Craig Bartholomew tracked down Rodriguez, who is alive, well, living in Detroit and planning to tour South Africa next month ‘Thanks for your time, and you can thank me for mine, and after that’s said, forget it!” were the poignant last words spoken, live on stage, before blowing his head off. That, at least, was […]

Bongani Siqoko When Makhaya Ntini led the South African national cricket team on to the pitch in New Zealand recently, black South Africans were filled with pride. People who could hardly tell the difference between a goalpost and a wicket were glued to their television sets to witness the lad from KwaMdingi near King William’s […]

Madeleine Wackernagel Taking Stock Funny how mere mention of the arms industry has the power to stop a conversation. It’s a classic case of guns versus butter (Economics One), and the divisions run deep. Should we be selling weapons at all? And who decides which country qualifies and on what criteria? So it was with […]

Belinda Beresford Banks want to train you to use virtual cash – electronic payments and cards – rather than banknotes and cheques. The carrots waved under customers’ noses include greater security and theoretical ease of use. The sticks include higher charges for those who insist on using the more traditional ways of paying. Cash-based transactions […]

Whichever way you look at it, the Africa Caf’s print ads are destined to get into people’s nose hairs.Art director Ivan Johnson and copywriter Kyle Cockerane had designs on the “politically incorrect and cheeky” with their series of ads. The ad which has raised the most hackles is one which reads: “We still serve white […]

debate Comment The recent media hype around human cloning illustrates, starkly, why South Africa needs a year of science and technology to promote public understanding of the subject. The human cloning reports rival the Virodene “miracle cure” debacle – once again we have a media that fundamentally misunderstands the subject it is reporting on, but, […]

John Aglionby in Jakarta The future of the Indonesian economy hung in the balance this week as President Suharto refused to adhere to conditions laid down by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Suharto is risking the termination of the IMF lending programme as he continues to draw fire from the institution for establishing a currency […]

Njongonkulu Ndungane: Ubuntu We stand on the threshold of opportunities which range from building on the economic strength of a country that arguably has one of the most developed infrastructures in Africa, to the challenge of ensuring that our fledgling democracy works. But we also face many other hurdles. All the good intentions and wise […]

Marion Edmunds The Eastern Cape government is allowing the province’s natural assets and tourist attractions to go down the tubes, because of a lack of funds, skills and political will to preserve the environment. Despite official denials of collapse, the picture of conservation in the Eastern Cape – the only province in the country which […]

Bongani Siqoko Rugby may have appeared to unite the country when South Africa won the World Cup, but soccer could be the catalyst for real integration of blacks into financial markets. Soccer team Kaizer Chiefs is expected shortly to announce plans to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Representative Louis “Sprinter” Tshakoane said discussions […]