Thought Leader

Economic desperation is never far below the surface in a country where unemployment, depending on how it is defined, is nudging remorselessly towards 40%. Like hunger in a predator, desperation defines the lives of the estimated 9 million looking for work. It causes teachers to kill rivals in competition for jobs being illegally auctioned off by…

I recently travelled through a stretch of the Eastern Cape that used to be officially known as the Transkei. One might refer to areas such as Ngcobo, Ngqamakwe, Ugie, Elliot, Maclear, Cala, Idutywa, Gcuwa as small towns but this is a very generous definition for places that resemble “out stations” to the surrounding villages. While…

By Zimbini Ogle Death and dying is something we are certain of. However, we cling to a hope that our death will be delayed when we come into contact with healthcare professionals. This hope is soon shattered by the SECTION 27 report titled “Death and dying in the Eastern Cape: An investigation into the collapse…

Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), along with Section27, the Treatment Action Campaign and Rural Health Advocacy Project recently released a damning report about HIV drug stock-outs in the Eastern Cape. According to the report, “Forty percent of 70 Eastern Cape health facilities ran out of HIV or TB drugs in May, and in almost…

By Esinako Hintsa Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Mbuyiseli Madlanga, Chris Jafta and Khaya Dlanga are a few of the many leaders born and bred in the Eastern Cape and that’s what makes me proud to be born in this beautiful province. Sadly all its beauty fades when you see the challenges it faces: poverty, Aids,…

The debate surrounding The Spear has, on occasion, been framed in terms of the concept of ‘dignity’, specifically that of the State President. And to be sure, one should grant the persons who occupy that position of responsibility from time-to-time the dignity they deserve. One could also take the argument further by claiming that every…

By Athambile Masola The media coverage about the shambolic state of education in South Africa (with a recent focus on the Eastern Cape) is disturbing. The views vacillate between inspiring hope for change and declaring doom over the future of the thousands of young people whose right to basic education is being flouted in the…

We hate refugees. We burn them out of their homes. We chase them away. We burn down their businesses. We tell them go back to where you came from. Bloody refugees. We really don’t like them. So when Helen Zille comes here and tells us that kids from the Eastern Cape are refugees, we get…