Tag: apartheid

In an age of bewilderment, it is difficult to connect with our strange South African history. The events surrounding the ‘Jameson Raid’ of 1895, in which an ebullient Rhodes and his cronies tried to seize the old Transvaal Republic, demonstrate an early attempt at state capture.

The Rule of Law was mostly absent during Apartheid when a system of parliamentary supremacy elevated the state's effectively absolute power above all else.

Over the last decades, we have seen more than three dozen new infectious diseases appear, some of which could kill millions of people with one or two unlucky gene mutations or one or two unfavourable environmental changes. The risks of pandemics only increase as the human population grows; therefore to direct our future we should examine our past.

Eye on the Gold includes a superb history of the gold rush in South Africa, and the pivotal roles played by Cecil Rhodes, Joseph Robinson, John Hays Hammond, Britain, the Oppenheimers and Anglo-American in shaping the future of South Africa. And all the time, the sale of armaments, wars and associated corruption lurk.

Drawing on an extensive array of sources – written, oral and visual – this richly illustrated volume provides a rounded social, intellectual, educational, cultural and political history of one of Africa’s foremost universities during the first phase of apartheid.

Arthur Chaskalson: A Life Dedicated to Justice for All is a biography of a remarkable life lived in service both to law and to the struggle for social change and justice. The social change it describes is the victory over apartheid, which was won on several fronts and through the efforts of people in many nations, but an important one of those fronts lay in the courts of South Africa itself.

I Am Ndileka tells the story of a woman who has made great strides in society, but still faces many challenges. A social activist, former ICU nurse and the head of a rural upliftment organisation known as the Thembekile Mandela Foundation, she has lived a challenging life – a labyrinth of highs and lows.

The radio in Africa has shaped culture by allowing listeners to negotiate modern identities and sometimes fast-changing lifestyles. Through the medium of voice and mediated sound, listeners on the station – known as Radio Bantu, then Radio Zulu, and finally Ukhozi FM – shaped new understandings of the self, family and social roles.

Property, and the ownership of land, is an emotive topic in South Africa. While progress towards redressing inequality in land ownership and the property sector could be far quicker, the good news is that we know where we stand, and property offers unique prospects for achieving real social change. 

In a country where democracy is suffering from extended teething challenges and the powers that be struggle to adequately meet societal demands, it becomes crucial to engage a bottom up solution that starts with empowering the individual with the capacity to self-transform and actualise.