Peter Dickson Battered by bureaucratic bungling, the Eastern Cape government discovered this week that its expenditure has been technically illegal for the past six months. Owing to an “oversight” by Premier Makhenkesi Stofile, its 1998/99 provincial budget remains unpublished in the provincial Government Gazette, which is in contravention of the Constitution, In reply to a […]
Wally Mbhele The African National Congress has conceded that it is not yet “fully in charge” of crucial organs of state and has begun an internal debate on how to gain full control of the government after next year’s election. In an extraordinary document assessing the party’s first four years in governance, the ANC raises […]
English is globally dominant. But it is not always the Queen’s English, reports Anthea Garman A German businessman visits the Middle East and meets an Arab woman. He speaks no Arabic, she speaks no German, so they conduct their relationship in English. Eventually they have a child. This child is raised speaking second language English […]
cellphone What to do before and after your phone is stolen: l Turn on your phone and type *#06# – you will see your 15-digit IMEI number. Record it. l If your cellphone is stolen, phone your service provider to cancel the SIM card so the thief cannot dial out. Get a case number from […]
Roger Southall Right to Reply It is precisely because of the deep respect which is widely accorded to the Mail & Guardian’s reportage that one simply has to object in the strongest possible terms to the criminally ignorant and politically irresponsible coverage of the Lesotho election by your reporter William Boot. His constant, uncritical repetition […]
Paul Brown Evolution is saving elephants in Africa by producing herds with tiny tusks or none at all – which provides no profit for poachers and thus ensures the survival of the species. The phenomenon has been noticed in all parts of Africa where hunting has been going on longest, with both trophy hunters and […]
Stuart Hess Patient care in Gauteng could be curtailed as state hospitals run out of funds because of overspending of this year’s budgets. Government health officials said no additional financial assistance will be made available until the start of the next financial year in April 1999. However, major institutions such as Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital […]
Phillip Kakaza If there is one African city that keeps abreast of the latest fashion trends, it is Johannesburg. And it’s not only clothes that count, but hairstyles too. The busy streets of Johannesburg have become catwalks. A stroll downtown or in Soweto is like a trip down a Parisian boulevard, with clothes and hairdos […]
Andy Capostagno Rugby A few weeks ago I was lamenting the fact that after a promising beginning the Currie Cup had gone a little flat. Anyone who saw Sunday’s 24-17 win for Free State over Western Province at Newlands may well have concurred. We have reached that stage of the season where results are far […]
#Ferial Haffajee `I’ve got an aunty like that!” hooted a member of the audience at a recent Johannesburg performance of A Coloured Place, the side-splitting play that has brought its twentysomething writer/director Lueen Conning into the cultural limelight. Side-splitting, that is, until you think a little and then the reflection sets in. “It’s too close […]