Earlier this month, Ben Levitas waded into Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Marius Fransman for claiming that Jews were benefiting and Muslims being disadvantaged by the DA’s tender policies in Cape Town. The SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has also since issued a statement condemning those remarks. Far from backing down, however, […]
DA
Posted inNews/Politics
ANC lashes out at Jews in lead up to 2014 elections
With the date for elections, which must take place before July 2014, fast approaching, the African National Congress (ANC) aims not only to secure its unassailable position as the national governing party, but also wishes to govern in each of the nine provinces. A ferocious battle is shaping up in the Western Cape, the only […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Public interest in Ramphele’s movement stems from despair
Dr Mamphela Ramphele this week launched Agang, not quite the long-awaited political party that has been the focus of so much speculation, but rather a “consultative platform” that is yet to morph into one. The assessment of political commentators so far has been mostly delivered with barely stifled derision. There’s widespread agreement that Agang – […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle, News/Politics
Renaming things: Symbolic or shambolic?
When it comes to renaming things, government suddenly gets goal-oriented. In fact, I’m surprised we’re allowed to choose our own names and aren’t given a pre-approved list of politically correct suggestions. But what’s in a name? A lot, if we go through three recent events. The first involves one Supra Mahumapelo, the ANC’s North West […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Should foreigners vote?
I recently dealt with at least three queries about the voting rights of permanent residents in South Africa, and specifically the change in their status and recognition. The first time I had to deal with this concern was in the run up to the 2011 local government elections when a Centurion resident told me his […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Why I won’t vote ANC…or DA
I was five years old when SA held its first democratic elections in 1994. I don’t recall much about election day other than the excitement my parents and their friends had about finally being able to cast their votes. Voting was a dream they shared with many other South Africans and its realisation marked a […]
Posted inBusiness, General, News/Politics
Wage subsidy: Cosatu doesn’t care about the youth
A drive on a weekday morning around the township of Alexandra in Johannesburg will reveal to you the real face of unemployment in South Africa. On the corners of the many avenues in this sprawling township where I grew up, young men and women roam the streets. Some play dice and morabaraba and some are […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Street politics: A new twist to an old tactic
The yoof are on the march. Again. It does not make for a pretty picture, although it is a politically fascinating one. The issues vary from train fares at the micro level to unemployment, rural deprivation and racism at the macro. The strategy, however, is uniform, calculated and well tested in South Africa. It is […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Refugees, the American dream and a war for Cape freedom
By Shafinaaz Hassim It seems as though, just like tragic Alice in Wander-land, we’ve all fallen down some obscure rabbit hole in South Africa. It’s not impossible, given our national heritage of mining shafts, and it must have happened at some point during the last few weeks while toyi-toying in Twitterville or outside the ConCourt […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Do we have to ask for permission to be offended?
I have resisted writing something about the Spear saga for two weeks. This was because for me the portrait was offensive but not as offensive as the portrait about Solomon Mahlangu’s last words. The words on that portrait cut very deeply into the pain hidden deep in every black person’s heart. It made a mockery […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
“A better life for all”: The case for a youth wage subsidy
By Matthew de la Hey The South African unemployment rate is currently 25.2%. This means that 4.5-million people who had sought employment within the four weeks preceding the reference week were unable to find a job. This figure rises to 38% if those who have given up hope and have stopped looking — the “discouraged […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Cosatu tries to give marching orders to the DA
The opposition was looking for trouble, so there should be no surprise that stones flew and heads were cracked. Any moron should realise that a march on union headquarters by a despised rival would spark violence. That’s the response of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) […]