Dawood Dithato International tributes poured in this week for President Ketumile Masire of Botswana, who resigned this week before his term of office ended. After 18 years as head of state, Masire ducked out of office as his party began to face the challenge of preparing for its toughest election battle next year. The tributes […]

For the time being, war-torn Sierra Leone has no standing army of its own. But Chief Sam Hinka Norman, reappointed as deputy minister of defence, says he has other forces to call on. “If you point your rifle at me, you may believe it, it will not strike me,” he says. “When all this is […]

Charlene Smith A retrenchment package will often be the largest lump sum a person ever receives and the temptation is to spend all the money, hoping tomorrow will take care of itself. Each year employees contribute R27-billion to retirement funds – and those who lose their jobs rarely make sensible re-investment decisions. Hermie Rossouw, regional […]

Dror Eyal The dust is blowing in from the east. Sand clouds that whip the air, flay my skin, sting in my eyes. Dust in each breath I swallow, grit grating between teeth, sticking in my throat. Dust in my food, dust in my beer. Winds blowing up a storm in front of the main […]

Tangeni Amupadhi Members of a vigilante group in Alexandra township have vowed to continue fighting crime despite the killing of two of their members by alleged criminals in one year. Petrus Mathibela (30) was shot dead on Sunday when he and 100 other Comrades – the name the vigilante group uses – tried to raid […]

Stefaans Brmmer Mininster of Safety and Security Sydney Mufamadi has shrugged off murder claims against Superintendent Lappies Labuschagne, the member of the police team investigating Robert McBride – but now Mufamadi faces civil action for the death of one of Labuschagne’s alleged victims. Mufamadi and police Deputy Commissioner Zolisa Lavisa have resisted calls for Labuschagne’s […]

Re-skilling and counselling are the new norms for retrenchments, writes Charlene Smith More and more people are facing retrenchment as companies have to let go of the old to make way for the new – take the large corporation that recently retrenched 80 top managers to make way for affirmative action appointees. Restructuring – and […]

Mungo Soggot The downfall of state oil chief Don Mkhwanazi this week came after the Cabinet blocked an earlier attempt by the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Penuell Maduna, to keep him at the helm of the Central Energy Fund (CEF). Maduna tried to persuade the Cabinet that Mkhwanazi, the fund’s chair, and his board […]

Andy Capostagno : Cricket It must be something in the genes. National team selectors of any sporting code from any country are usually men (or women) of experience and intelligence with an understanding of the pressures and complexities of their particular game, individuals who talk genuine horse sense on the golf course or in the […]

Andy Duffy The African National Congress is engaged in frantic lobbying among its Western Cape branches to ensure that Ebrahim Rasool is the only contender to succeed Dullah Omar as the party’s provincial leader. Nominations for the post are open until April 13, but insiders are already spinning the line that Rasool, the provincial caucus […]