The week-long set of Cabinet briefings in February provide a snapshot of the state of government and of the styles and strengths of ministers. An energy crisis is gripping the country and at its heart is the problem that bedevils both economic growth and effective delivery: a dearth of skills

Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula shafted President Thabo Mbeki’s careful plans for the Scorpions when he announced this week in Parliament that the unit would be dissolved. Nqakula also pre-empted a parliamentary process and might have acted unconstitutionally.

Did Rasool oil hospital deal? This was the headline of a story we published on January 26, to which Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool took great umbrage. In his right to reply, granted by our ombud Franz Krüger, Rasool said the story played into racist stereotypes of Africans, writes Ferial Haffajee, the editor of the <i>Mail & Gurdian</i>.

The straw that broke AM-Live presenter John Perlman’s back was the fact that his bosses did not include him in a decision about who his new co-presenter would be, an SABC insider told the Mail & Guardian. Nikiwe Bikitsha announced her departure and Perlman expected to be included in auditions for her successor.

"We have displayed a consistent inclination since we assumed management of our affairs to opt for mediocrity and compromise, to pick a third and fourth eleven to play for us." South Africa? No. The description by Chinua Achebe was of Nigeria, his homeland, published in the 1983 monograph <i>The Trouble with Nigeria</i>. Yet it is apt for South Africa in 2007.