Neither time nor self-effacing humility is going to diminish Arabi Mocheke’s profound influence on the struggle to use culture as an instrument of transformation and economic self-reliance among artists. Mocheke, who died after a long battle with prostrate cancer, was a cultural visionary and leader known for his passionate love and unrelenting commitment to the […]
Sandile Memela
Sandile Memela is a journalist, writer, cultural critic, columnist and civil servant. He lives in Midrand.
Posted inMedia
Cost-cutting measures cutting into the integrity of journalism
It was difficult to learn of the departure from mainstream media of one of the finest editors in the country and not become truly alarmed. The departure of a perceptive journalist who is intuitively connected to his community is, indeed, a monumental loss to the media profession and society in general. In a nutshell, the […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
The paralyzing pessimism of the Market Theater
Considering that this is the beginning of a new year, I thought it would be important to critically examine the role of artists in our society. Now the other day I went to the Market Theater to watch what was in their first offering. It turned out to be a multi award-winning play that reveals […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
What if Helen Suzman was an underground ANC member of the Mandela Detachment?
A lot has been written about the passing away of South Africa greatest liberal hero, Helen Suzman. I guess the reasons for this are obvious: she held center stage in national politics when Nelson Mandela was in jail, Oliver Tambo in exile, Steve Biko murdered and Robert Sobukwe restricted. But I must say that I […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, News/Politics
‘Blacks’ or whites do not exist and the racist notion should have been dropped in 1994
Not long ago, a colleague of mine who spent over 30 years in exile said to me that seeing people as blacks, white, Indian or coloured is the antithesis of nation-building and non-racism. Using these outdated labels, he insisted, means that you are psychologically burdened with old and tired apartheid baggage. If we want to […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle, Media, News/Politics
Why historically unANChored young black professionals are Coping very well
A struggle veteran was telling me that he has observed Cope has become a popular attraction for the young black professional class. Well, I don’t know anything about that as I have not attended any of their gatherings in plush homes, hotels conference rooms or hip cocktail parties and dinners. But he insisted that the […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Julius Malema is a raw and intuitive talker while Cope’s guru is … er, too polished and a self-made thinker
I want to make a crude and slightly unfair comparison to contrast the caliber of youth leadership in the ANC Youth League and Cope’s youth wing. Political bodies are, largely, the lengthened shadow of their leading personalities and thus Julius Malema and JJ Tabane, for instance, represent and reflect the faces of their organisations. You […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Mbeki cannot Cope without the ANC
Recent malicious gossip and unfounded news reports (Moffet Mofokeng, “COPE ‘Mbeki’s idea’,” Pg 1 City Press 7 December 2008) continue to peddle lies about former president Thabo Mbeki. On the one hand, there are political opportunists who want to use the Mbeki name to attract people who love and follow him to join the ranks […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
How our cultural industry killed a piano maestro Bheki Mseleku and legendary actor John Matshikiza
The last few months has seen tragic passing on of a number of great African artists. Frankly, these great artists died because, as creative African intellectuals, they could not find jobs and thus had no money to lead respectable and dignified lives. In fact, they were almost like paupers. It is a serious indictment on […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, News/Politics
How the mainstream media destroys local arts & culture
I find myself obliged by conscience to break the silence and to take a public stand against the media’s violent war on local arts, culture and heritage. The considerations, which have led me to this painful decision, are a casual look at the content of both the print and broadcasting media. Indeed, what the media […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, News/Politics
Mbeki said African journalists are paid for counter-revolutionary sellouts
It is almost two months now since former president Thabo Mbeki accused some African journalists, “experts” and “analysts” of being paid for sellouts. Of course, this he did in a much-publicised letter in October in which he distanced himself from Terror Lekota’s Cope (sic.) His speaking truth to media has been greeted by resounding silence, […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
How Afrikaners, coloureds and blacks are abandoning their native tongues for English
The last 15 years have introduced two fundamental changes that have, inevitably, radically shaken South African society, language and culture. This is a not a new phenomenon where, perhaps for the first time in the 21st Century and its African modernity, parents are raising children who do not speak or understand their native tongue. In […]