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Hi. I'm a South African journalist - former editor of Financial Mail, Business Day & Business Maverick . I'm currently a senior editor on Currencynews.co.za.

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I.am.not.making.this.up💥 Citizenship Is a Right, Not a Favour: A Quietly Radical Judgment

One of the many downsides of today's smaller newsrooms is that some important issues just don’t get

Tim Cohen Jun 11, 2025 7 min read

I.am.not.making.this.up: 💥 BEE or Bust? SA’s Empowerment Dilemma in the Starlink Spotlight

If the Starlink debate has done anything, it has rekindled South Africa’s long-running, anguished and contested debate about Black

Tim Cohen Jun 6, 2025 11 min read

I.am.not.making.this.up. 💥 Fact checking the fact checkers: truthiness in the age of verified outrage

Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s theatrical meeting with Donald Trump on Wednesday last week, there has been an absolute outpouring

Tim Cohen May 29, 2025 9 min read

Watch 📺 - Donald Trump and the problem of having a BEE in your bonnet

The world and its distant relatives have had their say about the theatrical meeting between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa

Tim Cohen May 29, 2025 1 min read

I.am.not.making.this.up 💥 Bling, books, and base politics: The strange symmetry of Trump and Ramaphosa

In the end, they both came away with a book. The much-heralded confrontation between SA President Cyril Ramaphosa and US

Tim Cohen May 22, 2025 7 min read

I.am.not.making.this.up 💥 SA's terrible policing and the unacknowledged constitutional crisis

What do you do if your police force refuses to investigate certain kinds of crime? Essentially, in a constitutional democracy,

Tim Cohen May 18, 2025 7 min read

I.am.not.making.this.up💥Boere on the run: America’s newest reality show refugees

A curious pantomime is going to be performed this week when a whole bunch of Afrikaner farmer “refugees” arrive in

Tim Cohen May 11, 2025 10 min read

ICYMI 🔔 After the Bell: Plug in, or stall out? SA motor industry at yet another crossroads

What should South Africa do with its car industry, particularly in the face of the likelihood of new import tariffs

Tim Cohen May 8, 2025 4 min read

ICYMI 🔔 After the Bell: The Tao of Buffett — patience, principle and percentages

When you write about Warren Buffett, it’s pretty easy to run out of superlatives pretty fast. There are minor

Tim Cohen May 7, 2025 4 min read

I.am.not.making.this.up 💥 The State of Capture: From Saxonwold to the White House

US president Donald Trump has just passed his 100 days in office and as it unfolds, I can’t help wondering whether Americans should take a closer look at what happened during South Africa’s state capture period to see if there are any noteworthy parallels.

Tim Cohen May 4, 2025 10 min read

ICYMI 🔔 After the Bell: A humble epistle to Freedom Day

In political terms, 27 April 1994 was the greatest day in my life – as I’m sure it was for

Tim Cohen May 1, 2025 5 min read

LISTEN 🎧 Is freedom just another word for nothing left to lose?

LISTEN: Is freedom just another word for nothing left to lose?Most arguments in favour of freedom are positive: the

Tim Cohen May 1, 2025 2 min read