My articles share my insights. Sometimes it is about policy and at other times about entrepreneurship.
Tag Thought Leader
A local obsession
How do we tell the story of economic policy in South Africa? As an analyst my tools are statistics and substantiation, and even sometimes a case study. Steve Mandy, a fashion artist, tells the story through art. His exhibition, whichā¦
Prophet cartoon: Welcome to the āclash of civilisationsā
Two incomplete and complicit strands of thought characterise South African responses to the publication of a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the Mail & Guardian. The first strand of thought rooted in the Muslim community explains the offenceā¦
SACSIS ā Telling the quiet story of social justice
Whose reality counts? The Chief Economist of Very Large Bank in South Africa had just argued that āa food crisis was a direct result of improving living conditionsā. I wanted to hurl a copy of Das Kapital across the airwaysā¦
Who will build Uhuru Highway?
The in-flight magazine on Kenyan Airways had the usual-usual. The spine of the magazine surprised: a Swahili proverb had been written on it. I cannot remember the exact wording, but it read something like: When two bulls fight, the peopleā¦
Roberto Mangabeira Unger: Social theorist/politician
(I have been working on this for a while for my studies, but seeing as Minister Trevor Manuel is quoting Roberto Mangabeira Unger in the 2008/09 budget, I thought it appropriate to get this blog done, even though I stillā¦
Budget 2008/09: Can the Polokwane Strawman win the war against poverty?
The boisterous rotating arms that signalled a need for substitution, a 60:40 split in the voting for national office-bearers and the fact that leftist formations had backed the winning ticket all signalled that something has changed during the ANC Polokwaneāsā¦
Thought Leader (TL) representation: Some digressions on bloggers, power and ideas in society
Thought Leader is doing collective introspection on its race and gender representation, and in some cases in denial about the problem. I hope that this blog adds a little to the debate. Itās a little bit theoretical at first, butā¦
Gear: A bureaucratic story, and some tough questions and challenges
āAsiyifuni Gear [We do not want Gear].ā This was a common slogan by unionists in response to the governmentās Growth, Employment and Redistribution Strategy. It reflected opposition to Gear. Eleven years later, Gear is still hotly debated. Recently, Finance Ministerā¦
A redistributive presidency: Some incomplete thoughts on political leadership
The After 8 Debate raised an important question for me: What are the qualities of leadership? The debate provided important perspectives, especially that leadership is both complex and contextual. What qualities should the president of South Africa have to implementā¦