One of the ironies about South Africa’s use of competitive bidding for just about all public procurement, from the purchase of office stationery to diesel locomotives, is that it hardly ever... 

There has been much debate of late – in the media and elsewhere – about whether new Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda is capable of leading a city with a R70-billion-plus yearly budget, given his... 

I have had more than the usual number of injuries over my 67-year life. This is not a bad thing, since it really demonstrates a life of experience. It might also be demonstrating a life of... 

I recall a time when, as a much younger me, I was in absolute awe of centenary celebrations. It was a time when neither anyone known to me nor the possessions that my family owned had turned 100... 

One day journalists asked the head of a big mining group why he was no longer investing in South Africa but investing very heavily in South America. His reply was: “When I go to South America to... 

Political and social turbulence has swirled fiercely ever since former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter appeared in that explosive television interview in February, and has intensified with the release of... 

Assuming you are reading this article on this edition’s publication day, the odds are you are nursing a hangover, unless you live in South Africa or in the other countries where Africa Day – May 25... 

France’s Parliament has unanimously passed a nonbinding resolution encouraging the European Union (EU) to designate Russian paramilitary company the Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation.  The... 

I’m two years younger than my brother; however, because of the arrangement that existed at the time, I went to school one year after him instead of two years. This, in turn, meant I was young,... 

Let us do what? How about “Let’s grow South Africa together”? If you need reminding, this was the title of the governing party’s 2019 election manifesto. I recalled it when I saw government’s... 

There is no doubt that mining, with its multiplicity of forward, backward and lateral linkages, is a poverty buster in waiting. Shadow Mineral Resources Minister James Lorimer MP was spot on when... 

There is justifiable concern that South Africa’s grid could collapsed this winter given ongoing high breakdowns across the Eskom coal fleet, the absence of one Koeberg unit and a rise in demand in... 

It must be five years ago now. Or slightly longer. But whatever. Back then, I wrote in this column about a latter-day Melchizedek of sorts, who, unlike the Old Testament character, is female. I... 

Johannesburg is a very large city. I’m not sure of the exact dimensions but I think it is at least 1 500 km2. Various cloudbursts which occur all over South Africa vary from Cape Town (continuous...