2011

‘Coconuts’, ‘sellouts’ and ‘tea girls of the madam’ are all part of a deliberate closing down of political space. The next step is to punish such transgressors with physical violence.

You do not go into politics, especially at local level, to be rich. It is only when you are rich, especially at a spiritual and moral level, that you should go into politics. The problem with South African politics, especially in organisations like the ANC, is that people who run for office see politics as […]

When Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai recently announced Zimbabwe’s parliamentary elections scheduled for 2011 would be postponed to 2012 or even 2013, many Zimbabweans must have breathed a deep sigh of relief. Relieved because the bloodshed which accompanies every election would be put off for a bit longer. And the rapidly mounting number of political activists […]

By Aidan Eyakuze It didn’t last very long, did it? In January, Africa celebrated the successful referendum in which the South voted for independence. Four months later, Abyei, a region nestled between the North and South Sudan was violently “seized” by the North, risking war with the South. Between the vote for secession and the […]

Helen Zille’s letter to City Press editor Ferial Haffajee on News24 raises interesting new possibilities for the DA. Zille writes, “The DA is the new UDF.” The letter is a response to a News24 column (“How the ANC lost the coloured and Indian vote”) by Haffajee, a former Mail & Guardian editor. In her piece, […]

By Takalani Musekwa A few nights ago I watched, Brigalia Bam, the chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission, declare the local government elections “free, fair and credible”. She went on to say that no political party had objected to the results of the elections. This is despite the fact that a number of complaints were […]