By Kameel Premhid and Thorne Godinho “I’m robespierre (sic) I understand my fate … ” Andile Mngxitama, the controversial writer behind the New Frank Talk journal, recently tweeted this. This reference to the executed French revolutionary Maximilien de Robespierre followed the public outrage expressed by individuals when Mngxitama called on ”true Bikoists” to physically assault […]
News/Politics
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics, Tech
The importance of financial inclusion in the developing world
Financial inclusion poses policy challenges on a scale and with an urgency that is unique for developing countries, which house nearly 90% of the world’s unbanked population. Developing country policymakers have recognised that complex and multi-dimensional factors contribute to financial exclusion and therefore require a comprehensive variety of providers, products and technologies that work within […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Pope of the poor?
Many have welcomed the election of a non-European cardinal as a Roman Catholic pope. Prior to the election of Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, there seemed to be general consensus that a pope from either Latin America or Africa would be a welcome break with the dominance of Europeans over the leadership […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The ANC and Zanu-PF: From struggle heroes to enemies of freedom
In 1963 Bram Fischer stood before a court and said “the defence … will show that the ANC is a broad national movement, embracing all classes of Africans within its ranks, and having the aim of achieving equal political rights for all South Africans”. Fischer was the lead defence counsel in the well-known Rivonia Trial […]
Posted inNews/Politics
How can you avoid a ‘corked’ lawyer?
Ordinary old people do ordinary old jobs. Doctors, lawyers, nurses, accountants, teachers and even – God help us – journalists and estate agents, “follow professions”. The very phrase has intimations of responding to a religious calling. These aren’t the famous “wukkers” of South African trades’ parlance. Elevated above the herd, the manner in which these […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Deconstructing ‘sugar daddies’
Mpho, who lives in Alex, tells me how “sugar daddies” hit the townships on weekends in their smart cars. They cruise the streets looking for young flesh. One thing the sugar daddies rely on is the teenage hunger for bling-bling. They know that teenagers crave to feel they are part of the world of glamour […]
Posted inNews/Politics
FNB’s Steve the answer to the ANCYL’s PR woes
The election of Pope Francis by a conclave of cardinals in the Vatican, the African National Congress Youth League’s NEC being dissolved by the ANC and the Oscar Pistorius shooting incident have been dwarfed into insignificance again this week as “recordings” of “Steve” from beeb Bank to FNB customers are played and replayed on 94.7 […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The problem in SA is not the ANC
The oldest liberation movement on the continent, the African National Congress, is facing a crisis of great magnitude. Not only are there power struggles within the organisation but a sense of resignation towards the organisation in broader society. The masses have evolved from a state of defeatism — induced by the post-1994 euphoria — to […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
The new M&G website: Putting women in their place?
So the Mail & Guardian is launching a women’s website. A website I presume that is written, curated and read by women. A website that speaks to the various concerns of “professional women, working and stay-at-home mothers”, I am told. And while this seems like a fairly benign prospect, the beginnings of what sounds like […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The ANC’s race-baiting tactics in the Western Cape
Earlier this month, Ben Levitas waded into Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Marius Fransman for claiming that Jews were benefiting and Muslims being disadvantaged by the DA’s tender policies in Cape Town. The SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has also since issued a statement condemning those remarks. Far from backing down, however, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Israeli pianist’s performance disrupted by Wits students
On the evening of March 12 2013 an Israeli-born pianist’s performance to a full auditorium at Wits was disrupted and abruptly ended when anti-Israel protestors, which included members of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, the Wits Student Representative Council (SRC) and the Muslim Students Association repeatedly broke into the auditorium. Yossi Reshef is a world-renowned pianist, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Some thoughts on land reform…without ice
It has been said that every generation hates its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers. In my case, my 70-plus father-in-law (though he is actually less than 20 years my senior) may be a case in point. I have always liked my in-laws. I like my mother-in-law because we share the same hairstyle and […]