No image available
/ 10 November 2006
A tiny Scottish island where residents routinely leave their houses and cars unlocked has suffered its first burglary in living memory after a visiting workman stole £60. The culprit, who was later caught, was fined £400 and ordered to pay compensation to his victim.
No image available
/ 10 November 2006
This week, we expose a new business front set up by the African National Congress (ANC) to seek profit on its behalf. The Chancellor House group of companies has acquired ”empowerment” stakes in a range of businesses. Often these opportunities have depended on the government’s discretion. This means the ANC, as ruling party, has been both player and referee.
No image available
/ 10 November 2006
The African National Congress’s Chancellor House group has targeted investments in sectors of the economy where government institutions dish out opportunities such as business rights or contracts. When companies in which Chancellor holds a share compete for such opportunities, the ruling party becomes both player and referee. Chancellor’s biggest known deal is as part of a manganese consortium. Here are others.
No image available
/ 10 November 2006
The "Selebi dossier", made public this week, is a fascinating chronicle of Paul O’Sullivan’s relentless pursuit of his own case against Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi that has taken him to the heart of a Scorpions probe of the country’s top cop.
No image available
/ 10 November 2006
Former Limpopo premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi received a R100Â 000 payment from a businessman whose company won multimillion-rand tenders from his government, the Scorpions have alleged. This is just one of a range of cash benefits that allegedly flowed to him after a R750-million pensions administration contract was awarded to Cash Paymaster Services.
No image available
/ 10 November 2006
The battle for media freedom took another knock last week when the Cape Town High Court denied journalist Gasant Abarder’s right to appeal against an order to testify in a civil defamation case. Abarder had been subpoenaed to testify in a civil defamation dispute between two private litigants.
No image available
/ 10 November 2006
Viktor Vekselberg, the 48-year-old Russian oligarch, is not known for his corporate ethics. Described by <i>Forbes</i> as a "deal junkie", Vekselberg is ranked the third-richest Russian and the 44th richest person in the world by the magazine. His net worth is about $10-billion, accumulated predominantly through metals and oil.
No image available
/ 10 November 2006
Was the government swayed by diplomatic expediency and ruling-party funding needs when it granted strategic mineral rights to an African National Congress business front and Russia’s third-richest man? Vicki Robinson and Stefaans Brümmer report.
No image available
/ 10 November 2006
I perceive myself as a strong person because many people confide in me when they have problems or face challenges. A number of parents and learners of our school have confided in me about their HIV status. I always try to make them see that this is not the end of the world and assist them in joining support groups in the area. Fortunately, the school has a parent who is a volunteer in doing basic home care. He visits to wash and feed people and to make sure that they take their medication.
No image available
/ 10 November 2006
Tito Mboweni has come up against a new enemy in his battle to curb the credit-spending splurge. The banks. Flying in the face of the Reserve Bank governor’s attempts to bring down consumer spending and debt, South Africa’s banks are going into overdrive by offering consumers new lines of credit in an attempt to grow their books.