If you follow closely the South African political debates you cannot miss the one about what to do with the mines, yes, the mighty mines that will of course remind you of good old King Solomon’s Mines and Rider Haggard. The most recent piece to attract mine eye to the subject was in what I found to be a cute little headline. It said, “Let’s mine, not undermine”.

I got thinking that the writer of this gem had reason, but apart from that he had rhyme too, and the art of putting the two together is all so fine. But I got wondering whether the choice was a Hamlet one, between to mine and not to mine, whether in South Africa there were voices saying we should mine and others saying we shouldn’t mine. (more…)

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Katika mambo yanayoathiri juhudi za maendeleo, na wakati mwingine kuziviza na kuzirudisha nyuma ni utamaduni, desturi na mapokeo. Utamaduni umeelezwa mara nyingi kuwa ndicho kielelezo cha jamii au taifa, roho ya jumuiya na chimbuko la maelekezo ya ujumla ya watu husika.

Utata wa dhana ya utamaduni unajitokeza katika sura mbali mbali, na si wakati wote wanajamii husika wanaweza kukubalian juu ya nini kinaendana na utamaduni wao na kipi hakiendani nao. Mara nyingi kile kinachoitwa utamaduni kinaweza kuonyeshwa kwamba ni jambo la kuletwa lililopandikizwa kwa maslahi fulani na wala halina mashiko katika mapokeo ya jamii husika. (more…)

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I have never really liked the style of football played by the England national team, save for a couple of brilliant players such as, in recent years, Defoe, Becks and Michael Owen. Yet last night they put on a good display of some flowing football and could have won it against Italy. But, after the terrible mistake made by the referees in the match between the English and Ukraine in disallowing the latter’s perfectly legal goal, I felt that the only way some sort of judicious balance could be established was by England being knocked out of the tourney. Which the Italians were, of course, only too happy to do. Cheerio, Albion, try again next time.

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