Submitted by Angry African They say that America is ahead of the times. So I travelled there to see if I can get an insight into our African future. This is what I can report will happen in Africa over the next few weeks. It makes planning a bit easier. Parliament goes green The South […]
Reader Blog
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Posted inBusiness
G8 fallout: 3bn people want a go on the roller-coaster
Submitted by Patrick Carmody “Globalisation is making low-impact people into high-impact people faster, in greater numbers, and with greater impacts than at any other time in the history of the world.” — Thomas L Friedman, The World Is Flat Imagine telling a couple of kids that have been patiently waiting in line for the roller-coaster […]
Posted inGeneral
Work-permit protectionism: Who is it really protecting?
Submitted by Charlotte Malgas South Africa’s short-sighted and protectionist approach towards work permits will hit its youth by the end of the year with the demise of the United Kingdom working holiday-maker scheme. Although the UK is offering a youth mobility scheme in its place, South Africa is likely to be excluded because the government […]
Posted inGeneral
Who is responsible for our misery?
Submitted by Sizwe Nyenyiso There is no doubt in my mind that someone should take responsibility for all the misery experienced by Africans. Ancient history reveals that Africa was a harmonised and peaceful continent in the world, whose inhabitants hunted with bows and even wooden clubs. Many Africans sustained their living primarily through hunting and […]
Posted inGeneral
Durban name changes a missed opportunity for reconciliation
Submitted by Michael Francis There is much furore and debate about current street name changes in Durban. I see it as a missed opportunity for reconciliation as it is merely an exercise in petty politics by a group of ideologues. South Africa is a society in transition. A large part of transformation is symbolic and […]
Posted inBusiness
What causes inflation?
Submitted by Philip Copeman Inflation, the old enemy, is back. With a few exceptions, this has not been a severe threat to the world economy since the early 1980s. Inflation now threatens us all. South Africa and a number of other countries seem well on their way to succumbing to this monster. Why is inflation […]
Posted inGeneral
Racists, traitors and treason
Submitted by Jessica Scott Reading some of the responses on Sarah Britten’s blog titled “Is it wrong to feel relieved that I left South Africa?“, I was shocked by the vehemence of some of the responses. It is not surprising that the subject of emigration evokes heated debate among those who want to leave and […]
Posted inGeneral
Irony that is music to my ears
Submitted by Dylan Edwards The news that Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday will be celebrated with a concert in Hyde Park would have been exciting news for many South Africans. Unfortunately, the Hyde Park in question is not the northern Johannesburg suburb; in fact, it’s in London. And the excited South Africans are not the 40-odd-million […]
Posted inNews/Politics
An aphasic proposition
Submitted by Patrick Madden “One may lie with the mouth, but with the accompanying grimace one nevertheless tells the truth.” — Nietzsche It seems the order of the day to accept that politicians, like lawyers, lie or obscure the truth as a matter of course. We hardly decry this any more. The sound of the […]
Posted inGeneral
The people are revolting
Submitted by Trevor Watkins Some of us achieve our destiny only in death. The image of the burning man that has flashed around the world this month will haunt our beloved nation for years to come. Such images have changed the course of history, and may yet change ours. Most South Africans are bowed down […]
Posted inGeneral
‘Let them eat cake’
Submitted by James Tobias Put aside your political agendas and concern yourselves purely on a humanitarian level for a moment. Driving my kids to college on Monday morning, I heard that our local town hall had been transformed into a place of safety for immigrants who were fleeing from an inexplicable onslaught on their possessions, […]
Posted inGeneral
Renaissance dreams and discontent
Submitted by Chris Waldburger This month, South Africa ached for a leader. South Africa’s shoulder rubbed raw against the wheel of destiny; there was nobody to stand as a midwife for her so that she could bear the hopes and dreams of a continent. She shook with the fever of fear, hatred and criminal opportunism […]