By Gcina Ntsaluba The World Cup might be running like a well-oiled machine on the surface but behind the closed doors of the Local Organising Committee offices, a “war” is brewing. Conspiracy theories of a possible coup d’état on chief organiser Danny Jordaan by his deputy, Irvin Khoza, have been going around, and according to […]
2010
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
A second chance at life
By Lungile Dlamini The Thwala family gathers around the small radio set to listen to the commentary of the 2010 Fifa World Cup tournament kick-off. The excitement in the little four-roomed house is so huge, neighbours walking past can almost feel it. Like millions of soccer lovers around the world, the Thwalas have been […]
Posted inGeneral
Africa and the dangers of ‘progress’
Africa is part of the developing world. When given the opportunity – likely to be opened up to a greater extent than before by the Fifa World Cup being staged in South Africa — to allow foreign investment here, as well as in the rest of Africa, would it be an unadulterated blessing, or should […]
Posted inMedia
Is the vuvuzela the best thing to happen to us?
Back in April, Iceland paralysed half the world when one of its volcanoes produced an ash cloud that prevented commercial aircraft from flying. Thousands of people (including me) were horribly inconvenienced, but this wasn’t all bad news for Iceland. All that magnificent footage of that volcano with the unspellable name will forever more be associated […]
Posted inGeneral
Foreign fans in the dock
One of the great successes of the 2010 World Cup — and there have been many — is how the special courts which were set up for the tournament have succeeded in dealing with the criminal activity that is part-and-parcel of hosting an event of this magnitude. And the good news is that South Africans, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Working with the Root
The following is an eight-part series about Danielle Nierenberg’s visit to the Ecumenical Association for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development’s (ECASARD) work in Ghana. Cross posted from Worldwatch Institute’s Nourishing the Planet. Part I: Working with the Root The Ecumenical Association for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (ECASARD), based in Accra, Ghana, is a unique […]
Posted inGeneral
Bafana may not have progressed, but we’re still winning
South Africa is a unique place in that there is a blend of cultures and creeds here that you cannot find anywhere else in the world. Sadly for football fans, SA is now also home to the unwanted and unique record of being the only hosts to have not progressed beyond the group stage at […]
Posted inGeneral
Local coach for Bafana? Nyet
So with Carlos Alberto Parriera’s tenure as Bafana coach at an end, questions are inevitably being raised as to who should succeed him in accepting Safa’s poisoned chalice. As is usual the clamour is growing for a local coach to succeed Parreira. This of course is based on nothing but misguided patriotic fervour. Of course […]
Posted inGeneral
Father, Son and tax evader
Why doesn’t God pay tax? I’m not suggesting that God actually does the transfer. He has elected representatives among us, apparently — and authorised them, allegedly, to collect funds on his behalf. Some of them have outfits and everything. The ruling that God’s money is safe from SARS can only ensure that shysters and thieves […]
Posted inEnvironment, Lifestyle, News/Politics
One more for the denialists
A new study is out, and the denialists of human-generated climate change are going to love it. Basically the authors of the study in question were puzzled by the level of public doubt and scepticism regarding anthropogenic climate change (ACC). As they saw it there was a “striking agreement” among scientists on the causes and […]
Posted inLifestyle
Is this Jo’burg’s most expensive haircut?
I think I may have just had Johannesburg’s most expensive haircut. I’m still completely traumatised, but I’m starting to emerge from the dazed and confused state that inevitably results when one has had a dreadful shock. I’d put off getting my hair sorted because I know that all hair salons see women coming, but not […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Malema’s police instructions were unconstitutional
In accordance with a formal complaint laid by Democratic Alliance MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard, the Independent Complaints Directorate will assess whether the SAPS acted improperly at the ANCYL conference in Limpopo. The basis for the allegations being that the South African Police Services acted upon instructions given by the president of the African National Congress Youth […]