Google “blue light VIP” and click the “news” tab. Four stories top the list: 1. The DA’s Dianne Kohler Barnard’s parliamentary question regarding Malema’s alleged use of a VIP blue-light convoy; 2. The trial of VIP protection officer Hlanganani Nxumalo, accused of causing an accident by shooting a gun at a motorist; 3. Testimony by […]
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Posted inBusiness, Equality, News/Politics
#occupysouthafrica – for who and by who?
Last night I attended a planning meeting for #occupysandton the Johannesburg branch of the occupy movement that is spreading around the world. It began on Wall Street with a focus on the greed that has begun to characterise the economic order, and the inequality between the 99% and the 1%. They call themselves “a horizontally […]
Posted inGeneral
IRB vs Sanzar
Forget the Rugby World Cup on the go, there is a much bigger showdown looming on the rugby horizon. Sanzar (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia) is the tripartheid organisation managing the Super Rugby series and the Tri-Nations. Sixteen years ago professionalism struck rugby. And now, as we are well into the professional rugby era, another […]
Posted inMedia
Daydreaming into disaster
By Roger Diamond Fantasy and imagination will cause our downfall. The ability of humans to live inside their heads is allowing our civilisation to destroy everything around us, the things we can find most joy from and the very things we need to survive. While people watch computer-animated images of smiling creatures hopping across ice […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, News/Politics
Metro police would rather police women’s sexuality than men’s violence
According to their Facebook Page “V-Girls is a global movement of girl activists inspired by I Am an Emotional Creature” — Eve Ensler’s latest collection of monologues for and about girls. The aim of the book, and of the movement is to inspire girls to take agency over their lives, and to encourage them to […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Let the Lama Skype in!
When Arch Desmond Tutu’s BFF received a big fat “NOT YES” from the South African government, the Arch took the (in)decision rather personally. Fortunately for our Tutu, we South Africans, having a flair for dramatic tendencies, dichotomised and moralised the issue into good vs evil, with the country’s integrity and pearly gate invite hanging in […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
What on earth could be more important than football?
I am in a hotel room with no en-suite shower or toilet. Did I say room? There isn’t enough space for my brightly coloured Shangaan bag between the single bed, three walls and door. So overnight I share my bed with my Shangaan bag. Try substituting a large bag for your teddy bear (or its […]
Posted inNews/Politics
SA’s (infuriating) corruption deficit
My friend Boris was distraught. He was clutching R2000’s worth of crumpled banknotes and muttering to himself. The money, it turns out, was a rejected bribe. He had never heard of anything like it: a driving test inspector — a police official! — refusing to sell a licence for cash! “R2000 is a month’s wages!” […]
Posted inGeneral
eCommerce in SA
Subsequent to a talk we gave recently on the state of eCommerce in South Africa, it made sense to collate some of the key points of the presentation into a single infographic. Of particular interest to me, was the fact that while retail growth in SA is currently around 6%, online retail growth is more […]
Posted inGeneral
The eCommerce revolution – like it or not it’s happening
If you have recently spent any time in the UK or US, you will no doubt be aware of the vast difference in eCommerce between SA and those countries. In statistics, the difference is made clear: in 2010, UK shoppers spent £58.8 billion ($92 billion) online, while South Africans did a paltry R2 billion ($254 million). Even accounting for […]
Posted inGeneral
Black liberals’ big DA-lemma: Race, ideology and breaking ranks
Who does Lindiwe Mazibuko think she is, running to become the DA’s new parliamentary leader? Let’s face it: the DA is not considered a white party just because of its history. Its liberal, economically right-of-centre ideology is also a large part of the problem. The truth is, if you vote left of centre in South […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Africa is not a country
I didn’t really take much notice of the last Zambian election, one which pitted Michael Sata and Rupiah Banda, two men in their 70s. My lack of interest could have been because I wondered why these men, who actually belong to the nationalist period that swept Africa in the 1960s, should be the ones battling […]