Opinion

BY ZOLA PINDA: "The journalist needs the intellectual framework, not only technical skill" argues the writer.(Image: Bizcommunity.com) South Africa's media should periodically ask not whether journalists can write, but what intellectual formation should underpin journalism in a constitutional democracy. A competent journalist can interview, write to deadline and produce readable copy. That craft is indispensable. Yet journalism at its highest level asks more: why does this story matter, what structures produced it, who has power, whose voice is absent, what does law require, and what does the citizen need to know? That is where craft meets discipline. South Africa needs not more information, but better understanding. The commercial newsroom teaches ur...

BY SELLO HATANG: Reinvention is having the courage to accept that who you have been does not have to be who you remain. Life changes. Circumstances change. We change. Sometimes what carried us yesterday cannot take us where we need to go tomorrow. Sometimes the greatest obstacle to our next chapter is our attachment to the previous one.Reinvention begins with curiosity. What else is possible? What else can I learn? What else can I do? Who else can I become? We stop growing when we stop asking questions. Curiosity allows us to look beyond the boundaries of what we know and imagine possibilities we may never have considered before. But curiosity without courage can leave us standing in exactly the same place. It takes courage to start again. Co...

BY KATLEGO RAMMUSA: This comes after I saw the interview with Skeem GP with Xoli Mngambi on Newzroom Afrika.Xoli Mngambi asked a simple question to Skeem GP how can we trust you that you can lead Ekhuruleni municipality and he started to talk a lot of things some of the things he said " I am not a politician " so the question is what are you doing there as a Mayoral candidate? He further said, I am not a professional, " you are playing tricks with me "; "you are grilling me". Clearly, Skeem was not prepared for the interview, and he is not fit for the post because he didn't answer a simple question: How can we trust you?" Some people might say Let us give him a chance, like Gayton Mkhenzi was given a chance as an ex-convict. The difference betwe...

"The clouds may hide the destination, but they should never hide your determination to keep climbing." -SH BY SELLO HATANG: In aviation, altitude matters. The higher you climb, the wider your view becomes. Mountains that once seemed impossible to cross become visible in their entirety. Distances appear shorter. Possibilities become clearer. But reaching altitude is never accidental. No aircraft simply wakes up in the sky. Before the climb comes preparation. There are flight plans, safety checks, weather assessments, navigation systems and countless hours of training. Pilots know that altitude is earned long before the wheels leave the runway. Leadership is much the same.Many people admire altitude. They admire the title, the o...

BY DR FUMENE GEORGE TSIBANI: Water Governance and Heritage Expert at the University of Johannesburg, writing in his personal capacity Two months before South Africans vote on 4 November 2026, surveys indicate that outcomes in the Eastern Cape remain far from settled. The most telling development is in four strategic municipalities where nomination failures have removed the ANC from the ballot. This campaign coincides with Heritage Month. Heritage Month is defined by Intlokohlaza: the praise poem tradition associated with the honourable Professor J J R Jolobe. Intlokohlaza means Spring. In isiXhosa, September is EyoMsintsi: the month of the coast coral tree, when buds break. Jolobe does not present Spring as decoration; he presents Sp...

BY SANDILE MEMELA: How does society perceive a convicted prisoner and an awaiting-trial suspect? The writer argues this point. (Image: ActionSA website) There is a picture that has captured our imagination and should disturb ordinary people. But it does not. An awaiting-trial prisoner arrives at court, not in shame, not in humility. But like a celebrity. Expensive designer labels. Gold watch. Fresh haircut. A crowd of supporters. Parliamentarians shaking his hand, bowing, taking pictures. The corridors of justice turned into a red carpet. The public asks a simple question: What is going on here? Is this allowed? And what message does it send? But we pride ourselves on constitutionalism. Apparently, this is the legal position in South A...

WORD OF THE WEEK: CHANCE BY SELLO HATANG: There is something fascinating about the word chance. For many people, particularly when we think about the lottery, chance is associated with luck. You buy a ticket, choose your numbers and hope that, somehow, the numbers fall in your favour. For a moment, you allow yourself to imagine a different tomorrow. But as I dedicate this word to the CEO of the National Lotteries Commission, Commissioner Jodi Scholtz. I have been thinking about another meaning of chance. Not the chance we take, but the chance we give. Most of us can identify at least one moment in our lives when somebody took a chance on us. I strongly believe that one chance can change everything, but sometimes, the greatest miracle...

BY NICOLA LANGRIDGE: Financial independence is often presented as something that happens once you reach a certain salary, savings balance or level of wealth. Nicola Langridge, Financial Planner of the Year 2025, says financial wellbeing is not just about how much money you have, but how well you use what you have to achieve your goals. For Women’s Month, Langridge unpacks five common money beliefs that can hold women back from taking greater control of their financial futures. Myth 1: You need to have “enough” money before you can achieve financial freedom One of the biggest misconceptions is that financial freedom is something you achieve only once you have saved up enough money. Langridge challenges this idea, pointing o...