By Takalani Musekwa A few nights ago I watched, Brigalia Bam, the chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission, declare the local government elections “free, fair and credible”. She went on to say that no political party had objected to the results of the elections. This is despite the fact that a number of complaints were […]
News/Politics
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Poor schooling’s retarding SA’s economic growth
Unless we pursue a highly focused and coordinated strategy to improve the quality of our education system, especially for our poor communities, we will not be able to sustain our competitive advantage on the continent. We will also fail to uphold our status as a credible member of the Bric club of emerging economies. To […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
A great South African woman
If you are anything like me, you have a few debts. No, you are not like me. You cannot be like me. I am bonded and mortgaged to the bones and down to the core of my very being. Yet even for one as riddled with debt as I, not all debts are equal. Some […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Fracking and feminist concerns
We’ve all heard a lot over the past few weeks about the dangers of fracking for our pristine Karoo environment. Shell, the master of disaster when it comes to environmental damage, has requested the rights to explore the Karoo for natural gas. This is not the type of exploration where you shade your eyes with […]
Posted inNews/Politics
On Cope and coalitions
The Congress of the People, perhaps surprisingly to many, has been placed in a rather awkward position as “kingmaker” in a number of municipalities, primarily in the Western and Northern Cape. The position is challenging primarily because Cope has to decide whether it wants to throw its lot in with the DA, or side with […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Nigeria’s quiet revolution
By Edith Jibunoh I woke up to horrible news this morning and I’m angry. John has worked for my family for years. I’ve known him since I was a little girl when he used to take me to school every morning. This is an African story. The one big happy extended family that blends employees […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, News/Politics
I’m tired of watching the royal family
While South Africans tallied votes from local government elections last week, the Queen of England visited Ireland. Just one of these events made most international headlines. For some reason we are expected to care what this woman does. Almost 60 years on a throne she can claim as her own simply because she had the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
DA puts a shot across the ANC’s bows
This was the first post-democracy election in which there has been a real contestation for power.
Posted inNews/Politics
What you should know about those who hate the ANC and vote DA
1. They are IGNORANT of history. They don’t know or accept that the ANC is the oldest liberation movement in the world. 2. They don’t know who they are. They are unable to define their true identity. 3. They believe colonialism, apartheid and racism are dead, or never mattered. 4. They espouse colour-blindness to pretend […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Black to the future v back to the future
Never in the 17 years of democracy has the DA been driven to appeal so passionately, so desperately and in some ways so comically to the black voter. Launching its manifesto outside Pretoria, in Mamelodi, the DA (leader) has been doing a lot of “black things” lately. Helen Zille has not missed an opportunity to […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Girls, boys lead different lives because of govt services
If the leading cause of death for girls under eleven is HIV and the leading cause of death for boys of the same age is road traffic accidents, what does this tell us about the way our lives are gendered?
Posted inNews/Politics
Ballots, not bullets
It wasn’t guns and bullets that woke me from my writing slumber, it was the ballots cast peacefully across SA today, May 18, which made me jolt from my seat and announce myself once again on these pages. Dear reader, nothing makes me happier than a peaceful, free and fair election in Africa. This because […]