Barry Streek Despite pending gun control legislation, more than one million applications for firearm licences have been approved in the democratic South Africa, “but the rate of stolen” firearms is lower this year than the previous two years. This was revealed by Minister of Safety and Security Steve Tshwete when he replied to a question […]

Brenda Atkinson unpicks the curatorial pitfalls in the current Liberated Voices exhibition in New York In an article on an exhibition of new South African ”visual languages” held in Zurich (”Dialogue lost in transit”, September 17 to 22), I wrote that exhibitions which prioritise the national ”identity” of the production they frame ”[touch] sides with […]

KING Mswati III appointed Mbabane lawyer Phesheya Dlamini as Swaziland’s Attorney General on Thursday, with Mzwandile Fakudze as his deputy. The under-secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Noreen Maphalala, has been appointed Auditor General. The Attorney General’s post became vacant two months ago when the contract of Ghanaian Martin Dwamena expired, leaving the government without […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Friday 6.50pm. NEW boys Andrew Flintoff and Chris Adams prevented England suffering another embarrassing batting collapse to steer the tourists into a comfortable position against a Combined Free State/Griqualand West XI. England, put in to bat in good batting conditions, were hopeful their top order would respond by spending useful […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Friday 4.25pm POWER, transport, water, and telecommunications — the four pillars of national infrastructure — will continue to provide a strong platform for economic growth in the post-Mandela era, says international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s in a survey published on Friday. The 70-page publication details the credit quality of […]

Paul Kirk A controversial medication that is a form of legalised dagga has been withdrawn from the market, avoiding a court battle that would have challenged the illegality of dagga in South Africa. Elevat is the trade name for medication that contains the active ingredient dronabinol. Hailed as a wonder drug for the alleviation of […]

A CONTINGENT of 10 Malawian soldiers left for the Zambian capital of Lusaka on Wednesday to begin training for peace-keeping duties in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Malawian contingent is part of an Organisation of African Unity peace-keeping initiative. Army spokesmen stressed that the Malawian soldiers are merely monitors and will not […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 11.00am. JUDGE Willem Heath was named Newsmaker of the Year by the Johannesburg Press Club on Wednesday. Heath’s Special Investigating Uni has recovered over R1,5 billion in state assets and money since it was launched last year by former president Nelson Mandela last year, himself a former recipients of the […]

PHILLIP NKOSI, Nelspruit | 5.20pm. SUSPENDED Mpumalanga Parks Board chief executive Alan Gray threatened to interdict the provincial government on Thursday after accusing it of denying him access to information. Gray’s attorney, Pieter Swanepoel, said the MPB had consistently refused to supply his client with “vital” documents required to disprove 20 misconduct charges. The charges […]

BLACK empowerment Worldwide African Investment Holdings has acquired 20% of South African oil group Engen from Malaysian national oil company Petroliam Nasional Berhad. Business Day reports that the deal follows the related acquisition of Worldwide subsidiary Zenex by Engen last month. Petronas bought an initial 30% stake in Engen for R1,7bn in 1996 and increased […]