integrity and courage in the political debate `If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken/Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools.” – From If by Rudyard Kipling. I am reminded of these words by that archetypal Victorian, Rudyard Kipling, when confronted with the criticism centred on Tony Leon and the Democratic […]

Samu Zulu SABC newsreader Alyce Chavunduka is descended from a family Zimbabweans talk about, whose academic achievements are lauded. So is Mark Chavunduka, the 34-year-old editor of the Harare-based Standard Newspaper. He received worldwide support when Zimbabwe military police arrested and tortured him in January following the publication of an article on an alleged foiled […]

Howard Barrell The row over the Financial Mail’s endorsement last week of the United Democratic Movement in the forthcoming election has brought into sharp relief the relationship between editorial independence and media ownership in South Africa. This week’s Financial Mail carries a lengthy rebuttal of the endorsement by one of the publication’s co-owners, former African […]

WAGE negotiations between municipal workers and the government were resolved on Thursday by the Centre for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. The South Africa Municipal Workers’ Union said the parties agreed to settle on the greater of R230 per month or a 5,5% salary increase. For the first time, municipal workers will receive a minimum wage […]

Aids is now the main killer disease in Africa which is also the continent where malaria is most prevalent, according to UN agencies engaged in combatting disease. “Aids has been with us for just 20 years and it has already killed more people than any other infectious disease,” said Dr. Peter Piot, the executive director […]

On Monday the government’s security of tenure legislation will be put to the test in Ceres, the fruit-growing valley between the mountains known for its soft fruit and juice industries in the Western Cape. It’s the first time in the area that farm workers are fighting their eviction. Martha Goliath is sitting in a tiny […]

Howard Barrell Morale in Luanda, capital of war-torn Angola is at an all-time low, with food shortages now being experienced since the army started commandeering civilian supplies. Forces of the rebel Unita movement, led by Jonas Savimbi, are encamped to the south and east of the capital, within 100km range. This is causing growing fears […]

FINANCIAL services group Nedcor Investment Bank announced in Cape Town on Friday it will invest over R650000 into the South African wine industry over the next three years. This builds on NIB’s existing investment of R265000 over the past three years. The company has agreed to cover the marketing costs of the Cape Independent Winemakers […]

Howard Barrell You may have heard the story. It goes like this: the police have an unfortunate history which has left them, among other things, short of the skills they need to do their job; so the public doesn’t trust them; so the police don’t get the information they need for their investigations; so the […]

AN AMENDMENT to the Arms and Ammunition Act will allowed licensed firearm holders to only lend their guns to other licence holders, the Safety and Security ministry said on Thursday. The ministry said that amendment is to curb the increase of handguns being used in crime. Previously licensed holders could lend their firearms to anybody […]