/ 20 August 2018

Unembargoed: August 17 to 23

All articles in this week's M&G are free to read
All articles in this week's M&G are free to read

Undeterred, Dlodlo forges ahead

The department says it’s not retrenching, but treasury has the money for severance packages

We’ll pay Eskom, not municipality

Businesses are hard hit by blackouts because local government owes the power utility billions of rand

Maluti-a-Phofung awaits court decision on Eskom cuts

The residents of Harrismith’s Intabazwe township argue about which cuts are more frequent: electricity or water.

SA eyes China to bankroll stimulus

Despite government denials, insiders say treasury made the suggestion in a Cabinet meeting

Slice of life: Yin and yang of life and death

‘It was a moment when you realise you only literally have this. The next moment isn’t guaranteed. At all.’

Minnie’s death raises questions

The author was probing new leads after linking apartheid-era ministers to a paedophile ring

Anxiety grows over party funding Bill

Some political parties “know the status quo is going to change so, if they can hold off until after the election, the better for them”

ANC moves to prevent election killings

The election of a ‘unity’ provincial leadership … had created a level of stability that had not existed in 2016

Minister halts R22m PetroSA

Poor planning, increased financial losses and depleting gas feedstock cited as reasons

Black farmers fall in the furrows

They have the skills to farm successfully but need financing from banks and post-settlement support from the state

Black farmers to get state funding

Among the plans are increased funds for black farmers and agri-processing to create jobs

Mkhwebane, Cele lock in a standoff

The public protector has clashed with the police minister over providing witnesses with protection

Two dead in latest violence at Glebelands

Two more people have been killed in a fresh wave of shootings in Durban’s Glebelands Hostel.

Police defence on Marikana falls flat

A report highlights inconsistencies that demand that the police should scrutinise their actions

Happiness is restored manhood

To understand the miracle of correcting a botched circumcision, just speak to one of

the survivors

Cosatu’s boss loses favour to his deputy

The NUM and Nehawu are leading Zingiswa Losi’s campaign to replace S’dumo Dlamini

State officials fingered in a VBS-linked dodgy deposit

Pandemonium reigned at the board of the Community Schemes Ombud Service. What would these officials tell the minister?

Wentworth residents blame violence at Engen on the police

Wentworth residents have told the high court in Durban that it was the police, acting on the instruction of Engen, and not them who caused the violence during a demonstration

Set course for the heart of the Sun

They promise the earth and never deliver, but sometimes the world’s leaders give us the sun, the moon and the stars

Great features … heavy price-tag

The Galaxy S9 Note has huge storage capacity, a robust battery, a versatile stylus, a hot camera and really comes into its own as a pocket PC

Equal Education calls to #StopThe Appeal

In the week that President Cyril Ramaphosa launched his initiative to provide schools with safe sanitation, it has emerged that the department of basic education is appealing a high court order that sets deadlines for them to fix school infrastructure, including toilets.

HEALTH:

Life Esidimeni and the ghosts of our past

When we got our independence, we did not ask ourselves what kind of ethics this new country needed. South Africa’s health ombud reflects on his first big case

‘This death toll from this tragedy is four times that of Marikana’

It’s been almost three years since former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu announced her intention to remove about 2000 psychiatric patients from state-funded private hospital care.

AFRICA:

Salute to a giant African academic

Samir Amin was a fearless scholar whose ideas will long outlive him

If Mnangagwa did it, so can Kabila

SADC’s endorsement of the Zimbabwe polls is bad news for Congolese elections in December

Good news for Africa’s queers

A new podcast series is looking at the beautiful stories coming out of the continent

Nigerian soldiers demand break from Boko Haram

Disillusioned, exhausted Nigerian troops battling a surge in Boko Haram attacks have reached breaking point and hundreds of soldiers protested at an airport in Borno State.

BUSINESS:

Talk of state spending rings hollow

Rand jitters questions the state’s ability to provide an economic stimulus and to continue to bail out parastatals

Online tax hurts the poor

Shutting down mobile and internet services is also costing several African countries millions of dollars

Clampdowns in Africa carry a big cost

The tactics of the Tanzanian government are still a far cry from the old-school, die-hard tactics in some other countries, where the government simply shuts down social media, or even the internet, entirely.

Learn to code – for free – and get a job

That’s what’s on offer but it does require that you can think out of the box and work well with others

Ramaphosa’s Erdogan problem

As investors move away from risky emerging markets, the highly traded rand is caught up in the contagion

COMMENT & ANALYSIS:

‘The Lost Boys’ speaks to us all

Mark Minnie was 12 years old in 1972 when he was raped by 17-year-old twins, Bryce and Mickey. They lived in the same neighbourhood.

Editorial: Turkey is a lesson for South Africa

‘Although the timing of the Turkish crisis was unpredictable, the warning signs have been there for months’

Editorial: Mashaba trumps Trump

‘If Mashaba was intending to out himself as a disciple of the orange bloat filling the US presidency, he did extremely well’

Class the DNA of society

‘Class, in other words, is much more than just one aspect of the social complex,’ writes one of our readers

90-minute escape. Then reality

Joy! Atlético slammed Real Madrid. But then came a real orgy of violence – Marikana

White people must own their complicity

‘Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa dwell in my mind as I try to understand our histories, our now and our possible futures’

Bird Island truth will set us free

Apartheid’s ministers must account for their crimes and we also need to confront them

Putting meat on Homo’s menu

We have been omnivores probably since the time of Lucy, our closest ancestor

FIFTH COLUMN: Men, go Deep to be Actively Clean

‘Product range’, as any sociologist can tell you, is the term for when a company repackages goods with new colours, logos and names

How women can power the future

What is needed is to increase women’s economic participation and contribution to the national output

Students need to learn to lead

Needless confrontations are pitting young people against those who try to take education forward

Mayosi killed by toxic culture of those who won’t listen

Bongani Mayosi was killed because he wanted to promote an atmosphere of dialogue

FRIDAY:

A gender violence robot, seriously?

The #TotalShutdown demands have deadlines. The first demand? A strong message from the president that gender violence against women is pervasive and that it cannot be tolerated.

Thank you eternally, Mme Sobukwe

Mme Sobukwe is remembered for her courage in the face of the brutal apartheid regime, which ruptured her family by isolating and imprisoning her husband until his death in 1978.

Don’t miss this weekend

The Land Will Decide by Setlamorago Mashilo, The Chocolate Festival, Manyano by Mmabatho Montsho, iXesha! by Jabulani Dhlamini

Actor, humanist, mentor

Emotive performances and a willingness to share were his enduring qualities, writes Kwanele Sosibo

Women shaping Africa’s art

For too long their contribution has been ignored but the evidence of their role is there to be seen

The divinity in the everyday

A debut exhibition focuses on women bowed down by the weight of life but united by their faith

Katz makes a jump from her mattress

The artist, in her first international show, also uses the ground to map out the directions people take

Enigmatic Michael K stripped

Nthikeng Mohlele has recast JM Coetzee’s character to explore the changed cultural environment

Seeking the real Chimurenga

The author unravels a history of Zimbabwe that’s been twisted for centuries and continues today

Rise of the shebeen queens

African women, denied access to the labour market, turned to a traditional skill to provide for their families

SPORT:

Balance of power shifts in La liga

Julen Lopetegui has big boots to fill, Messi hopes big signings will pay off and Atlético snaps at top two’s heels

Six new signings to watch in La Liga this season

Michy Batshuayi, William Carvalho, Thibaut Courtois, Arturo Vidal, Malcom, Thomas Lemar.

How analysis took over the PSL

Using video and other software to track all aspects of player performance is a global norm — and it’s time Mzansi followed suit

The cult of El-Hadary will transcend his goalposts

El-Hadary has been a permanent fixture in any success Egypt has had in almost three decades

Dare we dream the Dream?

We are ever hopeful that one of the underdogs will rise up and claim the ultimate glory

Wits out to set the record straight

The season has kicked off well but more victories are needed to keep the momentum

 

M&G Slow