Yearly Archives: 2001

Marianne Merten Want to find a peaceful final resting place with 24-hour security, rolling lawns, tree-lined paths, water features and a chapel? Memory Lane, the Western Cape’s first private cemetery, may be the answer. At present the 15ha stretch of land on the rural outskirts of Durbanville in the Mother City’s northern suburbs is still […]

replies … On behalf of the President we thank you for your letter of 19 March 2001. Your concern for the poorest of the poor is noted and appreciated. You are quite correct when you state that Foot and Mouth disease does not pose a human threat. However, I have done some research and was […]

There’s only one Harry Potter, and it’s British-born Daniel Radcliffe. Two owls play Hedwig: Gizmo and Sprout. Two versions of the film are being released. It is to be known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the United States. Any scenes that mention the philosopher’s stone were filmed twice: replacing sorcerer for philosopher. […]

analysis Raymond Suttner Many commentators have said one should not be surprised that the African National Congress wishes to form some form of cooperation agreement or alliance with the New National Party. Some see this as confirmation of a “truism” that even freedom fighters, once they get involved in “normal” politics, are prepared to bed […]

SERJEANT AT THE BAR Last week was a bad week for our constitutional enterprise. The week ended with the publication of the much-awaited report on the arms deal by the three public agencies. Understandably, the manner in which these three bodies were mandated to investigate meant that there would be even closer public scrutiny of […]

Barry Streek Telkom’s decision to implement an average 5,5% tariff hike for services without the approval of the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) has raised questions about the ability of “regulators” to effectively police parastatals as they are privatised. Apart from ensuring that state monopolies do not abuse their position, regulatory bodies are government’s […]

Niki Moore The paper war continues between political parties in Mandeni on the Zululand south coast, piling another controversy on to the collapsing Inkatha Freedom Party-led local government. The latest crisis has been sparked by the council’s apparent determination to ram through the appointment of disgraced academic Musa Xulu as the town’s new municipal manager. […]

Cosatu and the ANC have put aside their differences for now, and plan to meet to resolve tensions Glenda Daniels and Jaspreet Kindra In a clear move to ratchet down tensions in the tripartite alliance, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is to delay its planned “people’s summit” on the economy until it […]

Barry Streek The processing of the arms deal report in Parliament this week highlighted the ruling African National Congress’s determination to get the report out of the way in the shortest possible time and to give it the best possible spin. Six different parliamentary committees are examining the report, effectively diluting the role of the […]

Richard Calland I’m not sure it’s quite what Andy Warhol had in mind with his famous quip about how everyone would get their 15 minutes of fame, but according to Minister of Defence Mosiuoa Lekota: “The 15 minutes are over. It’s time to move on.” In an article about the arms deal report in several […]