Welcome Annemarie. Growing up in East London, I spent many weekends and holidays in Chintsa East with my grandparents who retired there, it is such a stunning place. Thank you for your recommendation, you can find the Pretoria subhub here: Pretoria - Daily Maverick Connect
Good morning all, my name is Kirstin Otten. I live in Joburg and run my own environmental consulting business. We work across South Africa and neighbouring states. I am passionate about the environment and love our country for all it has to offer. I am also keen to stay in touch with other like minded people and stay in touch with what is happening around us. Travel is like a drug to me - cannot get enough of it, but sadly finances and time limit my opportunities. Anyway my daily fix of DM is an important part of my routine. thank you to all who work so hard at it, much appreciated.
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IT Guy | Music/Movie/Book Junkie | Freelance Photographer | Fitness freak | Wannabee traveler
Claude AI’s summary of me, based on the above:
I’m an IT professional based in Pretoria, working at the CSIR, with a genuine passion for technology and a diverse range of interests that keep life interesting. When I’m not managing systems or developing solutions, I’m diving into music, films, and books – always on the hunt for something new to discover. I also work as a freelance photographer, which allows me to explore my creative side and capture compelling moments. Staying active is important to me, so I make fitness a regular part of my routine. I’m also an aspiring traveller with a growing list of destinations I’m eager to explore. As I look toward the future, I’m preparing for retirement in the beautiful coastal town of Knysna in the coming years. I enjoy bringing the same problem-solving mindset from my IT work to all my pursuits, whether that’s recommending the perfect book, planning a photo shoot, or helping friends with their tech challenges.
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Thank you, Sarah. I went to Indwe High School and my late husband’s grandparents had a farm in Alice. So we both loved the Eastern Cape and later built a holiday home in Chintsa East. I agree, it is a stunning place. Thank you for the link to the Pretoria subhub.
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Greetings, my name is Tess Fairweather. I am delighted by the awesome response to this typical Maverick initiative. At the top of the list of reasons I want to be part of the DMC is my passionate belief in The Power of Small Business. I will eventually fill you all in on my Tax work, Freelance Journalism, and my business start-ups on three continents. Over time I may bore you with stories about my extraordinary children and their lovely offspring, but as I approach frail-care age, there is still so much I can do to make my dream of a SMEE driven economic revolution come true. And I hope that DMC will be part of all that.
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Hi Everyone
My name is Greg Lehmann . I have emigrated to Scotland 3 years ago but have remained a DM insider and will continue to support this amazing Investigative Journalist organisation . Its where I go, and what I trust to get honest reporting
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Hi. My name is Anthony Grant.
I am a Chartered Accountant with 25 years banking experience, specifically foreign exchange and payments.
I am currently involved in a number of initiatives, but and passionate about growing the EV market in South Africa. Not only the roll out of EV’s, but also the related infrastructure and ecosystem that supports it. This obviously leads to sustainable energy and lots related to it.
Well done to Daily Maverick on your excellent reporting, it is top quality and highly professional. I am curious and looking forward to see how this platform evolves - great initiative.
Looking forward to The Gathering at the end of August.
Cheers
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Hi All - Kurt Ackermann here, privileged to collaborate with the Daily Maverick’s Food Justice project and team, and long-time DM supporter. Cape Town-based working in the food system in marginalised communities. Co-founder of the Oranejzicht City Farm and Market and host of the annual Food Indaba, I head up a small non-profit.
I have to say that investing in another social media platform gives me great anxiety, but will hold that for now, trusting the DM team will manage the issues and risks to the same standard they manage their reporting and publishing. Wishing us all luck finding/creating an exception to the law of ensh*ttification.
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Good day all!
I am Constant Fourie. After an interesting career based in communication: establishing commercial Radio and TV transmission sites, electronic design (e.g. DStv remotes), and managing provicial and national residential TV and fibre installations, I am now basically retired (last consulting job finished in March). These days I keep myself busy being the caretaker at home in Randburg where all my children (3 working and 1 still studying) are all living. I love adding value and am open to lending a hand when requested. I keep up with the news from various sources, but DM is the only one I deem worthy of a financial contribution. Keep up the absolutely essential work!
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I did my PhD in Edinburgh. Go back almost every year to see friends and run the marathon 
Amazing place with less than amazing weather 
Hi All, my name is Milton. I am a small business owner/franchisee of a well known security barrier company on the South Coast in Shelly Beach, KZN. I love DM for my morning wakeup, my mid morning coffee break, afternoon catchup and my evening sundowner wrap up of days events. Not much happens down the slo coast, so i keep in the loop with DM. Thanks to the Team for the awesome work you do to keep the news newsworthy and truthful!
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Hi my name is Gordon Stay and I am currently retired. I worked in logistics (Clearing & Forwarding) for 42 years. I have been a consultant in the industry for about 9 years. I love South Africa and trusting for a better future for all South Africans.
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Hi. My name is Glenda Warburton and I live in White River, Mpumalanga. I was born and lived most of my life in Eswatini. I was a journalist there in the 70’s and 80’s and am currently working on a memoir from that time. So looking forward to interactions on this group.
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Hi Dave
I have bought and read your book and passed it round to many friends. It was both enlightening and disturbing and I take my hat off to you and your wife for the way you both dealt with it. I’m in Jenn’s book club, by the way, so I am kept abreast of events in your lives.
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Hi everyone, it has been great to read all of your introductions and learn more about you. The introductions don’t have to stop here: head over to your profile to update your username, name and bio so that we keep the connections growing.
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Hi fellow DM Writers and Insiders. My name is Susanne Karcher and I am based in Cape Town. I studied Chemical Engineering -not to work like one typically - but to be able to do things slightly different and hopefully better :-). I run an Environmental Consulting business specialising in pollution and waste prevention. I am also very passionate about applying the Circular Economy as a key growth strategy for Africa. So in 2016 I became a co-founder of the African Circular Economy Network -also known as ACEN where I am still a director. Check us out at www.acen.africa- we have now 400 members in 52 countries who are passionate to rediscover the power of local self-reliance and the abundance that lies in a sharing economy for Africa
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Good afternoon all. My name is James Campbell and I am running my fourth listed junior exploration and development company after spending 20-years at a corporate. I am also chair of a leadership development non profit organisation. I am passionate about mining entrepreneurship (am currently undertaking a doctorate in this area), leadership and travel (particularly offroading). Am a geologist by profession and have an MBA.
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Hi Rob
Would you be able to advise me what to do with my Grand Father’s stamp collection?
Thanks
Carl
Hello everyone. My name is Niki and I live in Somerset West. I currently work as the Programme Manager for a small but passionate NGO, who’s key focus is violence against women and girls prevention education. I am a voracious reader and an above-averagely good cook - being in the kitchen is my happy place and I really love the conviviality, generosity and sociability of sharing a delicious meal and a glass of wine. A walk on the beach or in nature is how I decompress and despite truly terrible coordination and dodgy balance, I show up on my yoga mat with so much joy. I love a road trip and the African bush is my top vacation destination. I find robust debate stimulating and enticing and “keeping up” with what’s happening in the world is important to me.
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Hi everyone, I’m Sarah-Leah. I work for a tech start up that builds language models in low-density languages to detect things like hate speech, mis/dis/malinformation, artificial information campaigns in some of the most volatile parts of the world. We have helped humanitarian organizations, public officials and private industries understand what people in the forgotten places of the world are feeling and what they think about the world around them. The aim is to get assistance to those who need it but also to detect threats earlier to prevent or stymy conflict. I do this because I’m of the opinion that societies are not media literate and if we are to prevent the next global cycle of conflict, we need to start by fighting the information war.
And that is why I love the Daily Maverick. It provides some of the best investigative journalism I’ve seen and commentaries are often well thought out and not prone to the hysterics we see in so many segments of the media today. I’m a huge fan and so delighted that we know have our own community!
In my spare time, I play some tennis, I grow vegetables in my garden, I read (not as much as I’d like), and write for faith-based publications, mostly on issues of social justice.
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