Blameshifting is a pre-poll taster
As the DA and ANC bicker over who failed Alex, Malema gets a warning in
Despair drives #AlexShutDown
Women who have lived in the township for decades have no access to proper housing, services and politicians
Alex’s answer: Relocations
Town planners say the township’s infrastructure cannot support the number of people living there
What women want
There are more women registered to vote than men. In response, political party manifestos have increased their attention to gender issues.
Where voters won’t come out to vote
Many citizens in the North West have lost faith in elections, saying they do not get what is promised
Winde ready to be premier
Despite being tagged ‘relatively unknown’, the Western Cape politician says his track record speaks for itself
We haven’t sidelined Zille – DA
There have been suggestions that Helen Zille has been sidelined from party activities, but the DA say that is not the case
Mayor may still be charged with murder
Hawks investigators appear to be preparing to once again charge Harry Gwala district mayor Mluleki Ndobe for his murder
SME airs dirty laundry on ‘fronting’
A small business is accusing a Bidvest-affiliated company of turning its partnership one-sided
Business partner accuses Razwinane of taking company money
His business partner has taken him to court alleging that he transferred their company’s money into his personal account
Gordhan subpoenaed over ‘rogue unit’
Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane has given Pravin Gordhan and Oupa Magashula seven days to reply to her questions to be submitted to her office by April 23
‘They got careers, I got a record’
#FeesMustFall sought free education for all, but it cost one of its champions his liberty
Slice of life: ‘Why me’ changed my life
Some events change a person’s life
A leap of faith in young people
Three religious political parties hope to rally the youth to get voted into the legislature
Elemental power is fuelling a new world order
Germany and China lead the way, and now South Africa is starting to see that renewable energy could be its ‘saviour’
Robben Island bones require a deeper dig
It has more than a 500-year history as a trading post, a leper colony and an island had also been used to house banished religious leaders
Health
This is what it’s like waking up during surgery
General anaesthetic is supposed to make surgery painless.
But now there’s evidence that one person in 20 may be awake when doctors think they’re under
Africa
The doctors on Sudan’s front lines
Despite being targeted by the militia, medics have taken extraordinary risks to treat the wounded in historic protests
It’s too early to celebrate
People power can break a dictatorship – but what comes next?
Presidents for life spell danger
Algerian and Sudanese citizens have taken to the streets and Cameroon and Uganda may be next
Inga dam deal is a grand delusion
South Africa is bankrolling a huge hydroelectric project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — but the risks are enormous and the benefits meagre
Parents of slain reporter want justice
Chris Allen was with the rebels when he was shot during a clash with the South Sudanese army
Business
Rise of the new construction ‘mafia’
Are violent disruptions of infrastructure projects led by thugs or champions of change?
The heart of Maboneng beats on
Debt hit the original developer hard, but the district isn’t just waiting for the hammer to fall
Local market indicators shrug off bad news – for now
While the rand slipped below R14, RSA government bonds traded at yields not seen in 3 years and the JSE all-share closed at a 7 month high.
Boards can’t simply quit en masse
Any decision by directors to leave as a bloc has consequences that go beyond issues of liability
Comment & Analysis
End to freedom starts with burnt books
The test of your commitment to democracy comes when you encounter ideas that you disagree with
Editorial: ANC: Yes, but no, but yes …
The ANC’s communicators are either extremely confused and out of their depth or simply cannot keep up with their own spin — or worse, their lies.
Editorial: Revolutions don’t happen overnight
Omar al-Bashir may be gone, but the revolution has only just begun.
Letters to the editor: April 12-18
Our reader writes about BDS this week
Far-out tales from Zondo to Zuma
McBride’s history reads like a thriller and Gaddafi’s missing cash saga like a poor parody
Power dynamics in ANC will shift after the polls
Once the elections are over, the power blocs will change and new allegiances will be formed
Culture is a living, fragile construct
Three Africans with a mentality of abundance changed the mindset of Americans who hoarded
South Africa needs a Green New Deal
Opposition parties are locked in the past but don’t learn from it and have failed to develop policies for a current and future new world
Bolsonaro’s three-month rule a disaster
Even the rats are jumping ship as the economy flounders amid poor governance decisions
Grief is different for everyone
Some people need to seek professional help so that they can learn to accept the death of a loved one
Tyresome lower-case tornado
Tony Yengeni’s tweet implied Mashaba should be necklaced.
He has been widely criticised for this, and the DA has laid a charge.
World has failed to learn from Rwanda’s genocide
And yet, too often we are confronted with the shameful reality that the world has not learned the lessons of the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
‘What can you do for your country?’
Nelson Mandela University’s chancellor urges recent graduates to work for justice and equality in society
Friday
The Weekend Guide
For good vibes and an arts fix, don’t miss this
The Portfolio: Oupa Nkosi
“I thought that by creating a ghostly image I would reflect what I was feeling inside me — a feeling heightened by the constant beating of the drum”.
‘Giyani’ translates to viewers
After what feels like forever, Xitsonga speakers get to see themselves represented on the small screen
Ek sê, give graffiti the kasi flavour
The Ubuhle Bendalo urban art residency furthered the subversion of the broken window theory
Botes takes on a giant subject
The artist uses his trademark comic-book style and a touch of Goya to address Marikana
Less stress more champagne
Bubbly flutes runneth over as demand for the glitzy beverage grows in black circles
A novel response to ‘Disgrace’
The author reimagines a voice and lets it fill the gaps of one of South Africa’s famous books
Sports
Development football’s icky years
For many South African boys — and increasingly girls — there’s only one answer to the age-old question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Everybody wants to be a footballer, to make a living doing what comes naturally on the playground. Where do you sign up? That’s the part that’s not entirely clear. Becoming a professional footballer is more than natural talent and hard work. It requires structure, support and dedicated teachers who are willing to sacrifice their own time to prop up the dreams of others, crucially from a young age. In this series, we look at what it takes to get to the highest level and at what avenues can help children climb that ladder. One way is to leverage talented youngsters into coaching clinic franchises via sponsorships.
Mthandi’s waiting in the wings
The young striker can play forward or run the flanks, and has the World Cup firmly in her sights
Sundowns shake the foundations
A convincing win over Africa’s premier heavyweight gives them a push to rattle football on the continent
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