Zukiswa Pikoli

The judiciary was the last line of defence during the years of state institution plunder and incapacitation, with Zuma at its centre, so it is all the more suspicious that the MK party's candidate to the JSC is John Hlophe.

Some may see the Kolisi’s relationship as a failure, but I have long stopped looking at life and how it sometimes unfolds through the restrictive binary lens of either ‘success’ or ‘failure’. Life is far more robust and textured than that.

Having studied the various leaders I have worked with, a trait that sticks out is that of having an abundance mindset as opposed to a scarcity mindset. The former is the belief that there are enough resources in the world for everyone, and the latter is the belief that there are limited resources that should be hoarded by a few.

US election, women's reproductive rights and alarming return to conservatism

In the middle of a mounting water crisis, the inconvenient truth being overlooked is that water is political. And, as usual, it is the most vulnerable who suffer.

We are the sum total of our experiences, and we have a right to hold on to our identities, and to not be told by society what or who you should be identifying as.

We live in a world that prizes the self-sacrificing art of being busy over the necessary care and rejuvenation of the self. There is a simple way to recharge and reset.

As I reflect on the Constitution and how it came into being, which, contrary to popular and populist belief, was through extensive consultation with ordinary South Africans from all walks of life spanning the length and breadth of the country and solidly researched and workshopped by experts, it is as concerning as it is sad that it is now being used by some as a means to sow division among us.

An innovative public-private partnership is making a meaningful difference in the fight against poaching, and an anti-plastic activist shows the way in fighting pollution.

I am optimistic that we are heading towards the new year with a renewed sense of active citizenry – as ordinary people who realise that power does not only lie in the hands of politicians.