News/Politics

There are reports that Mo Shaik may be appointed director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and as usual there are denials all round. Mo’s relationship with Jacob Zuma goes back to the days of the ANC underground when they worked together as ANC intelligence operatives. The most noted underground structure was “Operation Bible”, which […]

The destruction of public property to express political or social views is one of the most backward forms of expression to ever be experienced in a democracy. I remember that in the olden days when we had every reason to burn down buildings that represented oppression we were selective in doing so and such destruction […]

A recent lightening visiting to the US, albeit to Democrat-controlled New York and the fabled Kennedy’s playground of Cape Cod, gave me a sense of how President Barack Obama is rapidly redefining not just the rhetoric, but the terms of engagement in the American national discourse, too. Observing the first six months of Obama’s administration […]

The 1980s saw the mushrooming of the taxi industry. Informally it provided a better alternative to riding the train or using largely unreliable bus operators. Commuters voted with their feet, providing our burgeoning taxi industry with a solid customer base, as well as largely captive routes. The foundation of the taxi industry is rooted in […]

Butana Almond Nofomela is about to be paroled after having served 21 years for the murder of Johannes Lourens, a Brits farmer. He had been sentenced to death for this crime, but escaped being hanged by confessing to crimes committed as part of the Vlakplaas hit squad. He was subsequently granted amnesty by the Truth […]

Parliament has been holding public hearings on proposals to curtail, and possibly ban, the operations of labour brokers. A marathon two-day session saw lots of talking between the parties but not much evidence that there was much listening going on. The minister of labour has been unhappy with the rise in the use of labour […]

According to the Employment Equity Report released this week, white people have benefited handsomely from affirmative action thanks to the toothlessness of our government’s regulatory framework and the inefficiency of the department of labour and department of trade and industry (DTI). Starting with the department of labour, it is clear to me that Labour Minister […]

Writing for the Business Day back in 2002, ANC MP Andrew Feinstein said: “If the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) continues to act in a partisan way — it may as well not exist at all.” This week, in an interview on The Justice Factor, eNews (August 23 2009), it was fascinating to see […]