The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) may well be on its way to being sued by the South African Government on behalf of 800 meter gold medalist Caster Semenya after it was discovered that her confidential medical records had been leaked to Australian Newspapers.

Our media has jumped on the American bandwagon of judging their president’s first 100 days in office but forgetting that South African society is way different to that of America. We come from a past that was divided along racial and ethnic lines.

“Between now and December 2009, we plan to create about 500 000 job opportunities”. This was part of President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address which he delivered in June this year. Needless to say, with the recent job losses and strike action, he must regret having made such a bold statement

How far have we come, and have we achieved enough as a nation to look down and admire the view, or are we still at the foot of the insurmountable mountain known as development, how far have our nation-building attempts addressed the legacy of apartheid and the inherent backlogs of that repressive system? These are all critical questions that need to be answered not only by government but by all South Africans who see the development of this country and the continent at large as an issue of urgency.

The mothers of yesterday made it possible for the women of today to be treated “equally” in all spheres of life and it is through their hard work that the notion of equality exists in South Africa.

We have become so accustomed to the idea of “I”, proving to the world that we can make it on our own that, from the looks of things, we have forgotten about the power of “we”. As we celebrate another Women’s Day, may you draw inspiration from the women of 1956 and remember that just as they drew strength from each other and stood for a common goal: in unity, we have the same power to effect change.

Congress of the People (COPE) came onto the political scene with shots firing from left, right and centre, all challenging the African National Congress (ANC), which was something the country had been asking for since the elections of 1999. ANC dominance had never been challenged since the dawn of democracy in 1994 and it seemed like it would remain that way for a very long time to come. From the premises of Primedia, Mbhazima Shilowa and Mosiuoa “Terror”  Lekota “served their divorce” letters to the ANC so they could form a …

Just as I was getting tired of seeing the forced smiles of politicians on election posters, I received a text message from the youth wing of the newly formed Congress of the People (COPE) inviting me to a pre-election party at a club in Rosebank, it read as follows: POLITICS UNUSUAL-DRESS: SMART CASUAL, NO TAKKIES, 21 APRIL 21H30, GREAT DJS INCLUDING SOULCANDI.