Readers of this column who are not news junkies like yours truly may have missed the announcement, made last month: South African schools, both public and private, will be offering Swahili as an... 

The main opposition party across the Limpopo insists that “we wuz robbed” in the July 30 elections that returned Zanu-PF to power and gave Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had been caretaker President since... 

I start with a mea culpa this week. In the September 7 edition, I waxed lyrical about the exploits of Sophia, the humanoid robot, at the SAPNow conference, which had been held in Johannesburg the... 

South Africans are a whinging lot – there is survey data from credible research entities to prove this – and one of biggest gripes is about living conditions in towns and cities, especially in the... 

Sophia the Saudi Arabian. Rings a bell? If it doesn’t, a clue: she was the subject of a recent instalment of this column and has the rare distinction of not having been born of flesh and blood. She... 

The mobile phone has undergone an almost dramatic transition in the past two decades from a status symbol affordable only by the well-to-do to a ubiquitous device that even those of very modest... 

Gold has been associated with our neck of the woods since its discovery on a farm just outside the present-day Joburg central business district back in 1886. Thanks to this association, it was not... 

It could be back to the future for Zimbabwe, where many had set great store by the general elections held on July 30, which returned the governing Zanu-PF and its Presidential candidate, Emmerson... 

Back in March, former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson became the umpteenth Western big gun to urge Africans to beware of Chinese generosity on the continent, which has taken the form of... 

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man – with a net worth of $12.4-billion – is redefining philanthropy in his native Nigeria. But the 61-year-old is doing this in a way that will make his bank... 

Two international university rankings published in the last couple of months had me thinking about a perception index released by consultancy firm Ipsos in January, which revealed that South... 

First, a disclaimer: I am of very sober habits and this week’s topic – the apparent desire by many on our continent to embrace the cannabis business – is not at all indicative of my recreational... 

Picture this scene: you are driving along a road in suburban Johannesburg and a stern-looking cop pulls you over, informing you, as you wind down your window, that you have exceeded the speed limit... 

The Beautiful Game is obviously the flavour of the month, what with the World Cup currently under way in Russia. So, apologies to those readers of this column who cannot tell the difference between... 

I have been to a few countries in Southern Africa but Namibia seems to always fall into the blind spot whenever I plan to travel beyond the borders of Mzansi. However, the good work being done in... 

Some associate professor was an in-studio guest on one of our television channels the other night. To mangle a famous quotation in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, he was on about why history... 

Dear Dr Danny Jordaan Congratulations on your recent election for another term at the pinnacle of South African football administration. If there had been any doubt that you are a darling of our... 

One man’s meat is another man’s poison indeed. While scores of South Africans have emigrated to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK over the past two decades-plus – citing all... 

As you read this piece, I am probably putting together the next instalment or doing whatever else my job description demands I should be doing each weekday. But colleagues in countries such as... 

An extraordinary visitor graced the Creative Industry Summit, which was held in the Egyptian capital of Cairo last month. Like other attendees, she has a name and a nationality and is apparently... 

It is safe to say that many readers of this column now know that what used to be the Kingdom of Swaziland is now the Kingdom of eSwatini, which means ‘the place of the Swati people’. The name... 

Drones, or remotely piloted aerial vehicles, are becoming the rising star of electronic innovation. They are being used increasingly in a variety of applications, ranging from construction to... 

It must have been music to the ears of animal rights proponents and conservationists when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) reported in... 

Late last month, the top brass at South African Airways (SAA) was in the National Assembly, briefing Parliamentarians about the perennial ills at the national carrier. New CEO Vuyani Jarana, who,... 

It is refreshing to notice that the regional stock exchange in the French-speaking West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) is not keeping the eight-country bloc’s shining light under a... 

Much as I tried, I just could not refrain from having yet another go in this column at US President Donald Trump – he who cannot see anything good that comes out of Africa. For him, Africa will... 

It took the threat of impeachment proceedings by his own party to get Jacob Zuma, decidedly the most inept – and venal – President South Africa has ever had, to vacate the Union Buildings on... 

I bet my bottom rand that many people on these shores are not as informed about Togo as they are about, say, Tibet – this despite the fact that South Africa and Togo are on the same continent.... 

Zimbabweans are becoming creative when it comes to raising funds to invest in their economy, and the stimulus seems to be the ouster of Robert Mugabe, the long-ruling dictator who ran into the... 

I have a little confession to make: I am an Afro-optimist. This means I am the diametrical opposite of Donald Trump, who, when he hears of Africans wanting to emigrate to the US, goes into a trance... 

In  a recent instalment of this column, I waxed lyrical about former Liberian President  Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, highlighting how she had restored peace to the country, which had been ravaged by an... 

Media reportage on Egypt and Ethiopia during the past few years has emphasised the simmering tension between the two countries. The bone of contention is the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD),... 

A few weeks ago, US President Donald Trump was at it once again, using vulgar language to disparage the home countries of African, Haitian and El Salvadorian immigrants. As is his wont, he... 

By the time you read this piece, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf would have been a pensioner for at least a fortnight, having stepped down as Liberia’s President on January 22. The 79-year-old became... 

The excitement around the results of last year’s matric exams has now died down. Indeed, the class of 2017 gave a very good account of themselves, with those who sat for the exams at private... 

The citizens of two Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries – Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – go to the polls this year in what this lowly journalist... 

Question marks have been hanging over the Africa Rising narrative in recent times, with sceptics pointing to faltering gross domestic product (GDP) growth in many countries on the continent. But is... 

South Africa is a force to be reckoned with in Africa. It is one of the continent’s powerhouses – politically and economically – with its gross domestic product (GDP) being the largest, although it... 

What is the common denominator between South African President Jacob Zuma and Faure Gnassingbe, his opposite number in the West African nation of Togo? Both have had a torrid year, with angry... 

The past few weeks have been hectic for Zimbabwe, our northern neighbour. Matters came to a head early this month, when Emmerson Mnangagwa was sacked as President Robert Mugabe’s joint number two...