Staff Reporter
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/ 15 March 1996

‘King’s skull’ seized

Xhosa chiefs are not convinced that a skull found in Scotland is that of King Hintsa; they have confiscated it for DNA tests, writes Eddie Koch The president, the Prince of Wales, the Xhosa paramount chief, the British prime minister, the Eastern Cape premier and a prominent paleo-anthropologist have all been dragged into South Africa’s […]

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/ 15 March 1996

‘SA’s strong enough to call out the odds’

1996 Budget Borrowing within a framework of good fiscal discipline The deficit target has fallen again. So South Africa is in a strong bargaining position when it comes to foreign aid, says the deputy director general of finance. Aspasia Karras reports South Africa has been promised R7,5-billion over the next three years in “foreign aid”, […]

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/ 15 March 1996

Video concept takes to the streets

Advertising agencies remain hesitant of pumping money into Video Cab’s new medium, reports Jacquie Golding-Duffy Some in the advertising industry regard the Video Cab concept — a television monitor in minibuses — as a viable means of advertising. But they are hesitant to put their money where their mouth is. Monitors fitted in taxis was […]

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/ 15 March 1996

The deals behind the Makgoba deal

The settlement of the Makgoba crisis at Wits was the result of weeks of behind-the-scenes work, writes Philippa Garson Weeks of secret negotiations brokered by lawyers Dennis Davis and Cecil Wulfsohn delivered the deal which effectively ended the six-month-long “Makgoba” crisis at the University of the Witwatersrand. The Mail & Guardian has pieced together the […]

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/ 15 March 1996

An unflinching romance

CINEMA: Andrew Worsdale HOW to Make an American Quilt is based on a graduate thesis project at the University of California, by Whitney Otto, which eventually made it to the New York Times bestseller list. An affecting, bittersweet drama, it is one of the best in the set of “women’s movies” — Moonlight and Valentino, […]

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/ 15 March 1996

Budget takes a soft approach

The revamp of the public sector is a major thrust of government’s commitment to delivery, reports Madeleine Wackernagel The 10,4% increase in total expenditure is higher than expected, mainly owing to the R6- billion allotted to improvement of conditions of service. The process of restructuring the public service is expensive in the first year, says […]

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/ 15 March 1996

1996 Budget — Government keeps a tight rein

on fiscal policy Job creation in South Africa remains a blot on the economic horizon, reports Madeleine Wackernagel Economic growth last year was the best on record since 1988, despite setbacks in the agricultural and mining sectors and a slip in the fourth quarter owing to a decline in manufacturing output. But the doomsters are […]

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/ 15 March 1996

New team makes new arrests in South Coast

murders case Ann Eveleth The special investigations team probing a spate of murders on KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast has in the past few weeks arrested a total of 18 people relating to 10 cases involving about 30 counts of murder — showing up local detectives who had failed to make progress in these cases. Senior police […]

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/ 15 March 1996

Men with a lot to lose

Justin Pearce Etienne le Roux used to install carpets in Heidelberg. Nicolaas Barnard, Abraham Myburgh and Jan de Wet farmed in the North West province. These four men, who escaped from Diepkloof Prison last weekend, are among those who could have the most to lose when the Witwatersrand Supreme Court delivers judgment on March 29. […]

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/ 15 March 1996

Claws come out over the Katz report

Madeleine Wackernagel When the Katz Commission presented its third report, the outcry from the Life Offices Association was predictable, and for once, it was fighting in the same corner as Cosatu, because the recommendations applied to provident and pension funds alike. Michael Katz had initially proposed a 30% tax on the rental, interest and other […]