Jaspreet Kindra A remarkable feature of politics and reportage on it in South Africa is that it is dominated by two elitists – President Thabo Mbeki and the leader of the opposition, Tony Leon. Since most South Africans are poor, one would expect any self-respecting, or clever, politician to make poverty a central strategy. Instead, […]

trade John Matshikiza with the lid off Dakar is the black race on the make. Whatever walk of life they come from, the Dakarois are like those Broadway hoofers who rise each day with a grin on their face and run out into the city determined to succeed, singing Accentuate the Positive and I Will […]

Grant Shimmin If you asked most top sportsmen how they spend the morning leading up to their event, they’d say doing as little as possible – which seems like the sensible course of action. But it won’t necessarily be an option for four of South Africa’s finest oarsmen as they get ready to go flat […]

The government will face legal action following its failure to introduce measures to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV Timothy Trengove-Jones The Aids Treatment Action Campaign (Atac) has announced that it plans to proceed with legal action against the government. The campaign’s case will challenge the government’s refusal to imple- ment programmes to prevent the transmission […]

Ivor Powell An independent audit into the alleged misuse and possible misappropriation of R300-million earmarked for retraining ex- combatants has been forwarded to the Office of the Auditor General for further investigation. KPMG’s audit into the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF) service corps was commissioned by Deputy Minister of Defence Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge earlier this […]

Anthony Browne Body Language ‘So many men, so little time!” The actress and temptress Mae West jested about it, but scientists – male ones anyway – are convinced they have proved it. Women – far from being naturally monogamous – are, like men, naturally promiscuous. Biologists believe that women are genetically programmed to have sex […]

England’s celebrations of a Test series victory over the West Indies overshadowed the departure of one of the best bowlers of all time Matthew Engel Monday was the day. England captain Nasser Hussain lifted the long-forgotten Wisden Trophy; the crowd ran on the field, chanting happily; Jimmy Adams, the vanquished captain, was gracious; and Lord […]

Alex Sudheim Never before in human history has a virus bonded so dramatically with creative initiative. Since the scourge of HIV/Aids raised its lethal head over a decade ago, its insidious reach has been fought every step of the way in song, dance, drama, film, art and literature. Providing physical meaning to the term “public […]

acknowledged Sechaba ka’Nkosi crossfire A close friend, Muff Anderson, last year asked me to testify in a civil suit she had instituted against a black colleague. It was a typical office disagreement where the colleague had resorted to calling her a racist. Muff rightfully felt offended. And for a person I had related to as […]

Evidence wa ka Ngobeni The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the state-backed financing company, has been injecting millions of rands into private companies of which the IDC’s chief executive is a shareholder. Kanya Ngqula, who reportedly earns at least a R1-million annual salary from the IDC, is also a director of Worldwide Africa Investment, a black-owned […]