News/Politics

Two recent events have drawn my attention to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. Did I say two? Maybe three. Or four. The first was his announcement that he would retire after his looming 79th birthday — on October 7. The second is linked with an excellent doctoral thesis — based on virtually everything ever published by […]

I’m not so sure we do. As South Africans we’re great at asserting our unity as “a people”, by quoting Tutu, Mandela and even Mbeki (though not Zuma — not yet, anyway) about rainbows or renaissances, and we’re especially good at performing our proudly South African brand of “unity through diversity” — just look at […]

One of my failings as an optimist is that I have a disproportionate amount of faith in the goodness of people, not least those who are entrusted to lead others. Having spent just slightly over three decades in this world, I realise that I am slowly losing my look-on-the-bright-side outlook as more and more I […]

The undertaking by Justice Minister Jeff Radebe, in his address to the SA National Editors’ Forum in Johannesburg on Saturday night, that the government would not treat the media in the way it was done during the apartheid years is unfortunately of little, or no comfort. The apartheid regime could be lethal to those who […]

As is the case on many if not most boards – both in the commercial and public sectors – the SAA directors were supine sycophants, applauding admiringly from the sidelines the egotistical jigs of the chief executiv

By Ilham Rawoot Writing a good investigative story is hard work. It’s not a matter of sitting down at a computer and typing away. It takes a lot of time, talking to many sources, going through documents, research and asking questions to people implicated or involved. This includes putting allegations to people and getting a […]

There is no strange car with tinted windows tailing my red Toyota. No tall and burly mafioso tracking my movements. My telephone has not been bugged (I hope). None of my three dogs have been slain and hung by my gate. No one, save my few friends and small family, know who I am and […]

The South African government is faced with a major dilemma in the way that it approaches claims of xenophobia in South Africa. On the one hand they cannot be seen to be hysterical as this would only fan the flames created by panic merchants and those who would gain advantage while on the other they […]

By Sam Sole So. Thanks to the Financial Mail we now know that the outcry over the Protection of Information Bill is an “overreaction” from people “obsessed” with openness and the availability of information. Chillingly that is the view of the man tasked with ushering this dangerous piece of legislation through parliament, the honourable Cecil […]