How does a country make the transition from a society that has been defined by race for centuries to an open society with opportunities for all?

There is light at the end of the tunnel for South Africa’s economic and unemployment crisis. But will the ANC extinguish it?

While “Guptagate” dominated the news over the past two weeks, the release of one of the most important reports in two decades of democracy went almost unnoticed.

This week, the DA began distributing a pamphlet that shows Nelson Mandela and Helen Suzman embracing, under the caption: “We played our part in opposing apartheid”.

This time next year, the 20th anniversary of our democracy, South Africans will be preparing to vote in the country’s 5th national election.

 From years of experience, I know that when I am in a political pressure cooker, it is best to allow the heat to subside and some steam to escape before analysing what happened.

SPEECH BY HELEN ZILLE, PREMIER OF THE WESTERN CAPE, STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS, WESTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE, CAPE TOWN


 

 This week South Africans united in their outrage over the brutal gang rape and murder of 17 year old Anene Booysen. May her family and friends, who buried her yesterday, receive some comfort from the knowledge that the nation stands beside them and shares their grief.

Before the Nkandla “white-wash” wiped everything else off the front pages, the past week’s headlines were dominated by the First National Bank debacle. 
 

Most readers of this newsletter will be aware that 2013 marks the Centenary of the 1913 Land Act. It is a date all South Africans should commemorate, in order to better understand this law’s tragic consequences, and find ways to make redress meaningful.