It is undeniable that South Africa hasn’t been in the best shape under Jacob Zuma’s “leadership”. Energy supply is a hot mess, economic growth has been lacklustre, corruption scandals blow over with no repercussions, and democratic institutions have been undermined and weakened one after the other. As worrisome as this may be, is it not […]
News/Politics
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Heroes all: EFF and the honourable Julius Malema
This is how social media images of a country inform one’s perceptions, and then stick like glue in this instant-info “Gutenberg Galaxy” of ours. You scroll through Google News, Facebook and Twitter, and powerful impressions of countries impinge on your subconscious without you being able to question them. Then you “form” an unmediated and indelible […]
Posted inEnvironment, Lifestyle, News/Politics, Tech
Mum and the stolen iPhone
Over the weekend I met up with my friend the Diplomat and he presented me with an opportunity that I could not resist. We had not chatted since December when he spent his holidays in Cape Town and it was time to catch up. Although his time in the Mother city delivered on all the […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
I am Team South Africa, not Team ANC, EFF or DA
By Ntombenhle Khathwane What happened during the State of the Nation Address hopefully serves as a catalyst to push us as a country to re-examine how our democracy works. To say that our democracy is in decline because of the events leading up to and including events on Thursday evening would be naïve of us. […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
Access to white privilege equals freedom?
Since the mid-1980s, many black parents have sent their children to “white schools”. Much as they may have been criticised, they have not been bothered. In the first years of their schooling, these children would, unavoidably, be one of five children, at most, in a class. Some parents worried that this would make them lose […]
Posted inGeneral, Media, News/Politics
Parliament: Where rationality goes to die
The events in Parliament at the State of the Nation were nothing short of appalling. Much time will be spent analysing how this could have happened, what we do now and, what this means for the future of our democracy. That is good and timely. Parliament has been decaying since its democratic rebirth, hollowed out […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The day democracy died
The State of the Nation address has demonstrated a few startling realisations to many of us. What was for a long time a subtle, nuanced, means of eliciting control over media and any opposition to government was flung out into the open during the address. The ANC seems to battle with what Constitutionalism really is. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A state of panic: What is our response?
While witnessing the farce that was the State of the Nation address (SONA) last week, the cynic in me wondered, why are we surprised? We may not have predicted the chaos that unfolded in parliament, but the sentiments behind the event should not be a surprise. There are moments in South Africa’s political life that […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The chortling schoolboy fluffs his sonorous monologue
It was the best and worse of South African political discourse. It was the raw hope of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison exactly 25 years ago this week, reduced to a squabbling farce. It was the magisterial Chair of the National Chamber of Provinces versus the classroom monitor pettiness of the Speaker of the National […]
Posted inNews/Politics
How many more knocks can Parliament take?
Yesterday I finally understood ever grumpy husband who was taken out by his wife when ‘The Game’ was on. SONA for me was ‘The Game’ and through a complete lack of planning on my part I had made plans with my partner to attend an art event. There was much dancing involved. I had managed […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Sona: Did you hear Zuma chuckle?
By Michelle October Last night, did anybody else hear that laugh? It was a long, satisfied, deep-throated chuckle. Just moments before, half of the parliamentarians elected to govern the country alongside Jacob Zuma and his party had rose up against him, in a last resounding, powerless attempt to make him see reason. The renegades in […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, General, Lifestyle, Media, News/Politics
In 76 countries, love is still a crime
Where are the gay couples in Valentine’s Day advertising? February 14 is another reminder that even the most intimate aspects of our lives continue to be controlled by enduring social, religious and political forces that are reticent to fully embrace sexual and gender diversity. While most criticism is against the commercialisation of love this time […]