THE starting point of staging a live music event is deceptively simple. But simply having an idea is not enough for enthusiasts or opportunists. Festivals need funds, and financial input from the public and private sectors is a feature of festivals internationally. In the event that a sponsor is sought, it is necessary to ensure […]

March 1: New South Wales v Transvaal, Sydney; Wellington v Auckland, Athletic Park March 2: Natal v Western Province, King’s Park March 3: Waikato v Canterbury, Hamilton; Otago v Queensland Carisbrook March 5: Australian Capital Territory v Transvaal, Canberra March 9: Western Province v New South Wales, Newlands; Otago v Transvaal, Carisbrook; Australian Capital Territory […]

David Brink of Absa has taken exception to Martin Welz’s description of him as ”Sanlam’s former money man brought in to clean up the mess left behind by Absa’s founding chief executive, Piet Badenhorst.” (M&G, January 26 to February 1 1996) ”The facts are,” Brink said, ”before joining the board of Absa, I worked as […]

Students criticise Education Minister Sibusiso Bengu for ignoring their grievances, but the budget simply cannot be stretched to wipe out student arrears totalling R100-milion. Jacquie Golding-Duffy reports THE most powerful university student group in the country is not impressed with Education Minister Sibusiso Bengu’s refusal to negotiate on the R100-million accumulated student debt. Stephanie Alais, […]

The hype and glory of the African Nations Cup created new enthusiasm for soccer in South Africa. Now it has to be harnessed for the good of the local game SOCCER: Mark Gleeson IT is amazing how quickly the poor crowd attendance, erratic shooting and errant referees were forgotten in the euphoria of South Africas […]

Madeleine Wackernagel Thabo Mbeki and his team returned tired but triumphant from the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Wednesday. The deputy president was well-received, with fund managers clamouring to get a slice of the most popular emerging markets cake. While nothing concrete in the form of rands and cents came out of the five-day […]

CARNAGE in the streets of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, where more than 80 people were killed and about 1 300 injured last week by suspected Tamil suicide bombers, is a terrible reminder of the human cost of civil war and of the limits of force in solving chronic ethnic conflicts. The violence shows no […]

Government is committed to reducing the national debt, but South Africa must not expect overnight miracles, reports Madeleine Wackernagel Chris Liebenberg, the Minister of Finance, has primed the markets for an overrun on the budget deficit to about 6% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year. Longer term, his aim is to trim it by […]

Justin Pearce AN easy way to kill 80 000 people muttered the man at the Africa Cup of Nations final as the Boeing 747 swooped over to ruffle the hair of the crowd. Laurie Kay, the man who was in the cockpit, disagrees: In Hong Kong people wouldn’t turn their heads at something like that, […]

Participant PETER KLATZOW reports on the highlights of Africa’s first International Composers Workshop SOUTH African composers have learned to accept the fact that there are fat years and lean years. The feast or famine syndrome is dangerous, primarily because the ingestion of so much new music in so short a time can lead to cultural […]