JOHN GI CLARKE: Ronnie Kasrils and the hadeda hypothesis
'Two inelegant hadedas’ with their long decurved bills, were stalking about looking for worms as dawn arrived. Extremely nervous creatures, they took flight at my appearance'
What do Nik Rabinowitz (stand-up comedian) and Ronnie Kasrils (former Cabinet minister, MK Commander and SACP leader) have in common? Besides being Jewish men, the Hadedah Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) has poked its long beak into the creative consciousness of both. The standard setting body for the profession of Chartered Secretary, the Chartered Secretaries Southern Africa (CSSA) use the Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius), as the logo that symbolically defines its corporate identity. It’s a good metaphor for the work that a company secretary does. The CSSA website explains. “The secretary bird is indigenous to Southern Africa and acquired its name from the resemblance of its black head-plumes to a secretary with a quill pen behind the ear. However, the bird was inadvertently aptly named as certain of its characteristics are most appropriate to Chartered Secretaries and other governance professionals. The most prominent of these characteristics are acuity and an advanced abi...
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