Opinion Archives - Page 5 of 10

The Price of Reform: Why Sakhela Buhlungu Now Stands Alone

12Apr

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

The Price of Reform: Why Sakhela Buhlungu Now Stands Alone

By Zola Pinda: Vice Chancellor and Principal of Fort Hare, Professor Sakhele Buhlungu, who is suspended. (Image: Supplied) The suspension of Professor Sakhela Buhlungu is not a routine governance episode. It is a familiar institutional moment in South Africa’s public life — the point at which those who confront entrenched dysfunction begin to stand alone within the very systems they are mandated to reform. At the University of Fort Hare, this is not a technical dispute about procedure. It is a struggle over control, accountability, and the future character of an institution long marked by contestation over authority and governance. In such environments, reform is never absorbed neutrally. It disrupts settled interests, exposes informal networks, and inevita...

The Renaming as Enduring Legacy of British Indirect Rule !

11Apr

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

The Renaming as Enduring Legacy of British Indirect Rule !

By Fumene George Tsibani: East London Airport was renamed King Phalo Airport as part of the process to change colonial and apartheid names. (IMAGE: Buffalo City Self-Drive website) 1. Historical Context of Renaming The post-apartheid South Africa's initiatives to rename public heritage spaces and icons, often presented as decolonial redress, ironically perpetuate colonial logics under a deceptive guise. This article argues that these processes, deeply rooted in British Indirect Rule (BIR) and linked to benefits for traditional leaders, inadvertently maintain BIR's operational principles through contemporary heritage policy by bodies like COGTA (Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs), the National House of Traditional Leaders and Khoi...

Christianity VS Politics: Begging for votes during Easter or genuine worship?

8Apr

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Christianity VS Politics: Begging for votes during Easter or genuine worship?

By Katlego Rammusa: We saw a lot of politicians hopping from one church to another during the Easter period, and you wonder what the motive is behind all these sudden church visits? Because if one is a true believer, they must go to church every Sunday and not make a fuss about it or pose for pictures merely to be seen to have been at church. Easter is a sacred Holy time when Christians all over the world commemorate the death, the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Concerning these sudden visits, some Christians would comment and say, "You heard politician so and so loves God", "did you hear his speech and that he mentioned Jesus and God", " he also quoted a verse from the Bible", "he is a Godly man and he loves God." I was pondering u...

6Apr

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Word of the Week: Renewal

By Sello Hatang: This is a sacred week, a moment to pause, to breathe, and to begin again. Holy Sunday reminds us that even after the darkest moments, light returns. That hope rises. That which seemed buried can live again. Family Day gently calls us back to what truly matters: love, presence, connection, and the people who carry us when we can no longer carry ourselves. But renewal is deeper than moments on a calendar. It is an invitation, a quiet, persistent call to return not only to others, but to ourselves. Because if we are honest, the relationship we neglect the most is the one we have with ourselves. We show up for meetings. We honour commitments. We respond to expectations. We give of ourselves to family, to work, to society. Yet in the midst of a...

1Apr

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Word of the Week: Ghosts

By Sello Hatang: Ghosts are not only the spirits we imagine in the dark; they are the memories, regrets, missed chances, and unresolved pain we carry within us. They linger in quiet moments, in familiar places, in the echoes of what could have been. But here is the truth: ghosts only have power when we choose to keep entertaining them. Healing begins the moment we acknowledge them, learn from them, and gently release them. Remember, ghosts don’t haunt us by force; we give them a home by choice. They live rent-free in our minds because we let them.What are the ghosts you are facing, and why have you given them a place to stay? Will you keep feeding their shadows, or will you finally lay them to rest with courage and grace? Choose wisely, for the life yo...

How the Iran War Is Hitting South Africans Where It Hurts Most

28Mar

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

How the Iran War Is Hitting South Africans Where It Hurts Most

By Lungelo Dlamini: Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei The ongoing conflict involving Iran may seem far removed from daily life in South Africa, yet its effects are already being felt in a very real and personal way. The war has disrupted global oil supply, pushing prices above 100 dollars a barrel and creating uncertainty across international markets. What this means for South Africans is simple. When oil prices rise globally, we pay more locally. At the heart of the issue is fuel. South Africa relies heavily on imported oil, and this makes the country extremely vulnerable to global shocks. As tensions in the Middle East have escalated, the price of crude oil has surged, and this is feeding directly into higher petrol and diesel costs. Analysts warn that petrol prices co...

Standard Bank, Viral Allegations, and the Fragility of Trust

28Mar

By News SANo Comments

News, Opinion

Standard Bank, Viral Allegations, and the Fragility of Trust

By Lungelo Dlamini: Standard Bank requires more than a denial of the issue, but proactive communication, argues the writer. (Image: Alamy.com) The recent controversy involving Standard Bank and a retired professor has once again shown how quickly reputation can be tested in the digital age. Viral videos circulating on social media platforms have made serious allegations of fraud and even torture against the bank. While Standard Bank has firmly denied these claims, describing them as false and misleading, the damage to public perception is already unfolding. At the centre of this situation is not only a dispute between a client and a financial institution, but a broader issue of trust. Banks operate on the foundation of credibility. Clients place their money...

EASTER OR PASSOVER?: Is it time to worship or time to party and eat eggs?

26Mar

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

EASTER OR PASSOVER?: Is it time to worship or time to party and eat eggs?

By Katlego Rammusa: There is a lot of debate around the Passover and questions around whether it is Passover or Easter. Some people believe it is Easter and Christians believe it's Passover. Perhaps it's high time to answer and explain how the Passover come about? It was during that time in Egypt when the angel of death was to pass every household and when the angel saw the blood of the Lamb on the doorpost, he passed over that house (Exodus 12:23). Passover comes a long way. In the Old Testament, it was about commemorating the safety that the blood of the Lamb brought (offering the Lamb as a sacrificial offering). The New Testament is about commemorating the Blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross 2000 years ago. It is about commemorating the death, the burial and the re...

23Mar

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

The Most Unemployed Youth in the World

South Africa's youth unemployment crisis is not just an economic failure - it is a warning we have seen before By Sacha Knox: Students' protests in Bangladesh in 2024. (Image: BBC) In 2024, young people in Kenya and Bangladesh - many of them unemployed, educated, and seething with frustrated potential - took to the streets and toppled or seriously threatened sitting governments. In Kenya, a largely Gen Z-led movement against a controversial finance bill nearly brought down the Ruto administration. In Bangladesh, student-led protests ended Sheikh Hasina's fifteen-year rule in what analysts widely described as the first successful Gen Z revolution. Then, in September 2025, thousands of young Nepalis - frustrated by corruption, scarce economic opportunity, and a gover...

Gunboat Diplomacy, De-Dollarisation and the Strait of Hormuz

23Mar

By News SANo Comments

Opinion

Gunboat Diplomacy, De-Dollarisation and the Strait of Hormuz

By Charles Matseke: US President Donald Trump (Image: Facebook) As the Trump moment deepens into what can only be described as a sustained departure from both international law and conventional presidential conduct, global partners are increasingly forced to navigate an environment defined by both coercion and choice. What began as an “America First” recalibration has evolved into a foreign policy doctrine marked by unilateralism, executive improvisation and institutional disengagement. One that, as earlier analyses suggest, has already inflicted lasting damage on U.S. credibility and global leadership. In its current form, this approach, captured in what some have termed a revival of “gunboat diplomacy” or even the emerging “Donroe Doctrine” prioritises press...