By Zipho Shusha There has been a clash among the ANC top brass concerning Trevor Manuel’s utterances. Manuel said it was time for the government to take responsibility for its actions. “We [government] should no longer say it’s apartheid’s fault.” He further said that “we should get up every morning and recognise we have responsibility. […]
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Posted inNews/Politics
We will ask questions about CAR
By Ntsako Shivambu I am one of those so-called clever blacks who believe you are a tribalist, a traditionalist and a clueless politician that doesn’t have any leadership skills. But the reason I’m writing this letter is not to talk about that but what you said during the memorial service for the soldiers who died […]
Posted inNews/Politics
African Union, useful or useless?
By Lindelwe Dube The continent has recently seen an increase in the number of attempted coups. The list includes Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast and now the Central African Republic (CAR). While Africans themselves and the international community may look to the African Union (AU) to facilitate peace and stability, the AU has struggled to fulfil […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Should we boycott Andile Mngxitama?
By Kameel Premhid and Thorne Godinho “I’m robespierre (sic) I understand my fate … ” Andile Mngxitama, the controversial writer behind the New Frank Talk journal, recently tweeted this. This reference to the executed French revolutionary Maximilien de Robespierre followed the public outrage expressed by individuals when Mngxitama called on ”true Bikoists” to physically assault […]
Posted inGeneral
Commuter classism
By Brendon Bosworth I prefer riding the train to driving my car. It’s cheaper, and it forces me into a very public atmosphere, removing the sense of separation I get when sitting alone in the traffic, partitioned from other motorists. A busy train ride is a lesson in sharing space: people knock against each other, […]
Posted inGeneral
Actually, we can solve our crime problem
By Niki Moore At 4am on Thursday morning I woke up to find a shadowy stranger standing next to my bed, bending over my bedside table. The figure was silhouetted against the streetlight coming in from my window — an unfamiliar male shape with a rucksack in his back — and I sat up in […]
Posted inGeneral
I am not wearing black today
By Lize Hartley Let me start by saying that wearing black today is an act with good intentions. It comes from a good place, and I am not pointing fingers at those who have chosen to wear black. But I won’t be wearing black today. To start with, wearing black is not “taking a stand” […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Rape, let’s end it
By Miranda Pyne Anene Booysen’s gruesome murder last week caused many of us to speculate about revenge. Yet again we sombrely witnessed another violation. Another woman’s life wasted. People online, and on the radio, called for castration, the death sentence, sentencing the murderers to life in the worst prison possible, in some overcrowded hellish place […]
Posted inGeneral
Raped, again
By Fezisa Mdibi Walking out of the filthy house I realised my eyes were swelling when the tears started stinging. My lip was bleeding and ribs were on fire. I was angry. I stopped crying. I had been raped for the second time in my life before my 16th birthday. At 15 I was raped […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Amplats’ restructuring reflects broader trends
By Niall Reddy Anglo’s platinum operations are not “unprofitable”, rather they are not “profitable enough”. Plans to restructure will jeopardise the income of 14 000 workers and more than 100 000 dependants. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union’s (AMCU) call to nationalise in response reflects the growing consensus on the need for drastic redirection in the […]
Posted inGeneral
If you love Africa so much why are you leaving?
By Nicola Soekoe It’s not only in South Africa that news of a Yale acceptance letter travels quickly. Soon after I was accepted my whole community knew and my parents and I received many congratulatory remarks. While some were congratulating the fact that I got into one of the greatest academic institutions in the world […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Davos: Why isn’t education higher up on the agenda?
By Pauline Rose This week business leaders are gathering in Davos to debate global priorities at the World Economic Forum. The forum declares itself to be “committed to improving the state of the world”. So why isn’t education higher up on the agenda? On the face of it, there should be little need to make […]