Take your pick in the national education blame game. Your choices would include teachers’ trade unions, an ideological curriculum unsuited to South Africa, the National Treasury because it does not adequately fund schools or even just the principal at your…
“Feel it, it is here!” This slogan somewhat incredulously reminds us that South Africa hosted the 2011 World Cup. A year on, the slogan still resonates in our conversations. However, another catchphrase, the “ticking time bomb,” has emerged to underscore…
Analysis of the 2011 local government election has focussed on detailed analysis of voter patterns with various interpretations attached to their exact meanings. Some of the outcomes have left us gobsmacked. For instance, why would communities being evicted in the…
Every so often, while on the way to the office, I would stop at the department of education’s district office, which covers Lenasia, Soweto and surrounds to ask the assembled workers why they were protesting. I would quiz the workers…
The “toilet wars” have made apparent the ridiculousness of the major political parties in South Africa. The Democratic Alliance (DA) even allowed a legal process to work its way up to the Constitutional Court to defend its decision to build…
Debates on the national budget have been called “noisy.” Budget 2011 has been particularly noisy, as the sheer number of voices responding to the budget has increased, as has the complexity of the arguments being made. This is a healthy…
Has the campaign for a Basic Income Grant (BIG) been successful? This question requires reflection, as in any democracy, assessing advocacy objectives can never be as simple as ticking boxes. The answer to the question is mostly answered in the…
A longish interview with CNBC Africa discussing state-owned enterprises (also called parastatals). The interview occured in the context of the a presidential review is underway to determine whether all of South Africa’s 300 parastatals are fulfilling their mandate, creating value…
As workers celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the whisper of “back to basics” is gaining momentum. This is reassuring, as the celebrations by COSATU suggest a lull in its political programme and…