Fidel Castro: A Flawed Hero

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs 1 Comment

The world has witnessed outpourings not only of grief at Fidel Castro’s passing but also admiration for his achievements. In South Africa, this has been especially pronounced amongst supporters of the ANC, EFF & Cosatu. The fact that Castro supported the ANC to obtain freedom for the Blacks in South Africa will never absolve Castro for repression, oppression, persecution and enslavement for his own people. 

The bald facts are that Castro was a dictator: pure and simple. 

Main picture:  Fidel Castro at MATS Terminal in Washington in 1959  Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: “New Church” in Main Street

By Dean McCleland in Opinion Pieces 2 Comments

One of the little known facts about Port Elizabeth of Yore is that there was another church in Main Street apart from St. Mary’s. It was known by the highly imaginative name of The New Church. It stood in Main Street between Donkin Street and Constitutional Hill, which extended down to Main Street in those days. This church was initially an independent church built by the members of Union Chapel. 

Main picture:  New Church is on the right looking towards the market square. One is unable to view the Town Hall at the end of Main Street, as it did not yet exist. 

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South Africa: Can we dare to dream again?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs 0 Comment

Like a sketch artist’s first lines on a blank piece of paper, at first the object is unclear and undefined. Yet as each additional line is applied to the sketch, the subject gains focus & the confused canvas gains clarity. So it is with the unfolding Zuma / Gupta / State Capture / dirty tricks /trumped up charges saga. Thuli Madonsela in her noble endeavour applied multiple illuminating strokes with the release of her much anticipated State Capture report.

 Yet, once again, there is insufficient granularity of detail in the sketch for a formal criminal charge to be laid. Instead, South Africa will have to wait again with bated breath for the final strokes to be applied: This time in the form of a commission of enquiry.

 Thoughts and comments on the imperfect sketch so far and prognostications about possible future events

Main picture: President Jacob Zuma, Atul Gupta and the Eastern Cape Premier Noxolo Kieviet at a New Age breakfast in Port Elizabeth

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Will this week be South Africa’s Berlin Wall Moment?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs 0 Comment

In hindsight, will the first week of November 2016 represent such a critical moment in South Africa’s fractious history? From a noble ideal to remove the shackles of apartheid from the majority of South African citizens, the ANC has descended into a cesspit of venality, corruption and the abuse of the organs of state for nefarious purposes. 

Yet this week has already witnessed the unravelling of implicit and unwavering support for the ANC by even its most ardent stalwarts.

 As such, could this month, which commenced so auspiciously for democracy in South Africa, be the advent of a new dawn? 

 Main picture: South Africa is burning, a metaphor for corruption, malefeasance and the capture of the organ of state

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Envisioning the Future

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs 3 Comments

With Janine at the Life Groenkloof hospital in Pretoria, I have been spending about four hours a day in my BMW. The time has not been wasted. The time has been used to envisage the future and to question why things are performed in the current manner. Trapped within my car with me, Alesha has been forced to endure my thought processes and speculative rantings. 

Amongst the topics discussed have been whether the university degree in its current format was dead, the future of the car radio & modern forms of electricity generation. 

Pictures: All of the pictures in this blog do not relate to the topics addressed but rather they reflect the wonder and beauty of nature 

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Presidential Debate #2 erases the last vestiges of restraint

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Opinion Pieces 0 Comment

After being woken at 2am by the hospital to report that my wife’s condition had deteriorated and was now on a ventilator, I had no option but to watch the American Presidential Debate on CNN as I was unable to sleep. 

How could Trump absolve himself from the controversy swirling around him regarding an offensive, lewd, lascivious comment which objectifies and demeans women? How did Trump handle such a crass comment? Did this debate merely confirm my previous opinions of the candidates and would it shift America’s public opinion?

Main picture: Presidential candidates square up  Continue reading

My Hero of the Week: Sipho Pityana

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs 2 Comments

Forsaking the timid passive route of quiet diplomacy, Sipho Pityana went for the jugular this week. The occasion was not some discrete inconspicuous meeting of academics or malcontents, but rather one where all the heavy-weights & decision makers were in attendance: the annual Mining Indaba. 

This was speaking truth to power not in spurts of incoherent anger and rage such as a blustering Malema, but rather the poetry of well-marshalled facts. Pityana exposed for the world to view, the rot that lay beneath the platitudes, the evasive replies, the blatant mendacious lies of a kleptocratic government and a supine populace and industry.

Main picture: Sipho Pityana

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