Thanks to City Press, we now have an idea of how the New Age, a newspaper without audited circulation figures and little advertising, survives in the competitive daily newspaper market. The Gupta family, who are said to be close to President Jacob Zuma, created the New Age as a deliberate counter to the mainstream commercial […]
News/Politics
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
The role of China on the African continent
The exponential rate of Chinese investment in Africa over the past few years has been noted with both optimism and scepticism by mainstream media, political commentators and influential role players in the developed and developing world. Opinions triggered by this new development are deeply polarised. A positive view of increased and concentrated Chinese investment on […]
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Who’s Mummy’s pwetty didums puddy-cat, then?
The problem with the natural world isn’t the animals. It’s the bloody people. That’s true whether one is talking about rhino poaching – a tragedy resulting from mankind’s worst instincts – or at the apparently benign end of the scale, about pet lovers – who collectively are a morass of irrational sentimentality. With the best […]
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Vaccinations: A Jewish plot?
Those who picked up a booklet entitled “Vaccination: The Devil’s Medicine” in the Oriental Plaza recently will have read the following in the introductory section: ”The two fundamental components of vaccination are Filth and Poison. Vaccination is part of a massive conspiracy of the Yahood [Jews] to incapacitate and decimate the populations of Africa and […]
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One Billion Rising — South Africa
(Scroll through to hear the voices of women as they call for an end to violence against the feminine.) “In my mind we need to transcend the Cartesian mind/body dualism and bring back the pantheistic experience of the body with its sexuality and intellect indivisibly united — in a celebration that dances wildly in the […]
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They say critics of the ANC are racists, unpatriotic traitors
It’s ironic (but understandable, given his position as a senior government official in the department of arts and culture) that Sandile Memela’s article “They say government-sponsored artists are traitors” focuses primarily on the contribution of Wally Serote (former head of the ANC’s department of arts and culture and former chairperson of the parliamentary committee on […]
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Is Ramphele SA’s new saviour?
Following various media reports there was much speculation about Mamphela Ramphele entering politics. This was further fuelled by her not completely denying this. Instead she said: “I have always been clear in articulating my views on matters of public importance and will speak on my own behalf about any decisions I might take about my […]
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Zille’s web of lies
Transparency and accountability are vital pillars of democracy. Without transparency there cannot be accountability and without accountability transparency is redundant. Our Constitution recognises and entrenches principles of transparency and accountability in government. Section 41(1) (c) provides that “spheres of government and all organs of state within each sphere must provide effective, transparent, accountable and coherent […]
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Will Banda’s international ‘success’ be her downfall?
Malawi’s president, Joyce Banda, has been somewhat of a revelation ever since she assumed office in April 2012 following the death of then president, Bingu wa Mutharika. At the time, Malawi was facing all manner of problems — food, fuel and forex shortages — symbolised by long queues at shops and at service stations. Add […]
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The liberal project and DA discontent
Those interested in the DA or inadvertently exposed to it would be aware of an on-going, often heated, discussion about the ideological underpinnings of the party and its political future. Contributors have included Gareth van Onselen (and again), DA executive communications director Gavin Davis and former party leader Tony Leon. There were also two pieces […]
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The blind sage talks constitutionalism
“The law is optional. Those in power use it when it suits them and ignore it when it doesn’t.” Sound familiar? These words could be describing South Africa, but the context is China. The speaker is Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, the blind self-taught activist lawyer who sought refuge at the US embassy in Beijing last […]
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Regional trade can boost Africa’s growth, jobs
There is strong consensus that regional integration is indispensable in promoting intra-African trade especially with a large African market of one billion consumers, which can be a powerful engine for growth and employment. Despite the underlying market potential for both cross-border and export trade, the volumes and values of the goods traded in the regional […]