A friendly frigate and a lesson in choosing partners 

On Monday 19 October I stood on the deck of INS Tarkash in False Bay as the ship’s Chetak helicopter hovered overhead. Brazil’s BrNS Barroso steamed nearby, and South Africa’s submarine SAS Manthatisi was in the same waters - as

UCT and free speech: the cost of punishing ideas

The deepest irony in the efforts by some interests at the University of Cape Town to punish UCT Council members Mark Oppenheimer and David Ansara for opinions they don’t like is that they unwittingly concede their own ideas cannot afford

Godongwana should signal scrapping of BEE premiums today – IRR

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) says National Treasury should use the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) today to scrap Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) premiums and give effect to the Zondo Commission's recommendations on value for money in public procurement.

Open the payments system, don’t nationalise it

The Reserve Bank wants to open South Africa’s payment and cash systems to new competitors. Then it wants to own them.

Let vigilance be your watchword

Demosthenes was an Athenian statesman and orator. He lived from 380 to 322 BC and his bust is preserved in the Louvre in Paris. The following is attributed to him and may have inspired St Paul in penning his letter

ANC blames foreigners for SA’s jobs disaster 

Government is pointing the finger at foreigners instead of taking the decisions to boost job creation. It has introduced the Employment Services Amendment Bill into Parliament that seeks to regulate the employment of foreign nationals.

Fikile Mbalula collapses: Fear in the ANC

Nicholas Lorimer and Hermann Pretorius discuss the ANC’s court victory, which puts its missing candidates on the ballot in a number of municipalities. They also discuss a political murder near a hostel and tensions between the IFP and MK Party

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