CHINA’s execution of a South African drug mule yesterday reminded me why I am opposed to the death penalty and, oddly, why I think Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille is misguided in pushing for the prosecution of those who knowingly pass on HIV. Read the rest of this entry »

SO TABLE Mountain is one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. But you already knew that, because Capetonians have been droning on about how wonderful their lump of rock is for as long as you can remember. I’m told even the muggers that haunt the slopes above the city are awful when experienced in their natural habitat. Read the rest of this entry »

ACTIVIST and former banker Terry Crawford-Browne has received much of the credit for forcing President Jacob Zuma ’s hand on the arms deal investigation. He thoroughly deserves the accolades, having bankrupted himself in the process of standing by his principles for years. SA needs more like him. Read the rest of this entry »

CAPE Town’s District Six became an international symbol of one of the worst injustices of apartheid: forced removals. Now it has come to represent one of the biggest weaknesses of the new dispensation — its vulnerability to power struggles and the exploitation of the poor and disadvantaged for personal gain. Read the rest of this entry »

THE recent Human Rights Watch report on the employment conditions of Western Cape farm workers is a timely reminder that the answer to the abuse of people’s constitutional rights lies not in increasingly draconian laws — especially more rigid labour legislation — but in enforcing existing regulations more effectively. Read the rest of this entry »

ALLOW me the opportunity to thank the people of Greater Johannesburg for the sacrifices they are making for the greater good. It is much appreciated by those of us who reside in the provinces, even though we’re well aware that sacrifice is involuntary. Read the rest of this entry »

IT HAS been fascinating watching how Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille and African National Congress (ANC) candidate Tony Ehrenreich have sought to position themselves in the wake of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) emphatic municipal election victory.

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I UNDERSTAND toll roads are a bit of a sore point for Gauteng-based readers at present, and from what I’ve read about the way the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project has been implemented, I fully understand why. So it is with some trepidation that I suggest any further opposition that may arise once Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane’s review of the proposed toll fees has been completed be confined to the specifics of the plan rather than toll roads as a matter of principle.

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