THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Jul

09

2021

Jacob Zuma: when did erstwhile South African revolutionary lose his way?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IT'S the small crimes that bring you down. Al Capone went merrily on his murdering way until the FBI nailed him for tax evasion. Richard Nixon seemed immune to the consequences of lying about Vietnam, Cambodia and Chile but his lies over the silly crime of burgling the Democratic Party’s headquarters did for him. GAVIN EVANS, Lecturer, Culture and Media department, Birkbeck, University of London So it is with Jacob Zuma South Africa’s former president. He faced multiple charges of corruption, but, so far, has avoided his day in court. He was tried for rape and acquitted. As president he…

Jul

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Gabriel Hertis: The sun has set on an amazing life

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ABDUL-KARIM G ELGONI THE African Diaspora Forum (ADF) lost one of its hard-working leaders, Gabriel Hertis, a staunch activist for the rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa. Gabriel Hertis Gabriel, as we used to call him, succumbed to a short illness on Friday, July 2. His untimely death robbed our community of one of its pillars, whose leadership and dedication to working with and for migrants was the driving force behind the ADF. During his time with the organization, Gabriel worked with the founding leaders of the ADF in building a strong organization that has become…

Jul

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Farewell my mentor and brother, Khehla “Bra K” Mthembu

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MPHO MOERANE TODAY I woke up to the sad news of the passing on of my mentor and brother, Bra Khehla Mthembu. Bra K was one of the most hardworking individuals I have ever met. An inspirational father figure to many in the political and business circles. A consummate professional, unifier, and shrewd perfectionist. At the time of his passing, Bra K was a Board Member at City Power, an electricity utility within the City of Johannesburg, which falls under my department, Environment and Infrastructure Services Department (EISD). Bra K dedicated his entire life to promoting black leadership excellence, supporting…

Jul

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Jacob Zuma isn’t a man with a cause. Just a wily politician trying to evade the law

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH Africa’s Constitutional Court ruling to imprison the country’s former president, Jacob Zuma, was unprecedented. But it wasn’t unexpected. The author of the majority judgment, Justice Sisi Khampepe, captured the inevitability of the outcome somewhere in the middle the ruling, when she noted: For I am not in the habit of playing my cards close to my chest, let me, at this earliest opportunity, state that Mr Zuma has earned himself a punitive sanction of direct and unsuspended sentence. Nor was Zuma’s wrongful behaviour guided by any thought-out, long term strategy. It began as an instinctive reaction to evade accountability…

Apr

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Foreign aid can help stem the decline of democracy, if used in the right way

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

RACHEL M GISSELQUIST and MIGUEL NIÑO-ZARAZÚA DEMOCRACY is having a hard time. In India, once the world’s largest democracy, the pandemic has hastened the country’s slide toward authoritarianism. In the US, the Trump administration’s attacks on democratic norms reached new lows when the former president, backed by the Republican party, refused to accept his loss in the November 2020 elections. In fact studies show democratic norms are in decline worldwide. Freedom House recently argued that democracy has been declining since 2005, while the latest report from the Varieties of Democracy Institute reveals that 68% the world’s population now live in…

Jul

05

2021

By The African Mirror

The Communist Party claims to have brought prosperity and equality to China. Here’s the real impact of its rule

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is in full swing to prepare for the 100th anniversary of its founding this week, with an intense publicity push to crow about its achievements. CHONGYI FENG, Associate Professor in China Studies, University of Technology Sydney However, the CCP has little to celebrate in terms of what it has done for China. Its chief achievement has been how it has managed to survive and stay in power for so long. So, what exactly does the CCP lay claim to, and where does the truth lie? 1. Chinese sovereignty The top claim on the list is…

Jul

03

2021

By The African Mirror

The voice of the people rises in eSwatini

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CEBELIHLE MBUYISA THE eSwatini government reacted with force to protests against the dictatorship in the country. It imposed a curfew and blocked the internet in response to pro-democracy demonstrations sparked by the death of Thabani Nkomonye, allegedly at the hands of the police. The government closed schools immediately and banned gatherings, using Covid-19 as a convenient excuse for its attempt to quash the most significant resistance the country has faced during King Mswati III’s rule. Nkomonye, a 25-year-old law student at the University of eSwatini, died under mysterious circumstances on the weekend of 7 May. His family went to the…

Apr

21

2021

By The African Mirror

OBITUARY-Idriss Deby, Chad’s president and West’s ally against Islamists

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AARON ROSS IN 30 years as Chad's president, Idriss Deby emerged as one of Africa's wiliest political survivors, holding on to power through rebellions that reached as far as his palace gates and establishing himself as a key military ally of Western powers. But it was in an apparent moment of triumph, just hours after he was declared the winner of an April 11 election, that the 68-year-old former army officer met his end, killed in battle fighting rebels in the desert north. Deby had ruled for three decades by centralising power around his family and Zaghawa ethnic group. Key…

Apr

21

2021

By The African Mirror

Significant archives are under threat in Cape Town’s fire. Why they matter so much

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

A wildfire on the slopes of South Africa’s Table Mountain has wreaked havoc at the University of Cape Town (UCT) campus. Among the sites of historical significance that have been damaged is the Jagger Library. The library houses rare and specialist collections, such as the important African Studies collections. The Conversation Africa’s Nontobeko Mtshali asked UCT academic Shannon Morreira to share her insights on what the loss means for the historical records held by the university. SHANNON MORREIRA, Senior Lecturer, University of Cape Town Why is the African Studies Book Collection so significant? When news broke that the Jagger Library…

Jul

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Our little ones must go to school

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MOSIBUDI MANGENA ALTHOUGH one has always been aware of the parlous state of our education as a result of Covid-19, it was still alarming to listen to a Stellenbosch University academic saying on TV the other day that it will take no less than ten years for learning to recover in South Africa. For almost a year now, our learners, from the kindergarten right up to university, have not had normal learning. Those in advantaged homes, have had better opportunities than their poorer counterparts through the use of technology. But even with them that is not an optimal way for…