By Mpho Buntse The rainbow nation, as South Africa is affectionately known, was abuzz with praise from international Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) pressure groups, the shallow voices of the same sex marriage critics mattered less, and media organisations, even those that are known to be ridiculously conservative towards LGBTI affairs, flaunted on […]
Reader Blog
On our Reader Blog, we invite Thought Leader readers to submit one-off contributions to share their opinions on politics, news, sport, business, technology, the arts or any other field of interest.
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Posted inEquality
Why I can’t ‘get over’ apartheid
By Khanya Mathambo As a black girl attending a private school, where white people are the majority, I often find myself on the opposing side of controversial issues. I think that this is a result of my own bias and what I feel are the blatantly ignorant views that form the basis of the opinions […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Deals at high levels that don’t deliver for the people
By Donné Cameron This is turning out to be a big week of big deals; first Greece, now Iran and very soon Addis. I am writing from within a bubble, albeit a loud bubble, of bureaucracy in the middle of downtown Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the UN has chosen to host people to talk about […]
Posted inGeneral
There is a plague in my hood and to the enemy it smells good
By Lindokuhle Shandu There is a plague in my hood where even the unborn struggles to make it out of the womb. Those who do, these fragile babies, turn into kids who are confused and before they reach adulthood carry knives and porn magazines instead of pencils and drawing pads to primary schools. In our […]
Posted inEquality
I’m privileged and underprivileged
By Mfundo Radebe So, here’s the thing: I’m privileged; I’m under-privileged. As a grade 12 student at one of those affluent private schools which people complain reflect “privilege”, I believe I have had an incredible vantage point towards the social dynamics of our country. I’m not privileged economically per se; I’m just a township boy […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality
Why we’re wrong to celebrate CEOs for simulating poverty for 12 hours
By Natasha Skoryk and Caitlin Spring We’re a generation of clicktivists, incessantly raising awareness for a wide assortment of causes and social justice issues. But we rarely follow through with any tangible action or put our money where our “shares” are. So, logically, when initiatives do attempt to physically address societal problems, we should be […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The al-Bashir saga: Questions about the bottom line on SA’s sovereignty
By Jan Hofmeyr One of the more revealing aspects of this week’s fracas involving Omar al-Bashir’s entry and exit from the African Union Summit in Sandton, is the deep insecurity our government has displayed in asserting its own sovereignty. Faced with a choice between adherence to our constitution, abiding to an international convention to which […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The search for truth and reconciliation in Colombia
By Stephen Buchanan-Clarke Negotiators from both sides of Latin America’s longest running war met in Havana, Cuba, recently. In an encouraging movement towards a final peace agreement, which could help bring to a close a conflict that has claimed an estimated 220 000 lives, the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) have […]
Posted inEquality
My name is Siphumelele, not Sipho
By Siphumelele Zondi Last week President Jacob Zuma joked about people who cannot pronounce Nkandla but now constantly use the word Nkhandla in conversations. The way in which the two words have been written is to emphasise the difference in how a Zulu-speaking person will pronounce it. There have been many debates about whether he […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Nkandla: An open letter to the Sars commissioner
Dear Mr Tom Moyane, I write to you as a concerned citizen of South Africa. Sars remains one of the few functioning and efficient institutions in our country. Indeed, without taxpayers’ money, social grants and RDP houses would be impossible and so would the construction and maintenance of essential infrastructure. Delivery of services and the […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Equality, Gender violence, Health, News/Politics, Tech
‘It’s time to talk about what’s next’
By Monica Davies If you’ve followed the fight against climate change, in the last year especially, you’ll have noticed voices starting to be raised about things outside climate change — “without racial [or gender or food or economic] justice, there is no climate justice” is the most common one, and it’s entirely true. The problems […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
Ah yes…Jordaan and Africa’s first World Cup…remember that
By Bernadine Jones Fifa has been implicated in a scandal of note — bigger than Giggle-in-Chief ‘s Nkandla apparently. The South African 2010 World Cup tournament was punctuated by euphoria. South Africans forgot their flaws, their divisions, their classifications, and for one brief moment, we really were the rainbow nation, hosting “Africa’s first World Cup”, […]