"Flying into Malawi is like stepping back in time. Never mind the SAL/SAA logo imprinted on the kitchen cupboards of the Air Malawi plane; the size of the airport seen from the air made me feel like a colonial traveller sans pith helmet." Nicola Mawson found that despite the poverty, Malawi is a vibrant country.
The delicate topic of sharing the Nile’s water is coming under discussion this week in Kenya, at a meeting to find ways of alleviating poverty in countries that lie within the Nile basin. The five-day meeting, which began on Monday in Nairobi, aims to promote cooperation between Nile states so that the river could be used sustainably.
Opposition parties, desperate for a popular cause on which to challenge the African National Congress and looking anxiously over their right shoulders at each other, have exhumed the death penalty as an issue in this election. It is worth reiterating some of the arguments used by the Constitutional Court in striking down the death penalty nearly 10 years ago.
"I am still the Hitler of the time. This Hitler has only one objective. Justice for his people. Sovereignty for his people. If that is Hitler, then let me be a Hitler tenfold."
On March 26 last year, the Zimbabwean despot, Robert Mugabe, said these words at a political rally. There was immediate and outraged local response but, as I recall, articulated only in the media and by opposition voices.
Campaign resources, especially financial resources, always stir heated debates in all democracies and it is an issue increasingly coming to the fore in South Africa.
This is a serious issue because it will be a sad day indeed if the amount of resources will be the determinant of which party is going to win an election.
It was bound to happen and, thankfully, it has. The sanctity of former president Nelson Mandela and his legacy has been shattered and perhaps now we have the opportunity to critically evaluate this legacy. For too long we have accepted as gospel that Madiba’s legacy was fruitful reconciliation, writes Itumeleng Mahabane.
Dullah Omar was a Muslim man of Asian ancestry. He was South African. An African. A man of the world. But most of all, in his own words, a ”human being”. A person equal to all others. A person who refused to differentiate on the basis of race, colour, gender or religion. The M&G pays tribute to the late former minister of transport.
Wits University rattled the net twice in each half against the Black Leopards on Wednesday night at the Milpark Stadium in Johannesburg. Wits led 2-1 at half-time. Gert Schalkwyk and Charles Yohane did the damage in the 13th and 29th minutes while Gilbert Mushangazhike scored the consolation goal for the Limpopo-based club in the 38th minute.
South Africa made New Zealand pay a heavy price for sending it into bat on the opening day of the second test Thursday, plundering 177-1 by tea at Eden Park. Chris Cairns struck with the final ball before tea, removing Herschelle Gibbs for 80, to claim the only breakthrough in two sessions after Stephen Fleming won the toss and chose to bowl.
Bafana Bafana caretaker coach Styles Phumo has named a powerful squad comprising mainly of overseas-based players to play in a friendly international against Australia at London’s Loftus Road on March 30. Phumo has included previously disgruntled players such as Shaun Bartlett and striker George Koumantarakis.