Struggling Eastern Cape schools in dire need of helping hand
Opinion
Premium 03 June 2025
A friend of mine from Hwedza in rural Zimbabwe tells the story of how, at the height of the economic crisis in that country, teachers at mission schools (which were established by mainly the Catholic and Anglican churches) held the fort.
He explains how, when the economy collapsed and inflation reached levels never seen before anywhere in the world, parents could no longer pay for school fees, buy stationery or provide any kind of subsistence for their children, including those in mission boarding schools...
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Mail & Guardian
5 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
A future without broad-based BEE and affirmative action is not possible
There has been progress since 1994. South Africa now has a black middle and upper middle class but the means of production remain largely owned by white people and black people swelling the ranks of labour. Photo: Mujahid Saofodien/AFP) We are witnessing the different calls to end broad-based black economic empowerment (broad-based BEE) and transformation in general. There seems to be a layer of peddling specific narratives across society about the failures and consequences of broad-based BEE and affirmative action, which are gaining momentum, and thus a response is necessary to remind each other of what transformation is. In the words of former Black Management Forum president Lot Ndlovu, 'The new economic dispensation should match the aspiration for economic freedom and the fulfilment of the highest ideals of our democracy.' The political changes in the country in 1994 did not amount to transformation in and of itself, but the new political order created conditions for transformation to take place. Building a school, sporting facilities or a clinic does not amount to transformation in its fullest extent. These activities are part of economic development of any society in the world and should not be seen and understood as the end result of transformation. The argument that is tabled by Ndlovu's words is that our aspirations as a country are embedded and anchored on how we can conduct our economic affairs in a new way, by separating from the past and embracing these noble ideals that democracy has afforded us. Democracy cannot thrive in an environment where the economic order underuses or undermines human freedom and capabilities. Therefore, the economic order that we run must match our aspirations for economic freedom, otherwise our efforts in becoming a world class country will not be achieved. So, the focus after 1994 under new conditions is that we need to unleash the potential of the country by being bold and intentional about our development and uplifting black people and freeing our white compatriots from the past. We have seen since 1994 the behaviour of both black and white people in the process of transforming the country. On the one hand, we have experienced detractors of transformation coupled with tokenism and silence from some quarters. On the other hand, we have also seen the power of legislation and how it can unlock opportunities through business and the public sector. The prevailing noise in the country today is that the transformation process has not yielded the expected outcomes, which in the main is true, but throwing out the baby with the bath water cannot also be equally true. The understanding of the Constitution should lead us to view transformation in a variety of different ways. Here is my proposed approach, which I have written about before, that incorporates three facets of transformation. Transformation as a science seeks to measure the progress of black people in terms of their socio-economic prosperity in a democratic dispensation. This centralises research and development as a cornerstone of economic transformation, forcing both government and business to invest in proper research . Transformation as a craft seeks to create policies and frameworks that will drive the inclusion of black people into the mainstream economy. This is then the legislative framework and the work of government. All policies and pieces of legislation must be driven by eliminating poverty, inequality and unemployment. In business this would take the shape of having transformation as the life blood of business, from top leadership to the last employee. Woven into the life of business should be breathing and thinking about transformation, daily. The power of management would be charged with creating a more equitable working environment from remuneration policies, appointments, recruitment, skills development, ownership and ESD, supply chain to procurement. Transformation as an art seeks to deal with the mindset of society around creating a new society, which is fundamentally distinct from what was there prior to transformation efforts. Building it from the ground up and focusing on values and principles. This would entail accepting that Apartheid succeeded in developing unethical leaders in both government and business who intentionally abused the majority to build their wealth. Business fulfilled the economic mandate of apartheid. Therefore, a new value system is needed that will create the kind of leaders who will champion this transformation. Every sector of society will need to be clear on their role in this regard, as to how a new value system can be created and maintained. Business would need to denounce its racism and demonstrate that it is on a new path, and not what we are seeing today by crowding out black leadership and black business. It is pleasing to see that through the work of So transformation is not just about change, it is a fundamental shift in all areas of society, in how we think and make decisions, in how we develop law and policies, how we do business, with a deep understanding our past and wanting to create a different country based on good social values and giving equal opportunity to all. Economic theory can also assist us here. We know that the factors of production are the following — land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship. In the country today we are well aware that we have acute challenges with all four factors, with heavy concentration of white people owning the means of production and black people swelling the ranks of labour in most cases. This cannot be the future of our country, where the majority are narrowly focused on being labourers and not owners. In most sectors we still have three to four major players that dominate, and this is part of the legacy of the past. Therefore, broad-based BEE is the engine of transformation, and the economy is the engine of reconciliation. We cannot talk of reconciliation without talking about the economy, and we cannot talk about the economy without talking about broad-based BEE as its engine. Ownership is the engine of broad-based BEE, coupled with controlling and managing the economy. The three keys to transformation are therefore ownership, control and management. These ought to be the key focus of every transformational discussion and discourse. They are also supported by other elements and the whole transformation infrastructure in the country. Business and government have been invited to embrace broad-based BEE and affirmative action as a tool and measure of transformation. Business is central to society, for it produces goods and services that are needed by society. Therefore it must look like the society it operates in, not just in rhetoric but in substance. When people identify with the business they work for, energy and commitment follow effort and drive higher productivity. The government must protect the transformation process by ensuring that the conditions for business to operate are conducive so that goods and services can be produced. Therefore we need to create a critical mass through these three key aspects to unleash the potential of the country. A critical mass in simple terms is the minimum size or amount needed to propel a process or system forward, without any further intervention. When we pay attention to the damage caused by both colonialism and apartheid, which succeeded in their mandate to desecrate black people, a critical mass of black people is needed at every sphere of economic activity to unleash the potential of the country. Without reaching critical mass at all levels will harm all efforts to resuscitate the dilapidating economy. There is also an attempt to separate economic growth and transformation and positioning transformation as a costly exercise that needs to be scrapped, including that only a few black people have benefited. This logic is greatly flawed and disingenuous. We today have the black middle class and upper middle class because of these laws. Second, broad-based BEE ownership transactions have created value for shareholders, communities and employees. While not sufficiently adequate, this can be measured. Affirmative action through employment equity has opened the door to black people moving into management, but at top leadership Africans remain below 20%. We remain the most unequal society in the world, and if broad-based BEE and affirmative action — which drives ownership, control and management in transformation — is removed, what will drive ownership, control and management control in the country? As Ndlovu said, our aspirations of economic freedom must match our economic dispensation, we have a right to be ambitious, to be this clear that the economic order in our country must be aligned to our collective aspirations to be economically free, free to move, free to think, free to be, free to create a new country. Monde Ndlovu is the managing director of the Black Management Forum.
Mail & Guardian
18 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
‘Kivuli & Nuru': Wild and wet in Africa
Desire After Dark re-edit There are stories that seduce and then there are stories that awaken. Kivuli & Nuru: The Afrodisiacs Collection is the latter. Produced by HolaAfrica! the two albums of sonic storytelling don't so much whisper to your senses as they dance, boldly and barefoot, across your chest. Curated by the unapologetically audacious Tiffany Mugo, this collection is a defiant celebration of African eroticism; it is a reclamation, a resurrection, a rhythmic sermon preached in moans and murmurs. 'Kivuli and nuru — shadow and light,' Mugo says, 'are in constant battle. Human desire is always trying to move from the dark into the light. 'You only need to look at someone's Tuesday evening browser history to know that.' These aren't just concepts, they're mirrors. The shadow is where we bury our want: in prayer, in shame, in cultural silence. The light is where it spills, bold and breathless. The two aren't enemies, they're dance partners. Mugo, a daughter of Kenya, roots the entire experience in language that calls home to the soul. The titles weren't always this clear. 'Initially, the albums were separated into white gold and black gold but that just felt lame,' she says. 'The notion of the shadow and the light eventually came to me and I realised we have so many magical ways we speak of things in our various African languages.' Kiswahili, with its lyrical clarity, carried the intention: 'I wanted people to know that you were on the continent the minute you saw the title, no time to waste.' Whispers of the Tryst This clarity is important because African erotic storytelling still exists in a contested space. The stories in Kivuli, especially, are not soft-focus fantasies. They are textured, layered, emotional, and personal. 'The call for submissions was essentially, 'Go wild!'' Mugo says. 'And that's exactly what they did. 'People wrote about secret crushes, rural loves, fantasies on public transport. Desire is not universal — it is personal.' But while the experiences are intimate, the locations ground them. Kivuli & Nuru don't take you to the usual, Western suspects. These stories move through Afrobeat clubs in Lagos, down side streets in Nairobi, in the quiet moments of Cairo and beside a roadside mango vendor in Cape Town. 'Desire is at your doorstep,' Mugo insists. 'It is not a visa application and a 14-hour plane ride away. 'The continent is a character in this anthology — one could argue the main character.' If the stories are homegrown, so too are their contradictions. 'Africa has a rich history of physical intimacies relegated to, and lurking in, the shadows — cultural spaces, mythology and the like,' Mugo reflects. 'But we also have a very 'robust' history of suppressing those desires.' Kivuli & Nuru are not offering escape but confrontation. 'Even the existence of this work is an instance of that epic battle; desires that have been shamed into the shadows coming into the light. 'That, and I am sure I have family members clutching their pearls at the thought of this existing.' Interestingly, masculinity and femininity fade as fixed concepts in the storytelling. 'These are very personal narratives, some fantasies, some memories, some fictional musings,' Mugo says. 'We're met with simply humans who have sensual, sweet or freaky thoughts. When the lights go out or stay on, if that's your thing, those societal roles start to melt.' The sensory richness of the collection is intentional. It doesn't just tell you what's happening — it makes you feel it. Tiffany Mugo, curator of Kivuli & Nuru: The Afrodisiacs Collection. 'Rachel Wamoto, the mind behind sound mixing and mastering, wanted you to not only hear the voices but for the sounds to sit in your skin,' Mugo explains. 'It's like literary ASMR [autonomous sensory meridian response]. The sensations needed to come from more than one sense.' The result is hypnotic. A gasp, a whisper, the distant sound of beads against skin — these are not flourishes. They are invitations. As for distinguishing fantasy from reality? 'Each author was given carte blanche,' she says. 'These stories just … are. Like WhatsApp, the sources are encrypted — even I don't know what's fantasy and what's real. 'I could know an honest-to-God immortal being, if the story I Killed Flowers For You is to be believed.' Mugo understands the emotional reactions to these stories will vary. 'This collection will touch different things in different people, depending on who you are, where you are in your love and lust life, what your history is or what your politics are. 'Even your current location could affect what comes up. I want this collection to come for all the emotions, good and bad, but all I ask is you feel something. Anything,' she says. And what if what you feel is discomfort or arousal? 'If I am completely honest, the most important emotion is stirring in your unmentionable areas because these are erotic stories,' she says. 'Even if you are a little mad at it, feel something delicious.' Audio storytelling was a deliberate choice: 'With an audio offering, we are doing the heavy lifting. 'You can lay back, relax and let us do the work.' And there's a deeper reach, too. 'Spotify and Apple Podcasts mean that people can access Kivuli & Nuru anytime, anywhere — unless it's banned in your context, of course.' The differences between Kivuli and Nuru were organic, not orchestrated. 'Goodness, you make this seem far more thought out than it is,' she responds. 'I wish I was this level of maestro, but alas, not in this life.' The emotional distinction isn't structural — it's spiritual. Kivuli lurks. Nuru glows. The people within shift, blur and burn. But perhaps the most profound impact of the collection lies in how it becomes medicine. 'One of the loveliest things I heard during this process was a contributor telling me, 'Wow, that felt amazing to put to paper and also say out loud in the studio.'' Mugo knows that erotica is more than titillation, it's transformation. 'It lets us imagine past the selves we are told we can be. It pushes us to think about the premium subscription to our wants, our needs and our sensual selves.' This isn't about climax. It's about clarity: 'Even if you can't get to the summit just yet, at least you know where your journey is taking you.' And for those who still think African sexuality is a blank page or a single story? 'We're not just a gaggle of countries that can't wrap our heads around desire, autonomy and general delicious goodness. 'We have a rich contribution to the global conversation about intimacies, wants and fantasies. We've been doing this before the boats arrived, and we'll keep on doing it, despite what people think. It stays wet and wild here on the continent.' So listen closely. The voices in Kivuli & Nuru don't just tell you how we desire — they remind you that we've always known how.
The Herald
21 hours ago
- The Herald
The Herald Isuzu Schools Quiz 2025
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