The latest addition to President Jacob Zuma’s impeccable lip-service delivery record puts him almost on par with Bob the Builder as an over-ambitious Mr Fix It. While the president hits all the right notes, that’s what election season is all about anyway, the meta-narrative of comments emanating from the ruling party heavyweights demonstrates exactly what […]
2011
Posted inNews/Politics
Christchurch earthquake – what if that happened in SA?
How it works here in New Zealand is that when a disaster occurs, not even anywhere near as horrendous as the recent earthquake to devastate Christchurch, it floods the news. Regular TV shows and even adverts are cancelled. There is an enormous sense of a village community in New Zealand. It can be summed up […]
Posted inGeneral
Celebrating biodiversity
By Danielle Nierenberg & Amanda Stone The year 2010 was declared the International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations and not surprisingly, the focus lay mainly on the usual species the public recognizes and adores, without addressing the bigger issues. It isn’t only pandas and rainforests that need protecting. There are also thousands […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The African youth should fulfil their mission
One of the founding fathers of the African National Congress, Pixley ka Seme, stood at Columbia University, in 1906, to deliver his speech: “the Regeneration of Africa”. He said: “The brighter day is rising upon Africa…Yes the regeneration of Africa belongs to this new and powerful period. The African people…possess a common fundamental sentiment which […]
Posted inGeneral
The (No) Growth Path
South Africa has recently been invited by China to join the group of fast-emerging economies, BRICS, as they will be known going forward. BRICS, with the exception of South Africa, each contribute to more than 1% of the global GDP. Our economy has in the past struggled to reach the 6% GDP growth target despite […]
Posted inGeneral
A dummy’s guide to the Cricket World Cup
With the Cricket World Cup upon us, for those who don’t really understand one of the most archaic sports going around, here is what you need to know about the teams competing (the ones who can win the tournament at least … apologies to the associate nations, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh), important players and other loose […]
Posted inGeneral
The Afrikaner as villain
By Anton I Botha I was mildly amused the other day when my brother introduced me to the PC game Far Cry 2 which has villains that speak Afrikaans. While trekking through the African savannah, players are confronted with multiple ‘baddies’ that the hero (American of course) has to take out through any means necessary. […]
Posted inBusiness, Media, News/Politics
Boredom and the budget
A new pointer for Pravin: Keep it simple, keep it short. While I was preparing for a recent radio interview with Ashraf Garda on the Sunday SAfm media slot about jargon in the budget speech and journalists’ responsibility to simplify that, it occurred to me to look at budget speeches elsewhere. I looked at only […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Gaddafi’s fall will be a political tipping point for Africa
It has been a long time coming. Many thought it would never arrive. But slowly, the seers of our time have started confirming it. The long awaited African Century is finally here and it has announced its arrival with a series of revolutions in the Arab section of the continent. The African Century is a […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Home lessons from the shores of Tripoli
The self-styled King of Africa – and more mundanely the recipient of the Order of Good Hope, SA’s highest award to a foreigner – was adept at buying influence with his petro-dollars.
Posted inNews/Politics
Libya: Will African members of the UN Security Council step up?
By Mandeep Tiwana The indiscriminate mowing down of hundreds of protestors, including attacks on the demonstrators from the air offers an important test for the UN Security Council. As of now, the world’s most powerful body has issued a unanimous statement condemning the violence but has failed to take any concrete action to stop the […]
Posted inGeneral
Pitso a father figure to Bafana players
Pitso Mosimane’s record as Bafana coach has been impressive so far, not only on the playing field, where the team has displayed some exciting football, but also off the pitch where his work with the players is encouraging. He has proven himself to be more than a coach to his players. He is building strong […]