IN THE summer of 2003 Mafika Mkhwanazi was abruptly sent to pasture by the Ain't Seen Nothing Yet government after he could not get transport logistics company Transnet to move beyond the push-start position.
Mkhwanazi had been Transnet's group chief executive officer for less than three years when he was relieved of his duties and replaced by Maria Ramos, a no-nonsense taskmaster and action-oriented executive.
Last week - seven years later - Mkhwanazi returned as chairperson of the board of the state-owned enterprise that, under him, was going nowhere.
After seven years in the wilderness, is Mkhwanazi now suitable to preside over the business affairs of a company he led without much success?
But things have changed. Ain't Seen Nothing Yet now has a new man at the top who is seemingly on a crusade to undo everything that his predecessor did.
Was Mkhwanazi a victim of the political scheming of the Tobacco Pipe Smoking Individual, who has himself now fallen by the wayside politically, or did his dismissal have anything to do with his competence? Is this the beginning of the return of the vanquished?
Only time will tell.
But for now, Mkhwanazi has arrived. After all, his first name means "the one who arrives" in isiZulu.
United States a bad loser
The US hates the prospects of being second best.
Watching China prosper economically and being widely used as a model for success by the developing world must be very painful for leaders of this once prosperous nation that now finds itself in a dire economic situation.
In a leaked secret diplomatic cable a senior US government official describes China as a "pernicious economic competitor with no morals".
The official, assistant secretary of state for African affairs Johnnie Carson, continues in his diatribe, in reference to China's increased presence in Africa: "China is not in Africa for altruistic reasons . China is in Africa for China primarily."
Well, that could well be the case.
But before the bubble burst, wasn't "America in Africa for America primarily"? Smacks of the behaviour of a bad loser.
How to make a fortune
Guluva found the following quotation by an unnamed author in his SMS inbox the other day: "Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune."
No prizes for correctly guessing the name of a high-profile Mzansi politician to whom this quotation aptly applies.
ONSIDE: Vehicle manufacturer GWM deserves to be applauded for providing our golden girl, women's 800m world champion Caster Semenya, with a set of luxury wheels at a time when many local and international companies are inexplicably shunning her.
OFFSIDE: Highly acclaimed British spin-doctor Max Clifford, who represents murder suspect Shrien Dewani, is desperately swimming against the tide.
Despite overwhelming evidence - though still untested - that links Dewani to the murder of his wife Anni during their honeymoon in Cape Town, Clifford seems to think that anyone with an opinion contrary to his, especially South Africans, need to have their heads examined.
Guluva can only wish him good luck in his job.
Email Guluva on: thatha.guluva@gmail.com.
The return of the vanquished
IN THE summer of 2003 Mafika Mkhwanazi was abruptly sent to pasture by the Ain't Seen Nothing Yet government after he could not get transport logistics company Transnet to move beyond the push-start position.
Mkhwanazi had been Transnet's group chief executive officer for less than three years when he was relieved of his duties and replaced by Maria Ramos, a no-nonsense taskmaster and action-oriented executive.
Last week - seven years later - Mkhwanazi returned as chairperson of the board of the state-owned enterprise that, under him, was going nowhere.
After seven years in the wilderness, is Mkhwanazi now suitable to preside over the business affairs of a company he led without much success?
But things have changed. Ain't Seen Nothing Yet now has a new man at the top who is seemingly on a crusade to undo everything that his predecessor did.
Was Mkhwanazi a victim of the political scheming of the Tobacco Pipe Smoking Individual, who has himself now fallen by the wayside politically, or did his dismissal have anything to do with his competence? Is this the beginning of the return of the vanquished?
Only time will tell.
But for now, Mkhwanazi has arrived. After all, his first name means "the one who arrives" in isiZulu.
United States a bad loser
The US hates the prospects of being second best.
Watching China prosper economically and being widely used as a model for success by the developing world must be very painful for leaders of this once prosperous nation that now finds itself in a dire economic situation.
In a leaked secret diplomatic cable a senior US government official describes China as a "pernicious economic competitor with no morals".
The official, assistant secretary of state for African affairs Johnnie Carson, continues in his diatribe, in reference to China's increased presence in Africa: "China is not in Africa for altruistic reasons . China is in Africa for China primarily."
Well, that could well be the case.
But before the bubble burst, wasn't "America in Africa for America primarily"? Smacks of the behaviour of a bad loser.
How to make a fortune
Guluva found the following quotation by an unnamed author in his SMS inbox the other day: "Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune."
No prizes for correctly guessing the name of a high-profile Mzansi politician to whom this quotation aptly applies.
ONSIDE: Vehicle manufacturer GWM deserves to be applauded for providing our golden girl, women's 800m world champion Caster Semenya, with a set of luxury wheels at a time when many local and international companies are inexplicably shunning her.
OFFSIDE: Highly acclaimed British spin-doctor Max Clifford, who represents murder suspect Shrien Dewani, is desperately swimming against the tide.
Despite overwhelming evidence - though still untested - that links Dewani to the murder of his wife Anni during their honeymoon in Cape Town, Clifford seems to think that anyone with an opinion contrary to his, especially South Africans, need to have their heads examined.
Guluva can only wish him good luck in his job.
Email Guluva on: thatha.guluva@gmail.com.
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