Peter Dickson The Eastern Cape government’s sorry saga of in-house corruption and “creative bookkeeping” amid a legacy of poverty and neglect has been the butt of post- apartheid political satire for much of the last five years. This week, for the first time since 1994 and amid growing public outrage and open scorn at Bisho’s […]

Evidence wa ka Ngobeni A Mpumalanga local council does not have a telephone line despite applying for one two years ago. Patrick Aphane, a councillor at the Moutse Transitional Local Council, says he believes the delays are due to lack of commitment by Telkom staff. “At various summits, Telkom officials gave us the impression that […]

ORLANDO Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs fans will be ale to flaunt their support in an unusual way when cellular company Vodacom introduces branded cellular packs specially tailored for fans of the two soccer giants. The packs will include a state-of-the-art cellphone with an interchangeable Pirates or Chiefs front panel and a prepaid cellular card and […]

Connie Selebogo and Jubie Matlou WHO IS … JOE NDHLELA? Joe Ndhlela does not easily pick up a fight. However, the Premier Soccer League (PSL) CEO has lately found himself on a collision course with certain members of the powerful board of governors of the league. This showdown has a negative impact on South Africa’s […]

drain The Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council’s plan to rejuvenate the city is nothing more than a localised version of Gear in which privatisation is central, writes Ebrahim Harvey The most tragic thing about the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council’s (GJMC) iGoli 2002 plan is that it is not only the council’s 29 000 employees who will […]

things to come Are universities in turmoil or in ferment? Are they collapsing, or merely in flux? David Robbins looks at the tertiary sector The troubles afflicting South African universities and technikons are many, and dramatic: campus protests, lecture boycotts, revelations of institutional collapse, widespread financial investigations, crippling amounts outstanding from unpaid student fees, rumours […]

Among other things, the new Firearms Control Bill will deny people guilty of crimes of violence the right to own a firearm. Barry Streek reports Gun-free zones, such as bars and casinos, are to be created in terms of the new Firearms Control Bill, and ordinary people will not be allowed to carry firearms there. […]

This newspaper has long exercised severe scepticism around the promises and threats of politicians and law enforcement officers to “get tough on crime”, to “wage war on crime” or, in Minister of Safety and Security Steve Tshwete’s memorable phrase, to “kick the criminals in the stomach”. Our demand, and we believe the demand of the […]

THE R7,6-million defamation lawsuit brought against United Cricket Board managing director Ali Bacher by former Pakistani player Younis Ahmed was postponed indefinitely on Wednesday. etv news reported that Ahmed asked the Johannesburg High Court to postpone the case as he is not ready to proceed. He brought the lawsuit after Bacher faxed a document, apparently […]

Sipho M Pityana RIGHT TO REPLY Two articles by Howard Barrell in the Mail & Guardian of November 12 to 18 1999 present a misleading impression of what the government is doing in the labour market. Barrell’s column, Over a Barrel, refers extensively to my address at the Institute of Industrial Relations of South Africa […]