We live in a society in transition – a process rooted in a technological revolution that stretches back to the middle of the previous century, with the invention of television, followed by other innovations in the media, and culminating in the invention of the internet, initially conceived as a military tool of sorts. Although the […]
News/Politics
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News/Politics
Open Letter to President Zuma: Reshuffling for a Dream Team Cabinet
Dear Mr. President, the grapevine is abuzz with news that you’re thinking of playing a national game of Russian roulette with cabinet – pun intended. I understand your desire to reshuffle. You can’t be very comfortable surrounded by individuals who have their own mind, a sense of conscience and a commitment to principles of good […]
Posted inBusiness, Gender violence, General, Media, News/Politics
A South African link to Trump’s inner circle
People are trying to figure out Donald Trump’s real agenda. There are big clues in the people around him. Trump appointed Steve Bannon as his campaign manager last year and Bannon is now his chief political advisor and strategist. Bannon is a multi-talented (journalist, naval officer, investment banker and Hollywood producer) white nationalist Islamophobe who […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
The pro-poor rhetoric of the ANC government has failed to translate into meaningful economic policy
In my previous Op-Ed in this column I raised a serious concern whether the ANC-led government has paid required attention and effort to effectively address the structural manifestations of the apartheid legacy in a systematic and vigorous way beyond the usual public rhetoric about the evils of the system and the often repeated promise of […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Beyond Trevor Noah and Mandela’s rainbow: Towards a politics of empathy
I’ve been thinking about Trevor Noah’s op-ed in the New York Times, and its angry critiques, since the Day of Reconciliation in South Africa on December 16. Reconciliation is a thorny topic in our moody democracy, a reminder that the road to postcolonial hell is paved with good intentions. If you missed it, Noah argued […]
Posted inGeneral, Health, News/Politics
Reflections on my life on Robben Island
By Professor Saths Cooper Much has been said and written about apartheid political imprisonment as the triumph of the human spirit under extreme conditions, which it most certainly was. Distance in time and place usually lends a weird enchantment to views and memories that we may have experienced. Our natural tendency is to shy away […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
(Ir)Reconciliation Day: A call for a more sober reading of December 16
Today, South Africa observes Reconciliation Day with what can only be assumed to be a healthy dose of sobriety. 2016, infamous for its never-ending, unsuspecting and often unwanted surprises, has also proven to be a contentious year in the socio-political economy of the country. With unemployment reaching a 13-year high last quarter, a number of […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality, General, News/Politics
Are South Africans really all capitalists at heart?
The South African news cycle often is awash with nationalist rhetoric from the emerging and vocal opposition, raging against the African National Congress. These quasi-socialists hold out an image of an economically liberated Southern Africa, a picture of Mzansi at peace on the land – their land. The capitalists too have a vision for South […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
#ScienceMustFall in retrospect: Three lessons to help us move on
I remarked once that, “If the curricula shall be Africanised then, one may presume, we’ll have to find an Africanised version of Newtonian mechanics for the engineers, decolonised theorem proofs for mathematicians and the non-racist equivalent of Maxwell’s equations for physicists, among other things”. I said that this would be to take the call for […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality, General, News/Politics
Where is the wealth Malema wants to redistribute?
In a conversation about South Africa’s socio-economic malaise with a thoughtful sociologist from abroad, he asked the burning question that is shaping South African politics: “where is the wealth?” We talk often in South Africa about wealth redistribution, black economic empowerment and socio-economic rights. Our constitution at the outset sketches a socially just society as […]
Posted inGeneral, Media, News/Politics
Which “South Africa” do you live in?
People sometimes ask me, ‘Don’t you miss South Africa?’ ‘No,’ I reply – but in the same heartbeat that answer is given comes my silent question, which South Africa? ‘You’re criticising South Africa Rod, the country you grew up in, that fed and clothed you, gave you an education, everything you have. Not cool.’ The same question rises….which […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Self-serving black leaders: why the masses are “forgotten”
By Sebenzile Nkosi Africans have fought long and hard for independence from colonial rule. Leaders of the struggle have been hailed for their self-sacrifice, many of whom have been prepared to pay the ultimate price of death at the hands of their colonisers and allies, for the course. A large part of this struggle, not […]