December 15 2006
In an article on uranium prices, “Uranium red-hot on skyrocketing demand“, the name of UraMin, a uranium mining company, was incorrectly referred to as UraMinco. We apologise for the error.
July 28 2006
On the front page of its July 28 edition, the Mail & Guardian stated that the Catholic Church is investigating 24 priests over suspected paedophilia. As the article of the edition, “Church probes 24 paedo-priests“, makes clear, this should have read ’24 incidents”. We apologise for the error.
December 2 2005
In its December 2 edition, the Mail & Guardian reported that former deputy president Jacob Zuma met senior members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party at his Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal on November 27 (“There was sex but no rape, Zuma tells unionists“).
This week, Zuma released a statement denying any ‘confessions” had been made to the union and communist leaders, adding that two of the three leaders had never been to Nkandla.
The M&G based its original report on a senior, well-placed source, and attempted to cross-check it before publication. Our judgement was that, given the source’s seniority and history with the newspaper, the information provided was reliable.
Through its own further inquiries, the M&G now believes that the date and venue of the meeting were not accurately reported. We apologise for the inaccuracy and will in future check all details with at least three sources before printing.
However, the M&G stands by the essence of its report — that unionists and the SACP leadership were briefed and that Zuma said he had had consensual sex with the alleged rape victim.
Apology
The South African Communist Party’s general secretary Blade Nzimande has pointed out that he was not at an Nkandla meeting with former deputy president Jacob Zuma on November 27 2005. He was in Johannesburg at a SACP central committee meeting in the day and then attended a function at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the evening.
The M&G apologises to Nzimande for the article ‘There was sex but no rape, Zuma tells unionists”, which stated that he was at Nkandla on November 27 where the former deputy president took him into confidence. Nzimande has also objected to the ‘Editor’s Note” of December 9 (‘All sound, no fury”) for implying that he lied. No such implication was intended. The M&G has put in place steps to ensure that its reporting of facts like venues and dates are accurate and that its reporting of the succession battle is watertight.
December 2 to 8 2005
The article “There was sex but no rape, Zuma tells unionists” wrongly refers to Jacob Zuma as “the country’s former president”. He is South Africa’s former deputy president and the current deputy president of the African National Congress.
October 21 to 27 2005
The reference to Down’s syndrome patients in an article by regular Fraser’s Razor columnist Ian Fraser, entitled “‘I read the news today, oh boy’” (September 7), was regrettable and the phrase was withdrawn a day after the column was published. The Mail & Guardian Online apologises unreservedly for any offence caused by the remark.
October 21 to 27 2005
In a sidebar accompanying ‘Kasrils lashes out at NIA boss” (October 14) we listed Parliament’s joint standing committee on intelligence under institutions in support of dismantling the Scorpions.
African National Congress MP Luwellyn Landers has since pointed out that the committee did not express any view in its submission to the Khampepe commission on the relocation of the Scorpions, but only raised concerns with regard to the oversight over the unit’s intelligence activities.
October 21 to 27 2005
In the article ‘Arendse: I’m being used”, about racism allegations against John Hlophe, in the same edition, we said Dene Smuts is the Democratic Alliance’s justice spokesperson. The position is, in fact, held by Sheila Camerer.
We apologise for the errors.
September 2 to 9 2005
Kebble’s fishy deal goes vrot
On the advice of its ombud, Franz Krüger, the Mail & Guardian would like to clarify and correct some aspects of last week’s report ‘Kebble’s fishy deal goes vrot”. The blurb said that the bid by the South Atlantic Fishing Company (Safco) had no boats when it applied for a series of licences to hunt tuna and swordfish off the West Coast. The paper accepts that Safco owned six boats, and that the blurb erred in this respect. However, the applications were made in the name of joint ventures between Safco and local communities, not in its own name. Government rules prevent the use of these boats under the licences issued, and the company has now been forced to fish out of the Namibian port of Luderitz while negotiating with Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) to be allowed to use the boats in South African waters.
In addition, several of the licences were granted on the basis of a signed quote with boatbuilders Tallies Marine, while MCM rules say applicants must own or ‘have guaranteed access” to a boat. While Safco construes these as firm orders, the boatbuilders say no order has been placed and the company itself confirms that the boats will only be built when the licencing difficulties have been resolved. The statement that there were no boats was too bald, and these complexities should have been clarified.
The blurb’s statement that the venture had no track record was not supported by the story. The paper accepts that various people involved in the venture have extensive experience in fishing.
The company has also denied local claims that it has failed to pay some Port Nolloth community members for work done.