Now that the die has been cast — a predictable roll of the dice, mind you — all South Africans who care about their and the country’s future no doubt have something on their minds. For some, this assumes the form, mainly, of misgivings; for others, especially the poor, of hope. And if the impression […]
2007
Polokwane: Bargain bazaar for albinos and gunslingers
Poor old Polokwane — dragged kicking and screaming into the limelight by a political party’s national conference. Surely the town once known as Pietersburg is newsworthy for more than the fact that a bunch of politicians and thieves has gathered there to squabble over the spoils? A quick trawl of the internet to find out […]
Zuma’s in. What now?
It seems to me that the Polokwane conference has been like a newsprint and analysis vortex, sucking in all commentary into an incessant stream of words around a central thesis of “Will he or won’t he?” Well, now we all know the answer to that question, and we need to drag ourselves out of Polokwane […]
I’ll have that coffee to go, thank you … WiMax is coming to town
There is quite a buzz around WiMax, especially so in developing nations where the high cost of rolling out fixed-line telecoms has left them considerably lower down the broadband pecking order than their First World counterparts. But is it going to live up to all the expectations? The Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (or better […]
Smut, sheep and airplanes in Polokwane
So, the experiment continues. The mad blogger is still walking around, looking around into this whole ANC conference situation. A while ago I entered the media centre to look for a space so I could pollute the blogosphere with the sulphuric fumes of my ignorant, pseudo-political observations. All I can tell you is that being […]
Gear: A bureaucratic story, and some tough questions and challenges
“Asiyifuni Gear [We do not want Gear].” This was a common slogan by unionists in response to the government’s Growth, Employment and Redistribution Strategy. It reflected opposition to Gear. Eleven years later, Gear is still hotly debated. Recently, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel offered a spirited defence of the consultation process leading up to Gear. Manuel, […]
Hardcore music in the house
On Friday night I had the good fortune to attend a Brighton production of Handel’s Messiah. Subsequently I discovered that this is a customary event in the UK with a multitude of performances of the Messiah all over the country. It seems a strange bit of music to have such pride of place just before […]
The Day of Colonial Reconciliation
On the Day of Reconciliation, it is perhaps appropriate to discuss and hopefully remove divisive terms used extensively in our society, especially those that continue to label people on the basis of colour. The first one that comes to my mind is “colonialism”, a term that proliferates political speeches, newspaper articles and general conversation in […]
Democracy, ubuntu and other myths
Don’t give me this fiction about “the nation” watching Polokwane breathlessly awaiting the outcome. For the majority of South Africans watching their backs, their children, the weather, their pennies, their travel and the odd soapie is labour enough. Some big party a zillion kilometres away in a place they’ve never heard of and care less […]
Networking
I am bourgeois. There it is. Admitted. Along with my other big B friends and acquaintances, I trekked to the Network Lounge for “proper” coffee. “Proper” coffee being ground coffee, not the Ricoffy on sale at the student canteen next to the media centre here at the Limpopo University. At least I didn’t mutter “civilisation” […]
Robert Mugabe’s Monopoly
We all remember Bob’s version of Cluedo where you had to guess the victim an’ all — “The leader of the opposition, underneath the prison, with the lead piping.” Unfortunately it was banned after the archbishop of Bulawayo said nasty things about Uncle Bob and they couldn’t use the Reverend Green any more. Having said […]
Welcome to democracy
So there has been a bit of tension at Polokwane. So supporters of one presidential candidate have been shouting down and booing leaders associated with his rival. Welcome to democracy. While some people might be worried about the happenings at the ANC conference over the past few days, I think it is great that democracy […]