Thought Leader

“No, we haven’t seen any lions yet.” The lady from the BBC radio station sat across from me in our lounge, fidgeting with her recording equipment. Her face was serious; perhaps she had not realised I was only joking? They had driven from Cape Town to Somerset West that morning, she and her lady friend, two [...]

The ANC’s never in short supply of shady characters in senior positions, whether in government or its party structures. One would be forgiven for thinking that the criteria for a senior leadership position at the moment is having a tainted integrity, character and morality — a criminal record or criminal charges would be preferred. Not [...]

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced a “new growth path” for the South African economy — one that would signify a “turn-around” and “achieve the kind of transformation required to draw the millions of unemployed into the economy”. The finance minister envisaged the current budget to be “labour-absorbing”, “to raise employment of young school-leavers by … [...]

ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu has defended Julius Malema’s lusty renditions of the infamous “kill the boers, they are rapists” song, arguing (according to this Sapa article) that the “the lyrics of the song had been quoted out of context”. “This song was sung for many years even before Malema was born. Julius doesn’t even know who’s [...]

All the provincial leadership structures of the ANC Youth League have been reported to stand behind their besieged president, Julius Malema. They believe their man is under attack from unscrupulous characters who are involved in clandestine power struggles to determine who will lead the ANC in 2012 when it holds its next big elections. It is [...]

Truth be told, black people are not interested in the confessions of white people who suffer guilt from the sins of colonialism and apartheid or those who accused Nelson Mandela of selling out. In the 21st century where both colonialism and apartheid have — depending on how you look at things — been defeated, we don’t [...]

In history there is the truth and then there is the story. And rarely are they the same thing. But does the truth really matter? Does it matter than this man or that man was fallible? That he made loads of mistakes and was always scared. Or that he went to his grave pissing and [...]

President Jacob Zuma is going to have to draw a line in the sand and decide where loyalty ends and common sense begins in his, as well as the African National Congress’s, approach to the ANCYL and its president, Julius Malema. After yesterday’s racist tirade at the University of Johannesburg the ANC has yet to decide [...]

I’m not a Christian, but unlike many people I’m patient with the religion. I feel the same way about Islam, Judaism and Scientology. Most of their followers mean well and don’t want to harm others. Let it be, do unto others and all that charismatic jazz. It’s the minority who are the PR disaster. But what [...]

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela speaks as if it was not the ANC collective that made the decisions that caused her to complain about Nelson Mandela, her ex-husband. She places all the blame squarely on his shoulders. She acts as if she was not part of the NEC that agreed to the principles that would lead to the [...]

It’s an uncomfortable question, but one that bears asking, because it has far reaching implications for the future of South Africa. The battle for Nelson Mandela’s legacy has begun, even before his death. In an interview published by the London Evening Standard, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela had no doubts as to where her ex-husband stood. “Mandela let us down. [...]

For the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Africa has a counterweight, and the United States a rival: China. Similar to the Russian Federation, China approaches rulers of resource-rich countries through the ethos of brothers-in-arms rather than client states. The Chinese have a word for this: “guanxi”, encompassing everything from pull to [...]

In his magisterial work, Modern European Thought, Franklin Baumer alludes to the “three blows” that humanity (one could also say “the human ego”) has suffered since the end of the European Middle Ages. First, Copernicus delivered the blow that dethroned humanity as the “crown of creation”, with his mathematical-astronomical claim that we are not at [...]

Soweto is still reeling from the news that four high school pupils were killed when an alleged race between two Mini Coopers went horrifically wrong. The incident occurred in Mdlalose Street, Protea North at around 4.00pm yesterday. Allegedly the two vehicles were racing along the two-way street which runs between Protea Glen and Protea North — [...]

There are many reasons why DSTV should not have a porn channel, none of which have to do with morals. The debate about morals lands up with sex being a sin or at least frowned upon, and the idea of watching other people having sex is almost outlandish if not only a bit rude. But [...]

The news on Monday that the ANC and alliance partner Cosatu are set for urgent talks over disagreements that threaten the unity of the tripartite alliance are not surprising, given the developments over the last few months, but they remain a mystery if regard is had to the ideological chasm that remains between them. As far [...]

Across Africa large tracts of land are being sold or leased to foreign countries and companies to grow food, flowers and biofuels. This land is handed over for a song and offers food and resource security to the richer parts of the world — Europe, the Middle East and Asia. But denies thousands of African [...]

My speech at the inauguration of the new Yfm building in Hyde Park on Friday, 19 February 2010 Friends, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen I was in Parliament last week sitting in the National Assembly for the State of the Nation address. Our president arrived, the national anthem began to play, and I stood up and instinctively almost [...]

We’ve all had those days. You know the ones. Where after a full day’s work, after actually having tried to achieve something, we end up with nothing. Those days where we hold the rudder tight, pull the sails taut and struggle against the wind, only to realise our final port is in the opposite direction. [...]

By Roger Diamond When resources get tight, people go on the warpath to extirpate those who they are told do not deserve to share a slice of the pie. All countries have, to some degree, targeted people with an otherness and eradicated them so that those in favour can supposedly enjoy a greater share of the [...]