Browsing All Posts published in »2010«

Ramaphosa: an enigma continua

December 2, 2010

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Cyril Ramaphosa, lawyer, trade unionist, politician and businessman, remains one of the most popular figures on the South African political scene. Yet his deeper beliefs and opinions remain hidden. The author of this biography, which Ramaphosa made clear he did not want written, does provide some excellent insights, but the subject remains an enigma.

Threads of incongruous tangle

November 30, 2010

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Truth is a strange fruit; A personal journey through the apartheid war By David Beresford (Jacana ) Review: Terry Bell (First published September 26, 2010) The publishers defined this book as “a personal journey through the apartheid war”. With rather more accuracy, the author describes it in his introduction as a montage or collage. However, […]

Giving meaning to the bawdy bard

November 30, 2010

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Filthy Shakespeare by Pauline Kiernan (Quercus) Review: Terry Bell (First published 06/2008) Like countless students before and since, I struggled, at school, to come to terms with the language of Shakespeare. Not the plotting or the action; just the words. Outside of Julius Caesar. In much the same way I never understood why we should […]

Lessons to be learned from Cosatu’s 25 years

November 30, 2010

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The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) turns 25 in December. But the birthday celebrations around the country will be dampened by heightened tension and some mildly acrimonious outbursts resulting from the content of the government’s New Growth Path (NGP) for the economy and the manner in which it was announced. Like the 1996 […]

In pursuit of ‘Dr Shock’

November 24, 2010

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Aubrey Levin, the Johannesburg-born psychiatrist who once claimed to "cure" homosexuals by "aversion therapy" and who was in charge of the notorious Ward 22 for "deviants" in the apartheid state's military hospital in Pretoria, was arrested in March 2010 in Calgary, Canada, charged with the sexual assault of a male patient. It was merely the latest in a history of allegarions dating back across decades.

Turning the (non-existent) economic corner

November 24, 2010

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We have turned the corner economically. That is the ongoing claim from politicians, pundits and mainstream media commentators. But, as Federation of Unions of SA general secretary Dennis George has noted: “Growth without job creation is meaningless. It certainly is for the overwhelming majority of the population, and this is a situation that applies across the world, although not in any uniform manner. For all the optimistic pronouncements, the global economic crisis continues and there is no sign that it is ending.

SA’s New Growth Path: enter Son of Gear

November 24, 2010

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South Africa seems enamoured of acronyms, and national economic policy has provided three over the past 16 years: RDP, GEAR and now, NGP. The one consistent element appears to be that, while the names may change, nothing fundamental seems to alter; "trickle down" economics still rules.

Blowing a union whistle on corruption

November 20, 2010

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(Published November 19, 2010) Public protector Thuli Madonsela’s revelations about the victimisation of whistleblowers and the protection of corrupt officials caused a minor sensation this week. But the revelations came as no surprise to many trade unionists — and especially not to members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. […]

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Unknown's avatarCape Town, South Africa-based journalist commentator and author specialising in political and economic analysis and labour matters.

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