Litnet

"Unperturbed by local-level drama, almost as if local elections 2016 had not happened, life in the Zuma lane of South African politics continues."

"These young leaders are ysters. We should all aspire to be active in our communities, just as they are."

"While it is true that white racism and attitudes of supremacy are still present to an unacceptable degree, it is not the crucial problem in South Africa right now."

"Consultation, for want of a better word, with the universities alone is not enough. The matter should have been subject to systematic public discussion."

"So what’s up with the hesitation to speak Afrikaans publicly? Or to conduct interviews about politics in Afrikaans? Or speak about the magic of books in Afrikaans?"

"Afrikaans, one of the youngest languages in the world, will be extinct in less than a century from now."

"Piracy has provided us with endless entertainment options."

The vandalising of close to 30 schools through arson and other means in Vuwani from late in April to early May left the nation puzzled. Hans Pienaar spoke to a resident who prefers to remain anonymous, as he fears for his safety.

"In the above, the interdependence between me, the writer, and you, the reader; between Kropotkin and Darwin; between Fourie and Ramose; and so between different human populations and the primacy of humane, ethical and equitable relations is thus the only discernible law of nature according to ubuntu and African philosophy."

"Having come out of apartheid and decades of censorship, as a society we are incredibly wary of any kind of censorship, particularly if it comes from institutions. As we should be. But in almost every case where white South African visual artists have screamed 'censorship' I’ve struggled to locate institutional/governmental censorship ..."

"Acquiring new artworks and curating desirable images and objects is the easy part. The hard part is changing the inner workings of the actual institution, not just the look of the institution."

"One way to decolonise objects in a meaningful way is to let go of the Ozymandian idea that art has to last in one form, for all time, in order to have meaning or force. After fire, new things grow."

"I am totally opposed to the kind of direct action that was taken in Cape Town and now in other places. It precludes discussion and I think a democracy is based on the idea that when you have differences you can talk about it … it’s fundamental …"

"On a more constructive note, colonial artworks can be curated in such a way that they reveal and expose the inner workings of colonialism. They can be set in dialogue with contemporary works that bring out fresh valences in their content or they can be used as conceptual raw material for the creation of radical new artworks."

"Let the art prevail, colonial or not colonial. This is an expression of how certain artists interpreted what they saw at certain times in history."

"I ask that you accept that whatever I have done, I have done in accordance with the dictates of my conscience ..."

"Student grievances have been the subject of some of the best post-apartheid novels. These are not books that appeared briefly in print, sold a few hundred copies and disappeared without trace. They have been prescribed for school and university, reprinted many times, and translated into different languages."

"So, did Hendrickse, who was chairperson of the Ministers’ Council in the House of Representatives at the time, and also a member of the Botha cabinet, really apologise to Botha for the swim, as is widely believed?"

"Why is there such lethargy and dithering on the commitment to the effective recognition and implementation of multilingual policy, especially with regard to the indigenous languages of South Africa? Why do these languages not play a central role in society in general and education in particular?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, something is brewing in South Africa. I do not know the name of that something, but I know that it is irreversible and will continue to brew and boil over, whether we give it permission to do so or not."