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FW de Klerk has so much more to apologise for

February 20, 2020

There is nothing new in former apartheid president FW de Klerk's latest denialist comments, nor in the belated apology that followed it. He has never changed, nor has he told the truth about so much, especially about the massacre of five children in Mthatha in 1993.

The chequered history of Valentine’s Day

February 13, 2020

The major problem with St Valentine's Day is that nobody is sure who Valentine was or even if a single martyr of that name existed. But for the commercial success of the day, we have neither church nor pope to thank; that honour belongs to Ester Howland.

Journalism is more than ‘just a job’

January 22, 2020

With the explosion of fake news, courtesy of social media, accompanied by mounting attacks, verbal and physical, against journalists, it may be useful to remember what the role of journalists — not bots and trolls — should be and that ethical journalism still survives. In this context, in South Africa, it is worth remembering how journalism (the work of journalists) brought to light the whole disgusting state capture venture.

What about the workers?

May 8, 2019

Much has changed on the South African political scene since the transition from apartheid in 1994. In the sixth national election since then, the votes of more than 2 million unionised workers could be crucial to the final outcome.

Flawed democracvy & words as weapons

May 4, 2019

'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' So said French philosopher Voltaire. It is a statement worth bearing in mind in this digital age where distortions of fact and the manipulation and faking of news in both social and mainstream media is becom ing ever more prevalent.

Let’s ditch myths about ANC’s glorious past

April 15, 2019

Accusations about the manipulation of ANC election lists are nothing new. Nor, for that matter, is evidence of corruption, nepotism and the existence of patronage networks. Because the "broad church" of this liberation movement made unity of the good, the bad and the ugly the priority. Continuing to cling to, and propagate, myths may only ensure that the disasters of the past will continue to be repeated.

How the people could really govern

February 10, 2019

Democracy as practiced in so-called parliamentary democracies around the world is a lie. One person, one vote was a concession granted by the governing, monied elite after long, brutal and bloody struggles by oppressed majorities. But it was a concession within the same corrupt and corrupting system. With the advance of communications technology, true democracy beckons

Labour’s view of SONA 2019, S. Africa

February 9, 2019

There is nothing new in the recipes proposed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to remedy the damage done over the past decade to South Africa's state institutions and the economy. They are recipes that trade unions across th board have already rejected.