justice shop Peter Dickson Port Elizabeth’s St Albans prison is set to become a one-stop justice shop for awaiting-trial prisoners when South Africa’s first court within a jail opens next month. Bankrolled by Business Against Crime (BAC) in the Eastern Cape, the venture aims to reduce escapes and slash transport costs between the prison and […]

The 23rd anniversary of Steve Biko’s death was commemorated with the first annual Steve Biko memorial lecture presented by Njabulo S Ndebele. This is an edited version I confess to being one of those who have had an ambivalent attitude towards the recent national conference on racism. On the one hand, I welcomed the attention […]

Ben Cousins Crossfire Dr Gilingwe Mayende’s reply to my criticisms of the manner in which land reform in South Africa is currently being managed (”Didiza’s doing what she should”, August 25 to 31) fails to reassure on the quality of current leadership in land reform. The central thrust of criticism – declining government capacity – […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday THE biggest black empowerment initiative in South African banking is to be announced by Nedcor, which is selling a controlling stake in Peoples Bank and FBC Fidelity Bank to Western Cape based listed company Brimstone. Nedcor’s hostile bid for for Standard Bank Investment Corporation was disallowed by government earlier this […]

Human Rights Watch on Wednesday accused Guinea’s government of inciting mob violence in Conakry against Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees, whom authorities have accused of fuelling a rebellion. “The mobs drove refugees out of their houses, frequently beating, raping, and sexually abusing them. The attackers wielded sticks, rocks, iron bars, electric cords and knives,” according […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana says the government’s investigation into reducing working hours to 40 hours a week is expected to be released soon. Refusing to divulge details of the report, Mdladlana told a media briefing at parliament that it would be “exciting” for business and labour. South African workers […]

A group of women gathered outside the Louis Trichardt Magistrate’s Court in Northern Province on Wednesday demanding that stiff sentences be handed to three people accused of painting a teenaged girl white. The accused – Thelma Strydom, Julia Munyai and Albert Mbezi – were not asked to plead on charges of theft, assault and crimen […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT and REUTERS, Cape Town | Thursday ATTEMPTS to bring South Africa’s black majority into the economic mainstream have failed and must be replaced by a new law to force the pace, says leading businessman Cyril Ramaphosa. “Black people remain at the periphery of the economy. They need access to funding and markets,” says […]

THULANI MTHETHWA, Mbabane | Thursday SWAZILAND’S royal advisory council warned that it would forcibly close the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) branch if it persisted in publicly criticising the kingdom’s political system. Misa’s Swaziland national director Comfort Mabuza said members of the Swaziland National Committee appeared to be annoyed with a prominent article in […]

The opposition Movement for a Democratic Change (MDC) accused the Zimbabwean government of “harassment” and “intimidation” following a raid on its offices on Thursday morning. Zimbabwe police raided a number of MDC offices, ostensibly searching for illegal weapons. Paramilitary police armed with automatic weapons blocked the entrances to the MDC headquarters just outside Harare, the […]