Adrienne Carlisle More evidence is emerging from apartheid- era documents that the State Security Council (SSC), staffed by top apartheid politicians and securocrats, including former presidents PW Botha and FW de Klerk, may have discussed and, at least in principle, approved the assassinations of activists. The Mail & Guardian has obtained copies of top-secret minutes […]

Despite equity plans, poorer pupils are still being taught by teachers less qualified than those of their wealthier peers Russell Wildeman When the education landscape was transformed from 19 racially based education departments to nine provincial departments, large inequalities were found between provinces. Redress was initially driven by redistributing funds between provincial education departments and […]

The fact that one of a group of juvenile detainees was her sister’s murderer did not stop Patricia de Lille from fighting for their rights Marianne Merten Pan-Africanist Congress MP Patricia de Lille entrenched her reputation as one of South Africa’s more principled politicians this week when she came to the rescue of juveniles from […]

Nicky Blumenfeld If anyone deserved superstar status at this year’s South African Music Awards, it was the Venda musician, Amon Mvula. His appearance provided refreshing relief from the rather dry gratitude and platitudes. On winning his second consecutive award, for the best Venda album, Mvula stood up and thanked his fans for their loyalty, in […]

Richard Kommel Traditionally, geographical regions have dictated share prices. However the current market environment is a globalised one, where picking the right themes and the “best of breed” shares within these themes is key to success. Often, it is easier to identify the losing themes as opposed to the winning ones. At present, these appear […]

Dennis Brutus CROSSFIRE Last Friday afternoon I joined a demonstration that led to the disruption of the Urban Futures 2000 conference final plenary session at Wits University’s Great Hall. The delegates are owed an apology, but the two lead administrators of Wits and Johannesburg Metro who were prevented from speaking are, on reflection, not. I […]

Gear may soon be a thing of the past as the ANC debates what our new economic strategy should be Howard Barrell Yes, it appears it may really be happening. The seemingly endless – and little understood – economic debate about the government’s market-friendly macroeconomic policy may be coming to an end. Gear, the acronym […]

Martin Whiting Gerald Durrell: the Authorised Biography by Douglas Botting (HarperCollins) Douglas Botting, author of three other biographies including that of Gavin Maxwell (Ring of Bright Water), now provides a detailed account of the life of Gerald Durrell – conservationist, educator, writer and champion of endangered species and animals the world over. Best known for […]

Unit trust results over the last quarter reflect low interest in local equities Neil Thomas The sagging local equities market is inspiring some serious abuse of poor old William Shakespeare. Chief culprit is Jeremy Gardiner, head of Investec Unit Trusts. The erudite Gardiner, who regularly pens entertaining prose on the market, bemoaned the fact that […]