I have a T-shirt brought back from the Newseum in Washington, DC, that reads: “Trust me, I am a reporter”. It’s the one I am wearing in this month’s issue of Empire, the boldest and most adventurous and fecund new magazine to hit South Africa’s bookshelves in years. After so long we have a magazine […]
2008
Posted inLifestyle
The things love has taught me
A day in which love is expressed is a day well-lived. Last Valentine’s Day, I sent these words by WH Auden to my Irish lover: “I’ll love you till the ocean Is folded and hung up to dry And the seven stars go squawking Like geese about the sky.” For those of you that missed […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Simple solution for power crisis
No plan to fix the power catastrophe in South Africa will work overnight. The crisis is deep and wide and will have grave impacts on economic growth, inflation, and poverty alleviation for many years to come.
Posted inNews/Politics
Would you encourage your child to recite the proposed pupils’ pledge?
This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: Would you encourage your child to recite the proposed pupils’ pledge?
Posted inGeneral
Abortion: Should men have a say?
Submitted by Sibonginkosi Hlabangana South Africa has been and still is a highly patriarchal society. In the past, women did not have many rights. They could not vote, for example. However, over time and with the advent of the Constitution, a change can be seen. Women’s rights are gaining more and more recognition. There is, […]
Posted inGeneral
How to stem the Matthew Effect in education
There is unanimous agreement that South Africa’s education is in crisis. What we can’t agree on is how to fix it. It seems that everyone has their two cents’ worth of wisdom: “What we need is …”, “It’s time to …”, “The thing is …”, “You see, if only they had …” — we’ve become […]
Posted inLifestyle
Free food for those in need from those who don’t need it
With the legions of people who complain about our country but never actually do anything to make it better, it’s always a welcome relief to discover somebody who has stopped complaining and started acting. It’s one of my favourite things, in fact — pro-active people making a tangible difference to others. I’ve just been introduced […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Scorpions and now organised crime? Why not just legalise corruption?
I have worked on many cases involving the Scorpions and the organised crime unit over the years. While both have their flaws — who doesn’t? — they are nonetheless our knights in shining armour and, without a doubt, our spearhead in the fight against major crime. They comprise highly trained and courageous professionals who are […]
Posted inNews/Politics
This ‘business unusual’ government
On February 8 2008, the president of the Republic of South Africa, the Most Honourable Thabo M Mbeki, delivered his annual State of the Nation address to a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. The thrust of the address was the new government theme, “business unusual”. In line with this theme, the Cabinet […]
Posted inLifestyle
‘Poephol of the Bailey’
One of the funniest series of books you’ll ever read is John Mortimer’s Rumpole of the Bailey. Each one tells a different story about Horace Rumpole, a criminal barrister who spends his days in the criminal courts of England trying to keep his rogues out of jail. My son Joshua and I love reading them […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Behind the scenes at the African Union summit
Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese President, was standing just a metre away from me. I thought of asking him if I could have a picture taken with him. I wanted to show the photo to my neighbours in Khartoum. But then I thought about my friend Huda who had just quit her job with the Sudanese […]
Posted inLifestyle
When the Nuba Mountains called my name …
Zillions of stars eyeball you from a quiet night sky as you dodge creeping goggas when using the toilet in Dilling, one of the 99 villages surrounding an equal number of Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. I’m still undecided which was more surreal: using the roofless, hole-in-the-ground toilet in the dark or finding a Pepsi bottle cut […]