For the longest time, it appeared that the maximum punishment for the adverse audit opinions expressed by the Auditor-General on government departments, and entities, was to be invited to the Standing Committee On Public Accounts (SCOPA) to be berated by the multiparty members of the committee chaired by Honourable Themba Godi of the APC.
For almost as long a time, I have held a stupid view that, if the ANC were serious about fighting corruption, the Auditor-General would be given a hybrid of . . . Continue reading this article
An obvious fact that is rarely considered is that the absolute territorial body control of oneself specifically ends at the tips of one’s own limbs. Beyond that you have very little, if any, control or jurisdiction in your environment, people around you or people you choose to associate with.
It is a matter of fact that if you are a man, you have full control on what to do with your penis, on your own, or with those who consent to doing something with you that involves it. You have complete . . . Continue reading this article
There is an occasionally brewing wave among sections of the middle class black community about buying black, which is an initiative to get fellow black people to buy mostly from black businesses as a variant of economic empowerment.
On the other hand, over a decade ago, the government, together with various stakeholders, launched the Proudly South African campaign to promote domestic brands that, due to international trade, have to compete with foreign brands in the aisles of the retail space.
In . . . Continue reading this article
The African National Congress (ANC) will, later this year, hold its 54th National Conference, which among others will elect the national leadership of the organization for a five-year term, assuming that part of the ANC Constitution will not change.
Fortunately, the nominations for the leaders that will be elected are not yet open, so this text (and its author) is unlikely to be misperceieved as punting one leader or the other. However, discussing the principles around leadership is encouraged . . . Continue reading this article
As President Trump's inauguration took place, it was always going to be interesting to follow what happens on twitter, given his enthusiasm for twitter use.
In June 2013, the White House social media team registered @potus as a new twitter account of the President Of The United States, in addition to President Obama's own twitter account @barackobama that he had since he joined twitter in March 2007.
A few months earlier, in January 2013, the Office of the First Lady, Michelle Obama, had registered . . . Continue reading this article
All the information below is publicly available and therefore does not breach discussing internal matters outside the organisation. To further avoid the risk of bringing the organisation into disrepute, this will be mostly IEC data.
IEC data was sourced from what was available (missing 1994 and 1996 data) plus up to 91% for 2016 elections as the results have not be officially announced. But this is more about the systemic trend than the individual election results.
Some people have been surprised . . . Continue reading this article
One of the least known facts is that an ANC-DA coalition once led the Beaufort West Local Municipality sometime in 2006. One Truman Prince, who was the municipal manager in that municipality had been expelled from the ANC and later fired by the municipality. He formed a party called Independent Civics Organisation of SA (ICOSA) which won an equal number of seats in the Beaufort West Local Municipality with the ANC in the 2006 Local Government Elections. Hence the ANC had to enter into the coalition . . . Continue reading this article
One of the least known facts about Hlaudi Mostoeneng, the Chief Operations Officer (COO), of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is that he started working for the SABC in 1993. That means Hlaudi has been with the company for 23 years.
The more known issue about him is that he is a COO who does not have matric. Some reports infer that he owes his COO position to his proximity to President Jacob Zuma, since anything perceived to be undesirable in South Africa is quickly pinned on . . . Continue reading this article
Magma
Burns.
Inextinguishably.
Covertly in the still.
Meekly in the quake.
Overtly in the volcano.
Eternally.
– BQ
by Thabo Mbeki
In the last three weeks, we have noted news reports attributable to various persons claiming some link between former President Thabo Mbeki and the Gupta family.
We have agonised about this matter, avoiding to respond and thus descend to the lower depths to which the allegation desperately attaches.
Our honest and sustained attempt to avoid the gutter were nonetheless severely tested and strained by an ENCA news report which featured one Mr. Mpho Masemola, a representative of the . . . Continue reading this article