WWW.DAILYMAVERICK.CO.ZA
Having spent years living in Zimbabwe in the early 1990’s and then in Botswana in the early 2000’s, I try my best to keep up with developments in these two countries, through friends living in the two countries, but also through books and different media outlets. Having been involved in the anti-apartheid struggle in different ways since my youth, I also try to follow developments in South Africa. Understanding how present-day leaders of the country, in particular President Zuma, manage what they inherited from President Mandela, is important I believe. Considering the importance of South Africa for the entire continent of Africa, both as a symbol of freedom and democracy and as an economy of size, this is necessary for all of us.
Right now it is also rather disturbing to follow developments in South Africa (as well as in Zimbabwe for that matter), to put it mildly. It seems like President Zuma and his closest and most trusted followers have decided to pursue their own narrow self-interests, without much concern for what this means to the large majority of poor South Africans. Exactly what is taking place is not easy to understand for an outsider (maybe not even for insiders I would argue), so you need some help from good jornalists and level-headed commentators. Having subscribed to the daily online news stories from the Daily Maverick for several months now, I believe I have found a solid and trusted source. Please try it out yourself – it is free of charge. I don’t think you will be disappointed! In addition to the well researched stories, you will also get creative examples of the cartoonist Zapiro taking on the top level decision makers of the country, as well as President Trump and other world leaders.
While the majority of stories tend to cover developments in South Africa, the Daily Maverick is not only about political and economic developments in South Africa. You will find interesting articles about other countries on the continent, including Zimbabwe. But even more important, you will find articles about developments in Europe and about how Mr. Trump is dealing with politics and democracy in the United States. It is really useful to get the different perspectives on what is happening in the Global North from smart journalists in South Africa.