I am a descendent of those who were dispossessed of their land; coerced into disposing of most of their prized livestock and then compelled to pay an onerous poll tax to the colonial administration.
Don't be fooled by meaningless slogans. The showdown between the DA and Cosatu supporters in downtown Johannesburg yesterday had nothing to do with much-needed job creation.
The year 1985 was not a very good year, especially if you happened to live in one of apartheid's labour reserves around Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
Labour federation Cosatu is at a crossroads. It is easy to misread the ideological contestation within the country's largest trade union movement as a mere extension of the continuing power struggle within Cosatu's ally, the ANC.
With still about two years to go before the current administration's term of office comes to an end, it is impossible to give a conclusive assessment of how it has performed on the five key priorities it set itself when it took office in 2009.
I don't know what finally pushed the man we knew only as Bra Selby to take his own life more than a week ago.
Martin Thembisile "Chris" Hani was a charismatic and popular leader, but he certainly was no populist demagogue.
It was on his return from the first ever meeting of the ANC's officials - commonly known as the "top six" - when President Jacob Zuma apparently told some of his aides that he had been struck by how little his new team knew about each other.
The most thought-provoking remarks during the first day of the ANC's eventful national conference held in Polokwane, Limpopo, five years ago did not come from then president Thabo Mbeki. Nor were they from the angry ANC Youth League delegates, who made clear their determination to oust Mbeki by constantly disrupting the proceedings through howling and songs.
It probably was an honest mistake on the side of our overzealous immigration officials at OR Tambo International Airport.
The ruling party promised there would be "no holy cows" and that "everything [would be] on the table" when it reviewed its policies ahead of its policy conference at the end of June.
In the absence of an opposition that is strong and effective as well as credible in the eyes of the country's vast majority, Cosatu fills a gaping void in our body politic.
I agree with those calling for Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder's expulsion from President Jacob Zuma's executive.
Fair-minded South Africans would have been glad to see President Jacob Zuma exude so much confidence during his State of the Nation address last week in Cape Town.
Much has been said about Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's unsuccessful bid to become the first woman, in almost 50 years, to occupy one of the continent's important seats.
It was in bad taste for the South African delegation at the African Union summit on Monday to break into song and dance on hearing that Jean Ping had failed in his bid for a second term as AU Commission chairman.
Did King Goodwill Zwelithini call gay people "rotten"?The controversy that has arisen since this newspaper, and at least one other publication, in KwaZulu-Natal, reported that the Zulu monarch had spoken out against same-sex relationships has helped draw attention to an issue that I think is of the utmost importance if our young democracy is to have an intelligent dialogue with itself: how statements made in indigenous South African languages, by politicians and other public figures, are translated into English by journalists.
Amid all the deafening noises generated by the yet-to-be-official ANC leadership succession battle, an important conversation seems to be taking shape within the ranks of the ruling party.
President Jacob Zuma announced at the weekend that the ANC had surpassed the target it set itself about 69 years ago - reaching the 1million members mark.
The news that the finances of three provinces are in such shambles that the central government has been forced to intervene should not have come as a surprise to anyone.
At a recent South Africa-Argentina bi-national commission seminar organised by ambassador Tony Leon, an Anglo-Gold Ashanti representative made some interesting observations about the rise of what she called resource nationalism.
Zuma is under pressure to secure the ruling party's top job - if only to avoid the humiliation of being 'recalled' from the Union Buildings
No, THE ANC-led tripartite alliance is not about to break up, but events of the past week or so suggest it is now fast approaching a point of no return.
IN A highly critical discussion document prepared for its July central committee meeting, Cosatu suggested there was still hope for President Jacob Zuma who had, by then, been written off by many as an indecisive leader.
WHEN a popular MEC fell ill some years ago and it became clear that he would not be returning to work any time soon, his premier did what he thought was in the interest of the provincial government and its citizens.
The embarrassing TV footage of Bafana Bafana players dancing in celebration of what they incorrectly thought to be their qualification for next year's Africa Cup of Nations tournament will probably haunt the nation for many years to come.
New singing sensation Zahara, who is currently smashing records with her debut album Loliwe, probably would have not made it through the first round had she entered M-Net's TV reality show, Idols.
Lusaka, Zambia, used to be the spiritual home of many of those who strove for liberation in Southern Africa during the 1960s right through to the late 1980s.
Whether he seeks a second term in office or not, President Jacob Zuma urgently needs to up his game if he is to avoid going down in history as one of the worst heads of state of South Africa's democratic era.
TALK in the corridors of power is that President Jacob Zuma's first choice for chief justice was hesitant to agree to the nomination because she feared a massive backlash from those who believe the job should go to Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke.
IDID warn last week that the ANC's disciplinary action against youth league leaders has the potential of turning Julius Malema into a pre-Polokwane Jacob Zuma.
ANC MEMBERS love a victim. Be in trouble with the law or subjected to media scrutiny for alleged wrongdoing and you are most likely to be a "hero" in the eyes of many of your comrades.
A LAW-enforcement agency should never be driven by profit.
AS LONG as there are state tenders, there will always be greedy politicians who use their access to power to enrich themselves by demanding and accepting bribes from potential contractors.
In the dying days of apartheid, no cabinet minister had such a direct and devastating impact on township folks as Magnus Malan.
When Nelson Mandela wanted to smuggle a manuscript of his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, off Robben Island, he turned to Mac Maharaj for help.
Big business stands accused of timidity in the face of government policies and ruling alliance pronouncements that might directly harm its interests.
THE African Union's bid to find a political solution to the Libyan conflict has been made more complicated by the International Criminal Court's issuing of a warrant of arrest for the north African state's ruler, Muammar Gaddafi.
NOW that the ANC Youth League has made clear its intention to divorce itself from him, President Jacob Zuma is probably looking to his other partners to help keep him in charge beyond December next year.
With only 18 months to go before the ANC's elective national conference, the question on many people's lips is whether President Jacob Zuma will be retained as party leader.
