show ‘reform’ Nawaal Deane Sex, gangsters and robberies are the main focus of articles in the Boksburg Progressive Press, with drawings of dismal prison cells reflecting the gloomy life of a prisoner. The newspaper, introduced as a rehabilitation programme in the Department of Correctional Services’s Boksburg prison, may not interest Rupert Murdoch or Tony O’Reilly, […]
The government is planning to transfer one-third of all farming land to black people Barry Streek A revolutionary plan to transfer a third of all farm land to black people in coming years is being drawn up within the government. About 3,5-million hectares of South Africa’s agricultural land will be involved in the first five […]
Matthew Krouse Mail & Guardian editor Phillip van Niekerk has won the National Television and Video Association (NTVA) Avanti award for best script in the drama category for his contribution to the series Saints, Sinners & Settlers. This was one of the few surprises at the award ceremony, held at Kyalami on June 3, that […]
Several vacancies could pave the way for the appointment of more black judges to the Supreme Court of Appeal Khadija Magardie The Supreme Court of Appeal could soon undergo a major shake-up as several vacancies provide the opportunity to significantly alter the composition of an institution long criticised for being too white and too male. […]
Khadija Magardie A newborn South African baby can expect an average of 40 healthy years. That’s the grim news from researchers, as the HIV/Aids pandemic slashes up to seven years of healthy life expectancy off the average South African life. Next to Sierra Leone, Malawi and Namibia, South Africa ranks as one of the lowest […]
Tracey Naughton Currently showing in Pretoria is an exhibition of Australian Aboriginal art owned by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Some may question this showcasing of Aboriginal culture, titled Seasons of the Kunwinjku, in the context of the Australian prime minister’s reluctance to offer an official apology for the effects of history […]
Philippa Garson CLASS STRUGGLE Two very different education “stories” dominated the news last week, both encapsulating the bizarre contradictions of this land. The first was the findings of the Curriculum Review committee, which in measured tones discussed its recommendations at a lengthy and fairly highbrow technical briefing. The second was the less palatable and frankly […]
Dale McKinley CROSSFIRE South Africa is a strange place to be if you count yourself as a political activist and/or commentator. It often seems as if this sizeable sector of our population is caught in a linguistic time warp, what with echoes of vain, glorious, nationalist verbiage ringing in our Southern African ears, resistant strains […]
present Ben Joseph Wayne Barker and Claire de Jong have mounted an exhibition at the NSA Gallery in Durban entitled Lost & Found. The work is characterised by bold neon statements, such as Loss, Hunger, Memory, mounted on large constructions of disfigured books and wax. Suggesting the work of some of the pop artists, objects […]
Fossil-spotting might not be the most interactive form of entertainment around, but on the tour of the Cradle of Humankind our ancient ancestors come to life Katy Chance It’s cold, rather grey and drizzling. At the tail end of one of Johannesburg’s wettest and coldest summers in living memory, it seems fitting to find myself […]