By Bongani Majola William Saunderson-Meyer has written a shockingly condescending Thought Leader piece with racist undertones entitled “The intellectually supple Mr Zuma does some semantic yoga”. Saunderson-Meyer claims that President Jacob Zuma’s speeches are illogical and do not make sense. In a shocking feat of cultural arrogance he suggests that President Zuma’s speeches reflect a […]
Business
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle, Media
The fragmented bodies of consumerism
The advertising industry seemed to be working really hard to get the consumer’s attention this festive season. A few ads caught my eye — for the wrong reasons. While browsing at Stuttafords I was confronted with an image of a woman’s legs while the rest of her body formed the shape of a Christmas tree […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
A new prism through which to view Zuma
Four days in December. They are the prism through which the actions of President Jacob Zuma will be viewed from now on. December is dozy time in South Africa. Whether you are in need an electrician or a lawyer, your options are few, right through to mid-January. Deprived of public interest, even politicians go into […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
How to show leadership
I have often stated that organisational success is only possible if four critical factors in the strategic framework are in harmony and aligned: purpose, vision, strategy and leadership. The state is no exception to this requirement. I have also cautioned that context is the first and most critical constraint or limiting factor to defining and […]
Posted inBusiness, General, Tech
The aeronautics behind SAA’s unprofitability
Let me just say it straight up — neither President Jacob Zuma nor SAA board chairperson Dudu Myeni are to be blamed for the operational unprofitability of SAA. South Africans are currently rallying together in the #ZumaMustFall campaign, which was in part triggered by the removal of Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister, allegedly due to […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
‘White land’ must fall, after Zuma
I know what you’re thinking — another irritating piece about “white monopoly capital”. This is not about the Economic Freedom Fighters and their policy of redress through wholesale re-disenfranchisement and nationalisation. South Africa is more nuanced than the high politics of the day. The outcry of the last week is testament to the vibrancy of […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News/Politics
Is climate change a form of violence?
Over the past few years a number of studies have warned about the links between climate change and violent conflict. While the precise causal connections are not yet well-defined, it is likely that famine, flooding, and displacement will spur increasing conflict and war as the 21st century unfolds. This is a serious concern. Already the […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Any heroes in the ANC, please stand up?
Just when you thought it could not get any worse, it just did. Jacob Zuma clearly wants what he wants and he wants it now. And so, the prospect of JZ waking up to a R4 BILLION jet under his Christmas tree at his R250 MILLION Nkandla on the 25th has edged a little closer with the […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Mandela delivered the transition we desperately needed
It’s not surprising that the anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s death generated reflection on the course we’re following as a nation. Some veered on the negative. But rather than denigrate those who express them, we should instead pay attention, listen and engage rationally with them. Doing so will anchor further freedom of speech, which is the […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality, News/Politics
Global poverty is worse than you think
A few weeks ago the World Bank changed the international poverty line from $1.25 to $1.90 (R27) a day. Normally, changes to the poverty line slide by without attracting much attention, but for some reason this time people got excited. At first glance, it looks as if the bank has finally admitted that the old […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Limping from policy disaster to policy disaster
It’s unusual to see a government that is on the face of it so entrenched in power — a solid 62% of the national vote after two decades in office, eight out of nine provincial assemblies — in such disarray. Yet President Jacob Zuma’s African National Congress administration limps from disaster to disaster, full of […]
Posted inBusiness, General, News/Politics
Derrida and the present world (dis-)order
Anyone who believes that the present world-dispensation is one of “order”, merely has to scan all the many sources of information to be disabused of such an illusion. In doing so, however, they would probably not realise that, as Derrida (1994; see below) enables one to see, these very news sources — mainly television, the […]