Tribute to Hammarskjöld

Just over six decades ago, former United Nations (UN) secretary-general Dag Hammarskjold died in mysterious circumstances in what is now Zambia. Some cried assassination, with more than a couple of... 

John Jacobs

This week we profile John Jacobs, CEO of Sweet-Orr & Lybro, a manufacturing and sales company 

Shining in the world

Africa’s got talent! For the latest evidence of this, one need not look further than US news magazine Time’s 2021 list of the most influential 100  individuals on Planet Earth in various spheres of... 

A forlorn continent

We Africans are an unhappy lot. I am not joking – scientifically derived statistics are available to back this up, and it appears the advent of Covid-19 has exacerbated our collective melancholy.... 

Katlego Makgata

This week we profiole Katlego Makgata, MD of Leoka Engineering, which procvides project management, design and engineering services, mainly in the mining sector 

Coup d’état comeback?

I remember, as a freshman in journalism school, a lecturer telling us that some Western newspapers and other media organisations had settled on a stock headline to use each time an African... 

Joblessness scourge

While the joblessness numbers released by Statistics South Africa recently make for sad reading, bringing the country’s unemployment scourge into sharp focus, the key takeaway is that it is young... 

Aneesh Misra

This week we profile Aneesh Misra, CEO of Sedibeng Iron Ore, an iron-ore mining company, and MD of IMR South Africa  

Costly blackouts

Africa’s despots – and they are numerous – are increasingly developing a worrying penchant for switching off social media networks to prevent citizens from sharing information they dislike or when... 

Dear ex-Prez Lungu

I guess you are busy moving house, following your electoral defeat, which spelled the end to your tenancy at State House in Lusaka. When things are less hectic, please spare a few moments to read... 

Thabi Malatji

This week we profile Thabi Malatji, a partner at professional services firm EY 

Yershen Pillay

This week we profile Yershen Pillay, CEO of the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority, a statutory body that is responsible for education, training and skills development 

Biased reporting is not okay

When Covid hit African shores in early 2020, many predicted the death toll would be much higher than in other regions, given the parlous state of the healthcare system in many countries on the... 

Tom Marsicano

This week we profile Tom Marsicano, CEO of and Change, a change management consulting and training company 

What a disappointment!

Zweli Mkhize has always come across as a conscientious fellow, which is why it came as a shock when allegations that he used his influence as Health Minister to have a contract awarded to a... 

Misplaced intervention?

Late last month, Southern African Development Community (SADC) nations started deploying troops to northern Mozambique to help quell an Islamist insurgency that is threatening the development of... 

South Africa’s ‘single story’

That the rest of Africa sets great store by this country is a no-brainer. After all, Mzansi’s is the most developed economy on the continent and, until the Nigerians tweaked the numbers in a... 

Warmongering peace laureate

The Nobel Peace Prize, the world’s most prestigious award, with pickings of about $1.15-million in 2020, has been soiled by one of its more recent laureates, who happens to be a son of the African... 

Finally, SA finds its voice

At the time of writing, eSwatini was burning – literally and figuratively. The country, which has the dubious distinction of being Africa’s sole absolute monarchy, was engulfed in protests by... 

Rogue journalism

It’s Journalism 101 time this week – well, mostly – and I will cut to the chase: what is the difference between reporting and journalism? The two are not perfect synonyms. Reporting, or simply the... 

Remembering Kenneth Kaunda

At the time of writing, Africa was in mourning, following the breaking of the news that Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia’s President from 1964 to 1991, had breathed his last in a Lusaka military hospital.... 

Fabio Longano

This week we profile Fabio Longano, MD of TouchFoundry, a digital innovation company that undertakes custom software development and user-experience design 

Gweezy’s smallanyana flaw

Gwede Mantashe is a jolly good fellow. And a reasonable one too. But events of the past couple of weeks betray a smallanyana (read ‘smallish’) flaw on his part: an inability to read his boss’s... 

Worthless talk shop

Fathers of pan-Africanism such as the late Kwame Nkrumah, who wished for the day when Africa would be truly united, must have been pleased as they witnessed from the Great Unknown the coming into... 

Moneyed and insensitive

American political scientist Bernard Cecil Cohen famously wrote in 1963 that “the press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in... 

Vishal Pooran

This week we profile Vishal Pooran, MD of Egoli, a natural gas reticulation and trading company 

At the mercy of insurgents?

It has been about eight years since Islamic extremists stormed an upscale shopping mall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, killing 62 civilians and five soldiers before they were subdued. But images... 

Siphe Ntshangase

This week we profile Siphe Ntshangase, principal geology consultant at Letaba Elihle Investments Advisory, a provider of technical and management advisory services in the resources sector 

STEM the way to go

Conventional wisdom has it that one man’s meat is another man’s poison. But a Ghanaian youngster has proven also that one man’s trash can be another man’s means of mobility – literally.... 

Kenneth who?

In a few days, we will be celebrating a day that is dear to those who cherish our great continent. Well, for us in Mzansi, ‘celebrate’ is not quite the word: we the wafanyakazi will be at the... 

Crooks’ Covid bonanza

Former Gauteng Health MEC Dr Bandile Masuku was a rising star in the ruling African National Congress. That was until a major scandal around the procurement of personal protective equipment for... 

Call me Professor Z

Bonginkosi Madikizela’s claim to fame is that he is the leader of the Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape and the MEC for Transport and Public Works in that province. But he is currently... 

Africa’s weed race

Lesotho became the first African country to legalise the cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes in 2017. Now – four short years later – a few other countries have followed in its... 

A letter to André de Ruyter

Dear Sir – I recall that, in 1940, the British Army had been defeated in France by the invading German army. The army retreated to Dunkirk, a French channel port. About 330 000 soldiers were picked... 

Teddy Daka

This week we profile Teddy Daka, co-CEO of Zutari (previously Aurecon), which is an engineering and infrastructure advisory company 

No more blind lending

African countries have been beneficiaries of deep-pocketed China’s ‘generosity’ for yonks. Even South Africa, the most developed country on the continent, has been a beneficiary, having received a... 

Don’t touch me on my studio

Remember Chris Maroleng? He is pretty much out of the limelight these days, and the only time he gets to grace our telly screens is when a journalist wants soundbites to embellish a story about... 

Craig Franck

This week we feature Craig Franck, sales and operations manager of Ya Batho, a mining technology company with a focus on communication and real-time location systems used in underground or opencast... 

A weighty crisis

An epidemic of gigantic proportions is sweeping through Africa, and some experts say it is more devastating than HIV/Aids. It is good old obesity, and that it is shaping up as a major crisis is... 

Donovan Chimhandamba

This week we profile Donovan Chimhandamba, CEO of titanium dioxide pigment manufacturer Nyanza Light Metals