Bongani Siqoko There was a time when all the Letlake twins knew about squash was that it was a flavoured drink mixed with water. Now they have become national stars in the game. James and Jonathan Letlake, from Chiawelo in Soweto, have been playing for more than 10 years, winning many trophies and medals. They […]

Neve Gordon in Indiana We had just left the headquarters of Arthur Andersen, a consulting and accounting firm that employs more than 50 000 people, as I said to my friend: “The proof is in the cubicle.” In 1996, short of space, Arthur Andersen had relocated to a nicer building in downtown Chicago. Many of […]

Marion Edmunds Two former Western Cape housing officials are skimming hefty profits off the provincial low-cost housing programme in exchange for processing subsidy information for the state. The Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has appointed RR, a Cape- Town based consultancy run by two former senior departmental officials, to help manage electronic subsidy […]

Andy Duffy Two signposts on the road to Muizenberg in Cape Town look hopelessly out of place. The first is a typical developer’s billboard – an eye-catching affair, beaming optimism about an exciting new development called Westlake. The second, metres away, is a far smaller, typical council sign, advising in three languages that no squatting […]

Wally Mbhele There is a distinct sense of urgency in the office of the African National Congress’s “chief executive”, secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe. With less than 15 months before next year’s general election, Motlanthe knows a difficult task lies ahead. He has to ensure the ANC scores a decisive victory at the polls on behalf […]

Nicholas Fraser: Down the tube Oprah Winfrey is Chicago’s sustaining local deity, a queen of popular consciousness whose every alteration of size or mood is avidly followed. Green signs direct proud bus drivers under the E1 to the Harpo (“it’s her name spelled backwards”) studios. You enter a marble and cream lobby, traverse a human […]

Suzy Bell Allegations have surfaced that the newly appointed deputy director general in the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Musa Xulu, has given false testimony and participated in a fraudulent substitution of documents in an attempt to prove a case of misconduct against a former colleague and teacher. Jeff Robinson, who has taught […]

Brett Davidson Another newcomer on the South African media scene is Hal Interactive, an online electronic media buying system. It’s a one-stop shop where media organisations can promote themselves and sell advertising slots, while media planners and buyers can check schedules and availability and buy space. Hal provides information on all major radio stations and […]

Sechaba ka’Nkosi Gauteng MEC for Safety and Security Jessie Duarte, whose political career hangs in the balance, personally handed an allegedly fraudulent document to the Mail & Guardian last week in an attempt to ward off a series of damaging allegations levelled against her. The commission of inquiry investigating the charges heard this week that […]

images Henri Cartier-Bresson’s quick eye has made him the photographer of the century, writes Liz Jobey The slender figure loping between the shadows of the trees in the Tuileries Gardens is moving so rapidly – despite the stick – that he passes through them almost invisibly, just one more vertical black line flickering among the […]