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Ramaphosa blinks to save budget
In today's episode, Marius Roodt and Hermann Pretorius take a look at the sacking of the ANC's Minister of Higher Education and Training; Kenny Kunene of the PA, being in the wrong place at the wrong time; and a time
The crazy bullet train to nowhere
Gauteng and Limpopo provinces are planning a high-speed rail connection. The jackpot question is: why, oh why? Feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments are underway for a new high-speed rail link between Pretoria and Musina, via Hammanskraal, Bela-Bela, Mokopane, Polokwane,
SA must confront some hard truths
In this episode of the Daily Friend Show, John Endres and Hermann Pretorius break down how South Africa is facing a moment of truth in terms of politics, policies, and national priorities. They also ask if the DA is trapped
Coups, Secrets, Conspiracies, and the Unexplained
I started this week’s column as a reflection on the country’s investment malaise and what the impending US tariff regime would mean for it and for South Africa’s future. There is little enough cheer there, but I changed tack when
Making sense of military options in a complex and chaotic world
Few aircraft define the Second World War as much as the Lancaster bomber. With just two airworthy today, it is a relic of a bygone age, a petrol-fuelled analogue weapon of war, its interior a claustrophobic hellhole. Reeking of a
How does SA’s culture block growth?
South Africa’s mix of insularity, ubiquitous patronage, and much magical thinking blocks economic growth by undermining merit and global integration. A serious national dialogue initiative would unpack how cultural factors influence a country’s prospects. This is not a task that
There is no “media narrative”, mostly
The media is often accused, en bloc, of following a particular narrative. What that narrative might be, and who writes it, varies depending on who you ask. On both sides of the political aisle – if you’ll excuse my resorting
Letter to the Donald from Cyril
President Donald Trump’s letter to his South African counterpart on 7 July reads like something the mob might formally pen if they were in the White House and if, too, they had a sticky keyboard throwing up random capitalisations. President