EDITOR’S NOTE

AS WE trudge along through Women’s Month, shocking news of violence against women and girls keeps buffeting us. Thankfully, this week there’s also a dollop of some positive news, with the resignation of former deputy minister of Higher Education, Mduduzi Manana.

It’s the right thing to do and quite rare in our politics. To help you understand Zim’s first lady and “first boys”, we have a package on page 3. Is it a case of like father, like sons or like mother, like sons? Shame on them.

The battle rages on between Enviroserv and a local civic group around the Upper Highway “stench”. Events took a new twist this week (see page 4).

“She made our aspirations her own and lost her life in the turmoil of our transition as the new South Africa struggled to be born in the dying moments of apartheid.”

Who was Nelson Mandela talking about here? With the tragedy we’ve been watching from a distance in Charlottesville, Dennis Pather’s piece on page 7 reminds us of this heroine who died young, 25 years ago.

On page 11 is a welltimed piece about the blockbuster movie Dunkirk. Commentators decry the narrative of Britain holding its own against the Nazis, as it fails to highlight the role of key players such as those Indian fighters who remained cool during the pivotal and harrowing 1940 evacuation.

Our boss, Dr Iqbal Survé, writes about the many lessons we can learn from our big brother in the Brics bloc, China (page 18). While Cyril Ramaphosa was not welcome at the fifth anniversary of the Marikana tragedy, his name was on everyone’s lips. A writer asks some hard questions (page 19).

Another anniversary worth remembering is that of the formation of the United Democratic Front. Should it have been kept alive? (See page 21.)