General

The prospect of a Jacob Zuma presidency, a disturbing crime rate and power failures are being cited among the major reasons for what could be a substantial brain drain from South Africa over the next few years. This in itself is a cause for concern as our fledgling multiracial democracy comes to terms with its […]

Too late to be part two of the “IQ is dead” piece The recent intense discussions about leadership on Thought Leader speak volumes about our diverse understandings of what leadership really is. There seems to be as many different views about what leaders are expected to be and do as there are readers out there. […]

There are a couple of classic cop-outs, in relationships, life and every day. The beauty of them is, of course, that sometimes they are true (painfully, heartrendingly true), but most often they’re just the description of a rut in which we find ourselves. Here are a few of my favourites: I’m just not ready to […]

South Africa is a beautiful country with warm and spontaneous people who run a real risk of boarding a runaway train fuelled by fear and driven by resentment and ambition; fear of an uncertain, ever-changing future, spinning circles around a violent present occasioned by a tormented past. Surviving while squatting on someone else’s property, being […]

It is time that we asked the question whether the non-racial struggle has, ironically, delivered its anti-thesis of black racism. In a strange way, there is an unconscious disposition among privileged black Africans — now called the “black diamonds” — to be unkind in a racist way towards fellow South Africans who happen to be […]

Yip, that’s what I’m in the mood for, a dose of whimsy. Something frivolous and fun. Perhaps a little ridiculous. I just got a new fridge (yay!) and with it, fridge poetry. Amazing how words suddenly combine in new ways when they’re split up on a door … Here, then, are a few of my […]

Sigh. The lot of the writer is a difficult one. The comments on my previous offering have prompted me to write a follow-up post to another piece I wrote about six months ago. For the record, I receive at least three emails from irate readers chastising me for my callous disregard for sensitivity around most […]

I know this one is really going to open a flood of responses, most negative, but I have to ask this question. For the past couple of years, I have seen much reporting on the work of Afri-Forum. According to some news bulletins on mainly SABC2, it is a “rights-based group” doing sterling work on […]

If, as suggested, there is a split in the Zuma camp between those who believe that Kgalema Motlanthe rather than Jacob Zuma should replace Thabo Mbeki as South Africa’s president, then I am more than slightly confused. In terms of JZ facing a trial for corruption and his being tainted by the rape trial, I […]