General

By Zukiswa Mqolomba Firstly, I would like to welcome the input from the progressive alliance, particularly of the ANCYL, for its rather generous appraisal of the State of the Nation address. Individual loyalties generally die hard, even in the face of damning sentiment reflected by its receipt by mainstream society. When we are willing to […]

The most powerful memory of my father is the last one. I was starting to walk from our home to school on a large plot in Boksburg when I heard him calling me, “Rod, Roddy, Roddy!” Age seventeen, angry and rebellious, I was annoyed because he would often imperiously call me, summons me, without giving […]

By Athambile Masola “Things fall apart The centre cannot hold Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world” Yeats’ words from the poem The Second Coming are often used to allude to a state of affairs that demands attention from everybody. Today, this aptly describes the state of South Africa’s education system. Things are falling apart […]

I’ve made a mistake. How silly of me. Women’s abuse isn’t important. How naive of me — democracy is about equality, about sharing the rights granted in the Constitution. So of course women’s rights are no longer something to consider — I mean they’re already achieved in some pretty paper in some high office in […]

You know what I’m talking about. Just thinking about it is making your palms sweaty. Your mouth starts watering like the Pavlovian dog that you are. You need some of the good stuff, and you need it now. Just one, man, just one, and you’ll be OK, but somewhere inside you you know that you […]

The recent South African matric results are no cause for celebration — that much is clear. The question is: what should be done to improve them, assuming that this can be done without dropping intellectual standards so drastically that the description “improved results” would be meaningless. An improvement in the quality of teaching would certainly […]

It was Chinese New Year here in Shanghai this Friday night. Sitting in our apartment on the 22nd floor was like being in a high-tech Star Trek movie. The fireworks started during the day and by 10PM our home in Shanghai was aglow with spectacular fireworks. Whistling skyrockets, massive explosions like gushing waterfalls, gigantic chandeliers […]

I do get tired of the frantic “trending” that occurs at the beginning and end of every year. Hence, I tend to sit back, take it all in and try give a summarised, more considered view a month or so later. Call it cutting through the clutter, if you will … So, without any further […]

The Super 14 began in earnest on Friday morning with the Hurricanes overcoming a deficit and defeat the highly talented (but inconsistent) Blues. So, before the competition gets truly underway, it is time to place one’s head on the guillotine (which was designed by a Scotsman interestingly enough) and decide who is going to win […]

In about 1991 I remember having some female friends when living in Cape Town. Some were divorced or going through one. Two in particular one evening were discussing how they were going to wangle more money out of their “ex’s”. They were laughing and putting down their poor ex-sods. I was most indignant, made a […]

By Marius Redelinghuys As Mandela Rhodes Scholars in residence, living the legacy of Nelson Mandela and delivering on the promise of leadership is a central element of the scholarship and also of every individual scholar. In reflecting on the promise of leadership, by asking the question, how Mandela Rhodes Scholars contribute to delivering the promise […]

After watching the recent ended African Nations Cup, I have to say African football is on a downward spiral and this asks a lot of questions about their performance in the upcoming world cup, a first on African soil. African football is always about skill and flair mixed with creativity and dribbling which would lead […]