For many years, South Africa was seen as a poster child for peaceful reconciliation and the triumph of good over evil. The “Rainbow Nation” image brought tourism, international investment, and major global events such as the 2010 World Cup. But beneath the glitz, there was a darker side: grinding poverty, widespread corruption, violent xenophobia, and [...]
On Tuesday, Adriaan Basson, editor in chief of News 24, expressed "renewed gratitude that in South Africa the ‘rights of journalists, authors and artists to write, say and sing what they like’ is an established right in 'our maturing democracy'." Basson is correct, too, that we should "never ever take our open democratic spaces and [...]
Understandably two sections in the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment Act relating, respectively, to mother tongue education and schools' rights to set admission policy have sucked most of the oxygen out of the debate on this controversial legislation. There is a lot at stake here, including removing such decisions from the remit of school bodies [...]
On Saturday evening, I attended a private dinner at the Cape Town residence of one of the new members of the GNU cabinet. There was nothing unusual about the event - the host and guests were old friends, politically close and each had played some role in forming SA’s first genuine coalition cabinet. It is [...]
Last week in London, I had the opportunity to view the extraordinary Vincent van Gogh exhibition "Poets and Lovers" at the National Gallery. The Dutch master's magnificence, from showstoppers such as "Starry Night over the Rhône" and "Sunflowers", were on dazzling display alongside less familiar works - all testament to his creative and troubled genius. [...]
