THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Jul

21

2021

‘Our tolerance of illegality, lawlessness and glamourisation of the crooked has come back to bite us’

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MOSIBUDI MANGENA WHILE those of us who are in the Defend our Democracy Campaign are firm on the primacy of the Constitution and the importance of all of us being equal before the law, it is becoming clearer that the undermining of these principles has been allowed to go on for too long without challenge. Our tolerance of illegality, lawlessness and glamourisation of the crooked over many years has come back to bite us. For many years, people in the taxi industry have been doing all sorts of illegal things, from small things, such as traffic infringements right up to…

Feb

22

2021

By The African Mirror

Claims against judiciary, without evidence, are disturbing

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA YESTERDAY, as Commander-In-Chief of our country’s armed forces, I officiated at the annual celebration of Armed Forces Day in the Castle in Cape Town. This important event is held each year on the anniversary of the sinking of the SS Mendi in 1917, in which more than 600 black South African soldiers and 30 crew lost their lives. On Armed Forces Day, we remember the men and women who have lost their lives in the service of our nation. We are also reminded on this day of the responsibility that the defence force has to protect our democracy.…

Jul

20

2021

By The African Mirror

How Frelimo betrayed Samora Machel’s dream of a free Mozambique

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FORTY-SIX years ago, Samora Machel, the leader of Mozambique’s liberation movement and the country’s first president, stood before a euphoric crowd at Machava Stadium and declared the complete and total independence of Mozambique. He inspired the people of Mozambique to imagine and build a new nation in which development, social justice, and solidarity with – and care for – the oppressed took centre stage. DAVID MATSINHE, Losophone Research Specialist/Adjunct Professor in African Studies, Carleton University Four decades later, Machel’s declarations ring hollow. His words and the new dawn they heralded have since disintegrated. I’m a Mozambican political sociologist. I have…

Jul

19

2021

By The African Mirror

Farewell to our mayor, chairperson, soldier, and commander who died in the call of duty

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

DAVID MAKHURA WE bid a reluctant and sad farewell to our mayor and comrade, Geoffrey Moloantoa Makhubo. We are grief-stricken and shaken to the core by the untimely passing of our mayor and our comrade. Our grief and tears must not be mistaken for fear of death or fear of the enemy. One thing common between revolutionaries and people of faith is that we are taught not to fear death. What we fear most is to live a petty life with no purpose, without impact and without a bigger cause that seeks to empower and liberate others. The question is…

Feb

26

2021

By The African Mirror

Violence is endemic in eastern Congo: what drives it

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ON February 23, the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Luca Attanasio, his bodyguard Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver Mustapha Milambo were killed in eastern Congo. They were part of a convoy that travelled from the World Food Programme’s compound in Goma, eastern Congo. PEER SCHOUTEN, Postdoctoral fellow, Danish Institute for International Studies The convoy took a road that forms the eastern border of the Virunga Park – a national park famous for its wild mountain gorillas. The cars were stopped at gunpoint at a place called 3 Antennas near Kibumba, and Milambo was shot; the other…

Jul

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Why have South Africans been on a looting rampage? Research offers insights

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE looting of businesses, shopping centres and warehouses in South Africa over the past week, particularly in the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces, has taken place at an unprecedented scale. It has affected both poor and middle-class areas. Private as well as government property has been damaged and destroyed. People have been injured and lives have been lost. GUY LAMB, Criminologist / Lecturer, Stellenbosch University A variety of narratives have emerged in an effort to explain the looting frenzy. Some have accused die-hard supporters of former president Jacob Zuma of fuelling the unrest. Others have intimated that the looting is a…

Jul

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Chaos in South Africa points to failures in the project to build a democracy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE spate of violence that’s engulfed South Africa shows that not all citizens have internalised constitutional democracy and the rule of law as the organising principle of the post-apartheid society. MASHUPYE HERBERT MASERUMULE, Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology Various interventions to institutionalise democracy were more focused on policy interventions and institution-building to safeguard it, but not on ensuring that it was embraced by the entirety of society, appreciating it as the basis of its evolution. The violence started in KwaZulu-Natal following the imprisonment of the former president Jacob Zuma to serve a 15-month sentence for contempt of…

Apr

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Tanzania’s Samia Hassan has the chance to heal a polarised nation

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SAMIA Suluhu Hassan becomes the first female president in Tanzania taking over from President John Magufuli who died on 17 March 2021. NICODEMUS MINDE, PhD Fellow, United States International University Born in 1960, she hails from Makunduchi, an old town on Unguja island, in Zanzibar. Her father was a teacher and her mother a housewife. After graduating from high school she studied public administration and later obtained a Masters in community economic development. She began her political career in 2000 when she was elected as a special seat member in the Zanzibar House of Representatives. Special seats are reserved for…

Apr

05

2021

By The African Mirror

Seeking the truth about Anton Hammerl

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JOHN HOGG ANTON Lazarus Hammerl went to Libya as a freelance photographer 10 years ago. It was during the fight for control of the oil-rich country, with foreign powers like Nato, the United States and Canada meddling to “help” dethrone dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Anton didn’t return home from that assignment. He was shot and killed on 5 April by troops loyal to Gaddafi. The whereabouts of his body remains unknown. Anton was more than a just fine photographer, he was a mensch. It was said at the time that he was doing what he loved and that he was pursuing…

Jul

14

2021

By The African Mirror

South African policies go some way to tackling poverty and inequality. But more is needed

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH Africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world. More than 50% of the population live in poverty. Despite notable gains in poverty reduction post-apartheid, poverty levels have remained consistently highest among women, black South Africans, people with disabilities, and those living in rural areas. SOPHIE PLAGERSON, Senior research fellow at the Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg The government has committed itself to addressing poverty, inequality and social exclusion – understood as a disadvantage by gender, race, disability or place. The mandate is laid out in the constitution and in the government’s National…