Ferial Haffajee The Pan Africanist Congress will give the death penalty the chop but will sever the lesser limbs of criminals. If it assumes power after the elections, the party will also ban abortion, rescind anti-smoking legislation, scrap national debt and the provinces. The PAC pipped other parties to the post when it released its […]

Ferial Haffajee Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel again displayed his linguistic dexterity this week. It has become a Trevor trademark to deliver bits of the annual budget in at least three languages. His fluent Xhosa brought the house down and the minister clearly loved playing to the gallery. In his three years in office Manuel […]

The DP has accused Gauteng MEC Jabu Moleketi of bribery. Charlene Smith writes that he is a great administrator, setting an example for other provinces While most provincial governments have struggled to manage their budgets, Gauteng has quietly but efficiently managed to cut back debt and increase revenue, in an environment where provinces have virtually […]

PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela announced the nomination of Independent Electoral Commission vice-chair, Brigalia Bam, for appointment as chair on Friday . Judge Ismail Hussain was nominated for the position of IEC commissioner, on the recommendation of the National Assembly and in terms of the Electoral Commission Act of 1996, Mandela said. Herbert Vilakazi, an IEC member […]

>From parallel parking to Ponte, Stephen Hobbs’s exhibition puts a new spin on living in Johannesburg, writes Chris Roper Arriving at the opening of Stephen Hobbs’ current exhibition, Torque of the Town, normally unflappable Capetonians are confronted with a scene of disjunctive strangeness. All the road markings in Bree Street have been painted out. Even […]

BRITAIN, Norway, Mali and Togo have offered to host peace talks between rebels and the government in Sierra Leone where fighting this year has claimed up to 5000 lives. Widespread atrocities such as crude amputations and immolation have been attributed to the rebels.Britain, Sierra Leone’s former colonial power, has said the two sides could use […]

THE South African Cycling Federation named the four-member national women’s team Thursday who will race in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, the team will compete in the Tour de Snowy from February 28 to March 4 then a World Cup meeting in Canberra on March 7. Then they go on to New Zealand for […]

THE committee established to investigate minority rights in Mpumalanga is not an ANC trick to pacify the political Right, Mpumalanga Premier Mathews Phosa said on Wednesday. Created last week under the chairmanship of provincial Freedom Front leader Moolman Mentz, the committee will investigate the position of minorities but will also study the self-determination proposals of […]

THE St Joseph’s Hospital in Doornspruit, Northern Province, has been forced to close down after its government subsidy was cut. Provincial health spokesperson Tsepo Moshima said on Thursday the department cut the subsidy of R2-million a year as it had no control over the hospital’s operations. “We’ve been [talking to] hospital management and [decided] we […]

THE president of the Commission on Co-operation and Development at the European parliament, Michel Rocard, said on Tuesday that the EU’s efforts in finding solution to the Anjouan crisis are secondary to those of the Organisation of African Unity. Rocard, a former French prime minister is in the Comoros Islands to support the OAU mission […]