We read, with disbelief, the tirade by William Saunderson-Meyer supposedly on the performance of government, entitled “The Zuma government is floundering about” (August 18 2012). Saunderson-Meyer tells us that the President “has been preoccupied with ensuring a second term at the African National Congress’s elective conference in December”. The writer provides no […]