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The African Dis-Union

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:22:43 +0100

Over the years the youthful and enthusiastic leaders turned into power-hungry old men who seemed to lack the ability to take decisive action, opting instead to hide behind statements, dialogue and committees. While civilians are being killed by government armed forces, they meet and discuss. As children die from cholera the AU forms committees and deliberates.Propelled by what was perceived to be the success of the Organisation of African Union (OAU), 53 African member states convened in July 199...

Lessons Africa can learn from Africa

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:57:44 +0100

NIGERIALearning from Nigerians...by Moky MakuraTAKE A RISK AND LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT FEAR!Nigerians are arguably some of the most enterprising people in the world. Amongst our better-known home grown exports are our movies, our churches, our oil, three very specific digits from our penal code and of course, ourselves - there are millions of Nigerians dotted across the world and we make up the largest group of African diasporans. Nigerians are inherent risk takers, who naturally spot opportunitie...

The Great Debate: Am I African?

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:26:31 +0100

Who is African?Chester Higgins, Jr. said: “We are not Africans because we are born in Africa, we are African because Africa is born in us.” In 1906, an African intellectual Pixley ka Isaka Seme made this rather profound statement, “I am an African, and I set my pride in my race over against a hostile public opinion,” and nine decades later on occasion of the adoption of the new Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the then deputy president Thabo Mbeki delivered a goosebumps-induc...

Sex scandals

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:32:39 +0100

PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA – ROCK STAR The president of South Africa’s personal life has been in the spotlight for many years and as many reasons. From rape trials and polygamy practices to fathering a child out of wedlock, it reads like a soapie. The latest involves American-Sudanese model-cum-hostess/novelist and actress Kola Boof, who is best known for her affair with Osama bin Laden or “Somi”, as she apparently affectionately called him. I...

One man's child, another man's slave

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:13:42 +0100

The majority of the world’s population of almost seven billion people are minors who are not yet at a legal age to work. Reports have shown that these minors – both male and female – are being recruited by organisations to perform the kinds of tasks that adults would generally consider as immoral and that aren’t fitting for the mental or physical state of children. WHAT IS CHILD TRAFFICKING? Trafficking in children is generally held to mean the recruitment, transportation, tra...

The other side of sex

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:41:23 +0100

But as an HIV doctor I see people die needless deaths simply because they did not test for HIV. This is a serious problem within certain pockets of our society and drives my passion to save people’s lives. There are three blind spots to highlight when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of HIV: the elderly and HIV, racial stereotyping and HIV, and the closest to my heart – pregnancy and HIV. THE ELDERLY October 2010 saw me working in Orange Farm on the outsk...

CULTURE - Even the Philistines had one

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:23:40 +0100

In the last few centuries, my immediate Irish, English and Afrikaner ancestors did agree on one thing – that the white “race” was more intelligent, moral and deserving than all the others. This created a traditional culture, at best condescendingly paternalistic, at worst savagely intolerant, of white supremacy. I managed to outgrow that culture. Probably because I read, rather than getting my worldview from scared old drunk fellow whities. (They’re the only ones who still bang on about t...

No continent for old men

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:20:20 +0100

Their tenures are characterised by an inability and unwillingness to adapt to changing political circumstances and respond to the needs of their people. Deeply rooted in the patriarchal system of governance within which despotic tendencies emerge, these men have entrenched themselves in the conscience and very fibre of their nation and every sphere of life. Their image exists in tandem with that of their own countries. It is generally in the nature of these leaders, whose egos are...

The Gaddafi I Knew

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:39:22 +0100

Backing Idi Amin: Idi Amin came to power in 1971 with the support of Britain and Israel because they thought he was uneducated enough to be used by them. Amin, however, turned against his sponsors when they refused to sell him guns to fight Tanzania. Unfortunately, Gaddafi, without first getting enough information about Uganda, jumped in to support Idi Amin. He did this because Amin was a “Muslim” and Uganda was a “Muslim country” where Muslims were being “oppressed” b...

Power to the people

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:35:17 +0100

To understand how we got to this dire situation where climate change threatens the very continuation of human civilisation as we know it, let’s start at the beginning. Back in the murky shadows of time, a curious, hairless and unique primate emerged that had developed a unique ability to manipulate and change its environment. Once Homo sapiens arrived on the scene with our big problem-solving brains, opposable thumbs and our desire to explore, Mother Nature has not rested much. ...

African talent withers under a corrupt sun

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:27:19 +0100

In Africa, news that the continent would host football’s 2010 FIFA World Cup was greeted with joy at home and not a little sour scepticism abroad. History will show the optimists had it right. The tournament was a spectacular success, with one caveat – the dismal showing of African teams. While apologists point to the long established professionalism and/or wealth of “international” leagues and bemoan the lack of commitment of foreign-based players, the evidence points el...

Our greatest export has been a lie of a miracle reconciliation

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:16:58 +0100

The pursuit of national unity and reconciliation was at the core of the African National Congress agenda throughout the struggle, but the apartheid nationalist regime brainwashed the majority of whites into believing that black people were not concerned with the welfare of the nation and its property. It took the leadership of Nelson Mandela in the aftermath of the assassination of Chris Hani to placate primal fears of whites and calm the seething anger of Africans. The world took...

Somalia: To repair or not to repair?

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:52:52 +0100

To begin, a brief background on the country. Somalia has been plagued by conflict and poverty for many years. It has the misfortune of topping the Failed State Index (FSI), ranking first out of 177. Failed states are generally unsuccessful at the basic duties, policies and structures required of a sovereign government. In its 2011 FSI report, the Fund for Peace ranks Somalia as the number one failed state for the fourth consecutive year. Reasons include ineffective central governm...

The Evolution of Women

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:27:19 +0100

Society speaks expectantly and awaits the complete evolution of women in the political sphere and other such sectors of leadership, with baited breath. It is with this same anticipation that women themselves look to a day when their rise to influence will be realised in the dark, musty yet heady corridors of power. This, it is suggested, will be the true expression of freedom, when women enjoy active participation in key positions of political influence. This school of thought al...

Kelli Givens: Social entrepreneur with a mission

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:53:21 +0100

Born in a sporting family, her mother was a softball player and her father a professional baseball player. Both parents taught her and her sister strong family values such as care for others, personal responsibility and a strong work ethic. “Hard work is something that cannot be replaced,” she says. “It is critical to one’s successes.” She says both parents taught her and her sister strong family values such as care for others, personal responsibility and a stro...

Technology for Africa

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:17:17 +0100

Having recently watched The Social Network, a movie that chronicles the story behind the launch of the world’s largest and most influential social network, Facebook, I am absolutely certain that “facilitating African revolutions” was furthest on the minds of the Facebook founders as they avariciously went about building this technological monstrosity from their Harvard University base, comfortably ensconced in the trappings of their unimaginable privileges.The use of technology in the p...

Unearthing Africa

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:14:38 +0100

For instance, a formerly war-ravaged state like Rwanda, whose economy was teetering on the brink of collapse 17 years ago following a genocidal war, has put its tragic past behind it and is emerging as a formidable leader in East Africa’s financial services sector as well as the information and communications technologies (ICT) market. Through sheer hard work and setting up ICT infrastructure necessary to facilitate the mobile-phone industry and internet access, the Rwandan authorities have tur...

South Africa: A Global Leader

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:51:50 +0100

After all, for many years the country has played a pioneering role in many fields, ranging from mining to medicine. It was here that the world’s first heart transplant was performed in 1967 in Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town. Twenty-three years later Groote Schuur played host to another historic “transplant” when two “surgeons”, Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk signed the Groote Schuur Minute on 4 May 1990 to remove the heart of apartheid rule and chart a progressive path towards a peac...

The Top 20 Afropolitans

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 07:38:51 +0100

Both plays earned Kani and Ntshona the prestigious Tony Award. In the early 80s, Kani wowed international audiences again when he co-starred alongside the late Zakes Mokae in another Tony Award winner by Athol Fugard, Master Harold And The Boys. Through an autobiographical play like Nothing But The Truth and his executive roles in various cultural and corporate bodies, Kani continues to play a critical role in the development of local theatre.His big screen credits include The Native Who Caused A...