/ 12 March 2018

​Unembargoed: March 9 to 15

All the articles are free to read.
All the articles are free to read.

‘Jobs for votes’ scandal rocks ANC

A council allegedly gave work to branch members in return for backing NDZ at the party conference

‘My late mom loved chicken polony’

Long before red flags were raised, this family fell victim to listeriosis. And tragedy has struck again

No gold on the other side of the rainbow for retrenched workers

A year after they were retrenched by Rainbow Chickens at the height of the dumped-chicken crisis, life is bleak for the bulk of the 1 300 workers who lost their jobs.

State agency lied to spy on reporter

Her cellphone records were obtained in a bid by the rail regulator to find a whistle-blower

Sharing the land among those who work it

This week Lucas Ledwaba writes about women in Limpopo’s Sekhukhune district who have used the land to improve their lives

Cosatu turns on Cyril about VAT

Besides wanting more goods to be zero-rated, the federation is upping public sector wage demands

Free State ANC branches rattle elective conference

Hopes for unity are further complicated by divisions in the anti-Magashule branches

Mantashe takes on mining laws

Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has moved to settle disagreements about mining legislation and push through the Mining Charter and the Mineral Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill within five months.

DA to gun for renegades at conference

The party wants to alter its constitution to allow it to recall office bearers found to oppose its policies

I’m not going for cheap votes over land, says Lekota

“Don’t give land to people who don’t know how to use it; give it to people who you have prepared”

Slice of life: Brotherhood’s indelible bonds

‘You start to realise that people are really scared; it’s a fear that in every relationship something is going to go wrong and it’s going to end.’

Another KZN commission smothered

Public watchdogs are dismayed that the Moerane inquiry’s findings, like others, won’t be released

RAF, Medscheme marriage under the spotlight

A multimillion-rand contract between Medscheme and the Road Accident Fund (RAF) is at the centre of an investigation after a whistle-blower alleged close personal ties between officials of both entities.

Mchunu tries to defuse Zulu land row

It’s feared that ditching the Ingonyama Trust Board could plunge the province into violence

HEALTH:

#Listeriosis: Six ways to keep calm and carry on

The head of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases’ listeria investigation, Juno Thomas, tells us which foods to bin and how.

AFRICA:

Living with the ghosts of Gukurahundi

Twenty-thousand Zimbabweans were slaughtered in a brutal purge of Mugabe’s perceived opponents. Mnangagwa played a role in organising the crackdown

Zimbabwe mum on abducted activist

Three years and one regime later, Itai Dzamara’s family is still waiting for information about his fate

Mali farmers plant seeds of hope

Crops such as fonio, a plant indigenous to West Africa, rather than those planted for export, are being grown to fight hunger and climate change

Rumbles follow Sierra Leone elections

“There are complaints from the opposition that the ruling party’s partisans are stuffing ballots”

BUSINESS:

Listeria sleuths ‘called for’ backup

Enterprise Foods barred health officials twice so the police were summoned for the third attempt

Listeriosis: Mind the regulatory gap

The regulations and management of food safety standards need to be overhauled, say experts

Gupta firms are viable but …

The banks are fighting shy of the politically hot companies, putting business rescue in jeopardy

Energy regulator forces Eskom to cut its costs

Nersa has told Eskom it cannot pass cost increases on to consumers. Rather, it will be expected to cut operational costs and inefficiencies

Financial sector gets wake-up call

Following several reports, it has again been criticised for not transforming enough

FRIDAY:

Women want action, not words

Despite many African governments having signed and ratified that bible for African feminists, the Maputo Protocol, which, in article 3, affords women the right to dignity, little action is taken on the ground about violence against women.

Oscar, you’re white, and you know what? Fine

In Hollywood, it is always a season of firsts, and a reason to try out a new hashtag

The history of the land reverberates in Kudu

The play is the dissection of a homogenised blackness. Kudu at once foregrounds the antagonism, erasure and ignorance surrounding the Khoi heritage, while questioning the legacy of prominent groupings in the country such as AmaXhosa.

Radiant child: Jiyane captured in the dead of night

A portrait of the enigmatic but gifted jazz cat and artist is conjured through the eyes of photographer (and admirer) Tseliso Monaheng

Love is three vegan ice scoops in a tub

“I thought, if life isn’t just for humans — like it runs through animals and everything — then if I carry on eating animals then I’m basically eating souls. So I decided I don’t want to do that anymore. So I started looking into veganism and I realised there’s no way I’m not eating my favourite dessert.”

Ouédraogo shone on Africa’s soul

The filmmaker’s focus on the banal and routine drew attention to the people, their languages and practices

Short, sharp prods at our psyche

A collection of short stories flirts with surrealism in its rendering of the complex South African condition

Old school barber, new school politics

Sometimes you discover that people you expect to be stuck in the past are in sync with the future

COMMENT & ANALYSIS:

Land reform can be done reasonably

Any amendment must be constitutional, which means certain principles must be adhered to

EDITORIAL: When a king turns on his subjects

By attacking people’s basic plea for dignity, the war King Zwelithini threatens is really on the people he claims to lead and protect.

EDITORIAL: Home affairs hypocrisy

For migrants who have watched the Gupta citizenship saga over the past week, rage does not begin to describe their feelings.

There’s no queue jumping, like Atul

The purgatory of home affairs saw me playing the journo card but at least I feel guilty about it

Urban land question is also urgent

Intra-elite contestation on land seldom takes the often bitter struggles of the urban poor seriously

Claiming your climax is hard

And the Oscar for best orgasm depicted in a biopic goes to … Kagure Mugo

FIFTH COLUMN: Ham, polony and the whole bang(er) shoot

“I don’t think that you are,” says Fish Paste. “I heard polonies are disappearing all over. It’s a genocide; ethnic cleansing if I ever saw it. Polonies, viennas, frankfurters. If you’re cold meat, buddy, you’re toast”

Free higher education won’t be free

The campaign for free higher education fails to consider who actually pays for it

SPORT:

Chiefs’ superfan is living his dream

Exuberant communications manager Vina Maphosa is committed to promoting Amakhosi

A barefoot Aussie runs for love

This crazy athlete from Down Under wants to break borders between people and eradicate hate

Saru ethics take glint off Rassie hire

The new Bok coach’s six-year contract and close bond with his bosses have some crying ‘jobs for pals’

 

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