Three weeks back I learnt a lesson which was as enriching as it was disappointing.
It was with enthusiasm that I picked up the phone to call my most revered columnist, Aubrey Matshiqi, for a comment on an ANC ‘integrity body' story I was preparing for Business Day. Disappointingly, I got a "no comment."
But it was a lesson I will cherish for the rest of my scribbling days. For Mr Matshiqi taught me that commentary on matters of public interest is a craft one should approach with dignity, integrity and honour.
"I have not applied my mind to the matter you are referring to," he said. "If I give you a comment it would be no different from a bus or taxi talk."
Why am I sharing this little pearl of wisdom with you?
Moeletsi Mbeki is reported to have given a fierce speech addressing the Cape Town Press Club where he said: "The ANC is not the future of the country. We should stop obsessing about the ANC. The ANC has ceased to be the future of South Africa if it continues (as it has been). We have to ask ourselves: who is the future of the country?"