Just before the weekend I learned that the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK) had recently posted a Facebook statement informing the public that Steve Hofmeyr would not be performing at this year’s festival. The post continued to say that Hofmeyr had not, in fact, applied to participate, but that even if he had, the […]
News/Politics
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Pogroms in Mandelaland
With regard to the latest outbreak of xenophobic violence, I can do no better than quote Ranjeni Munusamy, who wrote (Daily Maverick, January 23): “Incidents of racism and xenophobia have again exposed South Africa as a superficial, ugly, violent nation that lacks respect for other human beings. From exclusive restaurants in Cape Town that discriminate […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Marie biscuit corruption shows up the rot
This week a minor official, corrupted with a packet of Marie biscuits, highlighted starkly the present rot and inequities in the nation. Corruption is endemic to all political systems. What differs is how it is dealt with. Because governments in Western democracies are easily voted out, popular outrage over corruption is assuaged by periodically acting […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Poverty, inequality to blame for mayhem in Soweto
It is generally accepted that social unrest and other forms of instability are driven by multiple factors that have, for whatever reasons, been ignored for a long time. Poverty and unemployment are real and visible everywhere you go in the black townships. In such a depressing environment, all it needs is a spark to ignite […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Understanding ‘world politics’ today – Rancière and Žižek
What I have in mind with this title pertains mainly to the work of that inimitable philosopher Jacques Rancière who has infused political thinking with new life, given the fact that it has become moribund under the dead weight of largely irrelevant liberal political theory and the idea that all politics is governed by the […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
In defence of journalistic objectivity
The appearance in public of senior editorial members of the Independent media group in ANC garb has occasioned a vibrant if sometimes bitter debate about independence and partisanship. What set off a lively and sometimes-acrimonious debate was an article by Daily Maverick writer Marianne Thamm, who raised the idea of journalistic “objectivity”. She wrote: “The […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
ANC, La Grange and the danger of polarised debate
South Africa’s twittersphere was set ablaze last week when former president Nelson Mandela’s personal assistant, Zelda la Grange reacted to comments made by President Jacob Zuma who ascribed many of the country’s present governance problems to Jan van Riebeeck (the Dutch settler who “founded” Cape Town in 1652). The substance of her tweets does not […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Hello Eskom my old friend
They tell me you’ll be visiting again soon bringing Load Shedding with you. They don’t know exactly when that will be, but knowing you guys, it’s safe to assume it will be at the most awkward moment possible. In preparation of your visit I went to the trouble jotting down notes to make your stay […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Excellence in education should be part of our daily discourse
By Busani Ngcaweni All the learners who passed their grade 12 examinations in 2014 should be applauded without reservation. The scores who were unsuccessful should be encouraged by Confucius who, centuries before the birth of Christ, correctly pointed out that “our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising each time we fall”. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Before blaming the West, let’s shake off our African passivity
So are African lives less important to the international community than Western lives? Following the worldwide attention given to the Paris killings by Islamic militants, it’s a question being widely asked and generally answered in the affirmative. The refrain is that while fewer than two dozen French were killed, during that same week the Islamic […]
Posted inNews/Politics
On jihadism, Islam and the ‘collective guilt’ notion
“For us, it is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. You know it well … If you harm our children, old women, our fighters, our old men, we will attack the men who fight against us.” This is what Amedy Coulibaly told his hostages following his attack on a kosher […]
Posted inNews/Politics
It’s the high dropout rate we should be worried about not the matric results
An important milestone was reached in the life of many learners when the matric results were released. Some succeeded admirably but others were disappointed. They now have to make critical choices about the careers they wish to follow. For many among them, their choices could have been different if the education system was functioning optimally. […]