General

I often dream of running my own banana republic. Nothing too big. I am not a greedy man. Something about the size of KwaZulu-Natal. In fact, KZN would be perfect. It’s got the bananas and is sufficiently balmy to keep the populace in that happy stupor that will prevent any thought of an uprising. The […]

The South African public are inundated by calls for crimes to be overlooked, forgiven or — in some cases — not to be considered crimes at all. Unsurprisingly, the vast mast majority of these emanate from those at the very heart of power in this country. The number of judges, correctional services officials, politicians and […]

The police have gunned down three suspects believed to have been involved in the Christmas Day massacre of Inanda FM presenter Ntombikayise Ngwane (24) and her friends. In the early hours of Friday morning, possibly acting upon information obtained from the suspect who was arrested on December 31 at a house in Eshowe, where he […]

So the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa is demanding that Zapiro apologise for drawing what so many are talking about in private: the utter abuse of state institutions, office and the Constitution. This assault on and degrading of constitutional order was highlighted by the call for a political solution to President Jacob Zuma’s […]

Climate change has been a topical issue over the last few years. It has enjoyed overwhelming prominence not because it is an uncommon occurrence but because of its potential adverse consequences. Though humanity acknowledges the reality of climate change, there are those who have attempted to solely attribute this phenomenon to what we do here […]

My eyesight is terrible. I really can not see well out my left eye, a congenital problem I am told. One that was not identified by the conglomeration of nurses who descended upon my primary school with their wooden spatulas and needle-and-syringe kits. But that’s another story for another time. Seriously though, I am not […]

Ke nako! It is time! That’s right soccer fans, 2010 has arrived and the country is being revved up for the biggest month long party we have seen since the 2003 cricket and 1995 rugby World Cups. Much has been made of SA’s ability (with many of those doubters basing their convictions on stereotypes about […]

It has been reported that 1.1 million little boys and girls enrolled for Grade 1 throughout the country this year. These beautiful ones who were born into a free and democratic society may be likened to a garden of what South Africa will look like in 2022. These are the little boys and girls who will […]

Once the preserve of dilettantes exchanging formal communiqués in cloistered offices, today’s diplomacy — call it Diplomacy 2.0 — should be a wide-ranging discussion that involves individuals at all levels from the echoing marble halls of government buildings in the world’s most powerful countries to the 16-year-old with a mobile-enabled cellphone texting with a US […]

It’s not every day that one has dinner with an ambassador. It’s certainly not every day that a digital degenerate such as myself has dinner and sits right next to the ambassador of the United States. I can also say this with absolute confidence; it’s not every day that people from any other country get […]

Mr President, sir. The country is in panic mode as speculation grows that you are about to invoke the prerogative powers and responsibilities vested in you by the Constitution (84,2J) by virtue of you being head of state — your power to pardon. At the root of the rumours is the recent meeting you had […]

The Bulls: Take probably the best provincial/regional team ever assembled, lose probably the best winger of the last five years, add two returning heroes, plus Heyneke Meyer back pulling the backroom strings and what do you get? A very likely repeat. Fatigue is the only realistic barrier to yet another year of Blue domination. Well […]