The prospect of living in a ‘world without electricity’ in South Africa has become a spectre that looms ever-larger by the day, as a mismanaged, looted-to-the-bone Eskom struggles to keep the ‘lights on’ — a misleading metaphor, insofar as it stands for the entire electricity-based economy of this country. In the era of fake news […]
Jacob Zuma
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
KwaZulu-Natal Lamb Curry
With all this talk of Durban’s gravy train and details of the Durban Salute (a type of bribery), one wonders whether sufficient attention is being paid to the curry brigade that deems it normal for money to flow up and for problems to flow down. Without a doubt, Lamb curry is the most important culinary […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Equality, Gender violence, General, Health, Lifestyle, Media, News/Politics, Sport, Tech
Where’s my invite?
Like many people I have not been invited to Jacob Zuma’s forthcoming wedding. I also have not been invited to address the crowds gathering at Jacob Zuma’s court appearances. In general Jacob Zuma and I have been on the outs ever since he said, “We don’t want Winner Take All”. I could have forgiven him […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The weakness of the ANC
The current elective conference of the ANC makes me think, involuntarily, of the decline of this once-proud, 105-year old organisation, to the point where it has been too weak to do the obvious thing, namely to ‘recall’ (their chosen euphemism for discharge, or fire) their current (and soon-to-be-replaced) president, Jacob Zuma. The funny thing, which […]
Posted inGeneral
In Tambo they trust
This year we have heard from the great and the good about comrade OR Tambo, the late leader of the ANC – who led the ANC for many years, in exile. Some having served alongside Tambo, have sought to embellish their own credentials by passing themselves off as more authentic exemplars of Tamboism. Some having […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The truth about Nkandla
Factually, all state presidents are being blackmailed. They are being threatened and extorted by their own people, their own party bosses, their own funders, their own supporters and their own handlers. Regardless of which country, regardless of which regime; all state presidents are being blackmailed. In comparison, prime ministers are merely besieged by those around […]
Posted inNews/Politics
National Student Bank
To my fellow students I am given once again to reflect on the pathetic leadership provided to the students of South Africa by the ANC government, and in this case by the SACP’s former Minister Blade Nzimande, and the ANC’s Youth Militia of COSAS, SASCO, ANCYL, YCL and PYA. I recall that they all promised […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Zille and Zuma: A fading star, a black hole and the end of an era
Helen Zille faces a disciplinary hearing from her party as an apparent “litmus test” of its credibility as a champion for the people. President Jacob Zuma, similarly, is facing off with NEC members for his shenanigans, having already navigated the party’s ethics committee, the stalwarts and having subjugated its youth and woman’s leagues. The president, it […]
Posted inBusiness, General, News/Politics
The fatal hermeneutic divide in South Africa
Many people are bound to have thought of Alan Paton’s novel, Cry the Beloved Country, in the wake of recent events in South Africa. And everyone who have thought of it as a suitable response to these events may be forgiven. But there’s a saying, that people get the government they deserve, and it is […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
Thank you, Mr Trump!
Dear Donald Trump, Thank you! In the days following the election I have seen numerous articles highlighting the follies of your choices, the irresponsibility of your comments, the virulence of your campaigning and the divisiveness of your words. In spite of all this, I would like to take a moment and say thank you. Thank […]
Posted inGeneral
Has the time for ‘talks about talks’ come in SA?
The student protests of the last year are reminiscent of the 1976 student uprisings. Those protests were the precursor to a political change in South Africa less than a decade later. When young, educated “born free” South Africans express anger and impatience it’s time to pay attention. They have shown they want action. They want […]
Posted inNews/Politics
From Hitler to Zuma to Trump: We are simply bad at democracy
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” This is supposedly a quote from Winston Churchill. Whether it is a real quote or simply a quote birthed from the internet, the statement holds true. When it comes to mass governance the sad truth is that humanity is kind of bad […]