Opinion and Analysis

Apartheid proponent comes to Madiba’s Memorial

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial decision not to attend Nelson Mandela’s funeral and to send Yuli Edelstein who is the current Speaker of the Knesset and a settler, is not only disgraceful, but has sent a clear message to the world that Netanyahu is a “leader” of the worst kind.

Shuaib Manjra

Opinion | 11 December 2013

Media freedom

The Independent Newspaper Group (INL) is in considerable turmoil following the effective sacking without notice of the editor of the Cape Times, Alide Desnois, by the putative owner of INL, Iqbal Surve. This bodes ill for the group and poses a possible threat to media freedom.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 9 December 2013

What is Mandela’s Secret?

South Africa came very close to civil war in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but instead of a bloodbath there was the negotiated settlement, also known as the ‘miracle’. In fact parts of the country were in a state of civil war, and the miracle is that it didn’t engulf the country.

Doron Isaacs

Opinion | 9 December 2013

Is Mozambique returning to war?

Frightening memories of the 16-year-long civil war have reignited in the minds of Mozambicans as tensions between RENAMO and FRELIMO reach a new high.

Fabio da Graca

Opinion | 3 December 2013

Rural Health: grossly unequal but some hope

While there are significant unmet health needs in many parts of South Africa, they are particularly acute in historically disadvantaged rural areas.

Tom Yates

Opinion | 3 December 2013

The need to remember history - and to plan political homes

One element lacking in the current debates about what is going on in Cosatu is any sense of recent history. Because there is nothing really new in the current spate of political bloodletting, in the bitterness and the backstabbing.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 2 December 2013

Controlling quackery: will new regulations help?

Untested nonsense medicines and adverts to buy them are prolific. But after years of chaos in the alternative medicine market, it seems the Department of Health (DOH) is intent on fixing the mess.

Kevin Charleston

Opinion | 26 November 2013

Where politics gets really smelly

Politics stinks. These days in South Africa, this is a fairly common view. But, in the North West province in recent months, the expression has had a very real resonance.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 26 November 2013

“How do you expect 550 boys to share six toilets?”

The bell rings for break time, triggering a mad rush for the toilet. Many learners won’t make it in time. After all, “how do you expect 550 boys to share six toilets … when there is only one break?”

Brad Brockman

Opinion | 26 November 2013

Party politics dominates Cosatu crisis

Fudging and delay. That was what emerged from last week’s eagerly awaited Cosatu press conference. As a result, the questions about the future of suspended general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi and the prospect of a Special National Congress (SNC) remained unanswered.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 25 November 2013

Toward a more realistic NDP - start with education and jobs

It is two years since the first authoring of the National Development Plan (NDP), and over a year since the delivery of the revised plan by the National Planning Commission (NPC). To speed up progress, we must stop squabbling over which parts of it to implement and focus initially on education and labour-intensive industries.

Ayal Belling

Opinion | 21 November 2013

How to break the backlog in primary education

Jack Lewis explains how we can quickly make radical improvements to primary school education.

Jack Lewis.

Opinion | 18 November 2013

Time for serious action on road carnage

The road crash massacre on the Moloto Road in Mpumalanga last week provides an horrific portent for the annual festive season slaughter on the highways and byways of South Africa. And the manner in which the deaths of 29 people were reported, being consigned, for the most part, to the inside pages of newspapers, reveals just how accepting the country has become of such carnage.

Terry Bell.

Opinion | 18 November 2013

Where’s Wally? Liberals in the DA

Leaders, former leaders and the main cheerleaders of the Democratic Alliance have publicly debated these last weeks about whether or not the party has betrayed its liberal tradition with its stance on black economic empowerment.

Nathan Geffen

Opinion | 18 November 2013

Occult crime unit is offensive to common sense and morality

Decades after its formation, the Occult-Related Crime Unit (ORCU, founded by Kobus “Donker” Jonker in 1992) continues to waste public resources, misdirect police attention, and stigmatise young people who are by and large more misunderstood than malignant.

Jacques Rousseau

Opinion | 13 November 2013

Economic apartheid and the builders of the world city

Christmas is clearly coming. The store decorations are in place and chocolate Santas jostle on the shelves with strings of lights on ornamental trees while bins of festive season toffees and biscuit specials vie to keep the tills ringing.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 12 November 2013