Will she, or won’t she take the plunge? Feverish interest has followed on speculation that Mamphela Ramphele is set to launch a new political party. The enthusiasm is understandable, although she remains non-committal, but in reality the odds are stacked against her. There is no doubt that Ramphele has impeccable credentials. During the darkest years […]
William Saunderson-Meyer
This Jaundiced Eye column appears in Weekend Argus, The Citizen, and Independent on Saturday. WSM is also a book reviewer for the Sunday Times and Business Day. Follow @TheJaundicedEye.
Posted inNews/Politics
Lies, damned lies and flawed statistics
Dependable statistics are critical to modern government. Without them delusion, wishful thinking and policy chaos reign. As is happening in the land affairs ministry. Recent data reveal a serious flaw in the way the government is tackling land ownership redress. It shows that the restitution process distorts critically the measure that the African National Congress […]
Posted inGeneral
A surprise honeymoon for the president
President Jacob Zuma is basking in a second honeymoon. To the much-married polygamist, such hedonism will be nothing unusual, but to Zuma the politician – widely excoriated for his failings – it brings welcome relief. For it is the political commentators and analysts, not his line-up of winsome women, who are metaphorically cradling the president’s […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Stadium deaths spotlight ANC dysfunctionality
Many will agree that the death of 34 miners in a hail of police gunfire at Marikana in August last year was a disastrous indicator of the African National Congress’ governance failures. A competent, modern administration does not mow down its citizens en masse. Nor does it run them to death. In an incident that […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Score 2012 as a bad year for good business
Billionaire Cyril Ramaphosa, President Jacob Zuma’s new understudy, is perceived by big business as the potential rescuer of what passes here for the market system. Hope so for their sake, since a scorecard of our industrial and commercial titans reveals they had a bad 2012. The local strain of capitalism has become dank and unpleasant, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A triumphant year for the judiciary
The man who casts himself proudly as “100% Zulu boy” is set for a victory worthy of the Zulu hero, King Shaka. This weekend President Jacob Zuma will vanquish all at the African National Congress’ leadership contest, with his formidable impi. The size of the KwaZulu-Natal of delegation to Mangaung should easily ensure that the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Merrily down the tube, drinkies in hand
South Africa’s annual midsummer shutdown has begun. For the next six weeks the entire economy switches to ‘pause’ mode. It’s a merry interval that’s grown insidiously over the years. What used to be a week off between Christmas and New Year, expanded to encompass at one end the Day of Reconciliation in mid-December and, at […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zuma grabs for a see-through fig leaf
The Protection of State Information Bill, dubbed the Secrecy Bill, is misnamed on both counts. Contrary to the labels, it will neither assure the safety of critical state information as its proponents claim, nor muzzle the media as its opponents fear. Let’s start with the fact that during the more than two years that the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The good ship Msholozi needs Captain Courageous, not Pugwash
Just over three months ago President Jacob Zuma was sailing towards the African National Congress leadership conference with only clear water to be spied ahead of him. Now the good ship Msholozi is battered, yawing from side to side, and its skipper panicked. What happened? After all, a home province membership drive promised KwaZulu-Natal a […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Crooked socialites – it’s just good business practice
Ah, the rich are different from us. In case you don’t believe writer Scott Fitzgerald in pre-Great Depression America, ask former estate agent Wendy Machanik in post-financial crisis South Africa. Following exposure by a whistleblower, Machanik admitted stealing R27-million of her clients’ trust account money. Since then, the sentencing deal she struck with the Specialised […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The American Dream in a rough patch
It’s the American dream with an offshore twist. Although proportionately fewer than in 2008, foreigners in their droves supported Barack Obama in this week’s United States presidential election. The Gallup poll, of 26 000 people in 32 countries, found that 63% thought the US president had a high or very high impact on their lives and […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Stand aside Zille, Zuma wants to practise on Zapiro
President Jacob Zuma and his legions might be afraid of taking on the formidable table-thumping Godzille, but they’re game for a couple of rounds against the mild-mannered Jewish guy in the corner. The Presidency, clearly subscribers to the military axiom of picking one’s battles, was quick to challenge cartoonist Zapiro, who had just klapped Zuma […]