Politicians, business and the media have been squabbling among themselves the whole of the past week. Yes it’s right, no it’s wrong. It’s so unfair, no it’s not. All this fretful introspection was triggered by the cover story in the Economist, headed “Cry The Beloved Country: South Africa’s sad decline”. It argued that South Africa, […]
Thabo Mbeki
Posted inNews/Politics
Frank Chikane’s cautionary tale
Thabo Mbeki “looked like a soldier who was ready to die, if he had to, for the sake of his country; a lamb to be slaughtered for a cause”. This is Frank Chikane’s description of his leader waiting for word from the ANC on whether Mbeki was to step down from office. Chikane, who was […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Playing the victim: Malema’s survival strategy
ANC Youth League president Julius Malema and company have the ruling party exactly where they want it to be – i.e. they have got the ANC to mete out the harshest punishment possible. To their credit, I’m sure the ANC itself knows exactly where Malema wants it to be. It has become clear that Malema […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A lesson in political brinkmanship
President Jacob Zuma’s biggest strength is simply that most of us, including embattled ANC Youth League President Julius Malema, underestimate him. We look so much at his blunders and gaffes that we forget that he has in fact been a leader in the ANC for decades and has vast experience in that regard. We also […]
Posted inNews/Politics
South Africa needs a new national myth
I’ve been talking to a lot of people lately. The young tech entrepreneurs and artists I met at Culture Shift. The 40-something filmmaker, writer and consultant I first encountered at an idea orgy (where ideas mate to produce new ideas). The marketing guru inspired by the potential for technology to inspire new social movements. The […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
The gospel according to Frank
Describing himself as one “whom history destined to be caught in the storm”, Frank Chikane sees the writing and publishing of his latest book Eight days in September: The Removal of Thabo Mbeki as a “responsibility which no one but me can discharge”. Who better to tell this story than one who has not only […]
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Mbeki’s big blunder: apartheid reparations
By Isaac Mangena When tabling the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report in Parliament on April 2003, former president Thabo Mbeki lashed out at victims of apartheid brutality who were seeking reparations against multinational companies, most of which are based in the United States. “We consider it completely unacceptable that matters that are central to the […]
Posted inGeneral
An open letter to Verashni Pillay
From Neil Pretorius Dear Verashni, As an avid Mail & Guardian reader, and as one who has on many an occasion appreciated the wit of some of your past opinion pieces, I feel somewhat dismayed at having to write this open letter to you. You state that Lindiwe Mazibuko is not the role model that […]
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Will the new Thabo Mbeki please speak up?
Former president Thabo Mbeki is creeping back into the intellectual spotlight. His pronouncement on the issue of knowledge production at the University of Stellenbosch Business School’s Knowledge Management Conference recently has generated much heat and light. His utterances have, rightly, put a critical spotlight on the role of academia and business in not only generating […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Dreams From Mangaung
For every occasion, there is an instance so poignant only the willfully blind and the intentionally deaf can miss it. Such moments tend to happen outside and in spite of the rehearsed and the orchestrated. They can be dramatic or surreal. In the FIFA World Cup of 2006, such a definitive moment occurred in the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Malema could learn from Mbeki and Zuma ordeals
It’s time Julius Malema had some afternoon tea with SA President Jacob Zuma. This followed by a single malt evening with former president Thabo Mbeki. If ever there was a time for Malema to think outside the box, this is it. Though he has the option of appealing, there are dire implications, whichever way one […]