By Percy Mabandu The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) by dissolving would be as good for our identity discourse as its merger with the ANC is bad for South Africa’s body politic. At first breath the party and its excesses, by dissolving, will make space for more progressive thinking about other ways of being black in […]
Reader Blog
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Posted inGeneral
Whitewashed
By Jennifer Thorpe I am white and I am afraid. I am not afraid because I am white. I am not afraid because others are black or Indian or coloured. I am afraid because I am the survivor of crime in South Africa. I am afraid because I anticipate that I will have to survive […]
Posted inSport
What’s the agend(er)?
By Jennifer Thorpe Caster Semenya, an 18-year-old athlete from South Africa wins a race with such speed and skill that she becomes the target of “gender probes”. Now for those of you who aren’t already uncomfortable with the thought of any sort of probe, this one should make you run for the hills. For people […]
Posted inMedia
Privacy disappearing one status update at a time
By Adam Wakefield One of the most cherished notions of a liberal society is that privacy is seen as a secondary right. While it doesn’t hold the weight of a natural right — since privacy is a notion manufactured by the technological advancement of our society — it is pretty important in democratic societies. It […]
Posted inBusiness
Corporate social responsibility, does it work?
By Kim Polley What is in it for businesses and why should they invest in improving the environment and alleviating poverty? Companies in the private sector say they just want to do “the right thing” and “give something back” to the community. The sceptics on the other hand believe businesses are using these investments as […]
Posted inGeneral
The African Union: A club of convenience
By Dr Michael ‘Buchi Eze The ideological platitude on which the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and later African Union (AU) came into being was primarily to challenge colonialism, neutralise any lingering influence of imperialism and gain political independence for the rest of Africa. Thus Kwame Nkrumah in the heydays of independence struggle echoed this […]
Posted inGeneral
Male circumcision: Women’s rights getting the chop?
By Jennifer Thorpe Male circumcision has been linked to the decreased transmission and contraction of HIV for men. It is being celebrated by scientists as an almost too obvious answer in the struggle to decrease HIV transmission. In South Africa, a country steeped in cultural and traditional ties to circumcision while at the same time […]
Posted inLifestyle
SA’s addiction to addiction
By Warren Whitfield According to the latest United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime stats: Drug use in South Africa is double the world norm. South Africans consume more alcohol every year than anyone else in the world. About 15% of South Africans are “problem drug users”. The Northern Cape has highest incidence of foetal […]
Posted inBusiness
Africa still perfectly poised for a golden age
By Sanjeev Gupta UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently stated: “It is not just Wall Street or Main Street that is hurting; people with no streets are suffering too.” And amid all the turbulence that has engulfed the world of high commerce and haunted the major global economies, one can be forgiven for asking whether the […]
Posted inLifestyle
Boxers or briefs?
By Errol Hendrickse The importance of looking good is becoming more prevalent in everyday life — the ever-expanding need to look sexier has even crossed over to the male of the species. So I would like to look at the age-old debate. Very much like: which came first, the chicken or the egg? My age-old […]
Posted inGeneral
Wanderers debacle: Since when did criticism become a punishable offence?
By Klaus Bauer The scrap currently playing out between the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) is childish and futile to say the least. In case you haven’t heard about this untimely melee, CSA has decided to take all planned international fixtures during the upcoming tour by England away from Wanderers. This […]
Posted inGeneral
All for one!
By Errol Hendrickse I wrote an article for Mix Future Interiors magazine a little while back that looked at the collaboration between Africa and Europe, and I want to touch on this subject again. The reason I wrote it was to illustrate the amazing relationship the two continents have had and how this has moulded […]