Charlene Smith Trevor Manuel’s budget speech was littered with wisecracks, designed to lighten the serious business of balancing the country’s pressing priorities – creating jobs, cutting a bloated bureaucracy, accelerating infrastructural development and attacking corruption. But behind the gentle banter of the amiable finance minister were tough policies and strategies that spoke directly to investors […]

Janet Smith: Community jazz Trombones are polished to a shimmering golden glow. A beloved saxophone is fingered to tone perfection so smooth it shivers. Drums collect noise in tune with the mischievous guitar. And soon the players are ready. The venue may be charmingly tatty, a tad hot, but they’re going to perform till they […]

Belinda Beresford If you’re one of those people who finds it irritating listening to the ubiquitous ringing of telephones over dinner, on the golf course or – most odious of all – at the movies, you’ll find it hard to resist cheering at the news that cellphone imports are to be hit with customs duties. […]

The battle for a free Namibia has been won, but the Herero people still suffer from a defeat at German hands in 1904, writes John Grobler In the small, dusty graveyard of Usakos, Adelheid Tjijorokisa-Ndjavera points to headstones marking the graves of her family. The impressive headstone of Karl-Heinrich Knaeble, born in Oberndorf, Bavaria, and […]

Ferial Haffajee While sitting around talking advertising with the team responsible for the side-splittingly funny Nando’s campaign, one thing is striking. They’re all spring chickens. The twentysomething team is responsible for multimedia campaigns that have won Nando’s peer approval, solid sales growth for the 10-year-old chicken chain and the trust of Amory Gordon, Nando’s national […]

William Makgoba advocates streamlining government operations by slashing the number of ministries The proposed increase in the executive powers of the presidency, the stripping of two ministries and the assimilation of some functions of 10 other ministries awaiting restructuring (as reported in the Financial Mail, March 6), are welcome small steps in transforming the government […]

Stefaans Br?mmer and Lynda Gledhill Uncertainty surrounds the authenticity of two faxes that Ziggy Visser, husband of Virodene inventor Olga Visser, says he sent to the African National Congress in December which “proved” shares had not been earmarked for the party. This is one of the unresolved issues to be investigated by Public Protector Selby […]

South Africa’s street-activist-turned-minister-of-finance effortlessly cruised through his second budget this week, delivering the bad news with wit and the good news with his trademark Cheshire-cat grin. It was a virtuoso performance by Trevor Manuel – except for the blaps at the end when he thanked President Nelson Mandela “in his absence” for his support. Mandela […]

Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele: RIGHT TO REPLY Your article, “Whatever happened to the dream of low-cost housing”, February 20 to 26, was sensational and alarmist. My office has been co-operating with the media in making sure that their information needs are met on time. There is nothing sinister about verifying statistics and maintaining their integrity before releasing […]

Belinda Beresford While there still may be some international scepticism about South Africa’s future, Trevor Manuel has signalled the government’s confidence by a further relaxation of exchange controls. Those unbelievers wanting to leave the country have been given a goodbye present – they can now take up to R1-million of household and personal effects. If […]