Opinion Archives - Page 10 of 13

When Schools Become Battlegrounds: South Africa Must Confront the Bullying Crisis

28Feb

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

When Schools Become Battlegrounds: South Africa Must Confront the Bullying Crisis

By Lungelo Dlamini: South Africa cannot call its schools centres of excellence while thousands of children are afraid to sit in a classroom. The recent report by The Citizen highlighting the rise of bullying cases in Gauteng and the Western Cape should alarm every parent, teacher, and policymaker. More than 1 000 cases were reported in Gauteng alone, with additional cases recorded in the Western Cape. These are not just statistics. They are children, real learners who wake up each morning unsure whether school will bring education or humiliation. Bullying follows children home Bullying is not new. But the scale and nature of it are changing. Today’s bullying is not limited to playground fights or name-calling behind the classroom block. It fo...

Renewal or Decline: Confronting Corruption and Incompetence in the Movement

22Feb

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Renewal or Decline: Confronting Corruption and Incompetence in the Movement

By Fundile D. Gade: ANC members commemorating the 114th ANC anniversary and listening to the January 8 Statement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, on 11 January. (Image: Fikile Mbalula/MyANC Facebook page) For many years, corruption has rightly been identified as a major threat to our democratic project. But today, we must confront an equally dangerous force: incompetence. These two — corruption and incompetence — are the terrible twins undermining the credibility of a democratically elected government. One steals public resources. The other squanders them. Together, they weaken institutions, erode public trust, and distance the movement from the people it was formed to serve. If we are serious about consolidating the people’s camp, we must fight both with equal determination...

Dead are SA politics – so is the media that has become the walkie-talkie of such zombified politics

22Feb

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Dead are SA politics – so is the media that has become the walkie-talkie of such zombified politics

By Oupa Ngwenya: This is because blacks in SA politics do not matter. What residually matters still in SA politics is political parties that too have been guilt-tripped to neglect black people, as a measure of misguided and ill-informed ‘progressivism’ disbelieving that black people do not qualify to serve as the primary source, starting point and centre of concern of politics. Black people’s peripherisation is not by accident but by design. As this black neglect grows, the illusion of splintered uselessed black power scavenges on the carcass of surviving but warring loyalties hoping to outwit each other for centredness in a ‘GNU’ setting that does not hide that all this black neglect is by expressed wish of ‘the markets’ that decreed their preferred coalition formula as...

RAMAPHOSA’S SONA 2026: A Government Caught Between Promise and Perception

18Feb

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

RAMAPHOSA’S SONA 2026: A Government Caught Between Promise and Perception

By Lungelo Dlamini: President Cyril Ramaphosa, during SONA, 12 February 2026 (Image: SA Government) During the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Cyril Ramaphosa adopted a tone focused on urgency and renewal. He discussed infrastructure reform, economic revival, rebuilding public confidence, professionalising the state, and speeding up service provision. The address focused on responsibility, results, and restoring trust in government. However, when examined alongside the 6th South African Government Leaders on X Report by Decode, an alternative yet intricately linked narrative emerges, highlighting the widening divide between political communication and public opinion. The X Report examines the ways in which government officials utilise X to en...

Six Weeks after Davos Things No longer the Same

17Feb

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Six Weeks after Davos Things No longer the Same

By Zola Pinda: President Donald Trump at the WTO forum in Davos. (Image: SABC/Reuters) Davos 2026 was a masterclass in contrast: predictable pragmatism versus reckless volatility. On one side, China strutted its narrative of stability, multilateralism, and market continuity. On the other hand, the United States, under President Donald Trump, reminded the world why Western allies are hedging, diversifying, and quietly building bridges elsewhere. Trump promised protection. What he delivered is chaos. Tariffs slammed onto allies like a sledgehammer. Threats over Greenland, abrupt policy reversals, and a transactional approach to diplomacy have turned American businesses into collateral damage. Supply chains buckle. Investments are postponed. Costs soar. Mark...

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s departure, when the time comes, could complicate succession in the ANC and the State

26Jan

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s departure, when the time comes, could complicate succession in the ANC and the State

By Thobile Jiwulane: President Cyril Ramaphosa's succession election may be complex (Image: MyANC Facebook page) As South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) confronts an existential crisis, doubts loom over whether the once-dominant ruling party can retain relevance in the upcoming local government elections. Once celebrated as a liberation movement under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, the ANC now faces predictions of eventual national defeat after its dismal performance in the May 2024 general election. The year-end municipal polls are widely seen as a decisive test—a barometer that will signal either the party’s recovery or its impending demise. At the weekend, the ANC’s top leadership convened a Lekgotla—a high-level caucus to chart strategy for th...

6Jan

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Maduro’s Capture: Symptom, Not Disease

By Zola Pinda: Incumbent President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro (Image: Facebook) Zamikhaya Maseti’s latest analysis of Nicolás Maduro’s capture demonstrates intellectual rigour and the depth of insight often associated with Thabo Mbeki’s presidency. Like Mbeki, Maseti interrogates structural forces rather than merely chronicling events, situating Venezuela within a broader pattern of U.S. unilateralism and the erosion of multilateral norms. He is correct: Maduro’s capture is less a rupture than a symptom of a global order already under strain. Washington frames the seizure and trial of Maduro as justice delivered. Globally, however, it signals the audacious exercise of extraterritorial authority, unbound by law or institutional restraint. Vacuums in ...

Lilo Lilo Ivangeli Elakudala Elasikhupha Ezonweni: A Memorial Lecture on Reverend Nicholas B. Hepworth Bhengu

2Jan

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Lilo Lilo Ivangeli Elakudala Elasikhupha Ezonweni: A Memorial Lecture on Reverend Nicholas B. Hepworth Bhengu

By Fumene George Tsibani: Pastor, Dr Daniel 'Oom Dan' S. Billy Lephoko ( Living Icon of AOG -BTG) at Thaba Nchu, Free State, on 25 December 2025, delivering the lecture. (Image supplied) 1. The Purpose In a moment that seemed to lift the very heavens, the Thaba Nchu Centre of Excellence in Qwaqwa, east of Manguang, became the epicentre of a Holy Spirit’s earthquake. At the heart of the 80th anniversary celebration of the Assemblies of God Back to God (AOG‑BTG), marking the journey from 1945 to 2025, stood Dr  Daniel  S.  Billy  Lephoko, a 96‑year‑old living legend, delivering the memorial lecture on the revered Reverend Nicholas Bhengu. Lephoko’s voice, honed by decades of preaching and scholarly rigour, thundered through the packed hall, recounting Bhe...

Beware Of Your Daily Social Media Posts: The Internet Never Forgets

2Jan

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Beware Of Your Daily Social Media Posts: The Internet Never Forgets

By Dr. Tiema Haji Muindi: (Image: Freepic) There was a time when a careless comment faded with the conversation, when a bad decision lived only in memory, and when growing up meant being allowed to change quietly. Social media has altered that reality entirely. Platforms such as TikTok, WhatsApp, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, and YouTube have turned everyday users into constant broadcasters, publishing thoughts, images, jokes, anger, and vulnerability without editors, filters, or pause. What feels fleeting in the moment is, in fact, remarkably long-lasting. We post casually, often emotionally, and sometimes recklessly. We share our best moments and our worst instincts side by side. In doing so, we reveal more than we intend, not just where we are or what ...

From Liberation to Neoliberalism: Why Workers Must Develop a Class Analysis (1995–2025)

30Dec

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

From Liberation to Neoliberalism: Why Workers Must Develop a Class Analysis (1995–2025)

By Zwelinzima Vavi: Saftu banner (Image: https://saftu.org.za) Introduction: Why Class Consciousness Matters Workers are constantly told that South Africa’s crisis is about personalities, factions, or “bad implementation.” This narrative is designed to confuse, divide, and depoliticise the working class. In reality, what we face is the outcome of a 30-year class project — a deliberate shift away from the Freedom Charter and towards neoliberal capitalism. To build real power, workers must understand when, how, and why this shift happened — and whose interests it served. 1. The First Turning Point: 1995 and Privatisation In November 1995, the African National Congress, under Nelson Mandela, adopted privatisation as “a fundamental policy of the ANC.” Th...