News/Politics

Almost a month after Zanu-PF and the MDC signed a power-sharing deal, they have not been able to form a government to free ordinary Zimbabweans from their economic misery. The impasse is over allocation of key ministries. Robert Mugabe and his thugs remain stubborn and adamant that key ministries should be controlled by Zanu-PF. As […]

It is becoming apparent that political parties will be allowed to advertise on television in the lead up to next year’s general election. While the SABC is up in arms about the huge losses in revenue that this might occasion we as South Africans must stand up and be counted. Demand that parties be given […]

This is so long overdue from me. I’ve been watching the country’s political scene, and I must say it was quite interesting to be living in these times. Now all the drama has gone by and one sits back and wonders if the ruling party feels that we as citizens are stupid or if it […]

So, the Archbishop Emeritus is saying that he would boycott next year’s election if things continue in the ANC the way they are. He also said that ANC President Zuma should withdraw “as ANC candidate for the presidency“. Once again, Tutu is displaying his ignorance of how the ANC works and once again proof that […]

So, President Kgalema Motlanthe announced his new Cabinet. A lot could be and had been said about both the old and the new Cabinet. But for today, I would like to concentrate on two specific Ministers: Emmanuel Nathi Mthethwa and Masenyane Richard Baloyi. I would always think of Minister Baloyi as Comrade Rich (although I […]

This article first appeared last month in Alliance Magazine (Volume 13, No.3, 2008). Since its publication, I have received many requests to reprint it. The article has since appeared in other media houses. In order to get more feedback, I am reproducing it here in its original form. This article attempts to answer three related […]

You wrote an “open letter” to the secretary general of the African National Congress (ANC), your leader and my leader Gwede Mantashe. It is the duty of all ANC members to assist each other with political education and assistance when these are found to be lacking. Seemingly you lack even an iota of political knowledge […]

I am introducing a “series on civil society laws” across the African continent. Some may ask why civil society? It is a subject very close to my heart but more importantly, civil society is perhaps the most effective platform we have to further our democratisation and development agenda. But as most of you would know, […]

So there we were, an admittedly partisan crowd, waiting for Joe Six-pack’s sister to bomb. Endless repeats of her embarrassing interviews with Katie Couric had left us with unrealistic expectations. Tina Fey’s work on Saturday Night Live hadn’t helped. Nor had the musings of MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. We were expecting a train […]

One of the columnists I really love reading is the Mail & Guardian’s Guy Berger. At least with him you are guaranteed not to land up with same old, same old and this week’s column, entitled “Kgalema vs Thabo: Workmanship in wordsmithing”, is no exception. www.mg.co.za/article/2008-10-02-kgalema-vs-thabo-workmanship-in-wordsmithing Of course all of us are, to a lesser […]

The office of the Secretary General of the ANC has previously been occupied by illustrious men of unquestionable intellect and character such as Sol Plaatjie (1876-1932), James Calata (1895-1983), Oliver Tambo (1917-1993), Duma Nokwe (1927-1978) and Walter Sisulu (1912-2003); men who upheld their duty to serve with determined purpose of unifying the membership of the […]