It is disgusting to think that covidpreneurs thought the pandemic was a time for them to enrich themselves, writes Mandy Wiener. Michela Wrong’s thrilling book It’s Our Turn To Eat tells the story of Kenya’s anti-corruption czar John Githongo and his efforts to stamp out graft under the Mwai Kibaki regime from 2003 to 2005.What struck me…
Government is failing its hungry children spectacularly, writes Mandy Wiener. I don't know what it feels like to be hungry - true, gnawing, hollow hunger.But what I do know is that it is a feeling I would never want myself or my children to experience. In fact, it is an almost debilitating fear that that could ever…
A billboard on an apartment building in Cape Town's CBD. (Nardus Engelbrecht/Gallo Images) Lockdown and whether to introduce a harder one is becoming a polarising theme amongst South Africans, writes Mandy Wiener. I have rarely encountered a topic which is so divisive, so polarising, where the line is so clearly drawn, as Lockdown.It's little surprise then…
Barry and Heidi Volkwijn, who both died of Covid-19. Heidi Volkwijn via Facebook It is fundamentally important that those who have either contracted the virus, or who have lost someone to it, speak out and share their stories. We must know the names and faces of these people, instead of losing them to the anonymity…
Young children can't be placed in circumstances which make them even more vulnerable. We simply cannot allow them to be left unattended and uncared for as their parents are faced with no choice but to go out and earn a living to sustain them.With President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement last week another sector of industry -…
Kataza the baboon. Facebook / Baboon Matters The City of Cape Town has asked the public not to feed a baboon that has relocated to Tokai. The baboon, known as Kataza or SK11, is slowly being integrated into the Tokai troop. Video footage, however, shows humans feeding Kataza. The City of Cape Town has requested that Kataza…
As SA Rugby moves to determine which franchises will go to Europe in future, Rassie Erasmus has noted several potential benefits for the local game should that route be followed.The national director of rugby believes the high world rankings of Wales, Ireland and Scotland mean PRO Rugby is competitive and that fans will eventually identify…
(John Finney Photography/Moment/Getty Images) An abnormally bad season of weather may have had a significant impact on the death toll from both World War I and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, according to new research, with many more lives being lost due to torrential rain and plummeting temperatures. Through a detailed analysis of an ice…