1. Ferial Haffajee: Zuma, Free Fees And The Cult Of Amateurs
This is not simply state capture or looting or the further entrenchment of a Zuma dynasty in all crevices of the state. What is remarkable and dangerous is the president's fallibility for easy ideas and schemes brought to him by amateurs. As he did with Masibambisane and now with Masutha's free-fee plan, Zuma uses state power and resources to bypass systems of governance and policy to engage simple and simplistic ideas to solve complex problems. Read more.
2. SA Could Soon Be Like Zimbabwe
I was called hysterical and irresponsible after I stated that people should take their money "out" of the country. It has always been my view that a properly diversified portfolio should include a significant exposure abroad. However, recent developments and worsening prospects for the country only stressed the need to create a nest egg outside of the country, writes Dawie Roodt.
3. Here's Why Jacques Pauw Should Fear For His Life
If Jacques Pauw's book "The President's Keepers" were a movie, I would say: "I have seen that movie before." I would take out the popcorn and watch that movie. Incidentally, crime, detective, and spy are my favourite genres. Pauw should brace himself for the same ordeals that Wa Afrika and Venter have endured, if not more. Having already received three death threats, he should brace himself for tyrannical tricks from the rogue elements within the state security and a break-in squad, writes Molifi Tshabalala.
4. Women Must Shatter The Glass Ceiling Of The Office Of ANC President
South African women, especially women who are in the public domain, women who are in senior leadership positions, women who are in business, and women in general, should leverage their stature to shatter another glass ceiling that remains oppressively impenetrable to women. The glass ceiling I'm referring to is the office of the ANC president, writes Lukhanyo Vangqa.
5. The 'Precarious' Pathway To Democracy Post-Mugabe
We don't have an adequate theory of post-dictatorship societies, and the most dangerous thing about a post-dictatorship society is that it is a society which does not have the mechanisms to effect a transition. Smooth transitions need to have strong institutions like the judiciary, an electoral commission and a free media. If a country does not have these institutions in place, it is very difficult to effect a transition. I hope I am going to be proved wrong, but I think a transition is going to be very difficult in Zimbabwe, says Elinor Sisulu.
6. SA Team Wins 2017 TechWomen Pitch in Silicon Valley
Six South African female game changers –– Ridhwana Khan, Lindiwe Matlali, Emily Pather, Chiedza Mnguni, Dr. Fanelwa Ajayi and Danai Nhando –– have just completed the five-week TechWomen Mentorship Program in Silicon Valley. This extraordinary group of women was selected out of 4,000 applicants to make up the 100 selected participants representing 20 countries from Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, for their innovation KasiMaths, a low-cost, scalable, high-impact tutor-driven after-school Maths Enrichment Hub in low-income communities. Read more.
7. Zuma's Allies Are Once Again Gung-ho About Nuclear. Will They Get Their Way?
South Africa's nuclear build programme seems to be back on the agenda after earlier indications that it was dead. Recent comments by President Jacob Zuma and his new minister of energy, David Mahlobo, signal a final push to bag the nuclear deal while Zuma is still in power. In December Zuma's term as president of the African National Congress will come to an end when the ruling party elects new leadership. His term as president of the country ends in 2019. The Conversation Africa's business and economy editor, Sibonelo Radebe, asked Keith Gottschalk to assess the situation. Read more.