Thought Leader

This Human Rights Day, I think it is appropriate to ask, “What is a free and fair election?”. Simply it means that each voter is freely able to choose the option of his or her own choice, and that each contestant is fairly able to compete for each voter’s consideration. So, on the surface, it…

I remember when you were born of me, Level-headed to avoid catastrophe, In service that couldn’t quite compete, Just playing the fool with possibility, Hoping now that we got some remedy, Lifting weight soar above the canopy; Made you grow made you rise above, Nobody’s fool ain’t nobody’s thug, Syndicates came left without any guns,…

I’ve just finished reading the Democratic Alliance’s document, “The Manifesto For Change”. It consists of three parts. The first itemises its economic solutions, the second details its social solutions and the third highlights its political solutions. The DA has been in opposition for a long time, and you can see this in the way that…

Durban 27 January 2019 The First Officer South Africa I hereby tender notice that I have purchased, from the state and government of the Republic of South Africa, the parastatals, in whole and in toto, altogether for the sum of One South African Rand (R1.00), as is. Further to which I hereby tender notice that…

Durban January 25 2019 The First Officer of State, and The First Officer of Government Republic of South Africa I hereby tender an offer to purchase from the state and the government of the Republic of South Africa the parastatals, now in part known as the state-owned enterprises of the Republic of South Africa, in…

Okay, so I have decided to make my decision publicly. Cue the applause and the investigations, I want polite applause for the democratic victory, and I want a thorough, purposeful, unrelenting and invasive investigation that finds and interrogates every individual thing and every possible system that has anything to do with this matter. There is…

Don’t call me “kaffir” I’m not your prison Bitch Don’t blame me for the sociopathology I’m not the architect of this wrongful state You rant and rave like a lunatic Yet you claim to be fighting for the oppressed Your presentation and demeanour tells us for whom you work That tells us you’re not independent…

Recently, in Johannesburg, I caught up with Shaheen Hoosen, from the Minara Chamber of Commerce, and was pleasantly surprised to find a chamber of commerce guided by Islamic principles for the Muslim community, involved with both business development and trade development. Intrigued by the idea of such a specialised chamber of commerce, I prodded the…

A thought for the day: When the First World War ground to a halt exactly 100 years ago, Germany was heavily penalised financially. Financial reparations to the Allies were set at 369-billion gold marks, equivalent to about 96 000 tons of gold, but after complaints that the payments were bankrupting a struggling nation the amount…

Everyone knows the story, or myth, of Pandora (etymologically meaning ‘all-gifted’ or perhaps ‘all-giving’), who was ancient Greek mythology’s counterpart to Eve of the Old Testament — that is, the first woman created by the gods (out of earth, or clay), all of whom gave her a gift of some kind. Her notoriety derives from…