
Up In Smoke – The Lockdown Ban On Cigarettes Has Run Out Of Puff
Up In Smoke – The Lockdown Ban On Cigarettes Has Run Out Of Puff

Up In Smoke – The Lockdown Ban On Cigarettes Has Run Out Of Puff

As our long lockdown continues, with no immediate end in sight, the edges are starting to unravel. We hear more and more, on various media platforms, how people are growing increasingly restless and frustrated, challenging the Government’s decisions on what is and isn’t permissible under level 4 restrictions. Why, for example, can we buy winter clothes but not underwear? Why can’t we buy cigarettes? Of course, these are only some of the frustrations for South Africans.

American author James Lane Allen famously said, “Crisis does not build character, it reveals it.” It also, as has been shown by some of the world’s leaders during the Coronavirus crisis, reveals a lack of it!

American medical experts estimate that for every confirmed case of COVID-19, there could be as many as between five and 10 undetected cases. This is a virus that’s hiding in plain sight.

The Corona virus has impacted our daily lives in ways we could not have foreseen a few weeks ago.

In a recent interview on SABC 2’s Morning Live, Andile Mazwai, Founder and CEO of Ikhala Private Equity, gave some extremely thought-provoking answers to questions on whether or not South Africa’s State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) should be privatised.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) recently released its 2019 report on public sector corruption in 180 countries around the world.

Welcome to our first missive for the new year, and indeed, the new decade! Happy New year to you all. We hope 2020 is a productive and prosperous one for you personally, and for our country as a whole. We so desperately need this year to herald the start of a return to ethical leadership – from both our government and our corporates.

When it comes to fighting corruption in both the private and public sectors, South Africa would seem to be something of an enigma.

South Africa’s reputation as an ethically dodgy and pervasively corrupt country is sadly becoming as much a part of our identity as our magnificent scenery, wonderful game parks and colourful people.