Opinion Archives - Page 3 of 13

WHEN LEGACY BECOMES INHERITANCE: MADLANGA, FORT HARE AND THE STUDENTS WHO WILL WRITE WHAT COMES NEXT

13Aug

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

WHEN LEGACY BECOMES INHERITANCE: MADLANGA, FORT HARE AND THE STUDENTS WHO WILL WRITE WHAT COMES NEXT

The Moot offers more than a tribute to a jurist, it offers a platform for intellectual succession. BY ZOLA PINDA: Professor Mzukisi Njotini and the students' photograph, argues the writer, captures the relationship of a jurist representing accumulated legal experience, the Dean representing academic stewardship and the students representing the future. Beyond the Ceremony On 7 August 2026, at the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga stood before a generation of young law students whose professional lives may extend well into the second half of this century. The occasion was the launch of the Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga International Moot Court Competition, an initiative of Fort Hare’s Faculty ...

Africa Shows Interest In China’s Latest Planning Model

11Aug

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Opinion

Africa Shows Interest In China’s Latest Planning Model

By Thobile Jiwulane: There is an ongoing discussion among experts and decision-makers in Africa regarding whether China's development planning and implementation model should be applied to address Africa's development challenges. The debate is not about whether the Chinese model is suitable or not; it is about how it should adopted and remodelled to suit Africa's needs and circumstances, considering the continent's challenges of underdevelopment and stagnant growth. There is consensus about the need to act with urgency and consistency, if the continent is to be rescued from its quagmire An estimated 100 people comprising academics, senior politicians from the majority African National Congress party, state functionaries, Universi...

9Aug

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Word of the Week: INVESTMENT

By Sello Hatang: We often think of investment in the language of money: deposits, interest, returns, assets and growth. We think about what we put away today so that it may become more tomorrow. But some of life’s greatest investments will never appear on a balance sheet, earn interest in a bank account or be measured by a financial statement. Every day, whether we realise it or not, we are investing something. We invest our time in people. We invest our energy in dreams. We invest our trust in relationships. We invest knowledge in the next generation. We invest love in our families and friendships. Sometimes, we invest hope in possibilities for which there is absolutely no guarantee of a return. The question, therefore, is not...

Prestige on the World Stage, Confusion in the Township

6Aug

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Prestige on the World Stage, Confusion in the Township

South Africa is preparing to host BRICS Business Forum in Sandton while its own black entrepreneurs remain unfunded, unprotected and structurally peripheral to the very opportunity being celebrated By Zola Phila : Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. Image: SABC I have worked inside government. I have written ministerial performance reports, strategic plans and budget vote inputs. I have prepared parliamentary questions alongside technical officials and directors-general who were custodians of public funds — where ministers presented political direction but had no authority to interfere with procurement, programme design or financial accountability. I know what functional government looks like from the ...

Fort Hare Is the Latest Crisis — A National Question About University Governance and Accountability

5Aug

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Fort Hare Is the Latest Crisis — A National Question About University Governance and Accountability

I have written on Fort Hare on several occasions because I believe its challenges represent more than an individual institutional difficulty. They raise broader questions about governance, accountability and the ability of our public institutions to correct themselves when they experience serious challenges. This article seeks to move the discussion beyond personalities and immediate disputes. It applies an approach often associated with President Thabo Mbeki’s public policy thinking: before prescribing solutions, there must first be a deeper understanding of the nature of the problem, its historical causes and the conditions that allow challenges to persist. The purpose of this contribution is not to prejudge ongoing processes, investigations or individuals. It is to encourage a serious n...

Decolonising African Historiography: Her Story!

5Aug

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Decolonising African Historiography: Her Story!

By Prof. Fumene George Tsibani: This image is by SA History Online (SAHO) As we gather this month to celebrate the women who gave birth to herstories, we must first return to the dust. Dust we must, not as an end, but as a beginning. From dust we were formed, and to dust we return only to rise again with memory intact for generations to come. This is the poem our foremothers whispered when empires tried to erase them. It is the poem we must now write into policy, into classrooms, and into law. The urgent task before Albekuan, the Cradle of Humankind, is to correct our historiography. Long before Greek imperialists named this continent “Africa”, the Iingqwayingqwayi (Inkhwe or Khoe), San (the AbaNtu baseNtabeni or AbaThwa), and the Bantu, Ngoni, ...

Word of the Week: The March Continues Today.

3Aug

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Opinion

Word of the Week: The March Continues Today.

By Sello Hatang: I dedicate this reflection to every woman who continues to march, whether on the streets, in boardrooms, classrooms, villages, farms, hospitals, places of worship or homes. Some march with banners in their hands. Others march with babies on their backs, books under their arms, dreams in their hearts and hope in their footsteps. Every act of courage, every refusal to surrender, every life transformed is part of a march that did not end seventy years ago. As we mark the 70th anniversary of the historic Women's March of 9 August 1956, we are reminded that a march is not merely measured by the distance walked, but by the justice pursued. More than 20,000 women of every race stood shoulder to shoulder at the Union Buildings, uni...

Township, Small Dorpie and Village Tourism is the Economy: Why Satovito Must Lead SA’s Next Growth Wave

2Aug

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Township, Small Dorpie and Village Tourism is the Economy: Why Satovito Must Lead SA’s Next Growth Wave

By Prof. Fumene George Tsibani: Nelson Mandela's former house is one of the leading tourist attractions at Vilakazi Street, Soweto, City of Johannesburg. Photo: By Esther Kibuka-Sebitosi, 2018/Soweto Heritage Trust, 1997. PURPOSE The purpose of this article is to present the outcomes of the 2026 SATOVITO Township, Village and Small Dorpie Tourism Development and Promotions Roundtable Dialogue as a macroeconomic case for investment. Convened on 20–21 July 2026 at South African Tourism, Bojanala House and Samancor House in Johannesburg, the Dialogue brought together government, industry, academia and community to shift township, village and small dorpie tourism from fragmented projects into a nationally coordinated driver of growth...

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...