Reflections On SA’s Future Letter to the Editor by Duncan du Bois - 28th Apr 2022 Freedom Day should be an occasion to reflect upon the road South Africa has travelled since 1994. But applying even the most analytical detachment, not only is it difficult to find anything to applaud. It is equally difficult to embrace the future with anything less than scepticism. That outlook is also expressed by Tony Leon in his elegantly articulate book published last year titled Future Tense: Reflections on my troubled Land. Beyond his catalogue of the country’s descent into kakistocracy, his reference to historical precedents is helpful in fathoming the end run of the ANC. Despite the appalling failure and malfeasance of the ANC, its electoral dominance has been sustained by voter gratitude for its role in liberation. But, as Leon points
Significance Of Musk’s Twitter Ownership Editor Picks Featured Letter to the Editor by Duncan du Bois - 26th Apr 2022 History will mark April 25, 2022, as a day of monumental significance in the revival and survival of free speech when Elon Musk bought the Big Tech platform Twitter for $44 billion and became its sole owner. Musk, who has described himself as a “free speech absolutist,” regards free speech as “the bedrock of a functioning democracy” and intends to transform Twitter into “a genuine platform for free speech.” In a letter to the Board of Twitter, Musk stated “Twitter will neither thrive nor serve society in its current form.” For all who recognise diversity and value the free exchange of information and opinion Musk’s intentions should be applauded. After all, as John Milton stated centuries ago, “Whoever knew truth to be
COVID Draft Bill Echoes Rhodes’ Smallpox Response Letter to the Editor Opinion by Duncan du Bois - 7th Apr 2022 There appear to be strong parallels with how the outbreak of smallpox in the Kimberley diamond fields in 1883/84 was dealt with and the somewhat arcane nature of the amended draft health regulations regarding Covid treatment (The Mercury, April 6). Originating from migrant Mozambican workers, between November 1883 and the latter part of 1884, smallpox accounted for the deaths of 600 African mine labourers. For mining magnate and capitalist Cecil Rhodes, the possible closure of the diamond fields as a result of the disease was a prospect he refused to consider. Consequently, he ordered what historian Russel Viljoen termed “a conspiracy of silence.” Although his chief medical officer, Dr JA Smith, had verified the outbreak as smallpox, Rhodes blackmailed him into denying
WHO Strategy Is Disingenuous Letter to the Editor Opinion by Duncan du Bois - 4th Apr 2022 The World Health Organisation’s strategy concerning what it claims as the “unpredictable nature of the Covid-19 virus” is utterly disingenuous because it conceals the real intent of its strategy (The Mercury editorial, April 4). On March 3, the WHO began negotiations with more than 100 countries for a treaty by which individual states devolve their authority on health policies to the WHO. Thus, in terms of that treaty, which the WHO wants established by 2024, it would dictate health protocols and responses to be applied universally. In other words, individual states would defer their sovereignty over health matters to the WHO. It should also be noted that there is no provision for a public participation process in deciding whether a state should
Unemployment Is Socialism’s Product Highlighted Letter to the Editor Opinion Politics by Duncan du Bois - 31st Mar 2022 The hand-wringing over South Africa’s unemployment “ticking time bomb” (The Mercury’s front-page headline of March 31) overlooks the most basic cause of this tragic situation: socialism is the parent of unemployment. Thanks to their promotion of disinvestment, sanctions and economic sabotage, the ANC inherited an economy in 1994 which already had four million unemployed. Ever since then the figure has ballooned to way beyond ten million. Besides fundamental incompetence exhibited at every aspect of governance, deliberate marginalisation of the only sector that creates employment – private enterprise – has been core ANC policy. Driven by inflexible labour laws, enforced demographic representivity, radical economic transformation and now outright “majority rule,” as KZN Commissar Sihle Zikalala prescribes, the economic state of the country adheres
No Justification For More Vaxxing Featured Letter to the Editor Opinion by Duncan du Bois - 10th Mar 2022 It is difficult to contain one’s sense of dismay at the narrative advocating continued vaxxing against Covid-19 (Mercury editorial, March 7), when, in the light of the avalanche of data exposing the dire effects of the jab, the medical fraud of that narrative is so blatant. There is no science in continuing the jab given the overwhelming evidence from all the heavily vaxxed countries that it does not produce immunity and not only results in Covid re-infection but in major health deterioration and deaths. As a result vax mandates and passports have been scrapped in the UK and a string of European and American states. The negative health effects of the jab are attested to by several sources. A UK Government report
Disgraceful State Of The SANDF Editor Picks Letter to the Editor Opinion by Duncan du Bois - 25th Feb 202225th Feb 2022 As intended, the front page image of the parade SANDF IFV Ratels published on February 22 as part of the commemoration of Armed Forces Day is impressive. Unfortunately, the image does not reflect the state of the SANDF. For a start, those Ratels are about 35 years old and were used by the SADF during the Border war. That begs the question: what has happened to all the military hardware purchased under the Arms Deal of 20 years ago? According to DA MP Kobus Marais, who is a member of the Parliamentary Defence Force portfolio committee, most of that hardware is unserviceable. At its recent meeting the portfolio committee was told that of the 200 aircraft the Air Force has, only 46
