Not since August 1971, when US President Richard Nixon permanently ended the “gold standard” – the last formal link between the precious nugget and major currencies – has the yellow metal enjoyed such prominence. Today it’s in the news again as the spot price of gold recently hit a record high: $ 4 300 per [...]
South Africa’s moral blindness, or one-eyed approach to a the 7 October attack, might be one reason for the country’s exclusion from a seat at Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, writes Tony Leon. Why, you might reasonably ask, was the world’s “moral superpower” not present at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt on Monday? Just to recap: In January [...]
From the R2 billion Tembisa Hospital looting spree to punitive racial quotas that could bankrupt retailers, the government continues to simultaneously rely on business to fix state failures while treating the private sector as an enemy of the people, argues Tony Leon. About a decade ago, I addressed a group of business leaders in Durban [...]
In a rare moment of political honesty that sent shockwaves through the ANC, President Cyril Ramaphosa told his councillors to learn from DA municipalities - only to quickly retreat when the uncomfortable truth about his party’s failures sparked internal fury and opposition glee, writes Tony Leon There is evidence to suggest that most South Africans believe the [...]
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s latest newsletter on fighting corruption reads like a masterclass in denial and euphemism, claiming South Africa must “build a society in which corruption cannot take root” while keeping Zondo Commission-implicated ministers in his Cabinet and failing to prosecute a single politician, despite overwhelming evidence of state capture, argues Tony Leon. On August [...]
By using Machiavelli to diagnose Ramaphosa and the ANC’s leadership, Tony Leon argues that they have achieved the worst possible outcome - neither feared nor loved by voters. The works of Niccolò Machiavelli - the medieval Florentine philosopher and diplomat - are still cited as a how-to manual for effective leadership in all realms. Machiavelli’s reputation as [...]
It is a case of every man, woman or party for themselves, and the country buckles in the absence of joined-up government, writes Tony Leon. In Zbig, a new and fascinating biography of the late hardline US National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Edward Luce writes, “figures in senior [government] roles have no time to replenish their stock [...]
Tony Leon reflects on the ANC’s unwavering commitment to black economic empowerment (BEE) despite the stark contrast between its ideals and outcomes. Add two ANC faves, indigenisation and transformation, into a Shakespearean soliloquy and the result might be, “To BEE or not to BEE that is the question.” While Hamlet hemmed and hawed with deep-felt uncertainty [...]
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent encounter at the White House revealed that South Africans have all succumbed to “Trump derangement syndrome” in varying different degrees, writes Tony Leon. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa went to the White House on a “working visit” to meet the US president and nothing much happened. No one in the world, least [...]
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