Mgcinazwe Zwane
South Africa is officially in a technical recession after it registered a second consecutive negative quarterly growth this year. According to the Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), economic growth decreased by 0.7 percent during the first quarter of this year following a 0.3 percent contraction in the fourth quarter of last year. The Weekly’s Martin Makoni asked Central University of Technology (CUT) senior economics lecturer Mgcinazwe Zwane what this meant to the economy and what could have caused this negative growth. Makoni also asked Zwane how this economic slump could affect both businesses and consumers and what should be done…
Dr Hleze Kunju
There have been growing calls in South Africa to decolonise higher education and promote indigenous languages in schools and in the workplace. The Weekly’s Martin Makoni recently spoke to Sol Plaatje University education lecturer Dr Hleze Kunju who recently made headlines after he became the first Rhodes University doctoral candidate to write his entire PhD thesis in vernacular. Kunju, who gave a public lecture titled “The Decolonisation of the Higher Education Curriculum” on Africa Day at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein says he is not averse to the use of other languages but would like to see local…
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Thandi Modise
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) recently visited Xhariep District as part of a programme called “Taking Parliament to the People”. The biannual oversight programme which was launched in 2002, focused on healthcare challenges faced by people in that district. The Weekly’s Martin Makoni spoke to the NCOP chairperson Thandi Modise who led the visit, on the importance of the programme and what they hoped to achieve from the exercise. Makoni also asked Modise why the NCOP had a particular focus on health amid a host other issues faced by the district and whether there will be time to consider…
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