In my previous contribution in this column “The ANC must undergo creative destruction to re-invent itself and survive’’, the theme of my message was that the task of reinventing the ANC and repositioning its brand cannot succeed without a leadership overhaul. I have since received numerous messages raising the question; where did the ANC get […]
General
Posted inBusiness, Gender violence, General, Health, Media, News/Politics
Tim Noakes vs Dr Ferdinantus Booyens – the curious machinations of the Health Professions Council of South Africa
It’s astonishing how much effort the Health Professions Council of SA has put into pursuing Tim Noakes, even to the extent of announcing a victory before judgment is handed down. They’re not usually that dedicated though. Take a look at the bizarre case of Dr Ferdinantus Booyens, who dominated the front page of Durban’s newspapers […]
Posted inGeneral
Should the UK, US and China abandon South Africa?
South Africa is leaning over the edge of a political cliff as the president loses the support of key allies in the tripartite alliance. His attack dogs, such as Shaun Abrahams in the National Prosecuting Authority, Collen Maine in the ANC Youth League and Bathabile Dlamini in the ANC Woman’s League, look increasingly like poodles […]
Posted inEquality, General
Personality differences across the world
When you travel a lot, as we do, to different parts of the world, encountering people from widely divergent cultures, one might think that you would also come across personalities widely different from those you find in your own culture. However, experience has taught me that this is not the case, and that the divergences […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
UCT Black academic caucus statement
21 October 2016 The UCT Black Academic Caucus believes that the current situation at our universities necessitates a national multi-stakeholder solution. The increasing securitisation and violence on our campuses has become untenable and cannot be resolved through negotiations between the executives and student groupings within individual institutions. The student movement that began at the University […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Open letter to Jeff Radebe, #FeesMustFall students and vice-chancellors
Minister Jeff Radebe you are heading up the ministerial task team to resolve the crisis on our university campuses. Good, thank you. This is a step in the right direction. Students and champions of #FeesMustFall, you have taken up the challenge of agitating for a fundamental change in the future prospects of your generation of […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
Selfless leadership could fix South Africa
The #FeesMustFall movement is a dress rehearsal for the revolution South Africa will face unless we fix our socio-economic conundrum of inequality, poverty and unemployment. This will require leadership! It will require “bridge builders” who are not beholden to vested interests and can lead for the common good. It will require technical skill to empower […]
Posted inGeneral, Health, Lifestyle
The psychology of hope and earning a livelihood in South Africa
Dr Gloria Marsay South Africa continues to face an economic-socio-political crisis. The harsh reality of South Africa’s economic crisis suggests one of the highest Gini Coefficients in the world. Unemployment figures continue to rise. The draft policy issued by the Department of Higher Education and Training reveals that 68% of South Africa’s unemployed are in […]
Posted inBusiness, General, Media
Remembering Howard Preece
Remembering Howard Preece 16.09.1939 – 07.09.2016 Oxford-educated and incredibly sharp, Howard Preece for a time dominated economics journalism in South Africa. The former editor of the Rand Daily Mail’s finance section won the economics section of the Sanlam Awards for Financial Journalism often, and the overall award four times, starting in 1975. He was editor […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
#Fallist culture: The emergence of African fascist nationalism
On how notions of pan-Africanist identity, post-apartheid liberation ideology and demographics are coalescing to give rise to African fascist nationalism Across Africa we’ve witnessed the worst of political permutations as she vaunted herself out from under colonial exploitation. In many instances pseudo-democracy was achieved as a facade for a new black capitalist elite that mobilised the […]
Posted inEnvironment, General, Lifestyle
Sacredness, antiphons and transplanting a lemon tree
A certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house… The silence is all-consuming as I work with spade and hands. As if from far away, I hear my own breath deep in my body, deep in the caves of woodland braided with the smell of sea. Waves nearly splash on their shadows. I […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality, General
Our fragile economy demands leadership with strategic foresight
Economic prosperity for any nation is not an outcome achieved on the basis of one policy focus and strategy. It is a result of a carefully chosen and managed set of development drivers and priorities in a complex system with a causal network of linkages that must work together to deliver the economic growth and […]