The gift of the gaffe

Remember former President Jacob Zuma’s 2013 blooper about the state of roads in Malawi, uttered when explaining why his government was introducing urban tolling on Gauteng freeways? His exact words... 

Franz Gmeiner

This week we profile Franz Gmeiner, CEO of Orion Real Estate, a property investment and facilities management company 

What’s in a name?

South Africa’s under-fire top cop goes by the name of Khehla Sitole. But it’s surprising how his last name gets misspelt, with the culprits being not only several of the country’s major media... 

Ugly side of beautiful game

There may be debate as to who coined the phrase ‘the beautiful game’ – some say it’s the man known to much of the world as simply Pele, while others aver it’s the brainchild of English former media... 

Ralf Hennecke

This week we profile Ralf Hennecke, MD of BME, a division of the Omnia Group and supplier of explosives products, related services and technology to the global mining sector 

No cure for coups just yet

One of my ‘go to’ sources of international news is the website of The Washington Post. The credibility of the newspaper – which hardly gets its ‘facts’ wrong and promptly corrects any errors that... 

Prabashini Moodley

This week we profile Prabashini Moodley, MD of Old Mutual Corporate, a leading provider of retirement fund solutions, investments, group risk benefits and consulting services 

Africa’s chronic youthfulness

Planet Earth will be home to more than eight-billion of us before year-end and a further ballooning to 9.5-billion by 2050 is projected as sustained high fertility rates and declining mortality in... 

Francois Marais

This week we profile Francois Marais, sales and marketing director at Pilot Crushtec, which is involved in the manufacture, import and distribution of crushing, screening and materials handling... 

SADC’s elephants in the room

Southern Africa’s political overlords had their first regional shindigs of 2022 early this month. The events, hosted by Malawi, whose new leader offered much hope initially but is proving to be an... 

My 2022 wish list

A repeat of the last two years, when Covid-19 decimated lives and livelihoods, is the last thing anyone would want to see this year. But it appears that the pandemic is here to stay, at least for... 

Chinese debt trap

China has been a key African benefactor for a while, providing financing for all manner of infrastructure and rendering other forms of assistance. Even Mzansi’s Eishkom – as the national... 

An early Second Coming

This week I’m aboard a time machine that has taken me to the year 2121, a century from now. Time is moving ever so slowly. To avoid descending into boredom, I decide to do some light reading. After... 

Migration – the pros and cons

I have a suspicion that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an obscure name to many Africa Beat readers. But that’s certainly not the case in the world of the literati. The Nigerian-born novelist is... 

Pulane Tshabalala Kingston

This week we profile Pulane Tshabalala Kingston, CEO of Mirai Rail Corporation, which designs, manufactures and supplies turnouts and turnout components. It also supplies rails as well as... 

New era of the silent majority

The 2021 local government elections have come and gone, and pundits have written column centimetres upon column centimetres about them. But the temptation to also weigh in has been too much for me.... 

Lili Nupen

This week we profile Lili Nupen, director and founder of NSDV, a mining, environmental and construction law and professional advisory company 

I told you so, didn’t I?

Having looked into my crystal ball, I wrote in this column not so long ago that military coups were on the comeback in Africa and that they were poised to become an all too frequent mode of power... 

The neighbour from hell

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi comes across as someone who is so cool headed that one would expect him to always display diplomatic nous, even in the face of provocation. But that façade... 

Tracey Henry

This week we profile Tracey Henry, CEO of Tshikululu Social Investments, which manages and advises on social investment funds 

Misplaced honour

Presidential elections are due in six African countries next year, namely Angola, Djibouti, Kenya, Mali, Somaliland and Sudan. While in some countries elections have tended to be robust affairs –... 

Frontier stalemate

A key consensus among Africa’s postcolonial leaders is that the national boundaries drawn by the European powers that partitioned the continent in Berlin in 1884 are as sacrosanct today as they... 

Keletjo Chiloane

This week we profile Keletjo Chiloane, senior associate at Mercer Career Consulting, which is part of the MarshMclennan group of companies and specialises in talent strategy, talent mobility, human... 

Brenton Spies

This week we Brenton Spies, MD of Boyco Engineering, which is involved in the design, manufacture and maintenance of specialised mobile heating, ventilation and air-conditioning solutions for... 

Promises, promises . . .

Someone once remarked that football matches are the most heated contests in much of Africa. But in today’s environment, where most countries are doing their best to at least be seen to be abiding... 

Murray Crow

Murray Crow, MD of Electrolux South Africa, a producer of floor-care appliances 

Tribute to Hammarskjöld

Just over six decades ago, former United Nations (UN) secretary-general Dag Hammarskjold died in mysterious circumstances in what is now Zambia. Some cried assassination, with more than a couple of... 

John Jacobs

This week we profile John Jacobs, CEO of Sweet-Orr & Lybro, a manufacturing and sales company 

Shining in the world

Africa’s got talent! For the latest evidence of this, one need not look further than US news magazine Time’s 2021 list of the most influential 100  individuals on Planet Earth in various spheres of... 

A forlorn continent

We Africans are an unhappy lot. I am not joking – scientifically derived statistics are available to back this up, and it appears the advent of Covid-19 has exacerbated our collective melancholy.... 

Katlego Makgata

This week we profiole Katlego Makgata, MD of Leoka Engineering, which procvides project management, design and engineering services, mainly in the mining sector 

Coup d’état comeback?

I remember, as a freshman in journalism school, a lecturer telling us that some Western newspapers and other media organisations had settled on a stock headline to use each time an African... 

Joblessness scourge

While the joblessness numbers released by Statistics South Africa recently make for sad reading, bringing the country’s unemployment scourge into sharp focus, the key takeaway is that it is young... 

Aneesh Misra

This week we profile Aneesh Misra, CEO of Sedibeng Iron Ore, an iron-ore mining company, and MD of IMR South Africa  

Costly blackouts

Africa’s despots – and they are numerous – are increasingly developing a worrying penchant for switching off social media networks to prevent citizens from sharing information they dislike or when... 

Dear ex-Prez Lungu

I guess you are busy moving house, following your electoral defeat, which spelled the end to your tenancy at State House in Lusaka. When things are less hectic, please spare a few moments to read... 

Thabi Malatji

This week we profile Thabi Malatji, a partner at professional services firm EY 

Yershen Pillay

This week we profile Yershen Pillay, CEO of the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority, a statutory body that is responsible for education, training and skills development 

Biased reporting is not okay

When Covid hit African shores in early 2020, many predicted the death toll would be much higher than in other regions, given the parlous state of the healthcare system in many countries on the... 

Tom Marsicano

This week we profile Tom Marsicano, CEO of and Change, a change management consulting and training company