This week's M&G is now free to read online.
Brace yourself for tougher times
The petrol price hike will have a ripple effect on other consumables, with the poor worst hit
Zuma itch causing ANC discomfort
Some NEC members believe a rebellion is being formed against President Ramaphosa
DA backs Max’s move as Madikizela fumes
The ex-cop, frustrated by not being able to use his policing skills in the Western Cape, has been poached by Cele
Evictees’ lives turned inside out
Winter arrived with force in Cape Town this week, and for some the driving rain adds to the suffering that comes with being evicted
Now SAA has landed at the CCMA
Former staff accuse ‘turnaround’ chief executive of purging those who fail to do his bidding
Pupils feel the heat of arsonists
The basic education departments cannot afford to replace or refurbish schools burnt in protests
Slice of Life: ‘We’re told to be cold’
‘I was working on a story on male corrective rape and, during that time, I had this recurring dream
Overtreated, overcharged and misled
The Competition Commission has found you are paying more for less when it comes to medical aid
Lily Mine’s revival may be derailed if claims of negligence are proven
Just months after clinching a deal to revive the Lily Mine in Mpumalanga, Vantage Goldfields now faces claims that it was acting negligently while the mine was under care and maintenance
Polls Mexican style: Sex, sport and rock
‘Fifteen men running for city council in the southern state of Oaxaca were disqualified when the electoral court ruled they were not transgender, as they claimed, but straight men trying to cheat gender quotas’
Women farmers need land but not  all want expropriation
Some believe the state can’t simply take land but others argue that the Constitution must be amended’
Rural life under the yoke of baas and chief
The land committee in Mpumalanga and Limpopo heard stories marked by heartbreak, anger, confusion, willingness and fear
A greybeard lost in his family’s land
His father was robbed of freedom and of his land, now he hopes justice will be won for those to come
Trump sounds mad but his trade war makes sense, says Mchunu
An increase in customs tariffs might be what South Africa needs to ward off an influx of foreign imports that are threatening the survival of local industries, says ANC national executive committee member Senzo Mchunu
Premier hopeful: ‘Work the land’
The Tshwane metro’s DA speaker believes agriculture will stimulate the province’s economy and generate jobs
ANC regions get behind Makhura
Mashatile’s vacant seat as party chair in Gauteng will be filled by the premier ‘to bring stability’
Rising star puts her hand up for youth league’s top job
ANC Youth League national executive committee member Victoria de Beer is hoping to make history by becoming its first woman president when the young lions convene their elective conference in September.
MUT head’s lavish life slammed
The university’s council was aware of the abuse of resources but nothing was done to stop it
HEALTH:
Policing power: Whose job is it anyway?
There is no shortage of provincial health crises. But old watchdogs might not have enough bite to bring those responsible to book
AFRICA:
East Africa’s heroin coast
The continent’s porous eastern seaboard, from Somalia all the way down to South Africa, is emerging as the route of choice for drug traffickers to get their illicit cargo to the West
The day a robot visited Ethiopia’s PM
Sophia, the world’s most famous ‘real, live electronic girl’, stopped by to highlight the country’s AI ambitions
Kenya bothered by a perfect storm
Rains have hit Kenya especially hard this year. But the perilous state of the country’s infrastructure has pushed bureaucrats to tackle corruption and mismanagement
Renegade Malawian vice-president guns for top job
Malawi’s Vice-President Saulosi Klaus Chilima this week threw his hat into the ring for the 2019 presidential elections, going up against the incumbent, Peter Mutharika, who is embroiled in a corruption scandal.
When it’s more than just a game
On our TV screens, sport happens in a vacuum. But for John Mikel Obi and other African stars, real world problems intrude all too often
BUSINESS:
IoT tech fires up savvy SA start-ups
The internet of things is sparking innovative solutions to local problems, as small businesses devise smart devices to improve lives
Fuel price hikes: What, me worry?
“In tough times, consumers tend to generally keep their cars for longer, or downgradeâ€
Sugar sector wants a sweeter deal
Despite contradictory claims about the protection the industry enjoys, it says it is up against a wall
A French revolution in the making
France gave the world the word entrepreneur – and now it is giving the world entrepreneurs
US-China trade needs a strategic rethink
Global prosperity requires that the multilateral free-trade system be maintained and strengthened
The drivers behind fuel price hikes
Ways to cushion the knock-on effects, to protect the poor in particular, must – and can – be found
COMMENT & ANALYSIS:
Race debate elicits fatal fallacies
No answer is simple in our complex society, which is why the ‘obvious’ solutions are so often wrong
Editorial: Sassa’s misstep is beyond apology
‘How far can you fall in the three days that you stood in line, having been forced to borrow money to pay taxi fares to get to a collection point?’
Editorial: Beware unholy KZN pact
‘We shudder to think what could happen should two KwaZulu-Natal powerhouses, the king and the former president — both under threat — come together’
Letters to the Editor: July 6 to 12
Our readers write in about the M&G’s 200 Young list, Dali Mpofu and Lennit Max
Battered by the flu…and Shenge
As the wind batters his feathered headdress, Shenge’s talking like it’s 1993. I’d far rather be sick in bed, thank you
The Bulldozer crushes rights of Tanzanians
The supposedly reform-driven president is now terrorising the very people who trusted him
Science will unlock Africa’s potential — if it is funded
Any good leader knows that scientific discovery and innovation fuel progress, facilitate development and can tackle issues
Women the biggest losers in Zim election
The die has been cast against them, despite the reassurances of the country’s new leader
Struggle lawyer led the charge
Michael Richman’s career was closely linked with those who suffered the injustices of apartheid
The truth? No one is ‘unrapeable’
Married women, sex workers, men – all can be raped. To say otherwise protects perpetrators
FIFTH COLUMN: Sars-buster Tom leads by example
‘So Tom Moyane, the suspended head of the South African Revenue Service (Sars), went into battle early this past week’
Western Cape schools plan is ‘undemocratic’
Legal amendments undermine democratic governance and are not in pupils’ best interests
It’s a great time to be at UCT and to make real change happen
“It is an honour and a privilege to be asked to lead the University of Cape Town. I have met and worked with many of you in the past two years, and so I know the hard work and dedication that are hallmarks of this world-class institution.â€
Professor’s mark is on land, democracy
Lungisile Ntsebeza’s research has ignited a movement challenging the authority of traditional councils
FRIDAY:
There’s no sweetness in Kenya’s sugar
On June 13, Kenya’s Cabinet secretary for the interior and coordination of national government told the country that sugar imported from Brazil had been impounded because it contained, among other metals, traces of mercury and copper, which can harm the nervous, digestive and immune systems
The Weekend Guide
Nigerian Afro-beat with Femi Koya and the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival
In the lists this week
Like Sugar by Chaka Khan, Deities by Solo and the BETR Gang, Just Add Rice by Ming-Cheau Lin, You Have to Be Gay to Know God by Siya Khumalo.
Looping history for a brave new now
Thabang Tabane’s music video twists apartheid footage to create new meanings, malombo style
Nyamza’s hatchling comes into his own
Mamela Nyamza, wearing only an assortment of white ballerina skirts under a tattered apron, sits in a deep squat with her back to the audience as they take their seats to watch a performance of Hatched.
#RUReferenceList: The fear of repercussions still lingers
At Rhodes University, there were many of us who experienced rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment. I grew up quickly as these words started to lose their distance. First, it happened to women in my residence and in my tutorial groups, then it was my friends. Eventually, it was me too.
‘Umlindelo’ captures the insider’s view from without
A rectangular piece of cobalt blue fabric graces the entrance. On it, straight white lines form a star — the fabric introduces us to the work. A video is playing at the back of the room.
More than one trip in a trip
The wheels of the bus turn and turn on the way to Mpuma-Koloni and the National Arts Festival
My child’s father, the distressed hip-hop head
The angst that comes with parenthood is becoming pervasive in the youthful genre
Discover the roots of an African luminary
A Giant Tree Has Fallen is a festschrift in honour of scholar and activist Ali Mazrui, the Kenyan-born academic whose work was to have a lasting effect on Africa’s scholarship.
Like God’s eye, T’s rap sees all
Some see his work as a form of journalism but it’s to beats that weave between boom bap and trap
SPORT:
Five stars born in Russia 2018
The football extravaganza is the perfect showcase for those players who want to bump up their monetary value
Old England is just so yesterday
The worldly Instagram generation of players are everything that the Brexiteers are not
In praise of the beautiful e-game
Virtual football is putting more South Africans into the boots of their on-field heroes
