By Robtel Neajai Pailey Late last week, I was informed that I would not be able to travel to Dubai for an important meeting scheduled months ago. Like other countries across the globe, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) halted travel for those with Guinean, Liberian, and Sierra Leonean passports during the height of the Ebola […]
News/Politics
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
What is ideology?
Those of us who were studying at the time of the great “cold war” tussle between the superpowers would remember that, at that time, one thought of ideology as a more or less coherent system of ideas that demanded a way of living, or certain actions in accordance with those ideas. So, for example, communism […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Nkandla: An open letter to the Sars commissioner
Dear Mr Tom Moyane, I write to you as a concerned citizen of South Africa. Sars remains one of the few functioning and efficient institutions in our country. Indeed, without taxpayers’ money, social grants and RDP houses would be impossible and so would the construction and maintenance of essential infrastructure. Delivery of services and the […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Statues will fall: A critique of four newspaper columns
The Sunday Tribune carried four articles on April 12, 2015 analysing the Rhodes Must Fall debate in the context of transformation in general. Thank goodness for Shose Kessi’s brilliant analysis that saved those pages from being completely out of touch with activist sentiment on the ground. I want to unpack the complexities that each writer […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Wannabe pilot Gigaba’s ill-fated flight of fantasy
While arrogance is undoubtedly an unattractive trait, in modern society it is so prevalent among politicians, top officials and corporate leaders as to be entirely unremarkable. However, when it combines with a stubborn inability to admit to error, it becomes dangerous. Until recently the most newsworthy act by Malusi Gigaba was dressing in the uniform […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
Welcome to The Pollsmoor & Blatter
Welcome everyone. Here at The Pollsmoor & Blatter we pride ourselves on a five-star rating for excellence as depicted in the movie Vyfster available on the movie channel, channel 4, on the in-house entertainment bouquet. Please leave all your personal belongings at the front desk and follow the concierge for personalised his and his bathroom […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Equality, Gender violence, Health, News/Politics, Tech
‘It’s time to talk about what’s next’
By Monica Davies If you’ve followed the fight against climate change, in the last year especially, you’ll have noticed voices starting to be raised about things outside climate change — “without racial [or gender or food or economic] justice, there is no climate justice” is the most common one, and it’s entirely true. The problems […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Why is civil society power still located in the global north?
By Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah and Mandeep Tiwana Almost everywhere we look — from economics to demography to air travel to innovation — the shift to the so-called “emerging” markets is palpable. But when it comes to the civil society landscape, the transformation is much less visible. While some high-profile human rights organisations are decentralising (eg Amnesty […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
Fifa, Blatter and SA crookery: No surprises
So Sepp Blatter gets the Fifa presidency again at the tender age of 79. He has been president since 1998, far too long to be in power over one of the most powerful, economy-boosting juggernauts the world has ever known. If a country gets the green light to host the World Cup, the payoffs for […]
Posted inNews/Politics
South Africa drifts under an awol captain
President Jacob Zuma has been South Africa’s most detached leader ever. The result of his hands-off style and often mysterious absences is political capriciousness, organisational chaos, and an inability on the part of the state to govern effectively. In his laissez faire administration ministers have been allowed to do much as they wish in setting […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
Ah yes…Jordaan and Africa’s first World Cup…remember that
By Bernadine Jones Fifa has been implicated in a scandal of note — bigger than Giggle-in-Chief ‘s Nkandla apparently. The South African 2010 World Cup tournament was punctuated by euphoria. South Africans forgot their flaws, their divisions, their classifications, and for one brief moment, we really were the rainbow nation, hosting “Africa’s first World Cup”, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Ahead of the Bushfire Festival: Five things you might not know about Swaziland
Swaziland is a small mountain kingdom neighboured by South Africa and Mozambique. Reporting about the tiny country usually focuses on its beautiful landscapes — highly favoured by South African tourists — and the actions of its head of state, King Mswati III. But behind its picturesque beauty lie a few ugly truths. Here are five […]