What does it take to be the Chief Justice? In two months, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng will finish his tenure leaving the vacancy open. How will his successor be selected and what qualities are needed by the holder of this high office? eNCA’s Gareth Edwards speaks to Lawson Naidoo from the Advancement of the South […]
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South Africa needs an ombud office to atone for the fatal fate of whistle-blowers like Babita Deokaran
Opinionista • Paul Hoffman • 31 August 2021 Whistle-blowers in South Africa are inadequately protected against murder, intimidation, unfair labour practices and being shunned in the workplace for not being ‘team players’ in situations in which the ‘team’ is actually a gang of merciless thieves. https://spkt.io/a/2581432 The visibly bleak reactions of Maverick Citizen editor Mark […]
Whistle-blowers are important guardians of our democracy
By Cyril Ramaphosa• 30 August 2021 We cannot let down whistle-blowers like Babita Deokaran. We must ensure their disclosures result in prosecutions and do much more to protect them. https://spkt.io/a/2572313 Over the course of the three years since the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture started its work, we have heard of the lengths to […]
Community called to back anti-corruption body
on Aug 26, 2021 ByTali Feinberg A proposition for a new, independent anti-corruption body landed on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s desk on Tuesday, 24 August, and those who have spent years toiling to make it happen are asking the South African Jewish community to support it in any way it can. “Our community was burnt by […]
Game-changer: Zondo Commission report bound to change the future trajectory of South Africa
Opinionista • Paul Hoffman • 29 August 2021 It is safe to predict that the Zondo Commission ought to be a game-changer for the future trajectory of South Africa. The second game-changer is the commission’s report, currently under preparation, on what must be done to prevent the conditions that allowed serious corruption with impunity to […]
The ANC’s nomination of Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as Speaker of National Assembly is unspeakable
Opinionista • Paul Hoffman • 16 August 2021 The purpose of electing a new Speaker is to appoint a fit and proper person of known and impeccable integrity who is capable of impartially fulfilling the duties and functions of leadership of the National Assembly. Objectively speaking, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is not such a person. When President […]
LETTER: ANC’s candidate doesn’t have a suitable CV for speaker position
Putting an errant ex-member of the executive in charge of the assembly is akin to putting the proverbial fox in charge of the henhouse 16 August 2021 – 16:01 Paul Hoffman SC Provided that logistical challenges to arranging a secret ballot (whether virtual or otherwise) during the pandemic can be overcome, members of the National […]
South Africa: The Pitfalls of Logical Incrementalism in the Ramaphosa Era – Small Steps in Danger of Being Stomped On By the Corrupt
Opinionista • Paul Hoffman • 10 August 2021 Small incremental steps are all very well, but perhaps the time is ripe for big, game-changing strides. The R1.5-trillion loot should be recovered urgently from those who participated in State Capture, including the banks, the accountants and the lawyers who advised on the nefarious schemes that saw […]
LETTER: We need answers about ministers’ unrest spat
09 August 2021 – 15:13 What with a cabinet reshuffle affecting a third of the national cabinet, the state and the courts at loggerheads with Jacob Zuma, and a fresh set of demands from the #FreeJacobZuma campaigners, SA is certainly not boring. The reshuffle leaves unresolved the factual dispute between police minister Bheki Cele and […]
The pitfalls of logical incrementalism in the Ramaphosa era
On 4 August 2021 JP Landman, one of the doyens of political analysis in SA, entertained the members of the Cape Town Press Club on the topic of “The three timelines in the Ramaphosa presidency.” The event was sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and is available from the Press Club (here) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hROsgwYKijE. Landman identified […]
