There is a political tradition followed in some parts of the world which has it that a newly elected political leader should be given 100 days – a “honeymoon” period – in which to find his or her feet in office before being subjected to media and opposition criticism. Thabo Mbeki has already been occupying […]
priority The Border Rural Committee (BRC) and Eastern Cape provincial office of the Department of Land Affairs were shocked to read in the Mail & Guardian (“Back to the bad old days”, June 18 to 24) the allegation of a lack of departmental interest in the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (Esta). The article […]
wave David Gough in Nairobi Armed vigilante groups are springing up throughout the Kenyan capital in response to a rising crime rate that has made the once peaceful city one of the most dangerous in Africa. Community leaders say that chronic unemployment, a corrupt and ineffective police force, increases in food prices and rising levels […]
A FARM worker has laid assault charges against an Mpumalanga farmer who allegedly beat her for talking loudly to a friend in a toilet while on duty. Cynthia Mkhatjwa (37) of Magogeni tribal trust alleges that Ricardo Colonna assaulted her two weeks ago and then tried to bribe her with R10. She laid charges against […]
Friday night Mercedes Sayagues Zimbabwe has a Lost City, in the Great Zimbabwe ruins, and a Fun City, in Vic Falls. More than half a million tourists flock every year to Vic Falls to have fun, since that is what tourists are supposed to do. The town has caught the disease. Every day is a […]
Justin Arenstein `Welcome to the bantustan” was the refrain echoing through Mpumalanga’s corridors of power this week following the virtual coup of the provincial government by former homeland leaders. The echoes will ring even louder if former KaNgwane homeland minister and discredited former environmental MEC David Mkhwanazi is appointed as special adviser to the premier. […]
Mercedes Sayagues The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe has lashed back at women’s groups critical of a recent ruling that used customary law to deny a woman the right to inherit. In May, activists protested that the ruling undermined women’s rights in Zimbabwe and narrowed the interpretation of the Legal Age Majority Act of 1982, which […]
TWO journalists in Malawi have been charged with inciting mutiny over a report on elections held last week, court sources said Thursday. Editor Horace Somanje and reporter Mabvuto Banda of the opposition newspaper the Malawi News pleaded not guilty to the charge Wednesday and were released on bail. The trial is expected to begin sometime […]
Review of the week Brenda Atkinson The art of design in South Africa has blossomed post-1994, nurtured by increased access to international production, and radically influenced by the aesthetics of digital technologies. You might still detest Simunye or any other of the SABC’s cheesy nation-building strategies, but you have to concede that their brand-building has […]
Riaan Wolmarans There are few things as irritating as seeing a suburban housewife sing the praises of the newest super-duper washing powder (“My husband is a mechanic …”) or hearing about the latest waist-slimming, brain-numbing exercise belt-cum-vibrator (order now and get this stylish set of porcelain ducks for free). Thankfully the ad industry does manage […]