The received wisdom comes to us from every direction: poverty rates are declining and extreme poverty will soon be eradicated from the face of the earth. This narrative is delivered by the World Bank, the governments of rich countries, and – most importantly – the UN Millennium Development campaign. Relax, they tell us. The world […]
News/Politics
Posted inHealth, News/Politics
Depression never leaves you
By Sifiso Yengwa With Robin Williams’ death still fresh in the minds of many, the issue of depression has once again come to the fore. Nowadays it is generally accepted that depression is a clinical condition that is manageable with drugs and other forms of prescribed treatment. Sadly the majority of people still hold a […]
Posted inGender violence, News/Politics
Please stop telling me how not to get raped
On Tuesday, the South African Police Service sent a series of tweets detailing safety tips to avoid rape. In an extraordinarily ill-considered turn of phrase, they tweeted that SAPS Northwest “are concerned about escalating contact crimes due to victims who roam the streets late at night”. Just let that sink in for a minute. “Due […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
African Bank — the untold story of the true fallen heroes
The African Bank story is bizarre. And it invokes feelings ranging from initially being incredulous to downright anger. And more than a little sadness and bitterness. But not for all the reasons so nauseatingly reported to death in the press. No, for the simple reason that in all of this we seemed to have forgotten […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Reflections on Gaza: How should my people be?
By Pedro Tabensky As the son of a Holocaust survivor and a refugee of mid-20th century turmoil, knowledge of the precariousness of existence has always been part of the fabric of my life, and has motivated me permanently to ask: How should I be in a way that pays respect to the suffering of my […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Pallo Jordan’s exit: Cutting off our thingamajigs to spite our watchamacallits
Pallo Jordan’s political self-immolation is tragic. To lose him from Parliament and the ANC’s influential national executive committee, following his exposure by the Sunday Times as lying about his academic qualifications, is a blow for the country. The conventions of political honour – an oxymoron if there ever was one – demand an abject apology […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Dr Jordan and Mr Hide
On Monday night, the inevitable happened. Pallo Jordan resigned from Parliament. Although he attempted to simultaneously resign from the ANC, and its NEC, it is not clear whether his decision was accepted by the party itself. After a week of sustained pressure, during which Jordan’s eerie silence and period of hiding sent out a clear […]
Posted inHealth, News/Politics
Beating Ebola in a global village
By Anayo Unachukwu While I was writing this piece, I received a news alert from the Washington Post, about the arrival to the US of Dr Kent Brantly, an American doctor, who was infected with Ebola while working in Liberia with a Christian missionary organisation — Samaritan’s Purse. His repatriation to his country was not […]
Posted inHealth, News/Politics
When a handshake can kill you…
As a doctor I greet many people, both new and familiar, every week, and inevitably we shake hands. It would feel awkward not to do so. This is the way I was brought up, that a firm handshake is a mark of strong character, part of the process of creating a good first impression, and […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Illicit capital flowing out of Africa often benefits foreign investors
By Antonio Macheve Jr The US-Africa Summit in Washington DC has built enormous expectations for the development of Africa, particularly in what concerns economic ties, trade relations, investments and business between the nations of the African continent and the US. Despite enormous human-rights violations, conflict, widespread disease and other ills commonly known to Africa, the […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Marikana widows shed tears in Women’s Month
This Women’s Month marks two years since the Marikana massacre. The widows of the workers killed by the South African Police Service in 2012 have since received their deceased husband’s provident fund dues, but still wait for justice while the media and public attention has long since transferred from their plight to the Farlam Commission. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mother of the nation’s bid to be farmer of the year
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. You gotta admit, what a woman. All heart. Many pitiless people still whine about her role in the Mandela United Football Club and its Sowetan reign of terror in the closing years of apartheid. Admittedly, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission did rule that she should be held “politically and morally accountable for gross […]