Robert Mugabe came to power as president of Zimbabwe in 1987. Next year, if Southern Africa’s Methuselah lives until then, will mark his thirtieth year in office and what has become a pathetic downward spiral into the abuse of state power and the obliteration of his nation’s fortunes. President Mugabe is famed as having said […]
development
Posted inTech
Can artificial intelligence be controlled beyond a certain point?
In a recent TIME magazine (December 29, 2014, p20), there’s a short article by futurologist and outspoken techno-optimist Ray Kurzweil titled “Don’t fear Artificial Intelligence” (AI). He cites two highly creative individuals – Stephen Hawking and South-African born Elon Musk – as representatives of “the pessimistic view” before putting forward his own optimistic argument regarding […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality, News/Politics
Towards a better development agenda for the global south
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) expire in 2015. They were adopted in September 2000 through the Millennium Declaration at the 55th session of the United Nations General Assembly, convened as the Millennium Assembly. The MDGs, understood to be a global development agenda, focused on poverty reduction, access to education, gender parity, healthcare access, sustainable development […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality, News/Politics
A case for rethinking Africa’s development
Development is an indispensable aspect of socio-economic progress and civilisation — development should be thought of far more than just economic growth. As Thandika Mkandawire has put it, the search for development has become so consuming that it, more or less, assumes the form of an ideology to which post-colonial African leaders subscribed to under […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Confessions of a not-so-proud Capetonian
By Nicola Soekoe Okay, I said it. I’m from Cape Town and, sure, I love the place, but still my reply to the come-from question usually takes the form of: “My family is from Joburg, but I live in Cape Town.” Four years ago when I first went abroad alone Cape Town wasn’t the sexy […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment
The mining multinationals in Mozambique: Is it a win-win situation?
By Antonio Macheve Jr The generic stories of multinational companies extracting natural resources from poor resource-rich countries often maintain a strong emphasis on exploitation of cheap labour, environmental degradation, poor local economic and social development, and unresponsive corporate social responsibility policies as the most direct effects of such operations on the population, particularly around the […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Why commercial law?
Now and I again my friends, who seem never to pay attention to anything I tell them, ask me about my career plans. “So, which area of law will you specialise in?” they ask. When I tell them that I am training to specialise in commercial law, I see their curiosity whirling to awe. I […]
Posted inNews/Politics
#KnowYourDA BEE pushes nothing new
I was snooping around the archives of the South African Institute of Race Relations during a visit earlier this year, particularly drawn to the boxes on the constitutional negotiations. One of these contained, among other things, the ANC’s position on a constitution for what would later become KwaZulu-Natal, academic and political discussions on federalism, and […]
Posted inEnvironment, Tech
Ecuador, ‘our rainforest’ and growing money on trees
It was an incredibly bold plan to begin with, and heart-breaking when it failed. Rather than drill for oil in the Yasuni rainforest, Ecuador would keep the forest intact and biodiversity flourishing in exchange for compensation of $3.6 billion. That’s roughly half of what the country would have made if the drilling went ahead. Earlier this […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
How poor is poor?
Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor. — James A Baldwin Poverty and hunger remain a global challenge. However fewer people live in extreme poverty in the 21st century compared to previous generations. According to the World Bank, between 1981 and 2008, the proportion of people […]
Posted inEquality, Lifestyle
Why I am a (man) feminist
I am a heterosexual man; I have been one for as long as I can remember. I remember three distinct stages of my development as such a man. I remember boyhood. During this time I had a healthy and innocent fascination with girls. I liked playing with them, I liked touching them and their attention […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Africa falling short on millennium goals
Despite Africa’s exponential economic growth and development over the past decade and additional support from the international donor community, progress and the realisation of achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been slow in progress. Greater gains have been made over the past 15 years, however Africa’s performance overall continues to lag on health […]