We're quickly nearing that time of the year where everyone feels fatigued and in need of a mini-vacation or holiday; everyone but our politicians, who are still determined to keep our news feeds filled with current affairs.
Some of the stories that came through on the blogs desk this week were criticism for Collen Maine and how he has "given the ANCYL a bad name" under his leadership. The DA recently had its congress, and pertinent questions have arisen from that. The land debate is still a hot topic – and will undoubtedly be for some time still – and South Africans across all disciplines are eager to unpack the legal and political implications thereof.
We also have an interesting blog from Dr Eve on the positive implications of cheating on one's partner. Happy catch-up!
1. Could Cheating On Your Spouse Actually Save Your Marriage?
Many couples find themselves in situations where they feel that the relationship has reached its peak or that things just aren't the same anymore in terms of intimacy.
Perhaps your relationship is in need of a little drama. Maybe domesticity and daily drudgery are dragging you down. A little private adult time would work nicely, thank you. Passion and purpose seem like a long-forgotten dream. You yearn for something, but can't quite put your finger on what it is... Read more as Dr Eve unpacks infidelity within marriage.
2. Selecting Best Potential Beneficiaries First Step To Making Land Reform Work
Problems relate to the selection of land reform beneficiaries, support for those on redistributed land, and the creation of a conducive environment for land-reform beneficiaries such as access to markets and information, among others. But the start of this process – selecting the right land-reform beneficiaries – is perhaps the most crucial, write agricultural analyst Avuyile Xabadiya and agricultural Masters scholar Mercy Nqandeka.
3. Big Commonwealth Questions: Who Needs It? And What's It For?
In practice, the Commonwealth evidently remains for many nothing more than an anomalous name for an athletics tournament, consigned to the shadows of the Olympics, hosted every four years in one or another former outpost of the British empire. Marc Davies asks pertinent questions on the Commonwealth: is it a useless vestige of a shattered empire, or a global governance grouping with potential to change the game?
4. To Dump Or To Be Dumped? That Is The DA's Conundrum
The DA recently held a congress – the opposition party's last before the general election – and many South Africans watched to see in which direction the party is headed in terms of transformation and policy.
The big question is whether we will get more of the same, or there is a glimmer of hope for something different in the immediate future. With this in mind, the DA's congress last week was a huge letdown to many, who were beginning to see it as a possible alternative to the policy merry-go-round on economic transformation, writes JJ Tabane.
5. Are Illegal Land Occupations About Justice? Nah, It's All Politics
The motion on the review and possible amendment of section 25 placed land reform on the table for debate and on the tongues of the people in South Africa. By now most people are slowly realising that expropriation does not mean that private individuals can occupy land, that expropriation is a process, and that expropriation "does not see colour" – it is possible to expropriate land from any owner, as long as it is for a public purpose (or in the public interest), done in terms of the law, and compensation is paid, writes North-West University's associate professor in law, Elmien du Plessis.
6. 'Dear Oros, Thanks To You, The ANCYL Is A Joke'
Chrispin Phiri has penned an open letter to Collen Maine saying: "You have no interest in the youth of this country, and, in addition, I am convinced that you have no inkling of the awesome responsibility thrust upon you."
7. De Lille: Time For Climate-Change Action Is Now
Cape Town has always been aware of the great need to conserve water, and these efforts have been recognised globally. Our water-demand management and conservation programme won the C40 adaptation award in Paris in 2015. But beyond this achievement and the successes of this plan over more than 15 years, the severe impacts of climate change need even greater action. Read more from Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille.
