Opinion Archives

27Jul

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Word of the Week: Service and Sacrifice

By Sello Hatang: Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. (Image: David Turnley/via Instagram) We live in a world that celebrates success but often overlooks sacrifice. We applaud the medal but seldom appreciate the years of training. We admire the flourishing tree but rarely think about the seed that first surrendered itself to the soil. We celebrate leaders on the stage while forgetting the countless unseen moments when they chose responsibility over comfort, conviction over convenience, and service over self. Yet history has never been changed by comfort. It has always been changed by people willing to sacrifice for something greater than themselves. Service and sacrifice have always been inseparable companions. One without the other is incomplete. S...

NAVIGATING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY: What aspiring artists need to know

22Jul

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

NAVIGATING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY: What aspiring artists need to know

By Katlego Rammusa: Breaking into the music industry requires more than talent. For aspiring musicians, understanding how the industry works, building a professional profile and finding the right record label can be just as important as making good music. Record labels play an important role in the careers of many artists. Depending on the agreement, a label may assist with music distribution, marketing, promotion, artist development, management and brand building. However, signing a record deal should not be viewed as the final destination. Artists need to understand what they are agreeing to and what responsibilities they will have once the contract is signed. There are also many misconceptions about record labels. While ar...

Word of the Week: Nurturing Those Who Will Serve

20Jul

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Word of the Week: Nurturing Those Who Will Serve

By Sello Hatang: There is something deeply moving about watching an experienced artisan patiently teach an apprentice, a teacher refusing to give up on a struggling learner, or a seasoned professional opening doors for someone who reminds them of where they once began. It is one of the purest expressions of hope. It says, "I believe tomorrow will be better than today, and I am willing to invest in making it so." The greatest leaders understand a simple truth: leadership is not about creating followers; it is about preparing servants. Our greatest contribution to the future is not merely the work we accomplish ourselves, but the people we equip to continue that work long after we are gone. Too often we celebrate talent while negle...

Synergistic Revolutionary Attributes: Lessons from Revolutionary Leadership of Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela

20Jul

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Synergistic Revolutionary Attributes: Lessons from Revolutionary Leadership of Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela

By Dr. Zamani Saul: This video clip recounts the thrilling moment of the 1991 ANC 48th National Conference, the first conference after the unbanning of the ANC. Depicted in the video clip is the leadership triad of Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela. This triad constituted one of the most durable collective synergies in the history of liberation politics. Their partnership, sustained across more than fifty years, was forged in the radical politics of the 1944 ANC Youth League driven by a shared ideological imperative of "freedom in our lifetime". That imperative was not merely rhetorical. It was the organising logic through which the ANC was re-engineered, radicalised, and transformed from a deputations-based and elitist politic...

Pan-African Parliament – Spectators In South Africa’s Raging Undocumented Immigrant Debate

19Jul

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Pan-African Parliament – Spectators In South Africa’s Raging Undocumented Immigrant Debate

By Pule Monama : Pan-African Parliament sitting in Midrand, Johannesburg. (Image: PAP Facebook Page) As the debate around the illegal and undocumented immigrants raged on, one piece in the puzzle was missing - the Pan-African Parliament (PAP). Yet this parliament of African states is resident right here in South Africa, where the migration furnace is still at its highest temperature. PAP, which was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2004, is the administrative arm of the AU and the purpose of its establishment was ostensibly to "ensure the participation of African peoples in the development and economic integration of the continent". It serves as a unified platform for citizens of all African states to deliberate...

ON RESPONSIBILITY, ALLIANCE AND THE NATIONAL QUESTION

18Jul

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

ON RESPONSIBILITY, ALLIANCE AND THE NATIONAL QUESTION

By Fumene George Tsibani: There is a time for rhetoric, and a time for responsibility! Let us speak plainly about the pain faced by workers in South Africa today. Since 1994, the South African Communist Party ( SACP) has been deployed, with resources and in positions of influence, across the key clusters of our state: the economy, education, science and technology. These are precisely the levers required to build a 21st-century developmental state. The question of wisdom, therefore, is not who to blame, but what we have built. To externalise failure and place the full burden upon the African National Congress ( ANC) is neither strategic nor truthful. It is an accusation that seeks to mask SACP leadership incompetencies behind Allian...

Armchair Revolutionaries Loud on SA’s Flaws, Blind to Africa’s Fault Lines, They Deserve No Attention

17Jul

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Armchair Revolutionaries Loud on SA’s Flaws, Blind to Africa’s Fault Lines, They Deserve No Attention

STANDFIRST: South Africa’s intellectual class is quick to dissect the country’s imperfections, yet their silence on Africa’s deeper crises reveals a troubling blind spot in continental discourse. They deserve no audience from anyone who takes themselves seriously, argues the writer. By Pule Monama : (Image: March & March website) It appears that honesty and frankness are scarce commodities amongst our modern-day revolutionaries, intellectuals, and analysts. They also seem to lack the understanding of the technique and ability needed to look themselves in the mirror, to reflect and self-critique, which are the most basic determining factors in the field of intellectualism. They are very quick ...

When the Office Becomes the Story: What Precisely Does the Republic Expect of its Speaker of Parliament?

15Jul

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

When the Office Becomes the Story: What Precisely Does the Republic Expect of its Speaker of Parliament?

STANDFIRST: This commentary argues that the Speaker of Parliament must remain institutionally independent, constitutionally grounded and above party politics. Public scrutiny of any Speaker is legitimate, but it should focus on the duties of the office and the integrity of Parliament rather than on personalities alone. By Zola Pinda: Recent parliamentary processes, while focusing national attention on Speaker Thoko Didiza, inevitably revive this fundamental question, demanding a clear definition of this pivotal constitutional office. Public scrutiny of constitutional office-bearers is not only legitimate but essential. Democratic institutions thrive not on immunity from criticism, but on their capacity to withstand it, there...

Word of the Week: Freedom Within Our Lifetime

13Jul

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Word of the Week: Freedom Within Our Lifetime

By Sello Hatang: Some generations inherit freedom. Others choose to become its architects.This week, we honour the memory of Ntate Govan Mbeki and Ashley Kriel, two men from different generations whose lives converged around a single conviction: that freedom was never meant to be a slogan, but a responsibility. They believed that liberation demanded sacrifice, courage and an unwavering commitment to those whose voices were too often ignored. They understood that no nation can truly call itself free while the poor, the landless and the forgotten remain behind.Their lives ask each of us a question that cannot be outsourced to politicians, governments or activists alone: What unfinished freedom has been entrusted to us?South Africa has tra...

March & March is Not a Counter-Revolution, But It Is Social Mobilisation for Accountability

8Jul

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

March & March is Not a Counter-Revolution, But It Is Social Mobilisation for Accountability

By Dr Zamani Saul: (Image: Facebook) First, it is essential to acknowledge the politically astute and proactive manner in which the national government responded to the 30 June ultimatum for undocumented migrants to leave. What the government did was to reframe the protests of March & March into a vital grievance mechanism rather than a challenge to the legitimacy of the State. The government acknowledged that there is a slow pace in addressing the frustrations raised by March & March and, in the same vein, equally condemned any form of unlawful and violent activities directed to other people and property. The message was loud and clear that those participants in March & March programmes who embark on illegal and violent activities will...