Posted inEqualityNews/Politics

Is SA ready to lead by example?

The inauguration of Advocate Lawrence Mushwana last week as the new chairperson of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC) came at a time when South Africa’s human rights record is at its lowest. Mushwana, who is the chair of South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), […]

Posted inMedia

The Alf I knew

It was on the first day, the opening of the 2010 Fifa World Cup when I heard a voice behind me say “sorry, I need your help”. I turned around and saw a short, old man with cameras and lenses strapped to his body. They looked heavy on him. He was wearing a balaclava, rolled […]

Posted inGeneral

Commissioner Baai — gone too soon

It’s heart-wrenching to lose someone who led a true cause, especially since it involved ensuring poor people have access to basic food. More so when we live in a world where those who have the power to change things show little or no regard for vulnerable sections of our society. Gladstone Sandi Baai was a […]

Posted inGeneralNews/Politics

Who sucks? Our municipalities!

If I were doing Auditor-General Terence Nombembe’s job I would be very angry and demoralised about dishing out the same warnings to local governments over the dismal performance of their municipalities every year. This week was another of those when Nombembe told us how financial management had degenerated over the past three years and irregular […]

Posted inGeneralNews/Politics

Nkosazana good for AU, good for SA

As Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma prepared to take over her responsibilities as the new and first female leader of the African Union Commission, the reaction back home was somewhat bitter-sweet. Many said the former foreign affairs minister was being sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. They argued SA was losing one of its finest. That she […]