By Zandile Manana The fourth session of the Qiniso Dialogues took place in the backdrop of the announcement of a referendum in Greece, which left the world guessing on the future of that country and implications for the eurozone. As the radio debate ensued in the background on the morning of November 4, my mind […]
2011
Posted inGeneral
The bitter-sweet barrier
He is staring as if from a void, which is what catches my attention as I stand at the blackboard. His eyes are pristine, tear-less, lit from without, not within. The Chinese gentleman leans on his broom like a Gandalf, watching me attentively through the classroom window. The Chinese children here in a poor “village”, […]
Posted inGeneral
Dale Steyn’s march to greatness
That was freaky wasn’t it? One minute Australia’s first innings was being complete, the next South Africa had been bowled out and then, Australia get rolled over for 47. Truly bizarre. The pitch shouldn’t be examined for Gummy Bear juice, nor should the bowling be raved about as the reincarnation of Wasim Akram, Sir Richard […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Going bonkers over bunkers
So, this is where we find ourselves in 2011. We have, north of the continent, the now deceased Muammar Gaddafi — notwithstanding his bunkers from which he ultimately had to run away from, not because they did not provide him with enough comfort, but because they could not withstand the people’s will. We now, unbelievably […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Malema could learn from Mbeki and Zuma ordeals
It’s time Julius Malema had some afternoon tea with SA President Jacob Zuma. This followed by a single malt evening with former president Thabo Mbeki. If ever there was a time for Malema to think outside the box, this is it. Though he has the option of appealing, there are dire implications, whichever way one […]
Posted inGeneral
Secrecy Bill good in theory, police state in practice
The Protection of State Information Bill will be tabled in the National Assembly on Wednesday where it may be referred to a parliamentary ad hoc committee or passed and sent to the National Council of Provinces for deliberations. This does not mean that it cannot be amended or modified before being sent to President Jacob […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Oh, Juju, baby! It’s gonna be cold outside
After years of taunting with impunity its elders in the African National Congress, the Youth League has discovered that president-baiting can be a dangerous sport. Their protracted tussle with the ANC establishment, embodied in its disciplinary committee, this week ended with them dazed, bloodied and effectively booted from the pack. Firebrand ANC Youth League president […]
Posted inLifestyle
No politics as usual
Here’s a question for you. When was the last time you heard a political hip-hop track done by a South African artist? I can’t speak for other genres here — try as I might, I cannot bring myself to listen to the entire ouevre of Locnville — but when it comes to hip-hop, I can […]
Posted inEnvironment, General, Lifestyle
Kusile protest: Greenpeace disputes Eskom claims
I was one of the Greenpeace climbers who scaled the crane inside Eskom’s Kusile construction plant on Monday morning. In climbing the crane and dropping the two banners, our goal was to highlight the true cost of coal-fired electricity in South Africa. We wanted to put Kusile back on the agenda after months of dialogue, […]
Posted inLifestyle
Things I am curious about in this city
Joburg skyline in lipstick Sacks that look like dead animals lying in the road until you get closer. Why diners in restaurants and coffee shops started asking waiters for “the machine”. Whether, if I take Jan Smuts Avenue to get to my appointment, I would have got there faster than if I’d used the highway. […]
Posted inGeneral
History is a city
On a recent trip to England, while sitting on a train en route from London to the north where my mother, and hundreds of years of ancestry are, I lapsed into my usual reverie, staring out the window for the entire duration of the journey, books and laptops and other distractions soon forgotten watching the […]
Posted inGeneral
Rome, city of layered history
Walking through this city with its ancient, medieval, Renaissance, baroque and modern history all telescoped together, I reflected on Freud comparing it to the human psyche, what with all the layers of history, of time past, surrounding one wherever you turn. And if the remnants, ecclesiastic, artistic and architectural, which address one on virtually every […]